Hidden: A Bone Secrets Novel, Book 1

Rating: 4.5 StarsThis was honestly a really great book, especially for being a debut. It had an excellent cast of characters as well, many of whom will have their own stories told in future series installments. As for Jack and Lacey, I really loved them as a couple. Their chemistry was amazing and their connection instantaneous. They were so in sync that at times I forgot that they hardly knew each other. Their sexual tension was also well done and included one spicy but emotional sex scene near the end.That being said this was just as compelling for the mystery and suspense (if not more so) as the romance. The entire story was totally unpredictable and I never knew what to expect. It kept me on my toes, was fast paced, and filled with twists. Please keep in mind that this is definitely a dark read with tough subject matter including kidnapping, rape and torture. It was without question an engaging and emotional read that tugged at my heart though and was thrilling to the very last page.My only complaint and the reason I didn't give this book five stars is because of Lacey herself. For such a smart woman she does some amazingly stupid things. She was also a little too judgmental for me although to be fair she does acknowledge this flaw. In the end I still did like her but I just loved Jack more... 😊

If you’re someone who loves twists and turns, keep moving. This is a fairly straight forward suspense book with a steamy scene somewhere in the middle.I skipped the s*x scene bc I was more interested in. The story.Over-all 3.5 tbh.

It was thrilling from beginning to end. Too much step by step sex. I am recommending it to my daughter and sisters.

I would have liked some indication that what was called "romance" was more explicit. Also, the level of dependency between the various lovers, ex and new, was a bit extreme. The story itself meandered a bit but was generally entertaining. Not planning to read more of these. I'll stick with Mercy Kilpatrick.

This book has everything, I love it. The constant action kept the story moving. I couldn't put it down. Between listening and reading, I finished the rntire book in a day.

Well written and interesting. Characters have some depth but I’d like more development. I will continue on with the series. I really like the dental aspect of this novel. The forensic aspect of dental work isn’t common in this genre.

This book had everything I like in a romantic suspense thriller - sexual anticipation between two conflicting characters and a dark and alluring psychopath who is always one step ahead of a desperate investigation to find him. I will admit that I wasn't one-hundred percent in love with everything about the story, but majority of it had me reading well into the night.Lacey Campbell is called onto a curious crime scene as a forensic consultant, her field odontology, and makes the disturbing discovery of human remains stashed in a crawlspace beneath a building tenement. By frightening coincidence, she is able to identify the young woman on the spot by special dentistry she had done on her teeth, which in turn opens up a ten year old case that was thought to be solved.Jack Harper happens to own the building the young woman's remains were found in and is just as unsettled by the discovery, worried that his company's already less than stellar reputation will get his name further dragged through the mud and in the process stumbles upon Lacey Campbell and is immediately taken with the young woman from first look.As this story develops, new murders start up and authorities soon make the connection that whoever is doing it has ties to the killer of the victim who was found in Jack's building - a killer that was already dead and buried. Lacey's own past with the killer who killed her best friend soon has her on guard once a less random pattern is discovered in the present murders. Knowing Lacey isn't safe as long as there is someone out there with a a vandetta against her for being the one that escaped, Jack is determined to protect her at all costs.I have to say that I was expecting a little more forensics in this given the title of the series. But after the overall identification of the girl, Suzanne, at the beginning of the book, there really hadn't been nothing else of the nature involved in the way of bone forensics. With the exception of Lacey helping her father, who was the county's medical examiner, identify the identity of a runaway girl who'd burned to death in a building fire ( or car wreck - I can't remember), there was nothing else pertaining to bone forensics in this so that was disappointing. I was hoping the story would revolve around solving the mystery of the girl they found in the building, but that mystery was practically solved in the opening pages - way too fast in my opinion, but I guess it opened the first doors to the mystery of the new killer targeting the new victims.The character development was pretty good in this. I do like that the budding romance between Lacey and Jack wasn't forced - even though I thought Jack came off rather pushy at times, thinking of nothing more than getting to score with Lacey even when it wasn't terribly appropriate of the situation. I've read these kinds of stories where the author was rushing to make the man and woman an item all for the sake getting to the lights, camera, action between the sheets. But to me the most delicious scenes involve rising anticipation and sexual tension that stems from sex that almost doesn't happen, but does at the only time it can - at the absolute climax right when the danger facing them both in a story like this is at a fevered pitch. By this point, the parties involved feel like it's now or never because if they don't, they might both go to their graves never having acted on their deepening attraction for one another.The supportive characters involve an overprotective ex-boyfriend/journalist, Michael Brody, who was all to glad to help smear Jack's name in the newspaper when he saw how close he was getting to Lacey, a bitter ex-husband, Frank Stevenson, and two down to earth cops, Ray and Mason (can't remember their whole names), who were up to their eyeballs in the investigation and willing to bend the rules to look for a sick and psychotic killer with a penchant for creating messy crime scenes with a notable finesse for booby trapping suggesting the creative talents reminiscent of a Jason Voorhees' victim.I can't say everything in this story made sense, but since I always strive to give spoiler-free reviews, I can't get too much into that. But the combination of titillation between Lacey and Jack and the overall suspense of trying to catch a wickedly intelligent killer was satisfying and has me looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

This is a good story with a plot that is loaded with twists and turns. It will keep you guessing for a while.

I just started reading the Mercy Kilpatrick series, which I wasn't totally struck on, but I knew I had read this series and I thought I had really enjoyed it. I hadn't given it a review, so I decided a reread was in order.And yes, I really did enjoy this book. I like Ms. Elliot's writing style. This book is a good mix of romance (which is not too explicit) and suspense.It's also a good introduction to the other characters get their own stories in the series.As another reviewer pointed out, I too noticed that the action jumped from scene to scene without some kind of text indication - like spacing. Sometimes, those kinds of editing errors really irritate me, although I don't think it bothered me too much in this book.Having just read the first 3 books in the Mercy Kilpatrick series, I can say without a doubt, this one was way better.

Great read for crime and romance lovers.Loved the characters of Jack and Lacey and their romance and crime solving skills

Spannend! Ik had eerst vier andere boeken gelezen (Callahan & McLane serie) en die waren ook heel goed. Dit boek is niet minder, hoewel de seksscenes wat mij betreft wat minder expliciet of minder uitgebreid hadden mogen zijn. Ik lees graag detectives en dan hoeft het wat mij betreft niet zo erotisch. Dat is een andere doelgroep denk ik. Maar, al met al, een echte pageturner! Ook de hoofdpersonen zijn geloofwaardig. Iedereen die op zoek is naar een snel, onderhoudend boek: kopen!

Wow, wow, wow, I feel hooked. When I was reading German exclusively crime stories were one of my book poison of choice. And man did I fall back in love. Starting with a corpse that leads to a assumed solved murder series and now, a chain of events starts involving new victims and old witnesses. That's the best place and time to fall in love right? Right!!!! Because it was sooooo insanely suspenseful, gripping, good. Already went ahead and got all the other books/audiobooks. The narrator did a great job too. Very vivid told story that never lost me despite my high level on concentration for my not trained English skills. Much love and recommended for reader who love crime romance crossover stories.

Aun no lo he terminado de leer pero lo recomiendo muchísimo! Aunque al principio es un poco complicado, te engancha muchísimo. Además el vocabulario es entendible para nivel c1 i además te aporta muchas nuevas palabras