Her husband’s a dangerous criminal. Yet Maria Fraser has turned a blind eye to his activities and other women for the past fourteen years.Now all that is about to change.When her husband is murdered, Maria finds herself working closely with Detective Jack McKenzie. For his part, McKenzie comes to see her as a real woman and not the glamorous arm-candy her husband had insisted in presenting to the … insisted in presenting to the world.
McKenzie likes what he sees.
Is he falling for the most important witness in an ongoing murder investigation? Can he unravel the lies and expose the secrets to uncover the truth?
Or, will his growing relationship with Maria take him down the same path as her husband?
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4.5* Dangerous Secrets Stars
I was very fortunate to have won an ARC of Secrets and Lies by the author.
From the first page you are instantly drawn into the story of Maria and the dangerous life she leads.
When her monstrous criminal husband is murdered Maria has to take over the reins of his empire, as she is the beneficiary of his estate. Maria begins to discover that her husband and his right hand man Pete are cruel and calculating and will do anything to get what they require.
I enjoyed reading how Jack McKenzie, the detective in charge of the investigation of the murder slowly makes his way into Maria’s life. Their chemistry was palpable and sexy.
The characters in the book were very realistic, some of them very likeable and some not.
This is a fast paced romantic suspense and be warned, this book does end in a cliffhanger! I am looking forward to the second book in the series, as there are many secrets and lies that need to be exposed.
I loved this book, not a genre I would normally read but once I started I was hooked and couldn’t put it down.
I loved the concept of this story right from the beginning. A world set in organised crime, a murder, a mystery, secrets, lies and a touch of taboo.
For this kind of genre though I don’t feel insta love fits. The characters attraction to each other needed to be more cloak and dagger, more of a slow burn. Her the wife of a crime lord and him a detective chief inspector. Neither of the characters were secretive about their attraction to each other. Set in the underworld either a criminal would’ve leaked the news to the police / or made Maria a target to prevent the risk of exposure or someone on the force would’ve reported it. Either way she would not have been allowed the freedom to come and go as she did. Secondly, Jack would not compromise the investigation by discussing the case with Maria given her close involvement.
The story was enjoyable, but the above niggly points took the edge off a little. Finishing on a cliffhanger I’m looking forward to seeing how the characters deal with the revelation.
This is the first book I have read from this writer. Definitely an interesting intense full of twists and turns. I was a little upset to learn this was a major cliffhanger. Like leave u hanging cliffhanger.Maria Fraser is the wife of a Glasgow gangster who is taken out. Detective Chief Inspector Jack McKenzie is the main detective trying to figure out who killed her husband. But there is so much more to his death than meets the eye. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next as you have quite the storyline with people turning up dead and Jack and Marie hiding an even bigger secret that could destroy both of them. This was definitely a page turner. I loved the intenseness and the chemistry. Karen had gained a fan and I can’t wait to see what happens. Highly recommend .
Omg this is an action packed lust filled gritty read that has it all. Maria has put up with so much from the domineering Mafia husband but has stayed through it all the abuse the pain vowing no one else should go through it and hiding it from his sister and her brother. Someone has other ideas and does what he usually does to them. Enter the handsome detective Jack Mackenzie swoon worthy and Lust filled that dosent want to get involved seeing as this was his case to solve he shouldn’t but he cant help falling for Maria. This is a must read story but be warned it ends on a cliffhanger. I’d highly recommend.
Wow! The moment I picked up this book, I couldn’t put it down. The story kept me totally engrossed.. BUT the ending! I need to know what happens next now!
First warning – this book does end in a cliffhanger!
Second Warning – HOLY CRAP hold on tight for a ride of lust, suspense, secrets and definitely lies!!
This book starts hooking you right from the first page. I do not want to give anything away, because oh my what a ride !! I found myself second guessing myself many times!! I want this solved so badly !!
Dishy Detective Jack McKenzie would give anything to finally put gangster Tony Fraser behind bars. But the crime boss’s untimely murder, leads him right into Tony’s dark web of vicious lies, deceits and violence. It also leads him into the emotional hell of developing feelings for this criminals wife, Maria Fraser. A woman living a life she has desperately wanted to escape. Can things get any worse, if she worth losing his career?
Maria, is a strong intelligent woman, although life with her now deceased husband has never been easy and one she wants to leave behind, but this pull she has towards this Detective could bring everything crashing down!!
OMG hold on tight, so many twists and turns, as this author takes us deep into the dirty underworld. I couldn’t put this book down, and normally would be able to predict the plot, but not with this one!! So many loose threads to be tied up and i found myself really wanting this seemingly impossible relationship between Maria and Jack to win out!! With so much against them, and even Maria holding back truths i just can’t predict where this is going to take us, but i sure can’t wait to find out !!!!
Secrets and Lies by Karen Frances is the first book in this new series. I love this author and her writing had me hooked from the first page. This book is full of twists and turns, suspense, romance, and lots of secrets and lies. It does have a cliffhanger but so worth the read. I loved this book and can’t wait for the next one!!!!!
This is the first book in a new series from this talented author, and my word this is an intriguing and captivating story. Maria is married to a Glasgow gangster, and when he is murdered, she is faced with taking over all of his businesses. Jack is a detective who has been investigating her husband for years, and is thrown when he meets Maria as she is not the same person as her husband always portrayed her to be. This is a well written story which is dark, raw, gritty, and with secrets, lies deceit, violence, romance, and suspense, which all had me totally enthralled throughout this addictive page turner, and I cannot wait to read the second book in this amazing series.
**Major Cliffhanger**
In this, the first of a new series by Karen Frances, we meet Maria Fraser the wife of a Glasgow gangster and Detective Chief Inspector Jack McKenzie, the man investigating her husband’s dodgy dealings…
This novel is a bit different from what we’ve come to expect from Karen Frances and the new direction of her writing is intriguing to say the least.
When I first started reading this author’s work and as a Glaswegian, I loved the way she portrayed Glasgow and its people.
This Glasgow is a dark, scary place that ordinary people don’t see, but know about. This in no way detracts from a highly readable novel which perhaps generates more questions than answers.
Hopefully these questions will be answered in the second novel that is coming soon… I hope!
As a side note, I would normally drop a point in star rating for unanticipated cliffhangers but this author has been completely upfront and advertised this.