So, we arrive at the third and final novel in Iza Moreau’s Small Town Series, Secrets in Small Towns, with a certain sense of familiarity. Our favorite dynamic duo, Sue-Ann and Gina, are here, trying to live a quiet, happy, and productive life in the rural Northwest Florida town of Pine Oak. But, like so many such American towns, Pine Oak has issues—an ugly secret from the past, too long-guarded and festering into the present, and a certain intolerance for anything out of the ordinary. Again, it’s Sue-Ann, as editor of the town newspaper, who needs to bring together the many hidden strands of unexplained violence in order to finally out the old wounds. And, on a personal level, she has some unfinished business with her mother’s death she can no longer ignore.

Along the way, however, are some outrageous new characters, rollicking scenes, creative solutions, and intrepid derring-do that prove entertaining and enlightening. But, in this last, full-length story (according to her Facebook page, Moreau has a collection of short stories that will complete the series), perhaps the most compelling situation centers around certain powerful forces in the town that are not content to leave Sue-Ann and Gina in peace. I guess there’s at least one such person in every little town, and in Pine Oak it’s Sergeant Joey Bickley, who is obsessed with outing the two women’s relationship and destroying their lives. Some of Moreau’s most relevant commentary on small town life in America today emerges from this aspect of the novel, and I found it riveting.

In an odd way, this final novel returns us to secrets that have been present all along, from the opening pages of the first novel, The News in Small Towns. It’s a good strategy, and through it we feel the weight of such secrets—how they embed themselves in a person, in a town, in a culture; and how it feels to live with damage and hostility that is beyond our understanding or control. Thanks to the innovative characters Moreau has created, we also see the grace and humor that may accompany the lives in small towns. I’m sorry to see the series drawing to a close, and eager for the final group of stories that will involve these smart, funny, lovely people who might be any of our neighbors.