Trail of Secrets by Nora LeDuc - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hello, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Nora LeDuc and her new book, “Trail of Secrets”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Nora and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Trail of Secrets

by Nora LeDuc

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GENRE: Mystery

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BLURB:

Who killed the vivacious, Emily McGuire and laid out her body at the water tower? Orderly, rule-follower Mia McGuire is the least likely person to answer this question. Mia’s life has taken a downward spiral with her sister Emily’s murder, the breakup with her boyfriend, and losing her editing position. But when the homicide investigation crawls, Mia can’t stand by doing nothing. She hires the problematic Lucas Davis to help her find the truth.

After suffering trauma from a shooting on the job, Lucas Davis resigns from the local force. Once known as a daredevil in his small Florida town, he has become an embarrassment to his dad, the police chief. When Mia offers him investigative work, he quickly accepts the job to prove he still possesses the skills and guts to solve the case. Together, these two unlikely sleuths form an intimate bond and are determined to beat the odds. They set out to bring a terrifying killer to justice before he targets them next.

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EXCERPT TWO:

A motionless woman lay on her back, parallel to the base of Gram’s monstrosity. She was dressed in a dark dress. Black sandals revealed blue toenails. One arm lay outstretched with her fingers curled upward as though beckoning Mia to her. The polish decorating her manicured nails matched the shade on her toes. Long raven-colored hair covered her face from her forehead to her chin.

Zsa Zsa whimpered by Mia’s feet. She scooped up her pet and swallowed the lump of fear increasing with each step closer to the person. Had the woman fallen? Passed out?

The sweet fragrance of a perfume drifted toward her and stirred a forgotten memory. The familiar soft voice asked, “What else would a southern Florida girl wear but orange blossoms? It’s the cool new scent.”

Emily? A sliver of dread formed near Mia’s heart. No, it couldn’t be. Her sister’s hair was pink. But she often changed the color. Mia didn’t have to wait for the truth. The breeze lifted the strands upward from the woman’s face.

Mia’s legs wobbled. A rash of red points blotted her skin, and scratches crisscrossed her neck. Her lips were frozen in an “oh” of shock. Open, bloodshot eyes stared at Mia. Emily!

Tears blurred her vision. She clutched at a last hope. “Emily, is that you?”

The wind picked up and spun a foul sickly-sweet odor around her, drowning the other scent. Mia coughed and stumbled backward. Only one certainty floated through her confusion. Her younger sister was dead.

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

This book is filled with such mystery, suspense, intrigue, and adventure that keeps your heart pounding as you try to solve this brain-twisting whodunit puzzle!!!

Who killed Emily McGuire?

In this book EVERYONE AND ANYONE is a suspect!!!

Mia’s life has been off the rails since the day she found her sister’s dead body.  Since then, she’s also lost her job and her boyfriend broke up with her.  Mia has been unable to fully function with the huge cloud of not knowing who killed her sister and why.

Unfortunately, the police chief isn’t really listening to Mia or taking her seriously even when she’s providing information and clues to help find her sister’s killer.  It seems her sister’s case has come to a standstill and it is no longer the main priority for the police department.  Mia can’t wait any longer and she clearly can’t count on the police to solve the case.  So, she decides to hire Lucas Davis, a newly Private Investigator, who is just off the police force after suffering a recent trauma from an on-the-job shooting.  Lucas is also the police chief’s son.

Together Mia and Lucas team up to solve Emily’s murder and find out what exactly happened.

The list of suspects seems never-ending!

And the real killer is planting evidence to make sure someone else goes away for the crime.

But Mia and Lucas are determined to follow every lead and get to the truth…  Even if that means having a killer on their trail…

Wow!!!  Wow!!!  Wow!!!

I am a huge mystery book fan and my favorite thing about Nora’s book’s is that she ALWAYS keeps me on the edge of my seat guessing whodunit and she is one of the few authors who actually surprises me on the killer!!!  I am really, really good at guessing the killer in books, TV shows, movies, games, etc. – but Nora can definitely beat me and shock me with her endings – and that takes skill!!!

This is the third book of Nora’s I’ve read.  I have previously read and reviewed Nora’s other books, “Sweet Dreams, Baby,” and “Midnight Girl,” so I was thrilled to get the chance to read her latest work, “Trail of Secrets.”

Nora’s writing only continues to improve, grow, and expand with each book!  I know she will be an author I will continue to read over the years!

I really liked the main characters, Mia and Lucas.  They were likable, relatable, honest, and genuine.  Mia was smart, sweet, polite, dependable, and compassionate.  I liked that she was determined and steadfast in wanting to bring justice for her sister and get answers to why this happened.  I think if I was in Mia’s position and the police weren’t doing enough to find my sister’s killer, I’d like to think I would be courageous enough to go out and handle the problem myself.  Of course, I too, would hire protection, no way I’m going after a crazy killer without help lol.  I also really liked Lucas.  He was strong, protective, respectful, sincere, tenacious, and benevolent.  I loved how he wanted to keep Mia safe and secured.  There were definitely sparks between these two and it was beautifully written in a romantic, enduring, respectful, and tender manner.

I also felt bad for Lucas as it was clear he was struggling and feeling depressed for his dad being disappointed in him.  He jumped at this case to prove his worth and that he still has the guts, stamina, and fortitude to solve the case.  He wasn’t washed up – he could still do this.  I really liked his encouragement, energy, dedication, and determination.  He was fighting to prove that he was still a top investigator, to impress his dad, to find the killer, to keep Mia safe, and to win Mia over.  It was clearly a story line of redemption, forgiveness, second chances, and new beginnings.

I think the author did a fantastic job on her character development as these characters were so real and personal on many levels!

I love Nora’s writing style that everyone and anyone is a suspect.  She makes reasonable, valid points of why they’re on the chopping block, and then appropriately clears them in due time, and then moves on to the next.

This book has a creative story line with well executed plot points, excellent mystery structured scenarios, fantastic writing style with detailed scenes, relatable characters, is fast paced, and keeps you fully engaged and entertained.

There are some predictable scenes.  However, there are still many unexpected twists and turns and misdirection’s that you won’t see coming!

This book is book one in the Love & Lies in Paradise Book Series.  This book can be read as a standalone.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!  I think all mystery readers will like this book too!  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

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AUTHOR BIO:

Nora grew up in rural New England where she currently lives with her family. She enjoys visiting and spending time with her friends, the Winettes, in Florida, where she continues to write. Trail of Secrets is her sixteenth book. Her next story is already in progress.

You can find Nora on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook and her website: Noraleduc.com. She also contributes to the Romance Gems’ Blog every month.

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CONNECT WITH NORA:

Website:

http://www.noraleduc.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/writerNoraLeDuc

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nora-leduc

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/trail-of-secrets-love-lies-in-paradise-book-1-by-nora-leduc

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/57070.Nora_LeDuc

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47211076-trail-of-secrets

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/31wrHV5

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/32wzwep

Amazon Paperback:

https://amzn.to/2J6YZDU

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/TRAIL-OF-Secrets-Nora-Leduc-Patti-Roberts/9781081360993

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Nora will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.