Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz Published by Berkley on Dec. 8, 2016
Genres: Romantic suspense
Format: Hardcover
Source: the library
Also by this author: Copper Beach, Dream Eyes, River Road, Eye of the Beholder, Lost and Found, Sharp Edges, When All the Girls Have Gone, Smoke in Mirrors, Falling Awake, Hidden Talents, All Night Long, Untouchable, The Vanishing, Sleep No More, The Night Island, Flash, The Golden Chance
Madeline and Daphne were once as close as sisters—until a secret tore them apart. Now it might take them to their graves.
They knew his name, the man who tried to brutally attack twelve-year-old Madeline in her grandmother's hotel. They thought they knew his fate. He wouldn't be bothering them anymore...ever. Still their lives would never be the same.
Madeline has returned to Washington after her grandmother's mysterious death. And at the old, abandoned hotel—a place she never wanted to see again—a dying man’s last words convey a warning: the secrets she and Daphne believed buried forever have been discovered.
Now, after almost two decades, Madeline and Daphne will be reunited in friendship and in fear. Unable to trust the local police, Madeline summons Jack Rayner, the hotel chain’s new security expert. Despite the secrets and mysteries that surround him, Jack is the only one she trusts...and wants.
Jack is no good at relationships but he does possess a specific skill set that includes a profoundly intimate understanding of warped and dangerous minds. With the assistance of Jack's brother, Abe, a high-tech magician, the four of them will form an uneasy alliance against a killer who will stop at nothing to hide the truth....
Review
Krentz has another winner in Secret Sisters. I couldn’t stop turning the pages, and read the entire book in a single sitting. Skillful use of misdirection and excellent pacing kept kept me speculating over what was going on and who was (and wasn’t) involved, right up until the very end.
The main romantic relationship was a little more thinly developed than in some of Krentz’s other books, but I liked Maddie very much, and Jack almost as well. Both have secrets and “issues” holding them back from intimacy; Maddie has to reveal hers a lot sooner than Jack does, but we get hints through his memories and nightmares. Both Jack and Maddie are also typical Krentz main characters; Maddie is take-charge, independent, and keeps people (especially men) at a distance (with good reason) while remaining inwardly somewhat vulnerable; and Jack is intense, self-contained, and extremely protective — in other words, an alpha male. They’re well-matched, both intellectually and emotionally.
A secondary relationship develops between Maddie’s childhood friend Daphne and Jack’s brother Abe (that’s not a spoiler; anyone who doesn’t see it coming from the blurb hasn’t read Krentz before), and I wished they had gotten more page time. But I really enjoyed the friendship between Maddie and Daphne — one of those lifelong sisters-in-spirit relationships that only a few of us are lucky enough to experience in reality. The cameraderie and concern between brothers Jack and Abe rang very true as well.
Krentz gives us a plethora of potential villains in Secret Sisters. Said villains may or may not include the Websters, a wealthy, powerful family with a great deal of influence on Cooper Island, where Maddie’s grandmother’s old hotel is located. In fact, there’s quite a lot of deliciously complicated manipulation and villainy going on, both in the past and in the present, which makes it all the more difficult for the reader to solve the mystery. Several startling incidents and unexpected twists keep things lively until the last few pages, making this one of the most intriguing Krentz novels I’ve read since the close of the Arcane Society series.
About Jayne Ann Krentz
The author of over 40 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense, often with a psychic and paranormal twist, in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.
She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.
Ms. Krentz is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington.
Pseudonyms: Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick, Stephanie James, Jayne Bentley, Jayne Taylor, Amanda Glass.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- The Backlist Reader (TBR) Challenge 2016
Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook
I read some Jayne Ann Krentz before when I was in college but haven’t read her books in years. I really want to give her books a try again. I picked this up at BEA and I’ve heard great things. Glad you liked this!
I can never resist Alpha Males. 🙂
Quinn @ Quinn’s Book Nook recently posted…Audio Review: It Happened One Wedding by Julie James
Lark_Bookwyrm
I started with her Arcane Society books and really liked them; I devoured the whole series. Some of her backlist has been hit or miss for me, but I’ve enjoyed the recent ones.
Literary Feline
I admit I tend to like the mystery/suspense of books like this more than the romance, and so I probably would not mind so much that it is weaker in that area. This does sound like a good one. I have yet to read the author, but she’s one I want to try.
Literary Feline recently posted…Bookish Thoughts: The Evening Spider by Emily Arsenault
Lark_Bookwyrm
Her books are usually a lot of fun — the sort of books that keep you turning pages to find out what happens next.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
This sounds like so much fun! I expect fun from Krentz but this sounds like it may be a little more twisty then normal and I’m not strong enough to resist an abandoned hotel. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Now I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…Reckless – Review
Lark_Bookwyrm
I really did enjoy this one, so I think you will, too!