"welcome to Cold Creek - small town with big secrets"
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted December 13, 2014
Mystery
Here is a story that centers on what could truly be
called an oxymoron -- small town secrets - anyone familiar
with small towns is aware that gossip is rampant. Secrets
just waiting to be shattered -- ergo the title of this
crime suspense story by Karen Harper -- SHATTERED SECRETS.
Perfect title for a perfectly astounding story that
unravels slowly page by page. If you figure out who-dun-
it before the very last few pages than you are a much
better sleuth than I. This is book one of a trilogy
about three sister and the town of Cold Creek. One caveat
is do not read the authors note prior to completing this
story. Promise me you won't.
Karen Harper concentrates the action in a small
Appalachia mountain town and keeps faith with the entire
concept of a very small town and its usual problems. But
Cold Creek has a deep dark secret -- well actually it
isn't so secret when you consider it was big news. Time
has passed since the first time this town found itself
the subject of unflattering news. Many years ago a young
girl Teresa went missing -- vanished into clear blue sky
as they say but luckily found her way back home. No one
ever found out what happened to her except that she
returned with bruises and no real memory of where she had
been for several months.
The town sheriff was determined to track down this
kidnapper but was never able to get the evidence to point
to any person of interest -- and there were several. For a
small town Cold Creek had some interesting people with
quirky habits and cloudy backgrounds.
The new town sheriff is actually the son of the previous
one. Gabe has the distinction of being in charge of
watching Teresa for her mother when she vanished. Gabe
has spent all these years mentally punishing himself for
losing Teresa. And now she's back. Yes Teresa who now
calls herself Tess has returned to Cold Creek to sell her
mother's house. She has a life and job elsewhere so this
was to be a quick in and out.
But Cold Creek and Sheriff Gabe seemed to suck her right
back into her past which she has battled with all her
adult life. Most people in town seem happy to see Tess
and hope that she has been able to conquer any of her
fears from the kidnapping. Most people.
Now so many years later there is another girl missing
Sandy. This makes the total of four known kidnappings --
all very little girls -- all local. The town and the local
police department know time is their enemy. They need to
find her quickly and Tess may be the only source of
information. Tess is determined to conquer her fears and
look deep for any hidden memories that will help find
Sandy. But someone is just as determined to make sure
Tess reminds in the dark and they are not above scaring
her into leaving town -- this time for good.
The stories of missing children are always heart
wrenching and bring out the best and worst of people.
Karen Harper wrote SCATTERED SECRETS with integrity and
just the right amount of scariness to keep you on your
toes. Harper proves a very valid point. No stone should
be left unturned and no one is above suspicion. In
SCATTERED SECRETS Karen Harper somehow manages to make
absolutely everyone look guilty with very few exceptions.
Karen Harper managed to keep me in the dark and surprise
the heck of me with the ending of SCATTERED SECRETS. Now
I know I have to read it again to see if I missed any
clues. Don't miss SCATTERED SECRETS -- a wonderful
beginning of what I expect will be a great series.
SUMMARY
Every town has its secrets. Returning to Cold Creek, Ohio, is an act of courage for
Tess
Lockwood. Abducted and held captive as a young girl, she
is
unable to remember anything about the crime that
destroyed
her childhood and tore her family apart. Now a grown
woman
with a bright future, she is certain she has put the past
behind her. But when she inherits the family home, Tess
must
confront the demons that still haunt her and the town of
Cold Creek. Gabe McCord has always blamed himself for what happened
to
Tess. He had been a teenager when she was snatched from
the
group of children he was responsible for watching. Now
Gabe
has taken on the role of sheriff and hopes to shed new
light
on the cold case, especially given his growing feelings
for
Tess. Tess isn't ready to recall what happened to her, and she
has
no intention of digging up any details that might remind
her
of the truth. But when another child in the town goes
missing, she's certain it's related to her return to Cold
Creek. Together, Tess and Gabe will have to work to
unlock
their painful memories in order to save another child and
heal their damaged souls, for good.
ExcerptTess Lockwood, who was kidnapped as a child, isn’t ready
to remember what happened to her. But when another child
goes missing, Sheriff Gabe McCord is convinced it’s
related to her abduction. They will have to work
together to unlock painful memories in order to save
another child—and Tess.“Can I come out now?” Tess called through the back door
screen. Gabe had told her to stay inside and didn’t want her to
see what was in her back yard. As soon as he was done
with the staff meeting tomorrow morning, he was going to
question Ritter, Dane, even Sam Jeffers. They’d better
have an alibi to prove they weren’t around here last
night. Could three unmarried guys—loners and eccentrics,
though the woods was full of them around here—have
colluded on abductions over the years? And wouldn’t they
take grown women instead of young girls? “Oh! Gabe, what’s that horrible thing?” Tess cried,
coming up behind him. “I told you to stay inside.” “I did for a while. Obviously, that’s a warning to me.” “I called to get your lights back on but it may be early
morning,” he told her, getting up and facing her to put
himself between her and the back cornfield. He snared
her wrist with one hand to pull her away from staring.
“Tess, please go in your house, grab a couple of things
to spend the night at my place.” “But can’t you stay here for a while instead?” “We’d be sitting ducks in the dark. We’re going to my
place. I’ve got an extra room, a spare bed. You’ll be
safer there.” “We’re going through the cornfield? What if that’s his
plan?” “I think he—or they—just wanted to give you a good scare
and a warning. Just do as I say, okay?” “All right, but you haven’t confided in me. You want me
to help you, but then I guess I didn’t tell you something
too. I heard a woman or girl scream at the compound, but
I kind of checked it out and got a reasonable explanation
—if reason is any part of that place.” “What are you, my other deputy? Here, take my
flashlight, go in the house, get your things now, or I
swear, I’ll arrest you for something and put in the jail
cell in town for safe keeping. Now do what I say.” Obviously as frustrated with him as he was her, Tess
grabbed the flashlight from him, went in, and slammed
both doors. That infuriated him too, but for one thing.
She was not whimpering in a corner. It was kind of the
spunky, younger Tess again, animated, defiant, a tomboy
before her trauma had crushed her. He tried to keep his temper in check, but it riled him
especially that he wanted to put his hands all over her
even when she was defying him. Tess came out with a full paper sack and her purse and
thrust the flashlight back at him. “See, you’ve turned
me into a bag lady,” she said. “Like one you’re taking
off the streets because she can’t take care of herself.
But I wasn’t going through that field with my suitcase.” “Let’s go. We’ll set a timer and argue for an hour, then
hit the rack, or since you’re a bag lady, hit the sack.
We’re both exhausted, and I can’t believe you’d even
consider staying here alone tonight after this.” “Let’s see, how to put this…” she said as they walked
toward the cornfield with him leading. “Tess is going to
ruin things if she tries to think on her own and help you
find that kidnapped child. She was misled at first
because you said you wanted me to help so—“
“I wanted you to remember what happened to you when you
were taken twenty years ago, not take over now. Stop
fighting me! Someone wants you to leave town or worse.” “I was just—just trying to keep my courage up.” “Stick close, okay? Right behind me.” As he turned away to head into the field, he heard her
sniff back tears. He shouldn’t have been so rough, but
she really got to him. Maybe she was right on the edge
of hysteria. Actually, he knew the feeling. How many
times in Iraq had he beat down a screaming fit of fear
when he’d had to dissemble a bomb by hand when the robot
wouldn’t work? “Yes, I’m staying close,” she told him in a suddenly
quiet voice that caught on a half smothered sob as they
headed into the tall, thick corn between their houses. # # # Tess drank the hot chocolate he fixed for them in his
kitchen. She remembered how it had once looked, but it
had all been updated, even to stainless steel appliances.
And it was neat, not even dishes in the sink or drain
rack. He’d pulled down all the blinds so no one could
see in. She felt safe from anything outside now, but
sealed in with him, newly alert and alive as they faced
each other across the wooden kitchen table. “I can’t take you to the early morning meeting at the
police station with me,” he told her. “But since you’re
so involved—and I didn’t mean to shut you out except to
keep you safe—I’ll call you right after and tell you what
the three of us have decided.”
“I’d appreciate that.” “But I want you to stay here until the power is restored
at your place.” She nodded. She was so exhausted her eyes almost crossed. He went on, sounding nervous, “I’d better open up the
extra bedroom for you so it heats up in there. There’s
just one bath upstairs. I’ll get some towels out.” “Your mother would be proud of your hospitality and how
great this place looks. She was always a good hostess.” “Yeah. Still is in the trailer park where she lives in
Florida. Too good a hostess at times, I guess.” She didn’t know what he meant, but bed and bath sounded
so good. And to sleep at night in security, to feel
safe, as she never quite had in the old house the three
nights she’d been back would be great. She followed him upstairs as he opened the door to a
Spartan bedroom. Oh, it was his boyhood one, she was
sure of that, though it must have been redone. It was a
bit feminine, maybe in case his mother visited. So he
must sleep in his parents’ larger one across the front of
the house. “Don’t you sleep in front?” she asked, suddenly feeling
awkward again as his eyes swept her. Oh, no, not that
over-the-waterfall sensation again. She’d been fighting
it, but feelings flew between them like pounding spray. “No, I keep that for my home office,” he said but didn’t
open the door to give her a glimpse. “I’m down the hall.
I can use the bathroom downstairs, so you just go ahead.” He got a set of towels from the hall linen closet with an
extra blanket he piled in her arms. He was so close she
could see how thick his eyelashes were. Little flecks of
gold swam in the brown irises of his eyes. He had a
slight scar on the slant of his left cheek—from the war?
But surely a bomb blast had not done that to him, for
that would have been more of a shock, a boom—like his
very nearness was to her. “I can’t thank you enough,” she whispered. “Maybe sometime,” he said. Then before she knew it was
coming, he leaned forward to kiss her.
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