To Keep a Secret   

Anna Sweet Mystery, Book #3

By Brenda Chapman   

ISBN: 9781322067902

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

Anna Sweet’s PI business partner, Jada Price, has gone missing. Anna and new hire Nick Roma team up to find her. The trail leads them to a teenage girl’s murder and a secret internet dating site. Anna is about to discover how far people will go to keep a secret, and who they will betray. She must work quickly to uncover the answers before a second victim dies. Will this case prove too difficult for Anna Sweet? Or will she put the clues together in time to outsmart a killer who has everything to lose? (Goodreads)

Review:

To Keep a Secret, the third book in the Anna Sweet Mystery series by Brenda Chapman is a hidden gem of a novella. I was thoroughly engaged from the very beginning. Early on, I was able to figure out one of the major questions but was quite surprised by other twists that arose and thus did not see the ending until it was revealed. A satisfying way to read a mystery!

Anna Sweet continues to grow her PI business with Jada Price but when Jada goes missing, Anna is determined to solve the mystery with the help of a new employee to the firm, Nick Roma. It turns out that Jada is with her younger brother, Henry – trying to remain under the radar as a result of Henry’s friend, Mandy’s death. Henry and Mandy were involved in some nefarious antics when Mandy goes missing and subsequently found dead in a dumpster. Seems the killer is intent on finding Henry to shut him up permanently so Anna must work quickly to save him.

There are three suspects (one of which is a police officer). As Anna works through the list of suspects with her ex-husband (and brother in-law) and new employee Nick Roma – more questions arise. This is what, in my mind, makes the story engaging. 

I found, as what I have come to expect, the writing of Ms. Chapman engaging and easy to read. Once I began reading, I could not put To Keep A Secret down until the last word was read. While having read the first two books in the series might add some depth to the characters, one can read this title as a stand-alone as there is sufficient back story presented. 

If you like quick, engaging mystery novella’s, then I suggest picking up this book, sitting down and spending a small amount of time being taken away by Brenda Chapman’s writing in To Keep a Secret. You won’t be disappointed ☺.