Secrets and Lies by Janet Sketchley

A single mother must protect her teenage son-from organized crime and from himself.

Carol Daniels thinks she out-ran her enemies, until a detective arrives at her door with a warning from her convict brother. Minor incidents take on a sinister meaning. An anonymous phone call warns her not to hide again.

Now she must cooperate with a drug lord while the police work to trap him. Carol has always handled crisis alone, but this one might break her. Late-night deejay Joey Hill offers friendship and moral support. Can she trust him? One thing's certain. She can't risk prayer.

My review:

  I have only read one other book by Janet Sketchley, which I reviewed back in March. This book is a sequel to it, and is even better than the first book.

  I will avoid giving spoilers away for the first book, and just say the main character in this book is trying to hide her and her teenage son from bad guys associated with her criminal brother.

  The first book was really good, but it centered for the most part on two people, a captive and her captor. This book has a lot more going on, and I found myself even more engrossed in it than the first.

  After I finished it, I was thinking to myself what a great book it was, and although it is a self-published book, it is better than some books published by well known publishers on the Christian market.... so a publisher imprint doesn't necessarily mean anything. The writing is top notch in this novel, it has great suspense, great characters, and a terrific plot.

  The book is suspense, which is my favorite genre', and it met my expectations very well in that department, but there was other things I liked about the book:
A mother determined to protect her son, no matter what.
The book brought out that we can't always hide from our past, and it is often better to just bring it to light.
God can bring good out of anything.

   I appreciate an author who isn't afraid to make their books Christian, and that is the case with Janet. The Gospel message is in this book, and the truth shown that God loves all of us and that we matter to Him. That belongs in any book, even a suspense novel.

  I recommend this book and the one that came before it, Heaven's Prey.

About the author:

Janet Sketchley is the author of Heaven's Prey and Secrets and Lies, two novels of suspense and redemption. She also blogs about faith and books. Janet loves adventure stories, worship music, tea and Formula 1 racing. Like Carol in Secrets and Lies, she loves music and tea. Unlike Carol, Janet isn’t related to a dangerous offender, has a happy home life, and has never been threatened by a drug lord. May those tidbits continue to hold true! You can find Janet online at http://janetsketchley.ca. Fans of Christian suspense are invited to join Janet's writing journey through her monthly newsletter: http://bit.ly/JanetSketchleyNews.


Thanks to the author for the review copy.