Family Secrets

A Whispering Pines Mystery

By: Shawn McGuire

Narrated by: Sandra Murphy

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2017 Shawn McGuire (P)2017 Shawn McGuire

Love the book...narration not so much.

I liked this book very much. However the narration was severely lacking and boring. The narrator is a good reader...which is what it sounds like.

Good Plot & Beginning To Series

Jayne returning to this small town to prepare her grandmother’s house for sale. A murdered body was not on her agenda, nor on anyone else’s. A small town, Wicca was a known thing, but they were unconcerned. She investigate , giving us a good story and a good beginning to series. Given audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

Had me hooked right from the beginning

Any additional comments?

I'm so glad this is a series book. Jayne, Mica, and Tripp are going to be an amazing trio in this series. Among the murder and break in at her Grandmothers home Jayne has got a lot on her plate. She has a great sense of right and wrong and her consciousness causes her to go off beat to do what she knows is right. I love that she has Mica a retired K9 because they really have a connection and Mica helps her with her emotional struggles. Tripp has finally found a community he wants to call his own and being a misfit in his own right he and Jayne have started a great friendship allowing him to finally be employed. I'm glad that Jayne's mother is a side character because she has a real negatitive attitude toward the village of Whispering Pines. The narrator did a great job pulling the listener in and keeping you focused so much on the storyline it was hard to set the book aside. I think she'll do great with the rest of this series. I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Mystery and Magic for the Win

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book is a wonderful combination of murder, witches, and magic. The flow and pacing of the book was perfect, and kept me guessing as to what would happen all the way through the book. With a combination of a wide range of unique and interesting characters, and a cozy but quirky town the perfect ambiance is created for this cozy mystery. I’m thrilled that this is the first book in a series, and can’t wait to read the others.

omgoddess! The Secret is out - Whispering Pines knocks it out of the park!

I really enjoyed this "cozier than meets the eye" book!
It seems like a first in the seies, but it creates very solid characters and world building that is typically unseen in today's literary mass. Another star.
Jayne is a finding her new path in life and her K9, Mica at her heels. (Add a star)
Wicca is introduced as a natural religion and explained as such. It's not paranormal demon fighting supernatural entities, which was a complete relief and added to my passion as I stormed through the audiobook. (Star #3)
Romance tingles at the heart as it buds, but it doesn't overflow. It's blooming and subtle - not 'insta-love' and no foreboding of a triangle. Double stars?!
The mystery of the murderer is gently unraveled with crumbs of *delete spoiler*.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants an intelligently written mystery with a cozy cast. It's a light read but not at a mediocre level. I'm keeping an eye out for the next books and aim to be the first to review them!

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Boy this town has a lot of secrets.

this was a good, fun read. Loved the characters and all the twist and turns that kept me guessing through the entire book who done it. It started when Jane came to clean out her grandmothers house to sell. Found a dead body the first day on her property and then the mystery began. The narration was great. I received this audio book free for an honest review. Look forward to more in this series.

Someone has a secret!

Would you listen to Family Secrets again? Why?

If I was into relistening I might as it's a good one, but I don't normally. I liked the story and the narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that she was a former detective as that makes her a good snoop. :)

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Someone has a secret!

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this first in a series and thought Jayne was a great character. Since she was a cop she has great cop snooping abilities though she is not sure if that is the path she wants to go in the future. Her new friend Trip sees her grandmother’s house as a potential B&B and sine Jayne is really liking it in Whispering Pines she can kind of see that too but talking her parents into it might be another story. I really enjoyed all the characters and can’t wait to get to know more about them.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries then I think you will enjoy this story.

Narrator was distracting

Her cadence and inflections did not suit the story. Seemed more suitable to cozy comedic romance than to mystery.

Story was somewhat predictable. The ending was brought up rapidly.

A very well performed, out of the ordinary story!

I hope there is another book or two in this story, and I hope they get the same narrator to read them. This was so enjoyable!!!

Easy read/listen

This book was not at all what I expected. I thought it was a mystery/thriller type, but it seems more like a cozy mystery, IMO. Still, it was a fun, easy listen that kept my attention from beginning to end. The narration was great! The narrator did an excellent job giving each character a unique voice. If you are looking for a light read, you won't be disappointed. I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.