Secrets That Kill

By: Colleen Helme

Narrated by: Wendy Tremont King

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

As a “favor” to Uncle Joey, Shelby must deliver a letter to his associate in Orlando where she has been vacationing with her family. When things go terribly wrong, Shelby finds herself being pursued by a Florida Kingpin for the information he thinks she stole. On her own and in trouble, Uncle Joey sends Ramos to her rescue. As Shelby and Ramos take care of unfinished business, Shelby uncovers information about Ramos and a secret that could change his life. On a path of revenge and intrigue, Shelby finds that some secrets are meant to be kept…and others? They can kill.

©2013 Colleen Helme (P)2014 Colleen Helme

I love this modern detective series!

"Uncle" Joey's hit man and enforcer Ramos joins Shelby Nichols as lead characters in this Florida based novel. Husband Chris and their children go home from their Orlando vacation without Shelby as she is delayed while running an errand for mobster "Uncle" Joey. The way author Colleen Helme weaves suspense with humor is fascinating. Protagonist Shelby's life is constantly in danger even as she wins a two person $1 million poker game with a mob boss.

Secrets That Kill is Volume 4 in the marvelous 10 volume Shelby Nichols Adventures series. Since Shelby was shot in the head in Volume 1 of this series she can read minds. Few people know of her new capability but a wider group believe she has premonitions. The novels in the series are filled with marvelous characters. Narration is wonderful. Shelby Nichols Adventures is a fabulous and fun police procedural series.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Perfect blend of action mystery and mind reading!

Who would believe that a family vacation and a simple favor could end up in a life or death battle and a murder? With Shelby Nichols involved? I would!

This, the next installment in the Shelby Nichols adventures from acclaimed author Colleen Helme is another non-stop action roller coaster ride that will keep you coming back for more. I would recommend this book to anyone without hesitation, it is not to be missed. I think Colleen Helme has the potential of being another modern day Agatha Christie.

Usually, I am in real trouble with a Shelby Nichols book (for exceeding my reading budget, and losing sleep!) and this audio book is no exception. As I have been travelling for a living for over four years, normally I need good books to keep me company on long airplane flights. With Secrets That Kill, I was looking for some more long flights, just so I could spend more time listening to the book!

Wendy Tremont King has now established herself as the quintessential Shelby Nichols. In fact, Wendy's voice is SO Shelby at this point that if I heard another actor I would say, "That's not Shelby!" The power and finesse of Ms. King is her understated realism. When she does Ramos's voice, or Uncle Joey's voice, you get the downplayed shift to a deeper more masculine voice, but more importantly you get the menace, the coldness, and the intonations that come with the different personalities. In a narrated audio book, I believe that there must be a symphony between the writer and the narrator. If the voices are not real and believable, the listener's attention could wander. With Wendy King and the Shelby Nichols Adventures, Wendy IS Shelby, and the depth and breadth of Wendy's capabilities makes this audio book incredibly real to the listener. I classify this as "not to be missed".

There is a new element in this 4th book in the Shelby Nichols Adventure series: Romance. When a favor to drop off a letter for Uncle Joey goes murderously wrong, Shelby is stuck in Orlando with Ramos. Well, not exactly stuck, but wanting to help him. The temperature climbs to the boiling point between these two. Can Shelby's love and loyalty for husband Chris win out?

This story delves deep into Ramos's past, and we get a lot of back story for him, but the sizzle between Shelby and Ramos goes off the scale. Yes, the book is still PG rated and this audio story is suitable for tweens and teens as well as mature audiences. You really don't want to miss this one.

In the way that Helme brings out the nuances and details of her characters, in her wonderful chain of consciousness style, in the interaction between Ramos and Shelby, this book is a knock it out of the park slam dunk home run of a novel, without doubt Helme's best to date.

So the good news is, this is a fabulous 5 star addition to the collection, and the bad news is like the chicken and the pig scenario, I find myself committed. Which means that like the ham and eggs, I am very definitely not the involved hen, I am the committed pig - to the series. If Helme pens it, if King narrates it, I'm all in. I'll buy it.

Want something great to listen to on your summer holidays? need a distraction? Need that great new book while driving to keep you focused? Secrets That Kill is the audio book you need.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

The weakest plot line yet

This is the fourth of the Shelby Nichols novels and I've listened to them all. let me begin by stating that the writing is good, the characters are quite likable the book moves; not getting bogged down for too long in any situation. Unfortunately the number of implausible situations woven into the narrative came close to ruining the listening experience. In the end the characters were enough to pull out a four rating and a recommendation from me despite professional thugs and criminals not thinking of contingency plans. These are purportedly warriors not common street criminals; come on. Hopefully Ms Helme will tighten up on some of the holes in the plot; this is a very entertaining series and i'd like to continue enjoying the listening experience.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Best Yet!

This is undoubtedly the best story so far. It focuses on Shelby and Ramos and it is hot, sassy, and dangerous. If I could I'd give it 10 stars!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Love this series

Thoroughly enjoying these audio books. Love the characters especially the relationship between Shelby and Ramos.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Ramos' back story

A very good addition to the series. Fleshes out Ramos a lot. A little change of scene for this one, keeping the series fresh.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I loved it!

Would you consider the audio edition of Secrets That Kill to be better than the print version?

Not ever read the print but in my opinion this series is great on audio!

Who was your favorite character and why?

As much as I love Shelby in this novel I think it was Ramos who I loved the most. He is starting to really like Shelby and he shouldn't because..one she is married and two he is a mob bosses bodyguard. This one puts them together a lot and you get to see some of that chemistry between them and Ramos has fun with it.

What about Wendy Tremont King’s performance did you like?

She is Shelby and does a great job, but she also does a decent job with the male voices as well.

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

Reading minds can be hazardous to your health.

Any additional comments?

I thought Lie or Die was great but Secrets that Kill is by far my favorite one of the series and that is really mainly due to Ramos. That man could come and be my body guard any day...lol. You get a little bit more of Ramos back story in this one and that is really one of the main reason I love this one.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Wow! Love Shelby Nichols!

This is my third listening of this book and series. Each listening is as good as the first. This book is fun, full of action and adventure. What I love about this book is that you get more of a look into Ramos and his past.
I love this series and I can tell you every book in this series is brilliant and fun. Colleen Helme is one of my all time favourite authors. This cozy myself series is full of mystery, adventure and laughs. Love it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable!

I love this series! It’s fun and quirky - I guess it would be considered a “cozy,” but I think it’s more than that. If you haven’t read these books, I recommend reading/listening from the beginning (“Carrots” is the first), so that you understand Shelby’s back story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. As other readers have said, it fills in Ramos’ back story, which we had only gotten in tiny bits in the earlier books. Now he has become a more rounded character and isn’t just the hunky bodyguard who gets Shelby out of trouble.

The narrator is superb in this series - I hope they never have to change her. She does some great voices for these characters, particularly Uncle Joey and his compatriots/competitors.

Recommended!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

My favorite so far

I haven't finished the whole series yet, but so far this one is my favorite. We get a whole lot more Ramos, his backstory, and Ramos/Shelby relationship. It all starts when Shelby has to drop off a letter for "uncle Joey" while in Orlando on a family vacation. Things don't go as planned, havoc ensues. In that regard this installment of the series is similar to others. Where it differs is in the fact that Shelby and Ramos are the focus of the book, not Shelby's family and not "uncle Joey". And, while there's still a lot of Shelby's usual air-headed shennanigans, we also get some cool new adventures, like a high-stakes poker game and a hunt for long-lost relative. All-in-all, a worthy addition and I'll keep reading the rest of the books in the series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Wonderful!

More intrigue, murder and mayhem for Shelby when delivering a letter leads to so much more. Wendy Tremont King is such a talent, she brings the characters in this wonderful book to life!