Veena’s review of Dark Hearts(Secrets and Lies, Book 3) by Sharon Sala
Romantic Suspense published by MIRA 29 Mar 16

This is the stunning conclusion to a series that will keep you on your toes from beginning to end. It’s clear from Betsey Jakes’ nightmares that her brain is trying to recall an event from her high school graduation that is just out of her grasp in her waking hours. In the meanwhile, her friends are being targeted and systematically eliminated one by one, so some one in their small town definitely does not want their secrets exposed.  Sharon Sala does an excellent job of presenting the story from multiple viewpoints, including the killer, which leads the reader to speculate about the identify of this person. I approached this final book looking forward to having the killer exposed and the secret behind the long-ago events revealed, but it’s not quite that simple and straight forward. Ms. Sala has quite a few surprises up her sleeve that will keep things interesting for the reader all the way till the end.

So far we’ve heard of Trey’s mysterious brother Sam, who, to their sorrow, has not visited home in a long time. We finally get to meet him as his mother’s death brings him home full of regrets for all the missed moments that can never be recaptured. To make matters even more difficult, his sister is in a coma after being shot herself to keep her from revealing the killer’s identity. With his brother the sheriff, Sam joins in the hunt for the killer, determined to leave no stone unturned in his pursuit for justice.

Lainey Pickett has her share and more of troubles, but she’s a gutsy woman and a survivor to boot. So when her one-time fiancé, Sam, finally comes into town and her home looking to pick up things from where they had left off, she is definitely not going to roll over and play ball. Determined to keep her distance nonetheless, she’s willing to offer her mother’s journals from high school that might shed light on the events of the fateful graduation that started it all.   That doesn’t sit well with a killer who’s killed again and again to protect his secrets. Can Sam keep Lainey safe?

As Sam races against time to solve the case, the author gives us a fascinating insight into a small town whose inhabitants are living on the edge of fear and suspicion. As all the threads unravel it’s amazing how closely the people in town are intertwined and what secrets are lurking behind the friendly facades. Betsy, even as she’s gone, leaves behind clues and a loving forgiveness for her beloved son Sam. I really thought that I had the killer pegged, but I was still caught by surprise when all is revealed.

I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet and tender romance between Sam and Lainey as they rekindle the fires that never went out for either of them. We also get to catch up on the cast and characters that we’d met in the earlier two books. I, for one, mourned Betsy Jakes and I can tell you that I kept hoping against hope that she wouldn’t die. Her letter to her son Sam, whom she was convinced would come home one day, will leave you in tears.  All in all, a great series that I’m sorry to see end.

Grade: A

Summary:

Some lies never stay buried…

Betsy Jakes was having nightmares, nightmares that could solve a decades-old mystery. And for someone in her small town, that meant she had to die.

When Sam Jakes returns home to help his brother solve their mother’s murder, two things shake him to the core. This crime is clearly the work of a serial killer who has struck twice before. And…Lainey Pickett is still in town. The woman he walked away from without an explanation years ago has just walked back into his life. She still holds a grudge—and his heart.

As Sam digs deeper into the murders and thirty-year-old secrets begin to emerge, he finds himself racing against time not only to catch a killer but to keep Lainey, the only woman he’ll ever love, from falling victim, too.

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series: