Family Secrets by Shawn McGuire and Hide Not Seek by D.E. Haggerty

"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

Do you recognize that quote? The Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland.

I feel like that has been me that past few weeks. lol I went out of town for a family wedding. Got caught in the middle of the plane fiasco and  coming back to work was like jumping on a moving train. So I am going to tell you about two books, one I listened to before my trip and the other I just finished this weekend.

Family Secrets is the first book in the Whispering Pines series by Shawn McGuire.



About:

"Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O'Shea returns to prepare her grandparents' lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard.

Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn't interested in investigating the death, Jayne can't stop herself. Her list of suspects grows faster than the plants in the commons' pentacle garden. Could it be the local Wiccan green witch with her stash of deadly plants? The shopkeeper who slips into trances and foretells death? The visitor determined to practice black magic?

What Jayne knows for sure is that the closer she gets to solving this crime, the more the sheriff wants her to back off. And when a local fortune teller provides a crucial clue, Jayne knows it's up to her to solve this murder."

What attracted me to this series is the setting, the northern woods of Wisconsin. My family is from northwest Wisconsin and we lived there when I was young, and then we spent our summer vacation there every year, visiting grandparents and other relatives. The setting reminded me so much of it; the woods, the lake houses, cabins, small towns, small business, and no traffic. 

Within the first couple of pages, the mystery begins. Jayne finds a body in the yard of her grandparents house. Luckily, Jayne was a policewoman but now she isn't. She can't help herself from getting involved because, as the blurb says, the sheriff doesn't seem to think it is his priority. In fact, he gives Jayne a temporary job, walking up and down the village to keep an eye on things, but it is really to keep her busy. 

A good mystery, a potential love interest and a ending opening up for another book in the series. I really liked it and plan on reading the other five books in the series...if I can get this merry go round to slow down. 

I finished Hide Not Seek this weekend. It is the third book in the The Reluctant Detective Series by D.E. Haggerty. Now, I will tell you that this book isn't going to be out until April 18th. 

About:

"Pru has a secret, which she has no plans to reveal – ever. But after a woman is murdered and all clues point to her, she has no choice but to disclose her true identity. When her revelations thwart the killer’s plan to frame Pru for murder, the killer begins stalking her. With each note he sends, he gets closer. The police are stumped. Pru wants to run away. She really, really wants to run, but Ajax has found the woman of his dreams and he’s not letting her go anywhere. He can be patient. In the meantime, he’ll protect her with his life. Pru isn’t feeling very patient, and her friends, Mel and Terri, are definitely not willing to wait until the police discover who the stalker is. The three friends take matters into their own hands and jump headfirst into the investigation.

Will Pru and her friends uncover her stalker before he turns his violence on Pru?"

This book grabs you right away with the first line of the book is the first note Pru receives in a series of threatening notes from an unidentified person. Pru has a secret and has come all the way from California to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to keep that secret. (Did I mention my other set of grandparents and mother were from Milwaukee? We spent a lot of time there too.)

The book was really good, and a quick read as Pru and her friends, Melanie and Terri, try to help her discover the identity of who is sending Pru the notes. A woman is found murdered and seems to be connected to Pru but she has no idea who the woman was. As the notes become more and more threatening, and include pictures of Pru with her friends, Pru's first thought is to run away and change her identity again. But can  Ajax, a man who is clearly falling for her, convince her to stay. Is Pru next? Sure seems like it.

Fast paced, with some humor as the three friends investigate (yes along with the police). Surprise ending.

Another thing I liked about the book, is that each chapter starts with a quote from a classic book. A few are Charlotte's Web, Leminy Snicket, Doctor Zhivago, Of Mice and Men, Winnie the Pooh etc. Really an interesting way to start a chapter. 

I want to read the first two books in the series; Finders Not Keepers and Picture Not Perfect. 

There are two other books in this series and I want to read those also.

I received a free book and voluntarily provided this review.