Best friends tell each other everything. Even their deepest, darkest secrets–pinky promise. Right?Morgan Jewell and Fay Ramsey are enjoying their last summer together before college. Fay is shy, with a controlling mother, and Morgan is the perfect, wild, loud-mouthed yang to Fay’s yin. But when Fay is found dead, Morgan’s entire world crumbles.Years later, Morgan is still haunted by the abrupt … entire world crumbles.
Years later, Morgan is still haunted by the abrupt end to her best friend’s life. She knew Fay held a secret in those final days, but Morgan, now a homicide detective, has failed to make a picture out of the crooked puzzle pieces she left behind. Nothing makes sense. The leads have run dry. Until she’s called to the scene of a murder: a woman whose body is left mangled, too similar to Fay’s to ignore.
Could it be? Morgan vowed to do right by Fay. This is the case she’s been waiting for to set her back on the killer’s trail. But the closer she gets, the harder it forces her to confront the memories of herself and her best friend. What was her secret? What got her killed? Maybe Morgan didn’t know her at all.
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Best Kept Secrets takes the reader into the complicated underside of the lives of the investigator and the investigated, both haunted by events from the past. The author shines a light of authenticity on the details that define the characters, making them sometimes gritty, sometimes tender, sometimes bewildered, sometimes sure. There are twists, turns, and surprises galore–a real page-turner!
I’m a sucker for pulse-pounding police procedurals, and BEST KEPT SECRETS by Tracey S. Phillips fits the bill. This book swept me off my feet and tied me to the chair!
Riveting! I was glued to this well-told tale until the final sentence.
Tracey S. Phillips has written a gripping, gut-wrenching psychological thriller set in Indiana.
The story ranges from the innocence of a teen friendship between Morgan Jewell and Fay Ramsey, to the complex and dysfunctional Klein family, to brutal serial murders of females over decades.
Phillips uses effective devices to create her page turner: Readers are purposely kept off guard in this whodunit by the constantly changing POVs, compelling descriptions of characters, settings, and murders by blunt force, and effective use of authentic police procedures as Morgan, now an investigator on a personal mission, seeks the killer with a vengeance.
You will be hanging on to the very end to find out the most important secret of all.
I’ve been wanting to read something with more grit and more of a police procedural after all the cozies I’ve been devouring lately, and Best Kept Secrets by Tracey S. Phillips hit the spot!
Morgan and her partner, Donnie, were the perfect compliment as far as partners go. Morgan is driven, fast to anger, and gets by on little sleep. While Donnie is calmer and has realized how important family is to one’s health and sanity. The way that Phillips switched between the past and present worked very well. There was no confusion and the way it jumped back and forth enhanced the story by giving you just enough of the past to make you think you know what is happening in the present.
While the reveal wasn’t shocking since Phillips guided us with interesting and disturbing bits of information about the characters, I still enjoyed it, since I find myself enjoying books with this type of killer. And I had to reread the last sentence three times to make sure I understood it. That was the last shock that made this book stand out and one that I will recommend, especially because of that tiny bit.
I am looking forward to more if this book turns into a series. I would be interested to see if Morgan does decide to try to become a Marshall and to see what other secrets Phillips reveals to us.
If you enjoy Best Kept Secrets, I also highly recommend the Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series by Chelsea Cain. The first book is Heartsick.
I got to read this dynamic story early to give it an author recommendation, and I surely do! If you like female detectives, you will love this twisty read.
A haunting and twisted ride through decades of secrets and past lives, this novel pulls you in and doesn’t let up until the last line.
Best Kept Secrets is Tracey S. Phillips’s debut novel and provides a roller coaster ride and a surprise ending. Morgan Jewell, a female cop, becomes obsessed with finding the murderer of Fay, her best friend in high school. Morgan’s current case is similar in modus operandi to that used by Fay’s killer. Morgan partners with an approaching-retirement fellow cop, Donnie James. As with most serial killer thrillers, the mood is dark and intense as Morgan becomes convinced that the same person who killed Fay has been killing women for years. The narrative flip-flops between the killer’s POV and Morgan’s POV as well as between past and present; however, these flips are easily followed. Morgan is not the most likable protagonist. There is some repetition of facts, such as the definition of PITS, a form of PTSD, that were annoying.
Morgan Jewell’s best friend Fay, disappeared and was found murdered the summer after they graduated from high school. The murderer was never found. Morgan was devastated and after getting a degree in criminology she joined the police force. Morgan has been haunted by her friend’s death throughout her career. She is called to a crime scene where the murder victim has been beaten with wounds eerily similar to Fay’s. The investigation is complex and at times leads to more questions than answers. Is there a serial killer on the loose?
Best Kept Secrets by Tracey S. Phillips is a thriller with lots of mystery and suspense. The characters are all well developed. I didn’t connect with Morgan though. She was too disorganized and frantic. I like her partner, Donnie better. He was the mellow to her harsh. He was the rational one to Morgan’s crazy. This book is written from the perspective of Morgan and one of the suspects. It also goes back and forth from the present to the past. This technique is not my favorite but it works quite well in this story. Watch out for a surprise ending!