Wednesday, March 12, 2025

WRITTEN IN SECRET by Crystal Caudill, Reviewed by Winnie Thomas #NewRelease

THE ART OF LOVE AND DANGER SERIES #1

WINNIE'S REVIEW:
“I wasn’t flirting. I was being witty and charming. I have to test, on occasion, what my heroines say, just so I know what a man’s real reaction would be.”

Crystal Caudill’s fun and witty sense of humor shine in her book, Written in Secret. It breaks up the serious subject of people being murdered by an unknown person who is bringing fiction to life. Lydia Pelton is horrified when she realizes that someone is using her crime novels to kill the people she has written about. Officer Abraham Hall is enlisted to help find the killer, but first he needs to find out how culpable Lydia is.

The characters are well-drawn and engaging, and the plot is creative and pulled me right in from the start. Lydia is plucky, courageous, a little quirky, and lots of fun. Abraham is a wonderful hero, and I loved the banter between the two and the way their relationship changed and grew.

“He strode off with the perfect masculinity of every hero in every dime novel she’d ever read or written.”

Set in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1880, this book is obviously well-researched. With plenty of action, suspense, twists and turns, and a dose of romance, it also has some inspiration to add depth to it. I liked the soul-searching that Lydia had to do when she realized that her actions had undesired consequences.

“Our words have power, Lydia, no matter if they are meant to be fictional or not.”

This is the first book in Caudill’s new series, The Art of Love and Danger, and I’m looking forward to more stories to come. 

* I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from Kregel Publications through JustRead Tours. All opinions are my own. 

BackCover Blurb:
What happens when fiction becomes reality? In the corruption-infested Queen City, danger lurks in every shadow, but Lydia Pelton refuses to stay silent. She writes under a pseudonym, E. A. Dupin, crafting crime novels to exact justice and right the wrongs she sees in society. When a serial killer decides to be the sword to her pen, Lydia is confronted with the consequences of her words. Four men are dead, and the city blames her.

With murders on the rise, Officer Abraham Hall's only lead is Lydia's fiction, and he is thrust into an investigation with the "Killer Queen of Romance." Despite his misgivings about the woman, he realizes that even with his reputation for catching elusive criminals, he needs her help. But his unexpected attraction to Lydia proves as difficult to manage as the woman herself.

As the mystery unfolds, Abraham and Lydia race to rewrite the ending, not only for Cincinnati's citizens, but for their own hearts too.
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kregel Publishing, March, 2025
Available in digital ebook or paperback

 

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

1 comment:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Share This Post

How Our Giveaways Work: The Official Rules

We, the ladies of Inkwell Inspirations, would love to give free stuff to everybody. Since we can't, we will often have a giveaway in conjunction with a specific post. Unless otherwise stated, one winner will be drawn from comments left on that post between the date it was published and the end of the giveaway as determined in the post. Entries must be accompanied by a valid email address. This address is used only to contact the commenter in the event that he/she is the winner, and will not be sold, distributed, or used in any other fashion. The odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. NO PURCHASE, PLEDGE, OR DONATION NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Pinterest