Shea is a young police officer who goes undercover as a college freshman after three young women disappear together without a trace. I really liked this a lot, 4.5 stars rounded to 4. I think I enjoyed it so much because with Shea being undercover, she was more in the middle of things than a normal detective would be, like in most books, yet she also wasn't some random civilian or unqualified person like a journalist or doctor that was sticking their nose where they shouldn't.

This was a pretty good story, centered around Shea, a police officer going undercover as a college student to try to solve the mystery around the disappearance of 3 girls. Shea must connect with their friends and family in order to figure out what really happened.

The storyline itself was good and I actually didn't figure out the twist until the end- I thought I had it the whole way through and there was a time where it seemed that I was right, only to be fooled later when the truth came out.

On the downside, I did feel that the pace of the book was fairly slow, and there was some inane or unnecessarily dialogue that just didn't need to be there. I also thought it was a little too easy for Shea to ingratiate herself with the key players in the story, almost immediately becoming best friends with the clique in which the missing girls were a member, and starting a relationship with the brother of one of them.

Overall, I liked the story and am glad I read the book. I would be interested in reading more from this author. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A solid, fast paced read. The premise was interesting and the story itself was well written. The main character didn't really draw me in and she didn't really stick out to me in any way. There is a lot of crime mysteries out there and this one just didn't hook me in.

Fun premise of a young woman going undercover for the FBI to hunt down a missing person. Very quick paced and readable. A lot of flashbacks and dreams, almost too much but it did flesh out Shea's character. A bit of editing could have tightened the story up but it was fine for a chilly afternoon.

The Secrets They Left Behind is the story of a young police officer who is asked to go undercover to find out why three people have gone missing from the same small town. The deeper she gets into the lives of the people in the town the more secrets she finds. The story moves very slowly and the main character is just not interesting enough to make this a must read book.

When three freshman college girls mysteriously disappear - the case runs cold quickly. The girls have gone without a trace and policewoman Shea O’Connor comes to work. At 23yrs old she looks the part of a college girl and quickly goes undercover in the college community to gather all she can.

Shea begins to date Nick, a brother of one of the missing girls. Joe, the town druggie, also seems infatuated with Shea. His girlfriend not so much.

What can Shea find out and quickly before times runs out?

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

Great mystery read. This book grabbed me from the start and there were a lot of confusing clues that led to a surprising ending. I also liked how the characters related to each other

“...they were just gone.”

Upon coming across the title “The Secrets They Left Behind”, this book immediately felt like the perfect Fall read to me – a title I thought suited the the cover perfectly. The premise also sounds extremely original – a 23-year-old female undercover officer with a dark past (escaping a serial killer…) investigating three college freshman girls who vanished in a small town one night without a trace? How chilling does that sound!

The Secrets They Left Behind is the perfect read to cozy up with under the covers, with a cup of your preferred hot beverage, in this chilly weather. The “undercover” part, to be honest, was one of the things that I mostly enjoyed about the protagonist/police officer’s mission. It was refreshing that the author herself has complete knowledge about the “police procedural” field, considering she, herself, was a homicide detective in Buffalo – just like our main character.

The culprit, however, I did not guess at all. Thankfully, my theories were wrong; I love being wrong about the perpetrator. I think this is a solid mystery that would appeal to fans of police-procedural mysteries, and I think the female police officer who stars in this story is one you will definitely want to meet!

***Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a copy of THE SECRETS THEY LEFT BEHIND through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

23 year-old police officer Shea is asked by the FBI to go undercover as an 18 year-old college student to try to get to the bottom of the disappearance of three female students. This is the second time Shea has gone undercover for the FBI and we hear all about her previous exploits by way of flashbacks and nightmares.

This was a quick and easy read. Shea read more like an 18 year old student than a 23 year-old police officer to be honest, and the writing in general felt very young adult to me. The plot was coherent, although not a lot really happened for a while apart from Shea having sex with the brother of one of the missing students, (for which I feel she should have been fired, although we were clearly supposed to find it terribly romantic).

The solution to the mystery was fairly satisfactory, although it did seem like something which could have been cleared up much earlier with rather more rigorous investigation and questioning.

I think this would suit a much younger reader than me better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, both as a police procedural and an intriguing mystery. I did feel like I must have missed an earlier book laying out Shea’s backstory, but this appears to be a stand-alone or the first in the series. I look forward to going back and reading more of Redmond’s books!

Shea is a police officer in her early 20s who is recovering from the trauma of her encounter with a serial killer when she is drawn into another undercover job, this time posing as a college student in a small New York town, Kelly's Falls. The disappearance of three teenage girls has rocked the quiet suburban enclave, and Shea hopes that by befriending the missing girls' friends and getting to know their families, she can unearth some of their secrets and get to the root of their disappearance. Things are complicated when she becomes romantically involved with someone very close to the case, and she soon learns that someone in Kelly's Falls is willing to kill to protect their secrets. This was a great read, with a protagonist who was instantly likeable and a central mystery that drew me in from the start. Parts of it reminded me of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series.

I loved, loved, loved this book. As soon as I got into, I could not put it down and ended up reading it in a day. It's about a 23 year old woman police officer who goes undercover as a college student to try to find out what happened to 3 missing girls. I loved the main character and I just loved this book so much.

Shea O'Connor is a 23 year old cop from Buffalo. After having closed a major case involving the murder of three high school students, she is assigned a new case in Kelly's Falls where three high school girls have mysteriously disappeared. Her youthful looks allow her to be a perfect fit to go undercover as a student at the local community college in order to gain intel into the lives of the students both on campus and those missing. She is to pose as the niece of police chief Roy, having moved in due to an accident that claimed the lives of both of her parents.
The ruse seems to work. She is quickly able to make friends with several students including those suspected in the disappearance of the girls. However, Shea also unexpectedly falls in love along the way, knowing that she is lying to him about everything related to her life.
When all of the suspects remain such no longer, she is forced to take a long hard look at another angle, and it is one that both Shea and the town of Kelly's Falls are completely unprepared for (no spoilers!)

“If I had known the best thing that was going to happen to me that day was a black eye, I would have called in sick.”
-Shea O’Connor

First sentence:

Christmas Break - Skyler slammed the front door behind them as they rushed in against the biting winter wind.

When three college girls disappear over Christmas break, Boston police officer, Shea O’Connor is asked by the FBI to go undercover and infiltrate the college. Purposely involving herself in the lives and friendships of the three missing girls, Shea struggles to keep up with her undercover persona and the lies she has to tell to people she’s beginning to like and see as friends.

Shea is not a stranger to undercover work; she’s still suffering the trauma of the first case that FBI agent Bill Walters assigned her to. Nobody, including her fellow officers, know that Shea was the turning point in the arrest of a brutal serial killer in her first undercover case. Shea is a wonderful protagonist. She’s witty and clever with just enough snark to keep her interestingly likeable!

The Secrets They Left Behind is great suspenseful mystery with a complex story-line and just enough red herrings to keep me guessing and ultimately, surprised at the ending. I’ll be reading Ms. Redmond past and future work from now on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with this title to read and review!

A great story! Three college freshmen girls have disappeared. Local police have been unable to even find a clue, much less a lead, on the incident. The girl's purses, cell phones, and coats were found - yet not so much as a drop of blood left as to their whereabouts. Now it is 2 months later...

Having done work with the FBI prior to this, Shea O'Connor, a policewoman from Buffalo, NY has been summoned. This, once again, by Bill with the FBI. Shea is 23 years old but can pass for a college freshman. She goes undercover in the small town of Kelly's Falls, NY. There, Shea must mix in with the community college crowd completely yet be completely undercover. Her only back-up there is the Chief of Police - Roy Bishop. She plays his niece who had to move there after her parents died in a car accident. Roy and Shea have opposite poles of thought about her undercover procedures.

Nick, brother of one of the missing girls, mesmerizes Shea. They date. Whereas, Joe - their town dropout druggie - was a sure thing to be implicated for the 3 girls disappearance has a tight alibi. Still - he has the hots for Shea. His girlfriend, Amber, who is very jealous comes into question.....

And then the fun begins! A twisty story about undercover work in a small town. Very Suspenseful. A delight to read!

Many Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a great read!

Everyone knows that no college aged girl would leave her cell phone and purse behind, but three college girls home for Christmas break have done just that. It’s immediately obvious they didn’t leave of their own free will, but police find no leads and the case grows cold. Police officer Shea O’Connor is tasked with going undercover to try to scare up new leads. She enters the missing girls’ college as a student, but as she traces the missing girls’ movements, she’s being watched. If she’s not very careful, Shea may be the next woman to disappear.