Where Secrets Sleep (House of Secrets, 1) Mass Market Paperback – February 24, 2015

Browsing through a new books list on a website sometimes tends to draw me to a book that I might not have otherwise read. Though Marta Perry is an established author, for me her works are new. When I saw the title and description of this recent publication, I knew without a doubt I had to read and review it because the synopsis of the tale captured my imagination.A young woman learns of an inheritance from a grandmother she never met, so she travels to a little town and meets with the grandmother’s lawyer. What she thought would be a quick matter to take care of actually becomes a more complex reality that calls for Allison to make a decision. As Allison sets out to learn what she can of this grandmother and the inherited property, unknowingly she becomes entangled in a web of mystery, becoming the center of someone’s sinister intent.While Allison is learning about the people, businesses and town, she has to deal with issues of the heart from her past. Nick is one of the business owners who ends up not only interested in learning Allison’s final decision about the property, but begins to form an emotional bond with her that he fights against.The intrigue and mystery are especially spellbinding. As the characters begin to understand Allison, the person who is out to hurt her really drew me in further. The variety of people who inhabit the town makes figuring out who has the most to gain by Allison leaving is difficult as more people become suspects than those who can be considered safe.When a murder occurs on the property, Allison becomes more determined to inherit the property according to the terms of the will. The interaction between some of the characters is refreshing to imagine along with romance in the wind in a small town where everyone knows what is happening. With the addition of the author revealing some of the pasts of her characters, it makes the plot thicken, drawing the audience into the book. For me, this was a very enjoyable, entertaining and captivating novel which I am glad I read. I plan on reading more of the author’s suspense with romance set in Amish towns. Join me in entering the mysterious world where things aren’t always what they seem!

In this book Allison Standish inherits a building in Laurel Ridge, in Amish country, from a grandmother she never met. Her Father having abandoned her as a child, she knows nothing of the grandmother or her life, and the inheritance is a surprise.She is a city girl and this is a far cry from the life she is used to. As she drives to the country with her cat, she does a lot of soul searching, because the day she left the city she found her boss and her boyfriend in a compromising relationship, that shuts the door to her heart, to her job and her boyfriend.She has a heart of resilience though and as she arrives in the small town, she is surprised to discover she has to stay there a year to be able to keep the building or sell it. The building is full of tenants, a bookstore, a quilt shop, a lawyer, and a real estate agent. The building needs a lot of work and she finds a young man named Nick to help her remodel it. Nick has a son Jason, and is a widower. As the plot develops Allison is soon in danger from someone who wants her to sell the building. Nick becomes protective of her and his brother Mac the local police, helps to find who is doing this to her. The story is suspenseful as the plot thickens when over and over Allison is attacked. She however, is a courageous soul and instead of being frightened helps to unlock the mystery of who it could be.The story develops into a love story that will please you. And the suspense steadily builds until you want to know "who done it" and will stay up reading all hours to find out.It is a pleasant read, with characters that are endearing and a suspenseful mystery that will please the mystery buffs. It is also a clean read which is one of my requirements.Give Marta's books a chance. I have read many and enjoyed them all thoroughly and find myself drawn to find more of her books to read. They are pleasant and fill up the time well, and are a worthy fiction read.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and loved the characters, the romance was weak and lacked any substance. Certainly an element and not the primary focus. That's fine but if romance is part of the story then it still needs to have a story arch to follow the growing attraction between the pair. I just didn't feel much of that. Happy reading!

Marta Perry is my absolute favorite "Amish" fiction writer. Her Amish suspense/romance books are woven around a central character that leads you through the mysteries and the romance of the story line. Supporting characters create the atmosphere of the perpetual "who done it" and the gentle introduction of a budding and consuming love story woven into the mystery fits in so flawlessly. This story is about a city girl who inherits a building of shopkeepers in an Amish community from a paternal (englisher) Grandmother she has never met. Her Grandmother also left a partnership with an Amish quilt-shop business and other tenants including a carpenter shop with a handsome divorcee with a 6 years old son. Each of the characters play an integral part in the eventual revelation of the person responsible for murders of the Grandmother, a wife and a nervous mouse of a shopkeeper. Worth the read.

First time I had read a book by this Author & the book held me in suspense quite a bit.........had a lot ofmystery to it.......talked about some Amish people in it, but compared to all the Amish books, I have, itdidn't contain any of the Amish things you read in total Amish books. In this book, they just had someAmish characters, but that is where it ended. I think Author wrote some Amish books that I considertruly Amish material, so I will look into those books at some ohter time.......still a good read as it keptme going right to the end..........

Great reading with some nice people in a small town & some not so nice Would recommend to serious readers 🤔

I enjoyed this book so much. I had fun trying to guess who done it and never figured it out. Great ending to a great story and look forward to many more by this author.

A great story of betrayal and suspense. A book you just can not put down. Marta Perry once again captures your attention from beginning to end.

Good read

A love story with a few twists and turns. An inheritance, and the discovery that her boyfriend is sleeping with her boss, turns her life upside down. When Allison goes to claim her inheritance, she finds there are conditions. A few unexpected mishaps and accidents in her newly discovered community leave her wondering if she has made the right decision.

Damsel in distress with a non existent character arc, meets the only good looking single man in town, who also happens to be single dad,family man, mayor and carpenter. Damsel then gets herself into several fairly tame but for her scary sticky situations which good looking single dad rescues her from. We learn nothing about either character.The bloke who stands out as the baddie is the baddie and the other baddie is even more predictable.Oh and there's some stuff about quilts.Boring, slow, predictable .... you have better ways to spend your days!!!!