Shattered Secrets (Cold Creek, #1) by Karen Harper

Every town has its secrets…

Returning to Cold Creek, Ohio, is an act of courage for Tess Lockwood. Abducted and held captive as a young girl, she is unable to remember anything about the crime that destroyed her childhood and tore her family apart. Now a grown woman with a bright future, she is certain she has put the past behind her. But when she inherits the family home, Tess must confront the demons that still haunt her and the town of Cold Creek.

Gabe McCord has always blamed himself for what happened to Tess. He had been a teenager when she was snatched from the group of children he was responsible for watching. Now Gabe has taken on the role of sheriff and hopes to shed new light on the cold case, especially given his growing feelings for Tess.

Tess isn't ready to recall what happened to her, and she has no intention of digging up any details that might remind her of the truth. But when another child in the town goes missing, she's certain it's related to her return to Cold Creek. Together,Tess and Gabe will have to work to unlock their painful memories in order to save another child and heal their damaged souls, for good…


About The Author 

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen Harper is a former college English instructor (The Ohio State University) and high school literature and writing teacher. A lifelong Ohioan, Karen and her husband Don divide their time between the midwest and the southeast, both locations she has used in her books. Besides her American settings, Karen loves the British Isles, where her Scottish and English roots run deep, and where she has set many of her historical Tudor-era mysteries and her historical novels about real and dynamic British women. Karen's books have been published in many foreign languages and she won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for 2005. Karen has given numerous talks to readers and writers across the county.

http://www.KarenHarperAuthor.com/index.html

 

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My Review:

Shattered Secrets is the first book in this trilogy, and if the others are like the first, you won’t be able to put it down. What a heart racing read, and stomach in your throat, you never know what is around the next bend.
The book begins with Teresa, now Tess returning to her old home, the town where she had been kidnapped as a little girl. She needs to sell the home now that her mother has passed and left it to her. What she is afraid of is reliving the hidden or suppressed memories.
Tess is now back in town and reunited with the young man, now sheriff who was watching a bunch of children on that fateful day. Gabe has had a hard time forgiving himself, and was glad that Teresa came home.
As we travel this quaint Ohio town of Cold Creek, we meet a number of questionable people. While we are there we learn that two more little girls have gone missing, and then a third is taken. Who is stealing little ones? Each person we meet is suspect, and just as you begin to believe this is the one, another one comes along, that triggers another memory in Tess.
I really didn’t see it coming as to whom the demented person was, a really big surprise that blew my mind. A sick individual that seems to have everyone fooled, including me. Don’t miss this thriller that will keep you on your toes, it is excellent!!

I receive this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin MIRA, and was not required to give a positive review.