Dead Secret

By: Janice Frost

Narrated by: Madeleine Brolly

Who killed Amy Hill? Amy Hill, a nineteen-year-old student, is strangled and her body dumped on open ground in the city. New police partners, D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate this brutal crime. The last person to see Amy alive was Simon, the son of a family friend, but before he can be properly questioned he disappears. Detectives Neal and Merry are led on a trail of shocking family secrets and crimes. Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies? Stopping this tragic cycle of violence will put D.S. Merry’s life at risk in a thrilling and heart-stopping finale.©2015 Janice Frost (P)2018 W.F. Howes Ltd

Just not for me right now

I tried but couldn’t get into through this one, though narration was pitch-perfect. I may try again. As my editor, dear friend and mentor wisely told me in 1979, “If everyone liked the same things, the world would indeed be a boring one.” RIP Dan Di Leo 

Excellent woven thread throughout the book

Loved the characters, as they were woven between each other’s lives. A solid story line!

Just a slim hope for the partnership & series

The author commits, what I believe is an enormous blunder - Ava's behavior isnt reckless (that would be tolerable) - her behavior is actually moronic and demeaning. We expect our protagonists to have adult relationships, what the author does to Ava is cheapen her like a Red Sparrow bimbo. We get that she's stunning and young - don't make her randy 17 year old. Making good choices can be sexy. I'm not going to wait 4 books for her to develop some discretion - the Doctor in book 3 doesn't redeem the author's misstep

Excellent start to a new series

This installment was an excellent start to a new series. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me hoping there was no en to this roller coaster. I highly recommend this to thriller fans.

Good but lots of cliches

The story/mystery/murder was really good. Hard to guess where the outcome is going, which made it fun. However the writer relied on a lot of typical cliches (e.g. que the goth girl in the bookstore, prodigy child...). The constant reminder that Ava was the "most beautiful" woman everywhere she went was distracting. We didn't need reminding every other paragrah, we got it before the first 25+ times. Ava herself is written as low-class trash, obsessed with using her looks and justifying sleeping with a pedophile. DS Merry was written as very attractve and that was also constantly mentioned, His home life somewhat interesting, set up for the future. Good enough to recommend and I will go on to the next in the series, just hope Ava was checked for STDs.