In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name–but no one knows your secret. At least that’s what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.
Lane must work with Walton’s newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she’ll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.
Debut novelist Natalie Walters pulls you to the edge of your seat on the first page and keeps you there until the last in this riveting story that will have you believing no one is defined by their past.
My take:
I loved the gripping suspense that captured my attention from the beginning. Lane Kent harbors a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know about. Even though her husband died a few years ago, she still suffers from grief and regret. She becomes severely depressed and clings to the bridge by the lake that’s surrounded by trees. Thoughts of suicide haunt her, but she has a five-year-old son who needs her.
Charlie Lynch, the new deputy in town, is out riding his mountain bike when spots Lane on the bridge. He stops to see if she’s okay. His presence spooks her. She runs deep into the woods to escape Charlie’s questioning, but she stumbles into the body of a young girl who had been brutally murdered. Her screams bring Charlie running to her side. She is forced to work with the new deputy in a murder investigation.
Lane struggles in her relationship with her father, who is a judge in town. He knows her secret and tries to control her life, so the secret doesn’t get out and mar his political position. Lane must make the difficult decision to help Charlie find the murderer and the truth about her friend who is thought to be the killer, but that means she must go against her father’s demands and reveal her secret.
Natalie does a fabulous job of building suspense and romance. Her characters are well-developed, and the plot is believable. Definitely a page-turner!
