Three missing girls, no leads, a vault of dark secrets, and a case that’s getting chillier by the minute, set the stage for this nail-biting procedural from former cold case homicide detective and acclaimed author Lissa Marie Redmond.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 … 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.
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I just LOVE Lissa Marie Redmond’s police stories… She has a marvelous ability to write female protagonists who have been through the wringer but remain capable, tough, and willing to do what it takes – even when what it takes threatens to tear them apart. It probably doesn’t hurt that I grew up near Buffalo, either – it’s always extra engaging when I know the locations and personality types being referenced in a character-driven story like this one.
Shea’s tale – both present and past – is a dark one, full of secrets and betrayals and horrific violence against young women. Redmond tells it with no holds-barred, but also with an element of compassion and a voice that rings with brutal clarion truth but never devolves into extraneous graphic depictions, which so often feel thrown in for shock value. She seems to recognize that there’s no need to make things extra shocking – the elements of her tale provide more than enough horror without needing any of that…
This is a great mystery/thriller – it held me in its claws from the opening and never let go until the bitter end. The pacing was spot-on, the settings worked beautifully, and the characterizations were excellent. I picked it up and within a day, had finished. I did not see the bad guy for who he was; the misdirection and teasing revelations worked beautifully for me. And Shea is a great character – and definitely one that I’d love to see more about in future installments!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my obligation-free review copy.
Standalone murder mystery that has a 23 yr old Buffalo police officer going undercover as a 18 year old freshman in college to find out what happened to three college girls who just vanished.
This isn’t Shea O’Connor first time going undercover for the FBI. Her previous assignment with them left her traumatized after bringing down a serial killer. Gonna be honest here I would have loved for this book to had been about that case!!
The story is fast paced and keeps you engaged till the very end.
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)
As a retired cold case homicide detective, author Lissa Marie Redmond brings the voice of authenticity to her latest mystery, “The Secrets They Left Behind”. With a youthful protagonist—twenty-three-year old Buffalo police officer, Shea O’Connor—this mystery will appeal to a broad audience, from YA readers to retirees.
When three college co-eds—Olivia, Emma and Skyler—go missing without a trace, Shea O’Connor is approached by the FBI to work undercover as the eighteen-year-old niece of Kelly’s Falls police chief, Roy Bishop. Infiltrating a school campus, blending in with students, and risking her own life is something Shea O’Connor has had experience with. And she has the physical and emotional scars to prove it. The lingering nightmares from her near-death trauma of the last undercover assignment don’t stop her from wanting to bring a killer to justice and a final sense of peace to the families of the missing girls.
“The Secrets They Left Behind” is a terrific “whodunit” filled with relatable characters, small town intrigue and a little romance. A perfect police procedural to curl up with on a lazy afternoon.
When three young women disappear under mysterious circumstances, a young police officer is seconded by the FBI to go undercover as a college student ingratiating herself with the missing girls’ friends. The main character is artfully drawn, a mixture of seen-it-all, naivete, self-confidence and a dash of intolerance that only a young adult can possess yet she is such a likeable and brave character, I quickly became invested in the story. Very satisfying ending. Excellent narration.
Three female college girls go missing while in their hometown during Christmas break. he girls left behind their phones, purses, coats …. and there is no trace of them anywhere.
When the case turns cold, Police Officer Shea O’Connor is recruited to go 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.
Shea is getting nowhere with her investigation, and it’s getting harder and harder to keep her identity secret. But someone is watching her closely.
What really happened the night the three girls disappeared?
Small towns have deep, dark secrets. Someone is willing to kill to keep those secrets hidden. The closer she gets to finding answers, the more danger she’s in.
As the author held the position of a cold case homicide detective for many years, I expected a certain amount of credibility … I was not disappointed. It’s a tightly woven with twists and turns, lots of page-turning action. The characters are skillfully drawn. Residents of this small town are just normal nice people, but someone isn’t who they pretend to be. Suspects are varied ..and all lead to a very unexpected ending.
Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
I received the digital arc of this book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
Shea O’Connor is a young officer at the Buffalo Police Department who lives with her roommate Karen who is a trauma nurse at Erie County Medical Center. They met at the University of Buffalo. Although she’s 23 years old, Shea finds she is often not taken seriously as she appears much younger than her age. This actually worked to her advantage when she was asked to work undercover for Bill Walters in the FBI. She worked undercover to assist with the capture of a teacher Terry Roberts who was a serial killer.
Just as Shea is slowly recovering from the personal trauma of that undercover case where she almost died, she receives a phone call from Bill Walters. Because Shea feels under appreciated at the Buffalo Police Department, she accepts another secret undercover FBI assignment. Again, she need to pose as a freshman at Harris Community College in Kelly’s Falls, NY as 18 year old, Shea Anderson.
Bill Walters has a cover story arranged with the chief of police, Roy Bishop.
Shea transitions into Theresa Parker’s boarding house posing as the chief of police’s niece who parent recently died in a car crash. She begins to befriend the other borders at the house and settles into her school routine. Her assignment is to uncover the mystery surrounding three missing college students last seen at a party. Shea is eager to emerge herself into the school’s social scene to learn what happened the night the girls went missing.
While Shea is strategically meeting key friends she is introduced to further people who knew the missing girls. Shea isn’t prepared for these relationships to become close and intimate. She earns the trust of Kayla Johnson who is the cousin to Nick and Olivia Stansfield. Olivia is one of the missing girls whose brother Nick, a senior at RIT in Rochester will stop at nothing to find his sister.
Soon, Shea is engaged in typical college life which seems to annoy Chief Bishop who resents her involvement in this cold case. Over time Shea is hanging out at Freddie’s Pizza with Rob, Tyler, Maddie and Jenna and going to parties. Things become tense when Shea becomes involved with Nick Stansfield who starts to develop feelings for her. As much as Shea tries to maintain her professional ethics undercover she can’t help but acknowledge her own growing feelings towards Nick.
As much as she feels guilty, Shea continues a relationship with Nick to gain access to people who know more than they want to admit about the missing girls. Along the way she attracts unwanted attention from Joe Styles who is a local with a reputation for trouble and a girlfriend, Amber Wray who loves to fight.
Just as Shea becomes close to solving the cold case, things explode and she finds herself fearing for her life once again.
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.
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.