Secrets Never Die

By: L.C. Lewis

Narrated by: Jason Tatom

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Tallie Brown’s life has never made sense. Raised in isolation by her mother, Julia, Tallie was dragged suddenly and without explanation from one third-world outpost to another, until life normalized seven years ago when Julia took a position on a mountaintop in the Pacific northwest. But when Julia unexpectedly dies, Tallie uncovers clues suggesting that Julia had a secret life.

Journalistic phenom Jackson James is still recovering from the devastating mistake that flatlined his promising career. Now he’s paying the price, working as the editor of a syrupy community rag in a posh DC suburb. But when the very man who destroyed him drops a tantalizing lead about a potential DC scandal, the reporter sees his chance for redemption and sets off to chase the story. Jackson’s investigation leads him to Cutler’s Ridge, a dying Virginia coal town, and directly into the path of the mysterious and beautiful Tallie.

As these two mistrustful loners follow their leads, their stories begin to intertwine until they reach an alarming conclusion - something terrible happened in Cutler’s Ridge. As they doggedly pursue the story, the town’s cold reception spirals into threats and danger, proving that there are those who will stop at nothing to keep the past hidden forever - because secrets never die.

©2019 Covenant Communications, Inc. (P)2019 Covenant Communications, Inc.

Where is the rest of the audio?

I added the audio to my book because I simply don't have time to read all of the books I have and enjoy listening. I used one of my Audible credits and didn't even get a full chapter. This needs to be fixed or you will be getting a lot more complaints.

Can’t wait for L.C. Lewis’ next book!

What a wonderfully written book. The story was something new and I loved that I didn’t know until the end what happened.

Poorly developed characters, boring.

I listen to about 15 audio books a year and I am not a tough critic. I have a wide range of interests in genres, settings, cultures and characters. This book was one of my least favorite in years of reading. It was overall just boring and I found myself looking forward to getting it over with. Lots of character contradictions, like how strong and tough Tally was, yet her dialog, weak voice, and description did not match. Had this book been written in the first person from Jackson and Tally’s perspective, a male voice and a female voice, I think I could have connected with them better, maybe.

The narrator had a tough job to do going back and forth between many men and women’s voices, all the while going back and forth with a fake southern drawl for some, and not others. All the voices sounded the same, not entirely the narrator’s fault, but very irritating to me as a listener.

I gave one star because it did NOT have unnecessary profanity (a little makes a point and creates characters with real emotions), explicit sex (I can assume or imagine the details in a romance without the detailed physical description), and blood/gore used for shock value. It also had a majority of characters with good morals.

I gave one star because it did NOT have a political agenda or controversial topics the author was trying to enlighten the reader with. This has become my pet peeve in novels lately, so I was glad for the absence of it. If I want to “educate” myself on something I will read informational text of MY choice, not pick up a novel and have someone try to influence me.

I took off one star because the plot’s mystery did not naturally unfold through the events or character’s actions. It was told, explained, narrated, instead of subtly revealing clues. There were no lightbulb moments, no suspense, twists, or intrigue. The main characters were in search of people, each one telling a story from the past little by little, but with a disconnect because the characters were so shallow.

I took off one star because even the main characters were so poorly developed. I honestly did not care what happened to the 2 main characters, Tally or Jackson. The time line of this book was less than a week, not enough time to believe they formed any kind of bond or really knew each other as was suggested. Again, had it been told from their first person perspective, it might have made for more well developed characters.

I took off one star because the ending was ridiculous. The national security breach, saving a small town, none of it was motive for the crimes. I felt the author kept adding one more character to that barn scene to try to explain the many holes in the plot. It wasn’t that there were loose ends, it was just convoluted and boring.