Buried Secrets by Irene Hannon - A Book Review

    

     

     From the moment one picks up this book, all of his or her senses are engaged in the author’s tale.  I say that because the publisher has gone the extra mile to add texture to the cover allowing the reader to feel the dirt, and the sole of the shoe on the shovel as secrets are buried.  We know though, that secrets seldom stay buried, and in this case twenty-four years later they come back to haunt those that would prefer they had. 

     Police Chief Lisa Grant and Detective Mac McGregor, a former Navy SEAL, may not have been the ones to unearth the human skeleton, but they are the ones who will seek to discover the secrets buried with it. Along the way they also may discover the type of relationship they have both longed for in their lives.  Neither discovery will occur without a price exacted by someone desperate to keep the two plus decades secrets buried, the motivation to for doing so stretching even further into the past.  Lisa and Mac’s future hinges on solving this mystery.

     Buried Secrets is the first book in Irene Hannon’s Men of Valor series.  While the book serves well as a stand-alone read, the epilogue definitely sets the stage for the story to continue, much to the reader’s satisfaction.  The author has included the first chapter of book two in the series; reading it indicates that Lisa and Mac’s story may continue as a subplot to that of Mac’s brother Lance’s story.  Lance, like his older brother, has left military service to go into law enforcement, leaving Finn as the only McGregor brother in harm’s way in the Middle East.

     Hannon’s protagonists are real and contemporary in their outlook on life and emotional reactions to the situations they find themselves in and to one another.  However, they remain true to their Christian convictions, and do so without falling prey to stereotypes.  Hannon also balances a strong female character in a career that includes a fair amount of danger with a male character who feels both protective of her and respectful of her abilities.  Hannon’s antagonist is equally well developed, demonstrating the difference between having a strong character and strength of character

     I recommend Buried Secrets not only to fans of contemporary Christian fiction, but to all fans of romanticmysteries.  I will be anxiously awaiting book two in this series, and will be looking for other books previously written by this author.  I thank Revell Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for providing Buried Secrets  for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.