After three college students go missing a baby-faced police offer, Shea, goes undercover to find new leads when the trail goes cold. A good premise and great execution. After starting slowly while the plot is established, the book suddenly takes off and roars to an unexpected ending. Excellent - highly recommended.

WOW!!! I was not expecting this book to be as good as the cold case books but it so is! I loved it. Could not put it down for a minute. Keep me guessing till the very end.

The Secrets They Left Behind was outstanding. I was on the edge of my seat from the very beginning and had a hard time putting it down. The first thing to draw me into this book was the title. The blurb was the final deciding factor as to wanting to read this book. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this book provided via netgalley by Crooked Lane Books, in exchange for my honest review.

One of my favorite thing about mystery stories is being able to try and solve the mystery before finishing the book. I failed miserably this time around and was completely blindsided by the end result. I felt that Lissa Marie Redmond did an amazing job not making this an easily solved story. I couldn't help but suspect everyone that Shea came across in the small little town. The main character, Shea, is a strong female lead who wants nothing but respect from her fellow officers. I love being able to feel the emotions that the characters are exhibiting throughout the story, I feel a better connection to the book. The ending was perfect and just what was needed to make it complete.

I wish that this was a series that followed Shea on her undercover work. I would have loved to have read about her previous experience, rather than having it written into this story.

3.5 stars. A straightforward suspense novel that will appeal to fans of procedurals/undercover tropes/small town secrets. Might have crossover appeal to YA fans, as the MC is 23 pretending to be 18, and the missing girls are 18/freshmen in college. That said, some of the young adult characters read as a bit older than they are supposed to be at times.

I'm a bit mixed on this one, though I did enjoy my reading experience. It hits on tropes I really enjoy, including small town secrets and secret identity. I liked the set-up a lot--a 23-year-old, baby faced police officer is recruited by the FBI to go undercover as an 18-year-old community college freshman in order to find out what happened to 3 missing girls in a small town. The set-up was strong, with some issues on execution that kept me from this being an unequivocal 4 or 5 star read.

Many sections rely heavily on narration/summary/time skipping/telling rather than dramatization/showing, and thus I felt some distance from the plot and particularly the characters. Ultimately that was I think the thing for me: distance from characters/many of them feeling like walking tropes/not the right age.

Shea the 23-year-old doesn't really feel realistically 23 NOR 18--she feels like a much older character for many reasons. She's a little too polished in places, including her almost motherly dedication to "finding those girls"--those girls would be a peer to a 23-year-old, even if she's a cop (I personally didn't start to feel motherly/mentorly toward teens until I was closer to 30). There's a bit of teenage girl soup: we have 3 missing girls who are only on the page in a 1 chapter prologue, 3 teen girls who were also friends with THOSE teen girls, whom the MC befriends, plus mean girl & friend, and then a small collection of tropey teen boys. Most of these characters weren't distinct enough to grasp onto or remember. In the original trio, Emma in particular is under characterized, and in the "present" trio the only difference between Jenna and the M one whose name I can't remember is the latter likes Nick. Can't tell you much else about them. So it's a tricky balance between enough young people to feel realistically like college and too many who are under-developed. They party and drink like young people but otherwise I felt a layer of separation from the narrative.

I liked Shea herself a lot. Other than the aforementioned small issue with her feeling too mature at times, she was compelling enough and easy to follow. Her backstory was really interesting--I would have loved more flashbacks! Really more about Shea as a cop and young woman would have been welcome. I cared for her a lot less within the context of the romance, partly because I didn't like the romance. And the romance accounted for a solid 50% of this book. It comes down to my personal taste, though what bothered me will likely bug others. This book has some very regressive gender roles/romance tropes that aren't adequately challenged, as I expected them to be by Shea specifically. Don't give me a tough-as-nails woman cop born in the 90s, coming of age in 2019, and NOT pushing back against patriarchal/misogynist bullshit. Nick is a jealous, possessive alpha male type... but only once or twice; the rest of the time as it suits the narrative he's a Sweet Awesome Teddy Bear! But those few times he's RIDICULOUSLY jealous and possessive, it's not challenged at all, and Shea in fact BEGS FOR HIS FORGIVENESS!!! I was just. Turned off. One big aggressive jealous scene and it ruined the character for me, and ruined the romance. Hugely disappointing. And Nick, of course, is contrasted against the Garbage Bad Boy Who Sexually Assaults Shea And Nick Gets Jealous About It. Like seriously: she's ASSAULTED and Nick loses his shit and Shea doesn't even defend herself or call him a dick?! Also Nick, a 21-year-old in the year 2019, also says his mom would "have a cow," so that made me do a double take. Has anyone said that since the 90s?

Deep breaths. I'm afraid I also had one other major issue, which is 100% a spoiler. I'll refrain from detailing it here except to say I found the characterization of the main baddie to be inconsistent, and this aided in my guessing it was them in the first scene in which they appeared.

I don't mean to rag on the book! It was still a solid reading experience: I wanted to return to the book each evening, because I really enjoy small town secrets, and the set up of the undercover cop. There were a few very juicy entanglements, and even though I guessed the ending, the journey was still enjoyable. I just sincerely wish I cared about the romance and about more of the characters.

I chose to read “The Secrets They Left Behind” because the premise was interesting and the last book that I read from Crooked Lane Books was incredibly memorable. Needless to say, I finished this in a day, as I couldn’t put it down. While the book could use one last good edit, it was entertaining. I liked the story and cared about what happened to Shea. While parts of it were slightly unbelievable, I can put that aside because it was just a fun read. The pacing and the twists were well thought out and well earned. I’ll be suggesting this one come springtime.

I really enjoyed this novel and could not put it down! I will definitely be looking at other titles from this author. Her experience as a former cold case detective really helps make the main character Shea stand out.

Shea has been called upon by her FBI contact Bill to assist with a case in Kelly's Falls. While reluctant at first, after a terrible experience on a previous undercover case, she eventually agrees to go undercover at the college and uncover leads to find the missing girls. As she delves deeper into the investigation, Shea has a hard time separating herself from the investigation. These friendships she's built....all on lies. The only thing keeping her from walking away is wanting to find out WHAT happened to these girls.

As stated before, I enjoyed this book. I read most of it in one day, unable to put it down. It's a pretty quick read, too. Some parts that are slower but overall it's easy to keep turning pages. My only complaint is that I think there should at least be a prequel for the previous case Shea was on. (If there is I haven't found it on the author's website).

I was happy to get a copy of this book - thanks to the publisher and Netgalley!
The book left me with mixed feelings - I liked the story, and the beginning and the end was great - sadly I found the way in between a bit long-winded. Maybe it was because I never really connected with the lead, Shea. The book was told from her POV which didn't help. But it's always a very subjective thing and I still would recommend the book for readers interested in this kind of investigative police crime thriller!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Secrets They Left Behind by Lissa Marie Redmond. Redmond is a solid writer and this book is well written with a great twist at the end.

Shea is a young police officer who has the scars of the past that is basically her secret. Three college students go missing and Shea must do undercover work at the university to find out what happened. The three girls have left all their belongings but they cannot be found. Shea's assignment is to become a student herself and put herself in a killer's sight. She is determined to solve this mystery but finds that there are many secrets and someone will stop at nothing to keep those secrets intact.

Good Plot - started slow, but gained speed at the end.
3.5 stars.

This book was just okay for me. It is written in first person, and the main character, Shea didn't hold my interest enough. I also didn't really relate to any of the other characters either. Unfortunately, I found myself skipping to the end to find out who did it. The storyline is interesting, but the process of finding the guilty party, was to slow.

Before, when one reads a detective novel, there are parts in the story that kind of feels like 'suspension of belief' Like a simple thought, huh, does that really happen? But now-a days as the authors are going into such detail into their work that it doesn't feel like fiction at all. Lissa Marie Redmond has the added advantage that she's a retired cold-case detective with superb writing skills that her books have that innate quality of UNPUTDOWNABLE.

Three girls have gone missing after a party. Their phones have been left behind and no clues have been found. The Secrets They Left Behind has Shea Anderson as a detective who goes undercover into a college campus to find the truth of the missing girls. Shea is already suffering from trauma of a previous undercover operation that has her reeling from nightmares. But she agrees to help the FBI to capture the offender and provide some sort of answers to the family and friends.

The story also gives us a glimpse of the effect of undercover operations on individuals, how much their psyche gets affected acting and playing and living a lie. It is these short glimpses of how much struggle and sacrifice goes into nabbing a murderer that makes this one a solid thriller.

Many thanks to Lissa Marie Redmond, Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley for a chance to review this book.

I ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!! I did not want this book to end!! Three missing college students, an undercover cop, and a shocking turn of events at the end, make this a WOW WOW WOW read. I loved that this Author made the ending of this book like she did!! A definite must read book! This book had so many emotions!! I will be watching this Author for sure! If I could give it 10 stars, I would!

Absolutely loved this fascinating thriller! The writer has a beautiful and seamlessly flowing narrating style and I literally could jot put the book down.

Shea O'Conner is a twenty-three-year-old cop in Buffalo, a regular patrol officer, who looks more like a teenager than an adult, and, who is still recovering emotionally and physically from the wounds inflicted by a sadistic killer in a case none of her co-workers even know about. 
When she is asked to go undercover at a small college in a town where three freshmen mysteriously disappeared over Christmas. The three girls had last been seen at a party and had left together. Cell phones, purses, even coats are still in the living room. But the girls are gone and the trail is cold.  With a new last name and an 'uncle' as the Chief of Police of Kelly's Falls, Shea enrolls in school and starts embracing her new role as a college student.

There were a lot of secrets in this little town. And someone has no problem killing to keep them that way. While Shea is getting in with the students and families of the girls, she also is aware of someone watching her. And the closer she gets the more danger she is in. 

Will she make it out of this one alive? I really enjoyed this one. Just goes to show, you don't really know anyone.

Well Done!

NetGalley/ April 7th, 2020 by Crooked Lane Books

Started out a bit confusing but quickly picked up. Interesting characters with fun bits of stuff you didn't expect. Great twists.

Three college girls disappear. There's not a single clue as to where they are. So Shea O'Connor a 23 year old cop goes under cover as a college student to try to get to the bottom of it all. She starts dating one of the girls boyfriends brothers. She soon realizes that there just may be more to it including his girlfriend.

Officer Shea O'Connor looks young enough to be in high school, therefore she is perfect for this undercover fbi assignment. Three college freshmen have disappeared, and the local police have been unable to solve their disappearance. It's Shea job to blend in and see if she can solve the case.
Another great story by Lisa Marie Redmond. Thanks netgalley.

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.