Review: Killing Secrets (Nan Vining Mysteries #5) by Dianne Emley

Print Length:277 pages

Publisher: Alibi (July 21, 2015)

From Goodreads.com: For fans of Patricia Cornwell, Tana French, and Lisa Gardner comes a razor-sharp novel of suspense featuring Detective Nan Vining—a single mother whose worlds collide when her teenage daughter stumbles upon a grisly double homicide.

When she gets the call, Nan Vining responds as a mother first and a detective second. Her daughter, Emily, has made a gruesome discovery in a secluded section of a Pasadena park: a pretty, popular young teacher from Emily’s high school and a bright yet troubled transfer student—both dead and bloody in a copse of trees. But the crime scene isn’t the only thing that seems off to Detective Vining. There’s also the cocky classmate who was with Emily in the park—the boyfriend she never knew about. What else doesn’t she know about her daughter?

As she attempts to channel both her maternal and investigative instincts into one single point of focus, Vining’s superiors at the Pasadena Police Department are moving at lightning speed. Before the evidence has even been processed, the case is closed as a clear-cut murder/suicide: a disturbed teenager murders his teacher, then takes his own life. Vining doesn’t buy it. Now she’s chasing dangerous, powerful people with secrets they would kill for—and taking them down means risking her own flesh and blood. 

                              

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5
When I first found this little gem on Netgalley, I didn't realize that it was part of an already established series. It is in fact, book #5 of the series. Thankfully, this novel is a stand alone - meaning even though there are references to prior cases, you did not have to be familiar with them in order to understand and enjoy this one. In fact, if anything it made me want to go back and read the others in this series. 

I didn't feel like there was an overabundance of unnecessary details (which I have found in some of the other crime novels I've read as of late) which made it easy to lose yourself in the story while the action kept you glued from the first pages to the last in an effort to find out what happened next.  

Extremely well written with an ending that I don't think anyone thought possible, this was a thrill a minute story with engaging characters and plot twists galore, I do believe this novel will appeal to a wide range of people who enjoy a good crime, mystery or thriller novel! 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. 

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