Secret Sisters by Jane Ann Krentz is a blend of mystery/suspense and relationship romance. I don't normally read this type of book but I received a copy of this book from ALA and the author is now on my "read all her books" list. This title goes on sale in December (according to the cover of my ARC copy).

A family secret, a death, then a murder launches Maddie into a past she'd rather forget. After her grandmother's death Maddie inherits the Sanctuary Creek B & B Chain and is settling into running it alone when she is called by Tom, the caretaker of the Aurora Point Hotel on Cooper Island. It was her grandmother's first hotel and which has been shut down for 18 years. Heading there to meet with Tom kindles an 18-year-old memory she's kept pushed to the back of her mind. The mystery behind the night her grandmother decided to shut down the hotel and leave resurfaces. When she discovers the caretaker mortally wounded while trying to stop vandals on the property, Jack, the head of the security company for the Sanctuary Creek Inns, arrives to help her and local police with the crime. Jack soon realizes that this may be linked to the past and not only is Maddie in danger but everyone who was involved on that night so many years ago.

With Jack's help, Maddie connects with her childhood best friend (until they were 12) Daphne. They had been secret sisters though the circumstances of that night led them onto different paths that were never supposed to cross again. Now, it seems that a powerful family on the island may have been involved 18 years ago. But why have they waiting so long to seek revenge--and which one of them is involved? The parents? The troubled son? Or the son running for office? The two people--her grandmother and the caretaker--who might have answers are dead. As Jack and his brother work with Daphne and Maddie, the mystery becomes more complicated and points to events that happened even longer ago than the girls' 18-year-old traumatic memory.

I loved the mystery of the past coming back to haunt them but also rekindle the friendship between the girls who are now successful women in their own ways. The strong pacing and plot twists that kept me guessing created a book I couldn't put down. I kept reading "one more chapter." I loved the villains with the one family--multiple culprits--and the story line kept me guessing WHICH was the true villain behind the past event. It also had just enough romance--not too much for my taste. (I was surprised to find myself rooting for these relationships to happen.) The ending was a surprise (but all the clues where in place and the pieces line up) and very satisfying. I especially liked the weaving of complex relationships between the various characters.

This is definitely a novel I recommend, and I look forward to reading more by this author. I gave it a 4 of 5 but it's really a 4.5 (wish we could could give partial stars) only because I didn't stay up all night reading it.