About the Book
Author: Lillian Duncan
Genre: Christian—Romantic Suspense
Release Date: October 13, 2023
On the surface, Shady Valley looks like the ideal all-American place to live with beautiful flowering trees lining both sides of the street as you enter the picturesque town. Neighbors help neighbors. Doors are often left unlocked.
Serious crimes are practically nonexistent— almost but not quite!
But like all small towns, everyone knows everyone, which means everyone knows everyone’ s business, and not everyone in Shady Valley is what they appear to be. Some have secrets— deadly secrets— that they hide behind the masks they wear.
When Angie McVey disappears on her wedding day, rookie officer Cami Martine is determined to find her best friend, but there are no leads to follow. Angie seems to have disappeared into thin air.
If Cami is to bring her best friend home, she will need to discover the deadly secrets of her friends and neighbors to find the one who wears the biggest mask.
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My Review
I was happily surprised by this mystery. There is lots of action and the plot moves at a good pace. Duncan's writing style makes for good mystery reading. The characters are developed well. I really liked Cami's commitment to her job. I was a little puzzled by Zack and didn't initially like him at all but his character came out well in the end. While there are some red herrings, there are enough obvious clues that I figured out the villain long before Cami did.
I think this might be the first novel I have read by Duncan. I liked it and will be looking for more from her.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
About the Author
For years, my tagline was “stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem” since I wrote Christian suspense and mystery novels.
In 2012, I heard the words, “you have bilateral brain tumors.”
I had no idea how much those words would change my life, but they did. When life changes for a writer, their writing changes as well. So I wanted my tagline to reflect the new me. I still love to write suspense and mystery novels but also have branched out into other genres.
In spite of being diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors and a rare genetic disease (Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), God continues to strengthen me and give me peace and joy as well as the blessing to be able to continue to write.
I’m a multi-published author who lives in the middle of Ohio Amish country with my husband and a menagerie of pets. After more than 30 years working as a speech pathologist for children, I believe in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.
My goal is to write stories that entertain but also demonstrate God’s love for all of us.
More from Lillian
Small Town Life VS. City Life
I spent most of my growing up years in the country, then I moved to a larger city for college and then an even larger city for much of my adult life. And then I slowly made my way back to the area I grew up in. I’ve spent the last twenty-two years living in the quaint little town of Shreve, Ohio.
Shreve has two gas stations, one stop light and zero fast-food restaurants! I love living in Shreve. Is there a difference between small town life and city life? Absolutely.
Big cities have a lot to offer. You won’t get any argument from me about that. Museums, your choice of restaurants, plays and concerts. But small towns have a lot to offer as well. Neighbors that know each other’s names a sense of community, peace and quiet, and low crime. Oh, and did I mention peace and quiet?
I know people love living in big cities, but I’ll stick to small town life. And that’s why most of the books I write are set in small towns—not always but most of the time.
My latest book, SMALL TOWN SECRETS, is based in the fictional small town of Shady Valley, but definitely resembles my hometown of Shreve, Ohio. Except nothing this exciting happens in Shreve–which is a good thing. That’s why I like living there.
But nothing happening would make for a boring book so Shady Valley has a few secrets–secrets that could kill!
On the surface, Shady Valley seems to be the ideal all-American place to live with beautiful flowering trees lining both sides of the street as you enter the picturesque town. Neighbors help neighbors. Doors are often left unlocked.
Serious crimes are practically nonexistent—almost but not quite!
When Angie McVey disappears on her wedding day, rookie officer Cami Martine is determined to find her best friend. Unfortunately, there are no leads to follow.
Angie seems to have disappeared into thin air.
But not everyone in Shady Valley is what they appear to be. Some have secrets—deadly secrets—that they hide behind the masks they wear. If Cami is to bring her best friend home, she will need to discover the deadly secrets of her friends and neighbors and find the one who wears the biggest mask.
SMALL TOWN SECRETS is a fast-paced mystery and suspense novel that will keep you turning pages past your bed time. By the way, the book will also be available as a Large Print book as well.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 10
Texas Book-aholic, February 11
Artistic Nobody, February 12 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, February 12
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 13
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 14
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 15
Bigreadersite, February 16
Guild Master, February 17 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 18
Fiction Book Lover, February 19 (Author Interview)
Blogging With Carol, February 20
Because I said so – adventures in parenting., February 21
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 22 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 22
For Him and My Family, February 23
(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)
1 comment:
Great cover
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