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Secrets Never Die

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Member Reviews

Talk about a mystery! Secrets Never Die will keep you guessing until the very end. Just when you think you know exactly what the story is about, twists and turns are tossed our way that made you second guess everything you've read and all the conclusions you've jumped to.

In this story we meet Tallie Brown, whose life truly is the mystery in this book. Why had her mother kept her hiding throughout her entire life? Who was after her? Who could her father be? How did it all go together with the strange, secretive town of Cutler's Ridge? To be honest, there were a few times throughout the story that I felt like things were dragged out more than necessary. Not that it was badly written by any means, just that I couldn't wait to get to know the answers to all of these questions and so many more. Still, though I wished the pace might have been a little faster at points, it still held me in its grips and had me reading through to the end to figure it all out. That drawing out perhaps even more so had me anxious to see the secrets revealed.This story had a lot of twists and turns that made it hard even for an avid mystery/suspense reader like myself to figure it ALL out. There were parts I'd picked up on, of course, but trying to put it all together? Now, that was much tougher.

It did have just a hint of romance in the story, but I would certainly not qualify this one as a romance novel myself... really just more of an attraction within a mystery. I would have been interested to see where that might lead, but I feel for this particular story, I'm glad it was not a focus.

Overall, it was a really intriguing read...a little over the top at times, but sometimes those make for the most memorable stories, right? Fans of clean suspense or even a great conspiracy are definitely going to enjoy this one.

**I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

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Secrets Never Die is a great read. I would love to read more by Laurie Lewis in the future. Four and a half stars.

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It's not easy for me to rate this book. The story is well written and kept my attention, James and Tallie are interesting characters, but the story feels far-fetched and unbelievable, the political intrigue the reader is expecting fell a bit flat and the price paid too high.

The morale about redemption and what truth needs to be told and what truth better stays untold in order to prevent more suffering is an underlying theme that isn't solved to my satisfaction.

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Tallie's life has been a complete mystery to her. This story unravels every hidden detail of it in an intriguing and fast-paced plot. This suspense-filled tale has a lot of twists and turns, drama, and plenty of interest to hold your attention to the very end. Well written. I highly recommend this one.

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(4.5 stars) - an intriguing & suspenseful mystery with a little romance on the side

The author sets things up carefully, and we're introduced to the puzzle that is Tallie's life thru Julia's death.

The story gives us pieces as we go, gradually leading us to the answers. BUT we're given details in a rather natural way & from different perspectives, so it can be a little confusing as things are not necessarily in chronological order, in addition to seeing pieces from different sides of the story & the inconsistencies that come with that.

So even as we figure out parts, it's still not fully clear what exactly happened until the finale. It's both frustrating and clever, lol.

There are elements of the final answer that I'm still not sure I'm satisfied with, but I'm so impressed with how well done the mystery was that I can't bring myself to cavil over it.

*Clean romance level: sweet kisses
*Religion: some general references to God & belief, but very minor

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Secrets Never Die is a fantastic romantic suspense. Great plot, setting and writing. Suspense fans will not want to miss this book. Thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

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This read was a quick one! You won’t be able to put this thriller down. All along the way the author drops bread crumb hints of who is to blame and what the real truth is, but I didn’t catch on until the end. The whole story is revealed in the last chapters so if you like to see the ending and then read through so find clues, you are able to do that with this book. It’s also a clean read without any inappropriate material for minors; highly recommended!

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This was my first time reading a book from Laurie Lewis, and I am very impressed! The suspense factor kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat so to speak until the very end if the book. I felt that the beginning of the book was a little strange and that we didn't have enough information about Julia to be emotionally attached to her as a character for her brief appearance and why she did what she did, but in the end it was a very good book overall!

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You will be blown away by the secrets that are revealed at the end of this book! Julia and her 22 year old daughter Tallie have been hiding in different countries since Tallie was a young child. They have lived in Jakarta, Darfur, Laos, and many other places - Julia had been a biologist, a biologist, and a teacher, and she was now serving as a U.S. Forest ranger in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington State. She had raised Tallie as a soldier who could hunt, track and outrun any man who followed them - but she had shown her a minimal amount of affection.
Julia and Tallie were hiding from unseen enemies that were closing in on them - they had located them and Julia feared for their lives! Julia was called out to a fire - but before she left she hid 5,000 away for Tallie and she set her computer to wipe out all of its’ data in an hour. Julia is chased by an old acquaintance named Scarface over an old rickety bridge and she falls to her death!
Tallie and Louis, a Park Ranger, find Julia’s broken body at the bottom of a gorge, Louis hands Tallie Julia’s phone and keys and Tallie attends her mother’s funeral, disposes of her ashes, finds the hidden money and she also finds a picture of a soldier named Diana Howard and Richard Bodeil from 1993 in a place called Cutler’s Ridge. Tallie also finds a bottle of pills with faded missing letters on it that Tallie decodes must be a place called Abbotts Market and Pharmacy, and the omly physician there is a Doc Henley.
Tallie has two choices - either take on a new identity or find Cutler’s Ridge. You will have to read the book for yourself to see who Tallie finds in Cutler’s Ridge, why Julia ran, and how the world could be affected by the answer!

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Oh my! This book. I didn't want to set it down at all. Unfortunately, I only had small amounts of time to read it so it took me a little while to finish it. I was coming up with all kinds of theories for how everything fit together. And even more so when I got further and further into the book and the author started to reveal a little bit more info here and there. Wow!

If you enjoy suspenseful reads with several twists and turns, intrigue, lies, cover ups, secrets and character searching for answers...this is one I'll highly recommend for you to read.

I had many nights where I was dying to know what was going to happen and I would push through my exhaustion as much as I could to get through another chapter. I'd get to the end of said chapter and have to close the book as I'd drift off to sleep. I might have had a few dreams that had themes from what I'd read. Lol!

I guessed several aspects of the story correctly but there was one big one that I never saw coming. Wow! I don't want to spoil any of those twists and turns with you so I'm not going to say much more in this review except that I enjoyed the book. I always enjoy a good story that makes me think and keeps me guessing and this author definitely delivered that in this book! If you can, don't read it like I did, when I was beyond exhausted. Read it when you've cleared your schedule and can devour it.

Content: Clean. Moments of peril and suspense. Not overly graphic.

I received a copy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

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The first quarter or so of 'Secrets Never Die' was slow going and all over the place. It switched characters and places every other chapter or so, and it wasn't until several chapters in that it started connecting and making sense. Once it was clearer who everyone was and what role they played, I enjoyed it more. Overall it had a surprise wrap-up that tied up all the loose ends.
Tallie Brown has spent most of her life moving from place to place with her mother Julia. From one 3rd world country to the next until 7 years ago when they moved to the United States to be park rangers. When Julia unexpectedly dies, Tallie has an opportunity to find out why their lives were the way they were, or she can start somewhere new and build a new life for herself. Not one to back down from difficult situations, Tallie decides to look for answers. Her mother taught her to shoot, protect herself, observe, and value silence but did not spend a lot of time on social skills, so when Tallie is confronted with a difficult town that she feels hides the explanation she's looking for, she isn't entirely sure how to proceed. When she makes friends with the local librarian, innkeeper, and a visiting journalist, she starts to find what she's been searching for.
Filled with mystery, intrigue, southern hospitality (sometimes), small-town skepticism (occasionally), and a little romance, 'Secrets Never Die" has something for everyone.

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Written by new to me author, Secrets Never Die kept me guessing right til the very end.
I even stayed up late finishing it.

A true suspense that had unexpected twists and turns I just didn't see coming.
Chapter by chapter you slowly piece the clues together about Tallie and her mysterious past and why she is so untrusting of anyone ,but this fear she had this fear installed in her by her mother.

After her mother's death she is on a mission to understand where she came from and who she is. Her mother, with her death left so many unanswered question.

A real page turner you will want to read one more page then one more chapter and before you know it the whole book will be read.

Published July 1st 2019 by Covenant Communications.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

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A good twisty-turny suspense type book with some interesting characters. I did actually download it thinking it was a different book of the same name, so I was a little confused but it was still a decent read. I only shied away for five stars because it is a little over dramatic and at times the clichés made me roll my eyes. But hey, a lot of people like that to if you're one of them, you'll love it.

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This book was intense! I stayed up late a couple nights in a row because I wanted to unravel more of the mystery. I loved it. I will admit it was hard to figure out all the players at first but the more I read the easier it became. I loved the characters, they were very complex. I would highly recommend this book.

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This book was excellent! Totally kept my attention and I wanted to find out what would become of the main characters. Highly reccomended.

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Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a mystery/suspense set in modern times. This novel had me guessing and rethinking the solution to who the main character Tallie is and her father all the way to the end. Great characters and story line.

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Secrets Never Die by Laurie Lewis
Complex is the word that seems to sum up this book—its plot, and characters. I am still puzzling over the actions of some of the characters. Some were loveable like Bodie and grew on me. Others were hard to understand or like such as Julia.
The plot was a few separate threads which took many pages to come together in the reader’s mind. I am still pondering the sequence of events that made up the story. And the ending had me on an emotional see-saw. I couldn’t predict how it would end. The author is to be commended for being able to write such a complicated story.
The book was well-written and kept me engaged as a reader. I recommend it to those who enjoy clean suspense with a bit of romance. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley, for my honest review.

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A great suspenseful read. I usually don't read a lot of suspense books because I can usually predict the ending, but this book had many twists and turns that I didn't see the end coming. I just had to keep reading to find out what happens next. It did not disappoint.

I received a free digital copy of this book.

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What a remarkable, suspenseful story so full of twists and turns, surprises and a giant spider's web of lies. I was truly amazed at how all the pieces and people were woven together to make this interesting story. I could not put the book down as I kept trying to see how everything got pieced together.

There were so many interesting characters but one of my favorites was Tallie Brown. She is smart, compassionate, and trying to find out who her father is after her mother died and left her with a photo. It was amazing to watch her past unravel to reveal who she is and who she was. I also enjoyed her opening up to Jackson James, an investigative reporter with his own dark secrets he is trying to overcome.

I enjoyed watching Tallie and James work together. They seemed like two lost souls until they found each other and brought out the best in each other.

I also enjoyed all of the suspense in the story, especially the ending that kept me riveted and not knowing how the book would end. Great story! One of the best suspense stories I have read. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.

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This novel is absolutely amazing. It has love, pain, fear, intrigue, and conspiracy. I loved every minute of it.

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