Deadly Deceit by Natalie Walters (Harbored Secrets #2) // Revell Reads Review

When journalist Vivian DeMarco's boss dies under suspicious circumstances, her only hope for finding the truth is Deputy Ryan Frost. The deeper they dig, the more twisted the truth becomes, and someone called The Watcher forces Vivian to decide what she's willing to lose for the sake of a headline.

 

 

 

 

 

My Review 

I enjoyed going back to Walton, Georgia. When these kinds of stories are in small towns, it gives me a Nancy Drew kind of feeling sometimes. 

After not reporting on Lane's secret, Vivian is out of a job and back in Walton. Her friend Harold gives her a temporary job at his paper but she has no plans to make it permanent. If she can just find her story, the story, she can get a job at a big paper again. 

Ryan is content to be a small-town deputy in the place he grew up because it means he can help his mom and sister. It's nice to be sought after by all kinds of agencies who value his skills, but he doesn't want to leave. Right?

Vivian and Ryan are dealing with father issues. Abandonment, betrayal, lies. Vivian fears that Ryan could be like her dad and Ryan fears becoming his dad. Both have to learn to forgive and trust their Heavenly Father who will never leave them. I'm seeing that theme in a lot of books lately.

Poor Vivian. I really feel for her. I think our natural reaction as humans is to do everything in our power to protect ourselves after we are hurt by someone. I like what her friend Pecca said: "Forgiving someone is not saying what they did to you is okay. Forgiving is saying you will no longer allow what they did to you to control your life."

I liked all the superhero references scattered throughout. (Even more so because they were Marvel and not DC). The best one was: "Why'd he have to be so Captain America-like? If he had the arrogance of Tony Stark, it would be a lot easier to hate him."

The villain was hard to understand. Their motivation didn't really make sense to me. You're probably thinking, "Sarah, they're a bad guy. Of course they're twisted." Well, yes, but usually their crimes follow from some event in their past. These crimes didn't really fit as far as I could see. They were setting up people to have secrets, not unearthing secrets that already existed. 

All in all, I liked the book a lot and never suspected the villain. Many thanks to Revell for a copy. All opinions are my own and a favorable review was not required.