Secret Sisters

I really liked this writer and the story. A girl is attacked at her grandmother's inn. Soon after, they leave the island planning to never come back. Eighteen years later, the girl is contacted by the caretaker of that inn. He must see her right away. Once she arrives, she finds the man gravely injured. He dies in her arms. Then everything is set in motion. While investigating the murder, the previous attack hits her again full force. She invites the now dead grandmothers chief of hotel security to help her uncover why and who killed the caretaker.This story has it all. Love, murder, arson, con artists, threats and mental illness. The "big" family on the island where the inn is located want her to leave and let the police handle it. Something tells her that it is not in her best interest to leave. But, will she live long enough to solve the crime and get off the island? Once you think that the mystery is solved, there are still more chapters to go. The end is a curve ball.There is violence. There is sex. There is romance. I will check out more of this writer and the other names that she uses.

Eighteen years ago, on Cooper Island in the San Juans, two young girls are targeted by a guest at the Aurora Point Hotel. When the man grabs one of them, Edith Chase, her grandmother, takes action, and what she does leads to them moving away and turning their back on the old hotel.Now, shortly after her grandmother’s death, Madeline has inherited the Sanctuary Creek chain of hotels. Jack Rayner, head of her security team, has just helped her deal with a personal problem, so when she gets a call from Tom Lomax, the caretaker on Cooper Island, the two of them head off to see what is happening.When they arrive, they discover a whole series of problems, beginning with Tom’s murder. A missing briefcase linked to the long-ago secret lead to them finding Madeline’s friend and secret sister Daphne Knight in Denver, who has just discovered that someone ransacked her condo.On the island, they are joined by Jack’s brother and partner Abe, and together begin sorting through the clues. How are the powerful Webster family, so-called “owners” of the island, connected to the events in the present? Do Egan and Louisa have secrets from the past, too? Are the sons Travis and Xavier involved? Explosions, murders, and many dastardly deeds turn up a slew of suspects, some more nefarious than the others. The story held plenty of suspense, a bit of romance, and a satisfactory resolution.Secret Sisters was a twisted and somewhat convoluted tale that kept me rapidly turning pages, wondering how Jack and his associates would sort it all out. Even when I thought we had the bad guys identified, there were more loose ends that kept me reading. A perfect 5 star read, since I couldn’t stop reading…and hadn’t figured it all out until the end.

When hotel exec Madeline Chase gets a distressed phone call from the caretaker of the only decommissioned hotel in her family’s chain of boutique B&Bs, she screws up her courage and returns to the scene of her worst nightmare. After the caretaker suffers a dire fate on Cooper Island, Madeline calls the cops and her security team for good measure.Jack Rayner rushes to Madeline’s side and together they try to solve the caretaker’s murder. Except the more they look into it, the more the answers seem rooted in the past, and tied to a powerful West Coast family.Soon Madeline has no choice but to call her secret sister, but doing so escalates the danger. With a madman in the neighborhood and a killer on the loose in this island community, the question is will finding the truth, and all of the truth, cost Madeline and Jack their lives?I truly enjoyed the twists and turns in this novel. It reminded me of Jayne’s novels prior to the Arcane story threads in most of her more recent work. I adore paranormal, but normal can be Out of this World too. Whatever she writes, it’s always a hit with me.Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

I'll admit up front, I'm a serious JAK fan. I've read her books for years, love her "author's voice," and tend to reread her stories more than once. Way more than once...I'm already into my second read of Secret Sisters because I raced through it the first time, wondering what was going to happen next. The suspense was real, it kept me flipping pages, and I loved the snappy dialogue between Madeline and Jake. The secondary characters--Madeline's "secret sister" Daphne and Jake's brother Abe--were well drawn and played significant roles in the story, but the lead was all Madeline and Jake. The chemistry between the two was hot, the plot riveting, and the build-up to the final act in the story a true nail-biter.One other thing, that's important to me as an author but might not mean as much to those who aren't in the business, but the hardcover book itself is gorgeous. The cover art and texture are beautiful, the endpages inside the cover and the perfect black & white photo just before the title page make this a lovely addition to any reader's keeper shelf. Everything about it, from the appearance to the content, gives readers a truly high quality reading experience. I know it made me happy just holding it, but I was lost to everything but the author's world once I cracked the pages.

Very disappointed,poor story line nearly gave up after Chapter 4 because it was just had none of the usual JAK excitement and humoir, that usually keeps you in suspense right to the end . The excerpt from the latest Amanada Quick book at the end of Secret Sisters - Til Death Do Us Part -. looks-more like the JAK we all know and love and yes - lets have the dust bunnies back - what a great series that was - was hooked from page one..Really no comparison to the last two books by JAK writting as Jayne Castle The Hot Zone and Sirens Call -

JAK has at last ditched the Arcane Society and started to write contemporary novels without the psychic stuff. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all her stuff but it was getting a bit much. This is her third, I think, contemporary romantic suspense novel.Madeline Chase goes back to her Grandmother's old, abandoned hotel on Copper Island eighteen years after an attempted rape when she was just twelve years old. Called back by the old caretaker who attempts to warn her with his dying breath, the secrets that her Grandmother and old Tom have kept in all that time may have been discovered. She calls Jack Rayner the security expert for her late Grandmother's chain of hotels. Jack is useless at relationships and the social niceties, however, as a former FBI profiler he understands warped and dangerous minds. Madeline, Jack, his brother Abe and Daphne, Madeline's friend from eighteen years ago, form an alliance against a killer who is trying to hide the truth.Interesting and a good read which held me throughout. However, there are a lot of surmises that the 4 central characters make which of course miraculously lead them down the right track.

JAK offering in the contemporary romantic suspense arena. I have read a lot of this authors work under her various pen names. Usually I really enjoy the books so I am disappointed when I say this is not one of her best.The storyline felt too contrived and the characters a bit wooden. It wasn't awful but she can do better than this.******Spoilery*******My main problem was that this book had too many endings. I am not sure that JAK could decide whodunit so kept going until they all did. It will still make a good read if you like Nora Roberts.

Not one of her best story lines, but I am a great fan of /Ms Krentz be it as Jane Castle or Amanda Quick...or in the distant past.. Stephanie James..Keep writing.. and please where can I get a dust Bunny !!!!

Disappointed, I have read and enjoyed many novels by this author, however this one seemed writing by numbers. The sense of dejavu, no originality in the plot or characters, we have encountered it all before in her other novels. Frankly I was bored and the numerous 'bad' guys in one family was ludicrous.