“Riveting…readers will not be able to put this book down.” – RT Book Reviews on Deadly Secret In the sultry streets of Charleston, one family, ruled by its powerful, take-no-prisoners sons, has risen to the top. But a merciless enemy is out to destroy them…and everyone they hold close… Exclusive bonus material ONLY available in print edition! SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH IS IN REACH As a lawyer … edition!
SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH IS IN REACH
As a lawyer and aspiring Congresswoman, Bea likes to keep things professional. But she’s hired to investigate past dark secrets embedded in the Benedict business empire–and as secret wife to Knox Benedict, the job is about to become even more personal…
BUT THE CLOSER SHE GETS
Knox is the moral backbone of the Benedict family, but even a modern-day saint can have a mysterious side. He’s out to win back his estranged secret wife–but getting close to her again could destroy them both…
THERE IS NOWHERE LEFT TO RUN…
As Bea and Knox dig up the truth, Bea falls deeper and deeper into danger. Someone close by is watching her–and waiting to kill. Can Knox save the woman he loves from the enemy out to destroy them? And can their marriage survive the deadliest secret of all?
“A terrific read from beginning to end…will have you begging to get the next book in your hands.” – Once Upon a Book Blog on Deadly Secret
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This series is really interesting and you really need to read in order (not a standalone!) That being said, definitely want to pick this up and give it a read. This installment I started in the afternoon after working all night, took a short nap, and then continued reading until finished. I couldn’t put it down! Knox is the middle Benedict brother and he is secretly married to Bea who was attacked in the first book and still being harassed and threatened. When these threats turn deadly their secret finally come out to their families and they continue working together on project from the first book (Tilly’s dad). All this togetherness cements what was meant to be, love really does happen quickly in this family but it is a strong one. Wonderful characters and interesting story line. Another cliffhanger and looking forward to book three!
Well I got Bea and Knox’s story and ooooooh so much more! This series has me at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next.
I highly suggest reading the books in order because the story carries through each of the books and since this story ended with a cliffhanger I’m Jumping into the next book now.
Happy Reading!!!
I finished the first book in this series with a middle of the road feeling. I liked the suspense, but wasn’t impressed with the romance. I did enjoy the romance here even though Bea was thoroughly infuriating in the beginning. Her reasons for pushing Knox away were valid, but her attempts only put both of them in more danger, rather than accomplishing her goal. This one hits the ground running with the continuing story from the first book. There’s no gentle easing in and while there are some tidbits of info about what’s going on, reading in order is a must. We do get some interesting twists – one big one that is pretty obvious if you’re paying attention. The biggest drawback for me lay in the actions of Bea and Knox. Bea is a lawyer, which would suggest some level of maturity, but her actions and the number of warning bells she overlooks would suggest otherwise, and Knox isn’t much better. It would be different if the reader is aware of something that the character knows nothing about, but when Bea clearly knows she’s in danger and blatantly ignores warnings, that’s just frustrating and a bit unbelievable. That aside, the building tension of the suspenseful nature is good, especially where The Gentleman is concerned. That part of the story did continue to hold my interest, so I will be checking out the next in the series to see where it all goes and how so many things tie in together.
Deadly Secret by Tara Thomas is book Two in the Sons of Broad series.
This continues to be a exciting suspense romance dealing with the mystery killer. This book has brought Knox and Bea into the forefront.
I must say this book does keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to see what will happen next. This book does end setting up the continuing story into the next book called ‘Broken Promise’.
Excised to read the next installment.
I have been hooked on the suspense with the Sons of Broad series! I loved Bea and Knox and the secret they have going on. Bea was a little hard to like at the get go, bust she grew on me. I am usually not a fan of cliff hangers, but Tara does such a good job that I can handle it with this series. Has anyone figured out who the Gentleman is???? Gah I wish I could break this mystery.
Bea and Knox go through a lot of turmoil and in the end are they really what each other needs? Find out with Deadly Secret! I am a sucker for this series!! Oh the drama <3
I’ve been a bit on the fence about this series. While I have been all in for the suspense aspect, the pacing and actual relationships/characters have not completely sold me. Well, Deadly Secret is my favorite so far and has more firmly invested in seeing how everything will ultimately play out.
This is Knox and Bea’s book which had a hidden marriage that added a different twist to the continuing suspense of who The Gentleman is. I adored Knox, definitely my favorite character in the series so far. Bea annoyed me at the beginning. She made some extremely stupid decisions at the beginning that made me want to shake her, though she grew on me as I read. There are secrets and family drama that made this a very interesting read. I also felt the pacing was better here. The more Thomas writes in this series, the more involved I’m becoming with the characters. I’m looking forward to seeing how the remaining characters find love and finding out who The Gentleman is.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Stalking, attempted murder, murder
Whew! This book is fast paced and has a lot going on. You have Knox, who is determined to figure out what truly happened in his family. He is loyal and alpha male to his core. He is also fierce when it comes to protecting his brothers, their family, and his secret wife, Bea.
Bea is a strong woman who is trying to help Knox figure out his family’s mystery. In doing so, she accidentally happens on clues that will lead her straight into the cross hairs of The Gentleman. With each twist and turn in this book, you get to see them figure out more and more to the puzzle.
It’s a cat and mouse game that will either be extremely lucrative or deadly. Knox and Bea race against an elusive clock and will have to fight to their last breath to figure it out.
I am looking forward to the next installment.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Deadly Secret (Sons of Broad #2) by Tara Thomas to read and review.
3.5 stars.
Deadly Secret is book 2 in the Sons of Broad series and you really need to read them in order so that you’ll understand everything that is going on. The illusive Gentleman is still targeting the Benedict brothers and the women they love. This time around he is after Bea and Knox. We first met Bea briefly in the novellas that accompany this series and revolved around her brother, Brent. Then again in book 1, Darkest Night, when she was found beaten almost to death on the steps of Benedict House. Knox Benedict ran to her side, and it became obvious that there was some type of relationship happening between them.
Jade, the mysterious girl who Tilly and Keaton ran into at the homeless shelter, and then helped Keaton at the end of book 1, features prominently in this book. What exactly is her connection to the Benedict brothers? Why has she reached out to Bea and asked for her help? Will she be able to stay one step ahead of The Gentleman, and his henchman, Tom, who has been placed on security detail for Bea?
I like the twists and turns that take place in this book. I loved seeing the background story on how Bea and Know met and got together. It was great seeing Tilly and Keaton, and Alyssa and Kipling as well as Lena, the faithful housekeeper. Just like in the novellas and book 1, I was anxious to find any clue or hint as to who this man is, The Gentleman, and what exactly his plan is for this group of people.
I felt plenty frustrated with Bea, and really the whole family this go around. Even after Jade gives Bea and the family clues to certain things, and warnings about Tom, they still act like everything is hunky dory and no one is in danger. Even after notes are left, Bea’s father’s house is torched, lives are threatened. It just didn’t ring as realistic to me that this group of people who are supposedly very intelligent, could remain so lackadaisical about everything that was going on. I almost got to a point that the only one I cared to know what was going to happen to them was Jade.
There is no cliffhanger at the end, which was good, we get a happily ever after for now, with one piece of bombshell information, but the reader is already aware of what it is so it’s not something that will make you desperate to get your hands on the last book. That book will revolved around the last Benedict brother, Kipling, and Alyssa Adams, the steadfast police woman who has been on the case from day one.
I am mostly intrigued to find out Jade’s backstory and how she ever got involved with The Gentleman. What does he have to do with the Benedict family, and why does he want to destroy them and their women so badly? Will we ever find out what part Tilly’s father played in this whole thing? Still lots of things unanswered, so hopefully the last book, Broken Promise which releases in June will provide us those answers.
I have really been enjoying this series. I feel some things need to really be tightened up along the way, and that last book has really got to be a doozy to provide the reader all the answers to the huge list of questions stacking up. It’s been a fun ride so far!
NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
This was another great addition to this series. I enjoyed it quite a lot. The mystery aspect continues to be well done, and I am DYING to know who the GENTLEMAN is! Both main characters were likable. Although Bea drove me nuts for the first 25% and later in the book, I was left scratching my head at her TSTL move in regards to Tom. But I continue to love all three brothers.
Really the only small issue I had and have had with all the books in this series so far is the POV changes can be confusing at times. We go from one person talking to the next paragraph being someone else that has nothing to do with the previous conversation. I find it a bit jarring and befuddling at times. But after two books and three novellas, I have learned to go with the flow. Therefore yours truly is giving this one a solid thumbs up
Wow! Plenty of suspense, surprises, and sexy scenes. Bea is an attorney who was beaten and left on the Benedict’s porch. Knox is rich and he and Bea secretly got married. When Knox comes to the hospital, she tells him to leave she never wants to see him again. See while she was getting beat up, the man told her to stay away from Knox or he’d be killed. So to keep him safe she tells him she wants nothing to do with him. But she is still getting threatening notes and phone calls. She finally breaks down and tells Knox everything. He moves her to his house because it’s safer there. They are trying to figure out who wants to kill them and why. But the danger is closer than either thought.
Cliffhanger. Shocking surprises. Love. This will have you biting your nails and wonder what will happen next. I read this in one day.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for Netgalley *
Great addition to the first book in this series. I really like Bea and Knox. I love how Knox would do anything for Bea, even stay away from her if that is what she wants. I was a little annoyed that it took until the end of the book before they did something about Tom. I also don’t get how they don’t know that Jade is their sister she looks just like them. I still have no clue who The Gentleman is. I can’t wait to see how Alyssa and Kip get together in the last book.
*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*
Deadly Secret Tara Thomas
“For a brief second, she thought she was going to be fine, but the panic she’d tried to hold back clawed its way up her throat.”
Honestly this book had me feeling like I was actually living the words that were popping off the pages. This book is like no other I’ve read in a long time. It will have your heart pumping, soaring and at times it will feel like it stopped.
“Tick tock. Tick tock. As much fun as it’s been watching the two of you,” the voice said. “I’m going to call it a night. Pleasant dreams. I’ll see you again soon.”
This book has you feeling hunted, protected, defeated, empowered, loved, heartbroken and hopeful. It is filled with mystery and secrets, a sense of family and disloyalty. You will feel like your heart is in a pinball machine.
“I’ll do everything within my power to protect and keep you safe. I promise. I’ll do anything except live without you.”
Tick. Tick. Tick.
3.5 stars– DEADLY SECRET is the second full-length, and third instalment in Tara Thomas’s contemporary, adult SONS OF BROAD romantic suspense series. This is attorney’s Knox Benedict, and Bea Jacobs’ story line. DEADLY SECRET can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the stories in order as there is an ongoing and continuing plot throughout the series.
Told from several third person perspectives including Bea and Knox DEADLY SECRET continues to focus on the threats against the Benedict family, and their connections to an unknown source. Weeks earlier Bea Jacobs wed Knox Benedict in a whirlwind Vegas wedding but upon their return Bea received a series of threatening messages that force our heroine to walk away from the man that she loves. Fast forward to present day wherein the threats against our story line heroine begin to take on a more personal note, forcing Bea to go to the one man she was trying to protect. Enter Knox Benedict, Bea’s husband, and the man she has not stopped loving. What ensues is the protection and security of our story line heroine, and the potential fall-out as the enemy is closer than anyone could have imagined.
The actions of Bea Jacobs are questionable at best but nightmares, PTSD and continuing threats play a major role in our heroine’s decisions and the direction upon which she chooses to follow. All of the previous story line couples return including Janie and Brent from the introductory serial novellas; Keaton and Tilly, brother Kipling; housekeeper Lena; Officer Alyssa Adams; assassin Tom, and the story line antagonist- a man known only as The Gentleman.
DEADLY SECRET continues to untangle the mystery behind the threats against the Benedict siblings; their origins, some of the backstory, and history about a family mired in secrets, betrayal and vengeance. The Gentleman is determined to destroy the Benedicts including the women whom they love. Kaja Jade Mann returns as The Gentleman’s hired assassin, a reluctant assassin whose own life begins to unravel as she ventures closer to the truth about her past. Tara Thomas slowly and methodically answers some of the questions while adding to a growing list of the who, what and why. The premise is engaging and suspense filled; the characters are energetic and animated; the romance is a rekindling relationship between two people pulled apart by threats and intimidation-the $ex scenes are passionate and seductive. The quick jump between points of view is, at times disconcerting, as there is no break in between the opposing perspectives.
Deadly Secret by Tara Thomas
Sons of Broad Book #2
I had hopes that book two would be more to my taste than the first book in this series but came away feeling, once again, that the story was not for me and that perhaps it would appeal more to a NA reader or someone who has not read as many books as I have. I found the plot in need of more substance and depth. The H/h romance left me wondering why they were together at all since they didn’t seem to have much of a backstory or connection. The villain was evil but he, too, needed more information to be shared about him. All in all I found the story simplistic, issues were dealt with too easily, times I was to be worried I wasn’t and the only thing I came away with was wanting to know more about Jade…and perhaps the villain known as The Gentleman. Since I am interested in finding out about these two people I have given the book a bit higher rating than I first thought I would.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
2-3 Stars
Knox Benedict always travels the path of straight and narrow, never veering, never taking risks, and never doing anything that is not according to the plan… then he met Bea, and secretly married her. She is his dark little secret, the one that he will move heaven and earth to keep, so when danger leaves her wounded on his doorstep he is instantly ready to make them pay. But what he doesn’t know is that Bea is keeping a little secret of her own, one that the attacker said would cost her everything if she mentioned it, so her only option is to push her husband away, and act like she doesn’t want him around. Fortunately for her Knox doesn’t believe this sudden change in his wife, he knows it is motivated by something else, and he plans on learning what it is… no matter the cost! He won’t lose her, she is the one constant in his life, and he intends on keeping the vows he made…
From the first page of Deadly Secret you will be pulled right back into the lives of the Benedict brothers, and their spellbinding tale will have you teetering on the edge of your seat all over again! This suspenseful little tale picks up right where the previous novel left off, and not only does it continue with the backstory and games being played by the Gentleman, but it also sheds a deeper light into another one of her Benedict brothers’ lives and the woman who has managed to capture his heart! In this one you will meet Knox, and his secret wife Bea, and the moment you meet them you will be taken with them and their interesting little situation, it’s filled with passion, sparks, and loads of danger, so be prepared to have your world rocked!! And if that is not enough for you, then the cliffhanger with leave you reeling… and dying for the next installment!! Highly recommend this one, it’s an action packed thriller sure to keep you enthralled from start to finish!!
I requested an advanced copy from NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed.
The second Sons of Broad book is a gripping story that has readers cheering for the good guys and hanging on to the edge of their seat in anticipation of what happens next.
Each of the stories in this series is a standalone romance but get the most enjoyment of the series the books should be read in sequence due to the fact that the overall plot takes place throughout and each book reveals a little more information as each couple faces dangers and tries to find out who the enemy is and what they want. This ensures that readers keep coming back for more because the characters are strong and compelling and the readers can easily relate to them while the stories are full of suspense building thrills and surprising twists that keep readers guessing.
So far, I have really gotten caught up in the whole spine tingling mystery of the story as the bad guy must have one devious mind and must have spent a long time plotting the downfall of the brothers. Knox and Bea’s story is has lots of emotional turbulence and their relationship is a rocky slope full of tension and sizzling attraction that keeps pulling them together. This keeps readers in suspense as they wonder which way their relationship just must go. Several astonishing facts are discovered proveing that secrets can be deadly which keeps everyone on pins and needles. Also, there was never a dull moment as the bad guys continue their attacks throughout the story as well.
Broken Promises will be released in June and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Bea, Brent’s sister is an attorney and she has tangled with the Benedict family on many occasions, not all of them pleasant. She was beaten by the psychopath that they are hunting and left on the Benedict’s porch.
Knox is the epitome of rich playboy. But he and Bea are hiding a whopper of a secret…they are married. They did the whole elope to Vegas thing but kept it quite to keep her father, a domineering and bigoted Reverend.
So when from her hospital bed she tells him to stay away he is hurt and confused. Fast forward a few months and Bea had kept her side of the bargain with her abuser, she kept away from Knox to keep him safe. But events are unfolding and pushing the pair back together.
There are some great nail-biting moments. With danger closer at hand than they think and explosions and fires and sneaky visits from Jade, there is lots going on!
Can’t wait to see what happens next!
Deadly Secret by Tara Thomas was a suspenseful book. Although I hadn’t read the previous one or the novellas, I didn’t have many problems following the mystery in this one.
Bea and Knox are complex characters that work well together once Bea comes to her senses and fills Knox in on what happened to her. Suspense, romance and a smoothly paced plot made this book difficult to put down. Ms. Thomas’ descriptive narrative made it easy for me to imagine all types of scenarios about the Gentleman and his connection to the Benedict empire.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.