Secrets to Die For

Wade Jackson Series, Book 2

By: L. J. Sellers

Narrated by: Damon Abdallah

Social worker Raina Hughes visits the home of a young boy she’s been assigned to monitor and things quickly turn ugly. Later, when she’s found brutally murdered, Detective Jackson thinks it’s an open-and-shut case against the boy’s ex-con father. Then new evidence points to a rapist who’s becoming more violent with each attack. Raina’s lover, Jamie, knows what the victims have in common, but won’t tell for fear of revealing her own secrets. When Jamie disappears, Jackson must uncover the truth before anyone else dies.

©2011 Books In Motion (P)2011 Books In Motion

Like the story, but.......

I really like the story this author has to tell, but don't know that I'll continue with the series. This story starts out with an open-shut case for Jackson, that ends up being a 'who Really done it?'. You think you have things figured out, but she tends to drop a rather unknown character in the mix at the end, which I'm not complaining about. I don't enjoy always knowing the ending in advance, which happens quite often.
What I don't like about these books is the way the author is constantly preaching her beliefs, to us, the readers. In this story the author sets out to clear up everyone's misconceptions about homosexuals, as well as what natural remedy to take as a sleep aid, and how grilling meat is bad for you. It's just TOO much at times, and tends to ruin the whole book for me. It's a shame because I really thought the murder mystery was a good one.

Lecture ~ preacher

Secrets to die for; my second Detective Jackson book. Coming from law enforcement, a parent & grow up in PDX, Jackson is very believable &lovable. Story lines are suspenseful and exciting, keeps you wanting more! Her characters are extreme and over the top and that keeps you interested! It is obvious the author is a hard core liberal and I could do with the PC literature she adds to her books! I listen to escape not be reminded how to tip toe around. With that said her she is a excellent writer! I will continue to see what Jackson and his daughter are up too!

Good, but not the best of the series

Secrets to Die For is a sound murder mystery. Author Sellers does not build the suspense as well as usual for her. There is a nice twist near the end. Detective Wade Jackson is a likable protagonist. The series is good enough when books from authors I really like are not available. I'll continue the series.

Good story

A good old-fashioned murder mystery! Detectives, suspects, the whole nine yards. Keeps you guessing until the very last. I never saw it coming!

Another excellent police procedural from Sellers

This is the second in the series of police procedurals by L.J. Sellers. She has based these books around Eugene, Oregon, with gruff, good-hearted Detective Jackson as her protagonist. Sellers has a gift for creating a compelling narrative that swiftly moves the reader through the plot without a lot of fluff. The story plays out just as a good police investigation. There are red herrings, blind alleys, and department politics to contend with. The book reads like an episode of Law and Order, complete with a few moral lessons along the way. Such as...

SEMI-SPOILER ALERT: In "The Sex Club," we learned to keep a sharp eye on our children, and to avoid extremist religious viewpoints with an unbending moral code. Here, in "Secrets to Die For," we continue the theme of broken parent/child relationships with children withholding things about themselves from their parents. In both these first two novels, the fanatical parents wind up bringing great harm to their children through their misbegotten actions. Karma is tough in Sellers' universe!

The narrator, Damon Abdallah, is purely perfunctory in his delivery. He is annoyingly monotone during most of the narration. We only hear vocal variety during the moments of dialogue. His Detective Jackson is a morose bore, though I found him more tolerable this time - perhaps simply because I was used to Mr. Abdallah from "The Sex Club." But even he couldn't sink the book for me.

A bit too much for me.

Just not my cup of tea. Decent story but it does get a bit preachy at times.