Customer Reviews

Best Kept Secrets

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Reede, Junior, and Celina were always known around town as the three musketeers. As far back as anyone could remember, they were joined at the hip until Celina's untimely death. This murder was never solved, and 25 years later Alex Gaither has made it her mission to bring her mother's murderer to justice. She has been groomed for her current job as assistant district attorney her entire life being raised by her grandmother with the constant propaganda about how pure and good Celina was. After initial research, Alex has determined that there are only three people that could have committed the murder - Reede, Junior, or Junior's father Angus. She travels back to the small Texas town she was born in, and announces to the three of them that the guilty party is going down.

Reede is the local Sheriff, and thus responsible for helping Alex as she reopens the investigation into her mother's death. He reluctantly helps her, and gives her an ominous warning about how some things are better left in the past. As they work more closely together, Alex and Reede fight off the attraction they feel toward each other. She finds herself in a similar situation as her mother with both men becoming an important part of her life. When more of the townspeople become vocal about the life Celina lived, Alex starts to understand Reade's warning when unpleasant tidbits of her mother's life are revealed. Reede takes it upon himself to protect Alex when attempts are made on her life. Apparently someone does not want the killer exposed.

I liked the story, but did have some ewwww moments when Reede and Junior made references about how they could have, and at some point wanted to be her father. Being involved with men her mother was involved with was uncomfortable reading at times during the story. Thank goodness Reede never slept with Celina because for me that would have been a deal breaker.

Alex (Alexandra) Gaither, an attorney out to find out who really killed her mother, travels to Purcell County to investigate three men, one of whom she feels killed Celina. She finds herself attracted to Reede, one of the suspects. Bad things happen and she is involved every time especially as her investigation finds her closer to the murderer. I'm not so disturbed about the 18 years difference in ages; she's 25 and two of the suspects (Reede & Junior) are 43. The other suspect is Junior's father. I had a problem accepting the fact that Reede and Junior were both involved with her mother Celina and now wanted Alex the daughter. One could easily have been her stepfather had Celina not died first. I also found that I was angry at Reede most of the time because he was plain nasty to Alex throughout most of the book. I couldn't stand it that he treated her with so much disrespect. He's actually a good guy (deep deep down) but his mean attitude stemmed from an overwhelming desire to avoid the daughter of the woman he loved that had now filled his thoughts. (At least he acknowledges it's wrong). Junior, in my opinion would have been better for her in some ways as he was always kind to her, but he was such a 'Papa Pleaser'. Lastly, a few issues were never brought to justice and I'm not talking about the murder. Nevertheless, the ending caught me by surprise and the epilogue was good enought to merit the 4-1/2 star rating (Had it been available).

I'm normally a Sandra Brown fan but this is just TOO bad.How a supposedly intelligent young woman could ever find an oafish boor like Reede attractive is beyond me. Alex's mother had died a scandalous death in this small West Texas town 25 years previously and now she's back in her role of A.D.A. to reopen the case and discover her mothers murderer.The premise of the story is ok. but when the hero is portrayed as a man 18 years her senior who grabs her hand and places it on his crotch shortly after meeting her, the feeling of the book turns not to romance but to just plain lust and general nastiness.Could any woman find this behaviour appealing?

I don't know what bothered me more about this book. It could have been the fact that the lead character "fell" for the same man her mom did, or the fact that she was supposedly this strong woman who ended up looking anything but that as the story went on. I found myself getting more and more frustrated as the story went on for not walking away and throwing the book in the garbage. But, I got to a point where I was too far into it to give it up. This really was a pretty bad book. The characters were so superficial and you didn't know who to root for. The premise was a good one-Alex trying to find her mother's murderer, but there was no development to it, and the story could have been so much better than it was.

A bad book, with bad characters and a very stupid plot. I need to find out what is wrong with me that I keep reading books by Sandra Brown. She is just not that good.

Wow... what a read. Read this whole book in one sitting. Loved how the main character had to find justice.. and the secrets that all came out surrounding her mothers murder were excellent. Would have never have believed it was who it turned out to be. Just kept me on the edge of my sit until I read the last word. Glad she found happiness with whom she loved at the end.

This is one of the worst book I've read by this author, and I read most of them. Good thing I didn't spent my money to buy the book or I'd be kicking myself now.

While the plot, namely, Alex's investigation into her mother's murder 25 years ago, could have developed into a great suspence story, it fall short of getting anywhere on every turn. The heroine's strategy (or lack of) to her so-called "investigation" is so bad it's laughable; every time she found out something that she would have known if she had only done her homework (like to look up marriage records at the court house, interview acquaintances of people involved), she made one of these "why wasn't I told" scene that only magnify her own stuipidity. Her interview technique is even worst and the way she kept throwing accusations into everyone's face made me feel she deserved every bit of insults she got and then some. And why she was so fixated on the murderer being a man, and specifically one of the three main male characters, from the very beginning is a big question mark - even after being verbally attached by two female characters who hated her mother, and realizing one of them had lied about her whereabouts the time of the murder, she totally ignored the possibilities and went on going after the guys. How she made it through law school is a mystery to me.

The "romance" between Alex and Reede didn't come out of nowhere - it came right out from between their legs. All the so called attractions are described in terms of primal lust: smell, heat, hair, skin, lips....etc. neither had anything nice to say to or about each other but they are always so turned on by the other, despite the age difference, or personal conflict...etc. Literally once in a billion chance kind of love - unbelievable. Both Reede and Junior used other women to relieve their frustrations (i.e. with Alex, of course) - especially Junior, who said his ex-wife who is still in love with him is better than a whore because she's free, is simply despicable. I suspect the author really doesn't want the readers to like any of these characters.

If you read enough suspense fiction (or watch TV drama) to know a little about basic investigative techniques, you may feel your intelligence is being insulted when you read this book - but you may get a good laugh out of it if you don't take it so seriously.

I usually like Sandra Brown's books for both the mystery and romance. That being said, this book was awful. When you don't like any of the main characters it is a challenge to finish the book.

The other reviewers have summed up the "premise" of the book. The love triangle between Alex and the two men her Mother was in love with (either of which could have been her Father) was disgusting. Reede, who was her Mother's true love and also Alex's was selfish and untirely unlikeable. It took me forever to read this book.

I was surprised to see that everybody that read this book liked it so much. This entire book could have been written on 200 pages instead of the 425 it was written on. Page after page was all about Junior loved Celina and Celina loved Reede and on and on and on...I thought Alex was a little too full of herself and I can't see how Reede liked her the way he did when she kept accusing him of murdering her mother, but she trusted him enough to put herself alone with him time and time again. It wasn't realistic and I thought he was just a bit too old for her. I did finish the book, but got to where I would skip over all the conversations about Junior loving Celina and Celina loving Reede. It was just the same thing over and over again. And I knew who the killer was from the beginning. I think a good Sandra Brown book is either Mirror Image, The Alibi or Breath of Scandal, all of which were very good.

Somehow, for some reason, Brown has combined a lame specimen of the mystery genre with an explicit, bodice-ripper romance. It doesn't work. The plot and events are improbable, the characters are mostly shallow and stupid. It promotes a sappy and destructive concept of love and romance. I'm glad I was alone in the car while listening to the CD, since the sweaty scenes are not something you'd want your kids or mom to hear. Also, the actor reading the story was not very good. He sometimes mumbles unintelligibly and seems to mispeak on occasion. He does not do female voices well. They come across as a mocking caricature.

The book was terrible. The main character seemed almost idiotic in her method of solving the mystery. Other characters were loathsome. Also, the plot seemed to be a poor excuse to get the main characters in bed with each other. Nobody acts their age, and the way the characters behave seems unrealistic and convoluted. There was not one part of this book that I liked.

Read "Envy" or "Exclusive" instead.