Take me back to the night I could feel: THE SECRETS THEY LEFT BEHIND.

The Secrets They Left Behind by Lissa Marie Redmond

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Shea O'Connor is twenty-three, working as a patrol officer in the City of Buffalo Police Department. She's gone undercover successfully before for the FBI and that's why she's called on again when three girls go missing in the small town of Kelly's Falls, New York. Three college freshmen have disappeared, leaving behind their phones and purses. As weeks turn into months without a lead, something needs to change. So the youthful-looking Shea is planted undercover as a transfer student at Harris Community College, arriving in town as the "niece" of the local police chief. But Shea quickly realizes Kelly's Falls is full of secrets and whomever is responsible for the girls' disappearance will do anything to keep those secrets hidden.


"Three young girls, all college freshman, just disappeared. No clues. No traces. They just went to one girl's house after a party and vanished."


At first I was disappointed this was not one of Redmond's excellent Cold Case novels featuring detective Lauren Riley, whom I love, but that disappointment was short lived. I quickly took to Shea O'Connor, a young but feisty and enjoyable officer who will stop at nothing to solve her case. We realize that Shea clearly had a close call with a serial killer the last time she was undercover and she's still recovering from those wounds. Our girl is hurting, but she's also focused--Shea will do anything to find those girls.

Shea is in a tough spot. She's a young, female officer in a male-dominated profession, and she's often mistaken for a teen. However, her youthful appearance pays off undercover. But is the FBI using her? There's more than a simple mystery to solve here, as we must unravel if Shea can trust those around her.

The central mystery itself, of the girls' disappearance, is engaging and fascinating. I had a fairly good inkling early on who might be involved, but it didn't stop my interest, and I flew through the book. There are, of course, plenty of dirty secrets in Kelly's Falls--as in most small towns--and Shea digs up plenty of them. There's also an interesting angle where she becomes close with one of the missing girl's brother. Shea excels at immersing herself in her undercover role, and it was fun to see her play the young, naive college student (with a knife hidden in her back pocket).

The writing is a little simplistic at times, but overall this is a compelling thriller with an engaging protagonist. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 here. I'd love to see another book featuring Shea.

I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in return for an unbiased review.

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