Nadia, a young single mother, is found dead at a construction site and at first everyone assumes it's suicide. But as the Kingston police start to investigate, they suspect she's been murdered. As they dig into her background, they discover she has a past doing drugs and prostitution.

Police officer Kala Stonechild is taking care of her teenage niece, Dawn, while Dawn's mother is in prison. Dawn's father has recently been released from prison and heads to Kingston to connect with her before he heads east to get away from some guys he owes money too.

Kala is attracted to a fellow officer (and the feeling seems to be mutual) but things are complicated because his ex-wife has returned to town and is living with him.

Dawn's sorta friend, Vanessa, has been acting funny since she started dating an older guy named Leo. Leo has a friend who would like to date Dawn but she's creeped out and not interested.

This is the sixth (and latest) in the Stonechild and Rouleau series and I enjoyed it. Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone and you don't need to have read the previous ones to read this one (there is enough background given). It's always nice to read a book that is happening in Ontario (these characters live in Kingston and the author doesn't hide this fact). I liked the writing style and found the storyline interesting. It is written in third person perspective with the focus on the various characters wherever the action was happening.

I look forward to reading future books in this series and by this author.

Turning Secrets by Brenda Chapman is the fifth book in this series. I am Not personally familiar with the series and did find that this novel can stand alone without having read the prior novels. There may be some small character related details that one may miss perhaps, but by and large the novel stands on its own.

Turning Secrets is set in Canada, and it follows Kala Stonechild, a police officer with a complicated history. Kala once ran with a very troubled crowd and has had to overcome a lot to end up in the station in life that she now enjoys. Kala is guardian to Dawn Cook, a quiet teenager who’s parents have both made mistakes and are not a presence in Dawn’s life. Dawn’s mother is serving time for armed robbery, and Dawn’s father is out on probation and is struggling to make ends meet. Dawn’s father, Fisher, has secretly been in touch with Dawn.

Kala’s unit starts investigating the violent death of an unidentified woman who’s body is found on a construction site. The woman is subsequently identified as Nadia, a young mother, who left her baby with a neighbor to enjoy a night out. It is soon discovered that Nadia was a young woman who lived a life full of secrets, and she isn’t the only one.

Dawn has been befriended by another girl in school named Emily. Emily is friends with 2 other girls named Chelsea and Vanessa. Emily has taken Dawn under her wing, although Chelsea and Vanessa do not approve of Dawn. Vanessa is a vulnerable young woman who’s parents are going through an ugly divorce, and Vanessa has recently found companionship in the form of an older boyfriend who her friends only know as Leo. Vanessa keeps Leo a complete secret from her friends and family. Dawn begins to notice that Vanessa seems withdrawn. It isn’t long before Vanessa’s issues are given a violent jolt into the serious when Vanessa suddenly disappears. Meanwhile,Kala and her unit start to draw parallels between Nadia’s death and Vanessa’s disappearance. Things become even more serious when Dawn is suddenly abducted. With two girls now missing and one young mother in the morgue, Kala’s team must act quickly to find who is behind these abductions.

The story takes us on a journey to examine the dark underbelly of society where sex is a traded commodity, and vulnerable women are exploited and sold into sex rings. It is a relatively fast paced thriller that handles the subject matter well. The characters are believable. The storyline is resolved by the end of the book with no cliffhangers. Overall, a solid novel. Copy provided by NetGalley.

The subject matter surrounding the case in Turning Secrets is not only disturbing, it's also current in today's world of high crime rates and drug abuse. It's a scary thing to think about the number of young girls that are preyed upon by older, unscrupulous men. That said, I felt like so much more could've been done with this story. There are quite a lot of characters to keep up with, and with so many POV changes throughout the book, I had a hard time getting to know any of the characters enough to really become invested in them. This is my first experience with this series, so I'm going to assume that a lot of character building was done in earlier books and base my rating on the mystery in this one. While it moved a bit slower than I care for, it did hold my interest enough to keep me reading. I wanted to know what happened to Nadia, and I wanted to see how things turned out for Vanessa and for Dawn. The biggest downfall for me was the amount of what felt like filler before getting back to the meat of the story. This one is certainly more procedural than action, which doesn't really pick up until close to the end of the book. That's not a problem for me except that I would've liked a little more on the procedure. I'm sure those who are invested in this series and know the characters will get more out of this one than I did as parts of it did feel like an ongoing story. However, it is what it is, and this is just my 2 cents worth. The story on its own is still worth the read, but I would recommend checking out the earlier books first. All in all, Turning Secrets is a decent crime drama with a thought-provoking case.

I enjoyed this tremendously. It was my first exposure to Stonechild and Rouleau, and in fact, Brenda Chapman's writing. Once I'd realised that Kingston wasn't in Jamaica, and got over the change in situation I was expecting, the story unfolded really well. As number six in the series, is there a certain amount of history with the lead characters, but this was in no way detrimental to this story, and has purely piqued my interesting at starting at the beginning. But with that, the characters are already well rounded and believable, as is the location, which seems to play a central role, almost as a character on its own. I like the writing style, which flows easily, and had me gripped from the beginning.

As a crime thriller, this one is right up there. There were enough clues for me to work out who was responsible, without being obvious, or predictable. I'll be looking out for the preceding novels, and look forward to discovering more about Kala Stonechild, as well as unravelling her cases with her.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The interesting storyline kept me turning the pages of Turning Secrets. I wanted to learn why the ill-fated young mother left her infant with a neighbor and met with foul play. Unfortunately, only a superficial explanation was revealed by book’s end. Choppy passages, abrupt transitions, and problems with syntax disrupted the enjoyment of reading this book. Characters and places were underdeveloped. I so wanted to like the protagonist of the story, but was not informed enough about her to get to know her. At times characters were referred to by their first names and at other times by their last names, contributing to an impersonalized storytelling style. In the acknowledgements, the author alludes to praise for the community that inspired the setting for her novel, but apart from a couple of references to the lovely sky, her discussions about the setting for her story were bland and could have been about any old town where fir trees grow—not much was distinctive or descriptive. At one point, the author mentioned that the setting was a university town, but omitted reference to why that was important to her story or its characters. What started with promise, limped along, and ended without much depth. Unless the reader is invested in this detective series, time would be better spent reading another crime story or mystery.

I would say this book had me glued I have never read any of this brendas books before but I would say it had me on the edge of my seat would recommend this book

I read this book on a flight and was just frustrated by it. Flipping back and forth between first and last names for characters, multiple viewpoints in same chapters and just lots of filler with not much plot. This book was not for me. Someone who likes crime mysteries might like it better.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a honest review.

This was my first dip into the Stonechild and Rouleau series and I have to say, I was presently surprised by the quality of story presented. Chapman has a very dark world constructed and the characters appear to compliment themselves and the story she is trying to tell. Based on the fact I haven't read the first five books I cannot fault the lack of characterization presented. I am sure there are deeper roots planted in the first few books that were well-established long before this novel.

That being said, I really enjoyed this story and felt the author offered just enough 'catching-up' in her general exposition to provide newbies like me a chance at enjoyment.

3/5 stars.

I enjoyed this book, but found the characters somewhat flat and cold. The dialogue was a bit cheesy or stilted at times. Having said that, the plot was interesting and I think I may have been more invested if I had read the earlier books in this series and followed the character development from the beginning.

Brenda Chapman is a great writer that makes you want to continue reading to find out what is going to happen next. There were twists until the end but I will not give away any spoilers. This is the 6th book in the series. I have not read the previous books and I was able to connect with Kala Stonechild, Dawn, and Gundersund. It would have been nice to read the previous books in the series because I think I would have had even more of a connection and a little more history on some of the people (Fiona, Marci Stokes, other police officers) but this works as a stand-alone book. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a police related mystery. This would make a fun vacation read.

I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. #TurningSecrets #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn for the eARC.
This 6th in the Stonechild and Rouleau series is terrific, the best so far, I just love this series!
The body of a young mother is found, having jumped from a hotel under construction...or was she pushed? Her neighbor, who is babysitting her 8-month old baby, reports her missing, and the police now know the dead woman is Nadia Armstrong, who moved to Kingston 6 months ago to start a new life. As the case proceeds, a young girl, Vanessa disappears. Stonechild and Rouleau don't know yet if she ran away with her boyfriend or if something more sinister is going on. Stonechild's niece Dawn, who is in her care, suddenly goes missing as well. She was friends with Vanessa, and her disappearance is worrisome, she would never just leave without any word to Stonechild; she's dependable and diligently takes care of their beloved dog when she comes home from school.
The story tackles the difficult theme of underage girls being groomed by sexual predators very sensitively. I have become a fan of Canadian Noir, it's less depressing and stark, somehow more hopeful, while still dealing with the problems society faces today.
The characters are so likeable; despite their harrowing pasts, Stonechild and Dawn are strong women who have overcome so much, determined to make a good, solid life for themselves, relishing their strong bond with each other and of course their dog. The descriptions of Kingston are evocative; I was lucky enough to visit there, and would love to go back for another trip.
I highly recommend this book and the series.

All in all a great novel & worth a read. Not quite what o was expecting but really enjoyed it thanks for the preview!

5 stars

Paul Gundersund, Kala Stonechild and Staff Sergeant Jacques Rouleau are back in this new entry into the Stonechild and Rouleau series.

Gundersund, Kala and Rouleau respond to a possible suicide. The victim is a young woman in her early twenties. It looks as though she jumped – or was pushed? – from a building under construction at a site. The autopsy shows that she had a baby in the past year. A woman comes into the station to report a neighbor missing. The woman’s name is Nadia Armstrong. She has an eight-month old baby which the neighbor is babysitting. She was happy and looking forward to her life. She doted on her baby.

The Kingston police have a murder on their hands. Not a good time to have someone in the department leaking information to the press.

At the same time, Kala’s niece Dawn has contacted her father who is now out on parole. She is keeping this a secret from both Kala and her own mother who is currently doing time in jail. They do not want her to have anything to do with the man who abandoned her when Dawn was just a baby. One of Dawn’s classmates named Vanessa is in serious trouble. She is “dating” a man who abuses her and sells her to other men. He now has his eye on Dawn.

The interviews begin. First they notify the family of Nadia’s demise and canvass the area around Nadia’s home and the construction site where she was found. They interview her co-workers and acquaintances.

When Vanessa disappears, the police add the search for her to their caseload. She seems to have gone missing without a trace. Then Dawn goes missing as well. With astute police work, Stonechild and her partner learn where the girls are being kept. They race to the premises.

This book is extremely well written and plotted. Events follow one another in a logical and clear manner. I like Kala, Gundersund, Rouleau and the rest of the gang. Woodhouse might be redeemable; the jury is still out on him. I really appreciate the little snippets when Ms. Chapman describes the Canadian countryside, weather and people. I have traveled in Canada quite a bit, and have fallen in love with the country and its people. I absolutely adore Brenda Chapman’s books and will continue to read them as long as she continues to write.

I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book for me to read, enjoy and review.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a gripping suspenseful thriller. I like the storyline of this book and it had relevant topics. I just really couldn't get into the characters maybe because this is sixth book of this series.

I did like Officer Kala and her niece Dawn even though she was keeping secret from her aunt about talking with her father Fisher who wasn't a bad guy just make bad choices.

Dawn friend Vannesa was just naive getting involved with a child molester I get her home life was not great but she could at least talk to someone this goes to show you parents if you getting a divorce don't put your problems on your child because they can easily find comfort in the wrong person.

Good story but I'm going to have to get the other books to really get to know the characters.

I had a hard time getting involved with this book and the characters. I did like the character of Kala and her dog and thought Kala was a strong lead.

The storyline and premise of the book sounded intriguing and suspenseful, plus the topic is relevant to events happening all over the world. For me, it was a slow read, and I wasn’t completely invested in what would happen in the story or to the characters.

Since this is book 6 in the Stonechild and Rousseau, maybe reading the previous books would help in understanding the characters and their backgrounds and interactions.

I may check out the other books.

Turning Secrets by author Brenda Chapman is a gripping suspenseful book with awesome character developments and a thick plot. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves a great novel.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of Turning Secrets in exchange for an honest review.