Deadly Secrets

Kinncaid Brothers, Book 5

By: Jaycee Clark

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Bitter and resigned to a life alone, Quinlan Kinncaid swore he'd never marry-until the eccentric Ella Ferguson barged headlong into his life. But before he can trust his own feelings and build a new life with Ella, she's gone, and he's left with a secret so big he can't even bear to tell his own family.

Ella Ferguson is as independent as she is beautiful, and though she knows rich boys never last in the long run, she doesn't see the harm in a fling with Quinlan. After their amorous weekend threatens to become a lifelong commitment, she runs, figuring it's better to put Quin and her past behind her. Then Ella discovers a secret of her own, and telling Quin may rip both their worlds apart.

What neither of them realizes is that a malevolent man knows Ella's secret, and he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. Afraid for her life and more alone than ever, Ella must learn to forgive herself before she can beg the forgiveness of the one man who can save her. Now it's up to Quinlan to overcome his stubborn pride in time to save Ella and the only thing that matters.

©2013 Jaycee Clark (P)2014 Tantor Audio

Decent story. Too much repetition & introspection.

I enjoyed the premise enough to wonder how in the world would they get the baby back.
That's where most of my interest ended.
Ella's indecisiveness (before she was drugged and couldn't help it) really worked a nerve. At first she seemed so independent and sure of herself, and that's when I really liked her personality. Then it was like her brain went on vacation and she became this indecisive, tstl, woman that was a complete 180 degrees different from who she had been.
Two things I really struggled with in this story was the constant and I mean CONSTANT info dump. To me, there was so much more telling than showing in this story. Plus the ridiculous amount of introspection and second guessing made me get pretty sick of Ella and then Quinn to where I started skipping big chunks of parts and when I stopped skipping, I hadn't missed out on anything. I could pick the story right back up. Lastly, the way Quinn and Ella spoke.
So many times, in conversations throughout the story, it was in half sentences. It was as if they were incapable of completing a difficult line of thought.
"I just...just..." He sighed and raked a hand through his hair.
As much as he did that, I'm surprised he wasn't a stuttering bald man by the end of the book, and Ella was so much worse. "I just...I couldn't..."
Time and time again, she just...or she couldn't...
UGH.
I gave this story a 2 even though I really liked the other stories in this series. I could only moderately connect with this one.

Wonderful series!

This is a series full of many wonderful, complex characters. I have enjoyed each book so much. Look forward to reading/listening to more from this author!

SADLY NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING

I've only given this 3 stars NOT because it isn't a good book it's because I found the plot-line too sad, depressing, frustrating and emotional, in fact I skimmed lightly through chapters in order to get to the HEA ending. I like romance books because they leave you with that 'feel good' factor but this one left me totally drained.

There were chapters, especially when Ella and Quin's relationship first developed, that were touching but it kept flashing forward and backwards in their heartbreaking love story that, from early on in the book, the bad events just smothered any good ones. It was tense, suspenseful and very sad, there was a lot of inner dialogue scenes which got repetitive and frustrating but overall I must say that this was a well-written book - just not one for me.

Worth a credit? Again, I can only say that this isn't my type of listen... I like ones that whisk you away to a different time, world or place - ones that you can get totally lost in with pleasurable, romantic, sexy, tense and action-packed scenes. Then those mundane jobs of ironing, cleaning, travelling or whatever don't seem that bad, quickly pass and, when the book finishes, they leave you contented, happy and hopefully with a smile on your face.

However, having listened to all the other enjoyable books in the series I had to hear Quin's story (and the Epilogue was good) but for any of you who don't need to hear his story and you're looking for a more upbeat romance than one filled with danger, kidnapping, murder, unborn baby snatching, greed, love denied, heartbreak and torment, then pass on this. So NO, unfortunately this pain filled listen just wasn't for me - not even on Sale.

Repetitive

What did you like best about Deadly Secrets? What did you like least?

I love how everything is tied all up at the end of this book and series. What got on my nerves was the constant repeating. If I hear Ella saying one more time how she wants her baby in the worse whining voice I think I'll loose my mind.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It's partly the way these books are written and partly the irritating whining sounding narrator with certain characters.

Could you see Deadly Secrets being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This would be good for the "Lifetime Channel" type of movie!

A+ rating...

My Review:
Overall.... 5.0
Performance... 5.0
Story.... 5.0
I thought book #4 in this series was going to be the best in the group. I was wrong. This book...wow...this book blew me away. And I completely ignored every single thing I needed to do in my life to read/listen to it because I absolutely could not pull myself away from this story. Wow...it was just so good!!

This book is written completely different from the others as there are events happening in present day and events happening in the past all in conjunction in the story. Every chapter takes place in a different timeframe with something incredibly shocking and shattering happening in that first chapter. Then you spend the next half of the book trying to figure out exactly how Quin and Ella got to where they were at in that first chapter. It's an incredible way to write a book and it literally kept me riveted to the story. I could not walk away. I NEEDED to know what happened and how in the world anything was going to be okay again. As a reader and a writer, it was an incredible lesson in how to create and weave an unforgettable, completely suspenseful story. I cannot stress to you how good this book was.

And I don't know what to say without giving anything away. OMG...because each and every little revelation steals your breath away as you read it. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that experience for any other reader. These characters, this story...just wow! When I hit a book this good, I have a hard time sticking to just the audiobook, because I can read it so much faster. My hubby kept laughing at me on this one. Johanna Parker's narration was so good and her ability to express the emotion of the story was amazing. I couldn't walk away from the audiobook. So I got where I would listen to the beginning of the chapter with audio, reading along on my kindle. Then I would stop and read the last half of the chapter with just my kindle. That way I was able to move it along faster without completely abandoning the incredible narration.

So, so, so good. This entire series has been incredible, but this book was perfection. I have loved getting to know the Kinncaids and am truly sad to let them go. It's been a great series. Thank you to my friend, Amy, for pushing me to read this. It's taken me a couple of years to get to them, but that way I was able to read them all back-to-back...so it worked.

A phenomenal series!!

My opinion

The heroine in this book is a self centered wuss. She only considered herself. If I heard one more time "I have to find her!" when she can barely get out of bed, would make me want to scream. I only finished this book because it was the end of the series. I really liked books 2, 3 and 4! It is hard to believe they were written by the same person!

Pretty Good Series!

I enjoyed this book and the entire series. What made this story a little tough was the jumping around. I didn't care for that but the story once you figured what was going on when was pretty good. Each book is completely different and unpredictable which I find great when I read a series.

OH THE LIVES OF THE KINNCAID FAMILY !!

What made the experience of listening to Deadly Secrets the most enjoyable?

I have enjoyed the entire series, some more than others but all have been great. This one, Deadly Secrets, has been one of my favorites even though I waited and waded through all the others anxiously anticipating Ian's story - my very favorite. One story leads into another so don't start anywhere except with #1.

What other book might you compare Deadly Secrets to and why?

The other Kinncaid Brothers books.

Which character – as performed by Johanna Parker – was your favorite?

Both Quin & Ella.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when Quin finds out Ella's secret and struggles with forgiving.

Any additional comments?

Read 'em all folks, in order. Jaycee Clark is a great story-teller and for me, has all the elements of a really good to really great book.

Not as good as others in the series

Freespirit Ella and a fractured Quinlan meet in New Orleans for an intense heartfelt fling when Ella's baggage forces her to flee to a new job in New Mexico leaving Quin bewildered and alone.
Ella and Quin are likeable and well painted by Clark. I enjoyed their happy meet and get-together and felt the chemistry. However, new to this book in the series is the overplayed internal monologuing.

Pages upon pages of repetitive internal monologing on why she should get away from Quin, then later more tedious monologing on why she should call him. I actually got a lot of vacuuming done during this audio book, and when I turned it off, she's STILL monologuing on the same thing--why she should call Quin. Sigh.

I've listened to all the books in this series and two warranted 5 stars, two warranted 4 stars, the first one was returned, and this was only a three. The use of flashbacks, usually a good way to build tension and suspense, was poorly placed at times and fell flat, not helping the story at all. Johanna Parker, whose distinctive voice I've often enjoyed in this and other series, contributes to irritation with the strident hysteria of Ella's monologing and in the drawn-out pinnacle scenes. Hysteria was warranted, granted, but instead of feeling wrenching sympathy, I rolled my eyes and did some vacuuming and resisted the urge to fast forward.

Use your credits to get Deadly Ties and Deadly Games, and get this one if it goes on sale. This one needed a better editor and cutting off some 20-30 pages of monologuing. It would have been easier on the ears if it was 3rd person description and Ms Parker wouldn't have had to use the high pitch voice to convey hysteria--something not suited to her voice in large doses.

Last book disappoints

Had a really hard time finishing this audio, final in the Kinncaid series. Clark dropped the ball on the lead female character. She came across as impossibly naive, stupid and had none of the strenght and intelligence of the women in previous novels. If not for this being the conclusion of this series I wouldn't have even finished it. Boring,aggrevating and saved only by supporting cast in book. Definitely not on the same level of quality.