To say Secrets and Lies, a Claire Callahan mystery, hooked me from its opening scene would be an understatement. The details she relayed allowed me to follow along, to imagine the events as they unfolded - as unimaginable as they turned out to be.

Throughout the book, I was waiting for Jesse, the character in the opening scene, to reappear. I was curious about what he was thinking as the news and newspapers contemplated who had gunned Morgan Tutwiler down in his own home.

It was almost mesmerizing to witness the levels of hatred numerous people had for Tutwiler, and the reasons behind the hatred - even extending to his one and only child, Amanda.

Amanda - heiress to everything her father owned except for small bequests to his security guard and cook - was the prime suspect in her father's murder. It didn't matter that her alibi during the time of the murder was airtight; someone could be hired to perform such a tragic deed if the price was right. Of course, Amanda's penchant for wanting to shop even while her father's body was barely cold didn't look so good for her either.

As Claire and Rafe rushed forward in their pursuit of solving the homicide, areas of their personal lives began to collide with their profession. Claire was dealing with an alcoholic father who disappeared from her life as a young child, then resurfaced bringing trouble with him, while Rafe was dealing with an opium-addicted ex-wife and trying to look out for the welfare of his daughter.

There was no shortage of drama and suspense between these pages. Sometimes the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. Sometimes I wanted to yell at the characters or tell them to watch out. I was definitely absorbed in Secrets and Lies from start to finish and look forward to reading other titles by P.H. Turner.

The only downside for me were the typos - that were worse in the latter part of the book, with one line of a paragraph appearing alone in one case. That being said, the version of the book I read was provided to me through Reedsy Discovery and it's possible the author corrected these issues prior to publication.

Regardless, the book was a thoroughly enjoyable read and well worth the investment of time I spent between its pages. To learn more about P.H. Turner's, Secret and Lies, or to read the reviews, visit its page on Amazon. You can read the author interview by clicking here.