I’ve been wanting to read something with more grit and more of a police procedural after all the cozies I’ve been devouring lately, and Best Kept Secrets by Tracey S. Phillips hit the spot!

Morgan and her partner, Donnie, were the perfect compliment as far as partners go. Morgan is driven, fast to anger, and gets by on little sleep. While Donnie is calmer and has realized how important family is to one’s health and sanity. The way that Phillips switched between the past and present worked very well. There was no confusion and the way it jumped back and forth enhanced the story by giving you just enough of the past to make you think you know what is happening in the present.

While the reveal wasn’t shocking since Phillips guided us with interesting and disturbing bits of information about the characters, I still enjoyed it, since I find myself enjoying books with this type of killer. And I had to reread the last sentence three times to make sure I understood it. That was the last shock that made this book stand out and one that I will recommend, especially because of that tiny bit.

I am looking forward to more if this book turns into a series. I would be interested to see if Morgan does decide to try to become a Marshall and to see what other secrets Phillips reveals to us.

If you enjoy Best Kept Secrets, I also highly recommend the Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series by Chelsea Cain. The first book is Heartsick. ( )

3.5 stars.

Best Kept Secrets is an intriguing mystery by debut author Tracey S. Phillips.

Homicide Detective Morgan Jewell is obsessed with finding out who murdered her best friend Fay Ramsey sixteen years ago. She is so fixated on solving the case that she ties other killings with similar MOs to Fay's death. The present day murder of Hallie Marks reinvigorates Morgan's theory much to the dismay of her longtime partner Detective Donnie James. Despite his best efforts to rein her in, Morgan doggedly searches for information that will, at long last, bring Fay's killer to justice.

Morgan is one of those irritating characters who have a massive case of tunnel vision. She has already decided that Hallie and other similar murders have been committed by Fay's killer and she does everything in her power to prove she is right. Morgan is not sleeping or taking care of herself as she feverishly revisits old cases and pores over the files in order to find a definitive link that will lead to a viable suspect. She runs roughshod over Donnie and other detectives in her zeal to show that they are searching for a serial killer.

Morgan has one suspect from Fay's unsolved murder but he has never been located. She and Donnie have better luck finding and interviewing his sister. Chapters from the sister's perspective offer very surprising details about her and her brother's lives both in the past and present.

Weaving back and forth in time, Best Kept Secrets has an interesting premise but the pacing is slow and Morgan is an unlikable lead protagonist. The chapters alternate between two different points of view and they offer a fascinating peek into the events over a broad period of time. Morgan's behavior as a detective is somewhat unrealistic but Donnie does try to redirect her focus. With a final shocking yet somewhat predictable plot twist, the novel comes to an abrupt conclusion that is vaguely unsatisfying. An imperfect debut but I would definitely read another book written by Tracey S. Phillips.
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I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm quitting this at around 25%. Initially I found the writing a little repetitious and heavy-handed, but decided to persevere. Then I found the pace a little slow, but continued to persevere. Then there started to be chapters set in the past and/or from the perspective of a completely different woman than the main protagonist, and this slowed things down even more. The final straw for me was when the same name came up in connection with two of the murdered women and neither of the detectives seemed to notice...?

Sorry, not for me. ( )