Deadly Sins - Deadly Secrets [Paperback]

Sylvia Dickey Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1603180184 | ISBN-13: 978-1603180184 | Publication Date: October 18, 2007

Rookie PI Sidra Smart thinks she knows where she's headed. She's divorced her preacher-husband, she's inherited a private detective business, and she's solved her first case. But then she moves into a ghost active house and discovers that the past holds the key not only to her future, but the to the lives of innocent people trapped in an unholy web of deception that spans decades. This mystery/suspense novel is set in a small Texas town where everyone knows everything about the other-or at least think they do-until the sins of the past catch up with the secrets of the present. Where yesterday's lighthouses, yellow fever, and Civil War skirmishes play a significant role in uncovering the sins of today. When Sid's second case requires she clear the name of a dead man, she finds herself confounded by clues that lead nowhere. She battles her own prejudice, a burned-out office, the disappearance of a local preacher's wife, and a midnight trip through a murky swamp before clues begin to fall in place. Then, with assistance from a seemingly unknown and perhaps ghostly force, Sid learns something about herself-when the cause is right she never retreats. The interaction between Sid and her client, a tobacco-spitting, chair-rocking old codger more interested in the shine on his shoes than the dust on his furniture, once again brings small-town America to life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Another Sid Smart Winner! Review by Wanda C. Keesey

Sid Smart seems to be winning the battle for an independent life when she's hired to clear the name of a young man suspected of murder.
Her simple exists is constantly being complicated by visits from ghosts trying to tell her something, a preacher and his straying wife, a canine, and of course her aunt. Its bad enough that Sid is forced to move in with her aunt in her haunted 19th century home when her apartment building is sold, but then someone burns down the offices of The Third Eye detective agency; her agency. The suspected arsonist is then found dead on Sid's back porch.
Will Kate, the ghost, help Sid solve the mystery? Third Eye Intuitive Investigations is hard at work.
Sylvia Dickey Smith has a very entertaining series in The Third Eye, and Sid Smart. Sid gets stronger in every book.

Another great adventure with Sidra Smart – Review by Michel W. Eiden

Sylvia Dickey. Smith's second mystery was a fast-paced read from page one. It is loaded with many unexpected turns and much interesting information about the area the book is set in--Southeast Texas. Her heroine, Sidra Smart, along with other well-defined characters, is never boring. I'm looking forward to more good reading from Sylvia Dickey Smith.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: L & L Dreamspell (October 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1603180184
• ISBN-13: 978-1603180184
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting 5-star read, April 4, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Sins - Deadly Secrets (Paperback)

If being an expert on crawling in windows is a requirement for a detective, Sidra Smart meets that requirement. She is the owner of The 3rd Eye Detective Agency with one solved case under her belt. In her former life as a minister's wife, Sidra would not have been caught dead crawling in a window-but Sidra is not the same woman as she was then.

When Dempsey Durwood contacts Sidra about hiring her to clear his son's name, Sidra feels compelled to take the case. Ned Durwood was hit and killed while trying to cross the railroad tracks behind the home of Abe and Cherrie Collins. Abe and Cherrie were later found murdered and the murder weapon had Ned's fingerprints on the handle of the knife. Dempsey states that his son had gone to the Collins residence about some work that the Collins couple wanted him to do. Dempsey is ready to spend his savings to prove Ned's innocence. Sidra takes the case but is uncertain if she can prove Ned's innocence.

Sid has just moved in with her Aunt Annie in a house that has the reputation of being haunted. Soon Sid begins to believe that there really is a ghost that only she can see. Her inquiries regarding the Collins case are taking her no place and the ghost is keeping her awake at night.

A man that Sidra has questioned is found dead on the porch of Annie's home. The office of the detective agency suffers an arson fire. Sidra discovers a secret about the wife of the local pastor. The more events unfold, the more determined Sidra is to find out what has happened in her town in the past that is now having a very adverse effect.

Deadly Sins Deadly Secrets is an exciting book that is full of surprises. I look forward to reading more about Sidra Smart, a spunky lady. I also very much enjoyed Slider, the dog that Sidra rescued early in the book.

I haven't read Dance On His Grave, the first Sidra book, but I intend to do so soon.

Armchair Interviews says: Sylvia is also a columnist for Southern Life and Style Magazine

5.0 out of 5 stars Starts slow, builds like a roaring fire!, August 3, 2011

By 

J Alexander (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Sins Deadly Secrets (Sidra Smart) (Kindle Edition)

I recently had the pleasure of meeting the author at my hair stylist's of all places, a historical gathering place for strong women! Loved this first read of her work! And I especially needed her Kate at this difficult time in my life. Bless you!

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic new mystery series!, September 5, 2010

By 

J. Sinn "Chick Lit Cafe" (Austin, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Sins - Deadly Secrets (Paperback)

Move over Stephanie Plum and Annie Darling because there's a new sassy sleuth on the scene and boy is she a firecracker! After escaping decades of confinement as a preacher's wife, Sidra Smart returns to her sleepy East Texas hamlet to take over the reigns of her dead brother's "Third Eye" detective agency. Just when she starts to get her bearings, her office burns to the ground and her apartment is yanked out from under her. With an empty wallet and limited options, Sidra has no alternative but to room with her endearingly neurotic aunt in a spooky 19th century haunted house. Just when life couldn't get more complicated, she befriends a crotchety geezer in desperate need of proving his son's innocence in a grizzly murder case. With a little help from a ghostly sidekick, a lanky, floppy-eared hound, a meddlesome aunt, and a trusty Cajun-tongued detective, Sidra combs through a lurid web of secrets, lies and deceit that span more than half a century. Sylvia Dickey Smith, who has now been added to my dirty dozen of top mystery authors, has created a charming and winning character in Sidra Smart. With her atmospheric descriptions of rural East Texas, and character-driven plots, she has a real knack for crafting a quality thriller.