When Buffalo PD officer Shae O’Connor returns to the beat after playing an integral role in the arrest of a serial killer, she wants to take things easy and fit in. Problem is, she is offered another assignment undercover at a community college. The task - locate three missing female teenagers.

Shae moves to Kelly’s Falls, set up by the FBI in a boarding house with the cover of being the chief of police’s niece. The chief Roy Bishop makes it clear he doesn’t want her around making things difficult for Shae from the outset.

The story sees Shae infiltrate the friendship group of the three missing girls (Skylar, Emma and Olivia). She befriends Kayla, Olivia’s cousin and as the new girl in town she also attracts a lot of attention from the the local men including Skylar’s ex Joe and Olivia’s brother Nick.

So where are the girls? Someone knows something. And they aren’t taking.

But a small town always has its secrets.

At 237 pages I read this book in two days, thanks to crappy weather on a weekend and the growing possibility of COVID-19 spreading. Its is a mystery and police procedural book that had a bit of a YA feel to it that I didn’t expect. It focused primarily upon the relationships of Shae as she navigates life in Kelly’s Falls within the context of the investigation. It’s a small town, new girl meets love interest, another love interest enters the fray, cue the drama, then there’s and ending type of book.

It’s very character based, with a couple of major plot points and you can feel the pace start to quicken a little as Shae skirts around an outcome. The ending was an area that if given a little bang would have turned this one from a good book into something above average.

It’s the second book by Lissa Marie Redmond I have read, the last being one of the #ColdCaseSeries which I enjoyed a little more due to it being a bit more hard hitting and procedural.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for proving me with a free eARC copy of this book to review.

Publish day 7 April 2020

Buffalo Police Officer Shea O’Connor is working undercover at Harris Community College to investigate the disappearance of three college students. The girls left behind all personal items and have been missing for almost two months. Shea had barely recovered from an undercover assignment for the FBI that took down a serial killer. Due to her youthful looks, she is able to blend in and poses as the niece of the police chief. She is getting too close to Nick, the brother of one of the missing girls, and he has no idea who she really is. What will he do when he finds out? Will Shea be able to save herself and another student as danger edges closer? An exciting and unexpected conclusion to this very intense mystery. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

This was such an engrossing read. I thought it was well written, and while it was a little slow moving in some places, it all added up to an outcome & murderer that I did not guess.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher's description: Three college freshmen go missing from their rural hometown of Kelly's Falls while on Christmas break. Their cell phones, coats, and purses are left behind, but the girls have disappeared without a trace. As the days turn into weeks and the investigation grows cold, twenty-three year old Buffalo police officer Shea O'Connor is called on to dig up leads undercover.

Still bearing the emotional and physical scars of a previous case, O'Connor infiltrates as eighteen-year-old Shea Anderson, a college freshman and the "niece" of the town's police chief. As she begins to immerse herself in the missing girls' world, befriending their friends and family, and doing whatever it takes to maintain her cover, O'Connor realizes the track is far colder than she initially thought. But whoever was behind the girls' disappearance was only warming up, and they have set their crosshairs directly on her.

The heat is on for O'Connor as she closes in on the shocking truth about what really happened the night the girls vanished.
************
Lissa Marie Redmond's "The Secrets They Left Behind" was an intriguing concept, reminding me of the TV series "21 Jump Street," where young-looking police officers were recruited and assigned to infiltrate high schools to combat youth crime. At 23, Shea O'Connor isn't much older than the college students she is supposed to befriend, so it wasn't much of a stretch. In the end, I thought this book was ok. It wasn't a clunker, but it wasn't much of a thriller from my perspective either.

I guessed pretty early on who was involved. I just didn't know how, so it felt a little slow and predictable. Shea spent more time socializing than actually solving the crime, which is what the local police chief also accused her of. Her response was that she needed to become friends with these people in order to get them to trust her so she could get information. I get that, and the author is a former cold case detective, so she knows how this works. It just felt like the story wasn't focused enough on the crime. I also had a hard time believing that the FBI would send her in undercover with no backup (spoiler on this below).

There are some editing things that can be cleaned up before publication (clique instead of cliche, roll instead of role, feel instead of fell), but the big one that kept cropping up was "could care less" versus "couldn't care less." I know this is me being the grammar police, but this is one that really bugs me, and it wasn't a typo because the author used it three times. I would also suggest changing the name of the serial killer in Shea's first undercover op with the FBI. I was surprised to realize that Terry Roberts was a woman, and it had me second-guessing what I had already read.

Now a couple of things that didn't ring true or were too predictable that I didn't want to spoil for other readers.

***SPOILERS***

I suspected early on that the chief was involved, and I had a hard time believing that the FBI would have suspected him and not sent Shea in with other backup, told her that the chief was her only backup, and then not have backup in place when the story broke that blew her cover. That just felt too convenient to create the "suspenseful" conclusion of the case.

I also knew how the love interest with Nick was going to play out, that as soon as he found out who she was (and he would) that he was going to be angry but that they would eventually get back together for their happily ever after. It struck me as a bit cliche.

All in all, not a bad read but not a great one either. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This title will be available April 7, 2020.

Decent mystery about a young cop who goes undercover as a college student to discover what has happened to three young women who have disappeared. Well-written with lots of false leads that kept me guessing.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story is more about the drama of being the new girl in a small town than it is about the missing girls.

This story about three missing girls in a small town has the makings of a classic cold case story, particularly as there seem to be no leads at all to the missing girls. A young policewoman is sent in undercover as a student, in the hopes of making connections the official investigation cannot. The story unexpecedly takes a turn away from the crime element, and becomes a YA novel. All the elements are there: the drama of being the new girl in a small town, the handsome love interest (brother of one of the missing girls), the lives and loves of the girls attending college, drinking their way to oblivion, and other things that apparently are part of the college experience nowadays. Yes, I am officially old.

Thstory that unfolded slowly, with the requisite twists and turns, and with some unnecessarily clunky writing. I thought it seemed fairly predictable and a bit too unlikely. If you like a YA novel with a crime-twist, this might be a story you will enjoy reading.

Three young college girls go missing in a small town, vanishing without a trace. When the local sheriff doesn’t have any luck finding them, the FBI steps in — bringing young Buffalo PD Officer Shea O’Connor as an undercover student. The premise sounded promising, but ultimately labored on with insignificant details. I wouldn’t call this book terrible, but I’m not sure I’d call it good either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Skyler, Olivia, and Emma go missing from their rural hometown of Kelly's Falls while on Christmas break, leaving their cell phones, coats, and purses at Olivia's house. As the local investigation goes cold, the FBI decides to send in an undercover operative. Shea O'Connor is a 23-year old Buffalo police officer who is still reeling from a previous case where she caught a serial killer. This time, Shea poses as college freshman Shea Anderson who is the niece of the town's police chief. Shea starts befriending the girls' friends and family and finds herself torn between maintaining her cover and letting her true emotions affect her work.

Once Shea gets a key clue, she thinks she has identified the killer. But things are not what they seem and it's a race against time for Shea to save another girl's life and reveal the truth about what happened to the three missing girls.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

This was a fun mystery to read. I was a little confused for the first half of the book, thinking that this was the second in a series and I had somehow missed it - it's not.

I found the main character to be incredibly frustrating at times, and her poor judgement had me internally screaming, until I remembered she is essentially a rookie.

As for the big reveal, I can honestly say I didn't see that coming- although I should have. I had thought I had it all figured out, things were going my way, and then suddenly they weren't.

Overall it was an enjoyable read that I reccomend to fans of small-town mysteries.

This book is aimed at YA
A good read where a young cop goes undercover to try and catch a serial killer
At times it felt repetitive and the writing for me was clunky at times but overall it was a good twisty read with plenty ‘going on’

True Friends Keep Your Secrets

The novel opens in a small New York town just above the Pennsylvania border with three coeds having left a party arrive at the home of one of them. Then, a car arrives. They are not seen again.

The main storyline shifts to Buffalo and a young old patrol officer, Shea O’Conner. Recently, she went undercover for the FBI to catch a serial murder that almost resulted in her death. The Buffalo FBI special agent in charge (SAIC) wants to use her again to go undercover as coed in Kelly’s Falls to find who was behind the disappearance of three coeds. The SAIC did not give Shea all the information so that she would have an open mind. The SAIC built a cover story that she was a niece of the local Sheriff whose parents recently were killed in an auto accident. She was enrolled in the local community college where she will be exposed to the friends of the girls who disappeared. This is where the novel starts.

The main storyline actually can be split into two. First is Shea O’Conner the undercover officer, and the second is Shea Anderson, the niece of the local Sheriff trying to put her life back together. As an undercover officer, she has two bosses, the Sheriff and the SAIC. The Sheriff is predisposed against this course of action in general and in her specifically. Sparks do fly between the two. As the undercover officer she immediately uncovers new clues. The main storyline has many twists and turns with some aha moments that turn into dead ends. These storylines did grab my attention but not with a strangle hold.

The B-storyline is rich and complementary to the main storyline. The major source is Shea’s interaction with the town sheriff that ranges from adversarial through professional to downright drinking buddies swapping stories level. For another source, the author makes extensive use of asides from Shea that provides the reader straight shots into Shea’s inner self. Shea’s inner conflict in being an undercover officer also provides much insight into her character. Shea, the sheriff, and her close circle of friends and associates are fully developed characters. The B-storylines contributed to my enjoyment in reading this novel.

The language was strong at times, but for me they were character and situation appropriate. There were several sex scenes that were not titillating but a little graphic. They definitely could be described as adult content. While not for me, these two aspects may affect some readers.

I did enjoy reading this book. It grabbed my attention but not to the same level as the author’s Cold Case Investigation series have grabbed my attention. Some readers may consider Shea’s unprofessional actions as a negative, but to me how would you expect a twenty-three year old living as a teenager in college to act. The read was easy and flowed well. All of the loose ends were tied up by the end of the novel. Overall, I rate this novel with four stars.

I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Crooked Lane Books with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

She’s O’Connor returns to investigate the case of three missing college girls who vanish without a trace, on the same day. Immediately the story had me hooked. The idea of a mystery based on girls and bad decisions always takes my interest.

Even after this young, 23 year old officer comes to help investigate, the plot seems very bland. The foreshadowing was excellent, and the back story was very filling, however, it seemed a bit too hefty for my taste. I felt there was more backstory then action which made the novel fall short for me.

What makes this a mystery did have its appeal. I enjoyed the book for what it was, or should have been. A young adult mystery. Although, that’s not how it’s listed, I felt that was a more appropriate genre. The ending does fall short, but I was still surprised as I watched the ending pan out.

I wouldn’t NOT recommend but I wouldn’t push it on my friends either. It was entertaining. Nothing like girls behaving badly and making immature choices that lead to a drastic outcome. 3.5 stars.

*Thank you netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange of an honest review.

I very much enjoyed The Secrets They Left Behind by Lissa Marie Redmond. Shea is a 23 year old police officer from Buffalo. She recently helped the FBI by going undercover to catch a serial killer. She survived but not without some psychological damage. Now, her FBI handler wants her to go undercover again in a small town where 3 college aged girls went missing together one night after a party. Shea reluctantly agrees and moves to the town where she assumes the role of an 18 year old college student whose parents were killed in a car wreck. She has to pretend to be the niece of the police chief. Shea has to work her way into the social life of the college age kids in the town to try to solve the case of the missing girls. The mystery was not what I thought it would be. It was much more involved that I originally thought it was going to turn out. It was an exciting read with the last third of the story moving very fast. I am definitely going to read the author's other books. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced galley of this book. All opinions are my own.

Three college freshmen go missing whilst on break. They've left behind coats, phones and purses and it was snowing. As the days turn into weeks, a young police officer is drafted in to work undercover in the hope of solving the mystery.

It's an OK read, I just found the writing a bit clunky and the storyline plodding at times.

Overall, an easy read, very much aimed at YA.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

Shea O'Connor is a young Buffalo policewoman not taken seriously in her job because of her gender and size, and also because she still looks like a teenager. When an FBI agent offers her an undercover assignment to investigate the case of three missing community college girls while posing as a freshman herself, she believes this is a chance to prove herself. But as she infiltrates herself further and further into this small town, she finds everyone is keeping secrets. Can she find out the truth before becoming a victim herself?
I was excited to read this because the plot sounded original and it's written by a retired homicide detective. It was a great mystery and the ending surprised me, but the character development of Shea was what hooked me. A previous case has given her PTSD and horrible nightmares, along with visible scars, but she still fights through her own demons to solve the case. I can see this becoming a series with a strong female protagonist.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In the small town of Kelly's Falls three teenage girls - Emma, Olivia and Skyler - have gone missing during the Christmas break. There seem to be no leads and the FBI decides to call Shea O'Connor, a 23 year old Buffalo police officer, to go undercover. Her job is to find out more about the lifes of the three college freshman and to find out what happened to them.

The synopsis makes this book sound like a nail-biting, spine-chilling mystery crime thriller. I was a bit confused when the book itself read more like a young adult chicklit.

Shea goes undercover as an 18 year old college student. She befriends the girls who were friends of the missing girls and tries to find out as much as she can about the lifes of Emma, Olivia and Skyler. Shea is investigating the crime, but she is also going to parties, she's gossiping, shes getting into trouble with other girls and she's falling in love with the brother of one of the missing girls.. The story is more about the drama of being the new girl in a small town than it is about the missing girls.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I wasn't axpecting it, but if you like a YA novel with a crime-twist, this might be a story you will really enjoy reading.

But there was a part of the book that really annoyed me. Shea is only 23 years old. She has been through some bad stuff at work, but she is still very young. She constantly looks at the 18 year old girls she is talking to as much younger. Almost as if they are children. Almost as if she is much older and wiser than they are. She is just 5 years older than them..

Also I thought the plot was pretty predictable and a bit far-fetched.
"I hadn't expected this. Who the hell would?"
Well.. I did. Maybe I've read too many thrillers, maybe I expected something entirely different, maybe this just wasn't a book for me.

---

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sending me an e-ARC.

A good police procedural
Story. Although it didn’t hold my attention and felt it was a little repetitive at times. May just have been me!

A good police procedural featuring a young 23 year old cop. I enjoyed this book but felt like I was missing a previous book at the start as details about a previous case were revealed. It did drag a little on detail at the beginning but I soon got into the story. I had not guessed the ending and I like when that happens. Having not read any previous books by this author I would definitely like to read more of her books.

Missing girls. Undercover cop. Let’s do this….

As a whole, I did enjoy this book. There are some twists and just when I thought I had figured it out, something was revealed that made me change my mind. It happened like three times! I really dug that. Thank you Miss Redmond! An issue I had was it took awhile for things to happen. I wanted more on the missing girls. I was also intrigued by Shea’s back story so at times I felt like maybe I had missed a book. The story is well written. The fact the author had me guessing till the end was awesome! I loved the fact that I hadn’t figured out the ending. The characters were ok. They did their part. I had mixed feelings about Shea though. All that being said, this was a decent read. I would like to read more from this author. I give it 3.5 stars.

Shea is young cop in Buffalo when she is asked to once again go undercover to find three missing girls in a small town. Due to her young looks she poses as an 18 year old and befriends the missing girls friends. As time goes on, Shea discovers that this small town is not as idyllic as people describe it. Everyone has secrets. But who is hiding the truth about what happened the night those girls disappeared? The tension really builds towards the last few chapters and I could NOT believe the ending. What I thought I had figured out early on was completely off and I love an author who is able to surprise me! I will definitely be reading more from her!