Deadly Deceit – Natalie Walters – Harbored Secrets #2 – Revell – Published 5 November 2019

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Synopsis

When journalist Vivian DeMarco’s boss dies under suspicious circumstances, her only hope for finding the truth is Deputy Ryan Frost. The deeper they dig, the more twisted the truth becomes, and someone called The Watcher forces Vivian to decide what she’s willing to lose for the sake of a headline.

My thoughts

Deadly Deceit combines romance with solid investigation as a detective and a reporter work together to uncover the work of a deadly blackmailer.

Vivian found a second chance in Walton. Fired from her last position for refusing to release harming details in her article, the kind-hearted Harold offered her a position at his newspaper. But when Harold dies with his last words to Vivian to find the details on a big story, she knows she must uncover what he was talking about. Ryan Frost has returned from training at Quantico and resumed a position as Deputy on Walton’s force. He has offers from the CIA and FBI but he doesn’t want to leave his family, like his father once did. When Ryan responds to the death of Harold, he and Vivian cross paths. She isn’t the dogged reporter he remembers and he isn’t the scrawny police officer she recalls from their past run ins. But, if Ryan wants to keep Vivian safe, he will have to work with her.

Deadly Deceit is the second book in the Harbored Secrets series by Natalie Walters. While the setting and characters from the first book have carried over into this second instalment, the main characters and plot are complete and so the two books can be read as standalone titles.

I rather enjoyed Ryan and Vivian’s romance. While they might have annoyed each other in the past, now they can’t help but share a mutual admiration, especially for the changes each can see in the other. They are also both huge geeks, and I loved the superhero and Star Wars trivia and references scattered throughout the book. And despite a few hiccups and arguments, they work well together.

The death of Harold and his last words lead Vivian and Ryan to uncover a whole network of deceit, blackmail, murder and crime. There are misdirections, false leads and multiple suspects to keep readers guessing.

I enjoyed reading Deadly Deceit and look forward to the release of the third book int the series, which I’m really hoping will feature Vivian’s dramatic and loveable best friend Pecca.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Adult fiction

Genre: Christian – suspense.

Themes: Journalism, murder, romance, family, blackmail, FBI, cyber crime.

Published: 5 November 2019 by Revell

Format: Hardcover, paperback, ebook. 336 pages.

ISBN: 9780800737122

Find it on Goodreads