Things aren’t always as they seem… her arrival, Stephanie stumbles upon information that leads her to believe that all is not as it seems.
When she digs deeper into secrets long buried, she begins to receive warning notes and mysterious phone calls. The threats soon escalate into deliberate attempts to harm her. Stephanie soon finds herself caught in a web of deceit and danger.
Undaunted, Stephanie searches for clues about the scandal surrounding her father’s death. But discovering the truth places her in the path of a cold-blooded killer.
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After being intrigued by one of Joan Hall’s short stories, I picked up her first book in the Driscoll Lake Series and was not disappointed. Unseen Motives is, as the title suggests, a mystery involving hidden motivations. Hall expertly unfolds a complicated murder mystery involving multiple characters. The mixed interests and family sorrows of these characters drew me into the story.
Hall awakens small-town America through a protagonist who takes us through the good and the bad, and eventually opens the door for love to reappear. Though a murder mystery, I found this to be a tender story, because I got to know and love the characters. Well, there is the one bad guy…
I enjoy mysteries that tie a murder from the past to events happening in the present. When Stephanie Harris returns to Driscoll Lake for her aunt’s funeral, it brings back bad memories. When she was still in high school, her father was accused of embezzling money from the company he worked for, killing the manager’s wife, and then committing suicide. The investigation of the case was shoddy, and the way townspeople reacted drove Stephanie and her mother away. Upon returning, Stephanie learns that her aunt was convinced her father was innocent. When she starts digging into what really happened, though, she receives threatening notes and someone forces her off the road, nearly killing her. The mystery and suspense were well done, and I enjoyed watching the characters rethink what they knew and grow. For me, the writing was sometimes abrupt. It could have been smoother, and sometimes characters jumped to conclusions too quickly, but the pace kept getting faster and faster as everything came together in a tense ending.
MY REVIEW
A STIRRING WHODUNIT THAT WILL KEEP YOU GUESSING UNTIL THE VERY END!
Stephanie Harris lost her innocence the day her father was involved in a murder-suicide. For years, her family and the citizens of their hometown, Driscoll Lake, assumed he was guilty. But when new evidence comes to light that sheds doubt on past events, Stephanie becomes determined to find out the truth.
Threatening notes, a dangerous encounter, and mysterious phone calls send Stephanie into the arms of the local sheriff, who is determined to keep her safe from an unknown killer.
The story is well-written with a cast of interesting characters. I give Unseen Motives 4 lovely kisses!
Great mystery kept me reading. The plot is not convoluted, but the author did a great job weaving different viewpoints together to keep it concealed. The best part might be the depiction of a small town with secrets. Without going overboard on details, I got vivid images of the places and scenes. That takes real talent. A few too many section breaks and short segments for my taste, but very well done.
Joan Hall introduces you to Driscoll Lake and then a mystery that won’t let you leave. With characters so real they could be your nextdoor neighbors, Hall creates a cast of characters you either love or hate. Her protagonist, Stephanie Harris is a novelist returned to Driscoll Lake to take care of family affairs related to her great-aunt Helen’s death. Although the details and facts of her father’s suicide are now 20 years past, Stephanie begins to suspect that not all is as it seems.
As an author of suspense and thrillers, Stephanie can’t simply walk away. She begins to dig and search, and the suspense builds to a fever pitch. And you, the reader can’t walk away either. Everyone is invested in finding out the mysterious happenings.
Hall is a gifted writer who has a knack for bringing authenticity and realism not only to her character development but also to her scene building and plot development. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Unseen Motives and will return for Book Two!
Mystery lovers, this is a book you don’t want to miss!