Her Other Secret
by HelenKay Dimon
Series Whitaker Island #1
Genre Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher Avon Books
Publication Date June 25, 2019
Is it the perfect escape?
Whitaker Island is more than a getaway. For Tessa Jenkins, the remote strip of land in Washington state is a sanctuary. Fleeing from a shattering scandal, she has a new name, a chance at a new beginning, and a breathtaking new view: Hansen Rye. It’s hard not to crush on Whitaker’s hottest handyman. At six-foot-three and all kinds of fine, he’s also intensely private—and the attraction between them soon simmers dangerously out of control.
…or a private trap for two lovers?
After a devastating family tragedy, Hansen finds the pebbled shores of the faraway island to be an ideal refuge. Letting down his guard for the sexy, impulsive Tessa is an unexpected pleasure. But there’s another newcomer to Whitaker. He’s no stranger to Hansen. And when he’s murdered, the crime casts a threatening shadow. As suspicion falls on Hansen, all his secrets are about to collide with Tessa’s. Now the pasts they were determined to outrun are catching up to them. So is a killer who’s putting their love—and their lives—on the line.
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Excerpt:
Just as Hansen was about to ask for more details, Tessa started talking. “The unknown guy was in a suit as if he jumped off a boat in full work attire, including a tie, then washed up on the beach and kept walking. He had to see us, or at least hear us, so why walk away? Why hide from Hansen in the woods?”
Ben made a humming sound. “I agree. It’s strange.”
That was about as ruffled as Ben got but Tessa didn’t seem to appreciate it. “Gee, you think?”
Rather than let them wrestle this out, Hansen stepped in. The sooner Tessa told the rest of her tale, the sooner he could get Ben alone and ask what the hell happened to set Tessa off. She was nice to everyone . . . except Ben right now.
“Tessa also said the boat has been out there, no lights and no movement for more than twelve hours,” Hansen explained.
Tessa switched her gaze from the glare she had locked on Ben since they walked in, back to Hansen. “So, you were listening to me.”
He ignored that because the truth was he spent far too much time paying attention to her. She was impulsive and sexy, adorably cute and could talk on any subject forever. So, naturally, he wanted her. He couldn’t think straight some days because he wanted her so badly. But he wasn’t on the island to date . . . no matter how tempting she was.
Review:
In her Acknowledgements, Ms. Dimon describes the setting of her new series as “Jessica Fletcher’s Cabot Cove with more sex, more killing, and a lot of dysfunction” and I have to say, after reading book 1–that’s pretty accurate! Quaint small-town life (this time set on an island) with all kinds of quirky characters and mysteries–plenty of mysteries. Which is where we start with this one–the mystery of why a guy in a full suit would walk out of the water and onto the beach, disappearing into the forest beyond, all without acknowledging the couple standing on that same beach watching him. It takes a looooooong time before we find out the answer to that one. Honestly, I didn’t have a clue what was going on for quite some time here–for the most part, I figured it out along with the characters, which kept me turning the pages.
I loved the banter between Hansen and Tessa–it was definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. Her calling him out on his grumpiness never failed to make me smile, and of course was a big part of what drew him to her. I did spend a lot of the book feeling like I was catching up on things, though, which was disconcerting at times–Tessa and Hansen had already started falling for each other before the book began (her dragging him out to see the mysterious yacht was clearly just an excuse to get him out alone, not that I blame her at all–check out the cover!) and we don’t find out their reasons for hiding out on the island (which is apparently a thing on Whitaker,where everyone’s got a secret) until we’re pretty far into the story. It was disconcerting at times, but like the mystery, kept me turning the pages.
Ultimately I liked this one and am looking forward to seeing how Hansen’s brother Connor is going to find his way to the island (not to mention, I am dying to figure out what’s up with the mysterious Maddie) in the second book. ( The Secret She Keeps: A Novel )
Rating: 4 stars / B
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the author:
Award-winning author HELEKAY DIMON spent twelve years in the most unromantic career ever – divorce lawyer. After dedicating all of that effort to helping people terminate relationships, she is thrilled to deal in happy endings and write romance novels for a living. Her books have been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine and E! Online. HelenKay loves hearing from readers, so stop by her website at www.helenkaydimon.com and say hello.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website http://helenkaydimon.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HelenKayDimon
Twitter https://twitter.com/helenkaydimon
Goodreads https://goo.gl/NRZtYu
Amazon http://amzn.to/2yJtQzD
To celebrate the release of HER OTHER SECRET by HelenKay Dimon, we’re giving away a paperback set of Her Other Secret and The Protector by HelenKay Dimon to one lucky winner!
LINK: http://bit.ly/2EQgLJt
GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a paperback set of Her Other Secret and The Protector by HelenKay Dimon. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Books. Giveaway ends 7/15/2019 @ 11:59pm EST.
