How Secrets Die by Marta Perry (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"As Laurel Ridge embraces a stranger hungry for answers, a sinister truth is awakened.

A hard-hitting reporter, Kate Beaumont unearths the deepest lies and brings harsh truths to light, but the story that lures her to the gentle town of Laurel Ridge, Pennsylvania, is closer to her heart than anyone knows. The details of her half brother's sudden death have never made sense. She owes him justice, yet the one man who can help her is the stubborn sheriff she can't stand.

Protecting his town is Mac Whiting's top priority. Everything else, including pacifying a beautiful crusader on a mission best left resting in peace, is secondary. But as Kate's search embeds her in his world and attracts a skilled criminal, she needs Mac's protection. Drawn together by deadly secrets, they must find a way to trust each other before a killer silences them both."

My Thoughts:

This is an author that I've always added to my TBR list but had never tried until now.  I am so glad that has changed because I really found this book to be a pleasurable read.  I'm always looking for good romantic suspense reads and I believe that this book would fit that genre.  The focus was more on the mystery in comparison to the romance but that actually worked really well for me.  I liked that the main characters realized that they had something more important to worry about but were still trying to work through their feelings for one another.  In fact, their relationship just came to life in the pages of this book and I loved every moment of it.  They went from not particularly liking each other at all (there is some strong resentment on Kate's part but you will have to read the book to see why) to working together to figure out what really happened to Kate's brother.  The mystery of Kate's brother's death was definitely a good one.  I found myself intrigued by it from the very beginning but especially because of the circumstances surrounding his death.  The question of what Kate was actually looking for/if she was going to get any answers was a constant presence throughout this book, and I feel like it added to the suspense.  It sure did make me want to turn the pages of this book that much faster!

What I enjoyed most about this book though was how easily I was able to immerse myself within it.  I found myself reading it between innings at my kid's baseball games.  I found myself reading this book basically every free second that I had.  And with how slow my reading has been going lately, that is really saying something!  I didn't want to set this book down so I didn't.  I just read to my heart's content and enjoyed every minute of it.  I found the ending of this book to be pretty intense although I did manage to figure out part of it.  It didn't matter though because by that point I was just trying to read as fast as possible to see how it would all end.  This was the perfect book to read during this reading slump or whatever I seem to be going through.  It left me excited to read more by this author and to find other books just like this!  I've got more of this author's books on my TBR list so I at least have more to look forward to.  Fans of romantic suspense should definitely give this book a try- I can easily recommend it!  

Bottom Line:  A perfect summer read with both romance and mystery!  

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher as part of a TLC Book Tour.