Hey, bookish peeps! I’m part of the book birthday blitz for Her Secret Past by Kerry Watts. I am still playing catch up so I am late but I’m here!! Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Kerry Watts for the copy of the book to take part.
Jean Angus pours the last of the lukewarm tea into her chipped cup, shivering as she looks outside into the dark night. Her eyes are drawn to a slow movement not far from her cosy farmhouse. She’s not expecting visitors. And as the back door opens with a bang, she doesn’t even have time to shout for help.
On a dark winter night, the bodies of Malcolm and Jean Angus lie cold and still in a pool of blood in their kitchen. Detective Jessie Blake is called in to find out what happened to the reclusive pair.
Searching the couple’s property, Jessie learns about a vicious dispute with a nearby land owner, Rachel Ferguson, and when Jessie looks into Rachel further, she doesn’t expect what comes up. Rachel isn’t the person everyone thinks she is and a previous murder conviction just made her Jessie’s prime suspect.
The small Perthshire town begins to gossip about the double murder and Jessie’s own past comes back to haunt her, when her abusive ex-husband begins to interfere in her new life. As the town starts a witch hunt against Rachel, Jessie is under pressure to find out what really happened in the farmhouse that night. Because if it isn’t Rachel, then who is the murderer living among them, waiting to kill again?
If you like LJ Ross, Val McDermid and Helen H. Durrant, you’ll love this addictive new crime thriller from Kerry Watts. Her Secret Past will have you hooked from the start!
Another book from yet another brilliant author! A crime thriller that I was eager to read, Her Secret Past, had me from the first page.
Book three in the Detective Jessie Blake series. I loved returning to see what was in store for Jessie in Her Secret Past. The setting of Perth shire is so beautifully and vividly described. I felt like I could actually see the villages as the story unfolded.
After being called out to a house on Boxing Day, Jessie and her DC, Dylan Logan, are faced with an elderly couple who have been shot dead in their home. A neighbour of the couple, Rachel, becomes the main suspect due to her past. It’s a past that has only just been uncovered, but also one that seems just a tad too easy. That easy that both Jessie and Dylan think it may possibly be a setup. To that end, Jessie extends the operation, but she has her own issues. Can she still get to the bottom of this case? Will they uncover if Rachel was set up or not?
I loved the different angles this book takes. One being the investigation, and the other being Jessie’s own past that just makes it more of an addictive read. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know more about Jessie. It gave the book even more depth to the story and increased the suspense overall.
A definite page turner as the list of suspects grow as we get further into Jessie and Dylan’s investigation. I didn’t know who it could be. Rachel looks like a dead cert, but is she? That niggles in my brain as I read. It’s a book that you think ‘Just one ome chapter.’ Then you need to keep reading on as the chapter leads to something you can’t just leave.
Full of suspense, tension and lifelike characters. Some characters who you don’t even know if they are reliable or not. I am waiting for the next book now. I can’t wait to get back to Jessie, her work and life. A must read series for any crime thriller fan.
Purchase Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0813N28BD
US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0813N28BD
Author Bio
Kerry Watts was born and grew up in Perth where she still lives today. The daughter of a Rangers mad window cleaner and Daniel O’Donnell loving dinner lady. She began writing over twenty years ago after reading Isla Dewar’s book Giving up on Ordinary and decided she wanted to do that. Becoming a best selling author is a dream come true.
Authors who inspire her are anyone capable of creating a character who lives inside her head long after she has closed the book. Her favourite fictional character’s are Dexter Morgan, created by Jeff Lindsay as well as Hannibal Lechter created by Thomas Harris. She doesn’t have a favourite genre as a reader. Kerry will read anything. Written by anyone. If the blurb has a good feel about it she’s hooked.
When she’s not writing she loves to spend time following her other passions – dogs, particularly rescue mutts and horse racing. The sight of a thoroughbred race horse at full stretch has been known to move her to tears, not just lump in the throat stuff but full on blubbing. And for that she is unashamed.
She also had a small role in a film called The Rocket Post but decided acting wasn’t for her. She would rather create a character than play one. All of her books are brought to you through the super powers of Tetley tea.
Social Media Links
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 