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Misty Hollow #1
Secrets of Misty Hollow
Karlie Marshall’s mother has a secret…
One that will turn Karlie’s world upside down…
A secret that could get them killed.
A simple DNA test to find out whether she had any living relatives other than her mother brings to light a startling secret. As a child, her mother had entered Witness Protection and fled to the safety of the Ozark mountains. Now, Karlie’s peaceful life was shattered.
Once the buzz around New York showed the mistress and daughter of Anthony Bartelloni were living in the Ozarks, FBI agent, Heath Westbrook, goes undercover as the sheriff of Misty Hollow in order to protect the Marshall women.
Danger grows by the minute. Trust is shattered. Love is denied as death seems imminent.
Can Karlie and Heath see justice done and give into their feelings of love or will death find them first?
One that will turn Karlie’s world upside down…
A secret that could get them killed.
A simple DNA test to find out whether she had any living relatives other than her mother brings to light a startling secret. As a child, her mother had entered Witness Protection and fled to the safety of the Ozark mountains. Now, Karlie’s peaceful life was shattered.
Once the buzz around New York showed the mistress and daughter of Anthony Bartelloni were living in the Ozarks, FBI agent, Heath Westbrook, goes undercover as the sheriff of Misty Hollow in order to protect the Marshall women.
Danger grows by the minute. Trust is shattered. Love is denied as death seems imminent.
Can Karlie and Heath see justice done and give into their feelings of love or will death find them first?
- GenresRomance
243 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2020
281 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Hickey
463 books325 followersWebsite at www.cynthiahickey.com
Also www.forgetmenotromances.com
Multi-published and Amazon and ECPA Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She had several historical romances release through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold close to a million copies of her works since 2013. She has taught a Continuing Education class at the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers conference, several small ACFW chapters and RWA chapters. You can find her on FB, twitter, and Goodreads, and is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazine blog and Suspense Sisters blog. She and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s best well-known authors. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs, two cats, three box turtles, and two Sulcata tortoises. She has eight grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”.
Also www.forgetmenotromances.com
Multi-published and Amazon and ECPA Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She had several historical romances release through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold close to a million copies of her works since 2013. She has taught a Continuing Education class at the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers conference, several small ACFW chapters and RWA chapters. You can find her on FB, twitter, and Goodreads, and is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazine blog and Suspense Sisters blog. She and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s best well-known authors. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs, two cats, three box turtles, and two Sulcata tortoises. She has eight grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 7, 2022
You could just read the summary of this book and save yourself the suffering. Not much else to tell. What is told is truly unbelievable and not in a good way. Little background, zero plot and eye roll inducing decision making and dialogue. Only likable character is the dog.
May 18, 2023
I really liked this book. Karlie had a quiet life until she discovered her father was a mob boss, then the trouble really began. Heath was all alpha male and protecting her, it was HOT. These two had so much chemistry and their feelings for each other were just there for everyone to see
June 8, 2023
This is the first suspense novel I've read of Cynthia Hickey's and I must say it was a great read. Lots of suspense, mystery, and a storyline mixed with mob bosses & city life v/s small town.
Susan Reese and her daughter, Kayla have changed their names & left the city for a small town to escape a terrible past. Susan is hiding a secret from her daughter in order to protect her. The story as it played out had lots of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting, and plenty of non-stop action. The characters were well-developed and my favorite was Kayla. She is adventurous with lots of courage.
The ending wrapped everything up nicely. Highly recommend it.
Susan Reese and her daughter, Kayla have changed their names & left the city for a small town to escape a terrible past. Susan is hiding a secret from her daughter in order to protect her. The story as it played out had lots of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting, and plenty of non-stop action. The characters were well-developed and my favorite was Kayla. She is adventurous with lots of courage.
The ending wrapped everything up nicely. Highly recommend it.
July 23, 2025
I'm not sure what audience this book is written for but it feels like a drama thriller for a 14 year old. I made so many notes and highlights in this book that there are far too many to write them all as I would have liked to do but here are a few of the most prevalent ones...
- This book is like a story you've heard second hand from someone who wasn't even there. It's choppy and weirdly written. The dialogue is strange and seems unnaturally worded and structured.
- Everything happens too quickly, not a lot of details are shown or told. I'm almost always back tracking to see if I missed something because the transitions are non existent. The story becomes confusing at points because of this.
- FULL of cliches. I like a cliche or two that make me smile at the ridiculousness of it, but it has to be balanced with realness. This story is just absolutely unbelievable in so many frustrating ways.
- Speaking of frustrating... How could Karlie not be caught? How did they not know who she was when at the end her father says somehting about a DNA test. Clearly he knew then where and who she was so why did it take half the book for no one to catch her and then she just runs to NYC to "face" her father? What was her mom even doing in the story? It could have been the same with or with her.
- At the very end the author says "Karlie even saw Heath on occasion when he came into the restaurnt," and then literally a few sentences later Karlie is absolutely SHOCKED to see Heath walking up her driveway... What????? Why????
Honestly, you could read the "about this book" and you'd know the whole story. Save yourself the time.
- This book is like a story you've heard second hand from someone who wasn't even there. It's choppy and weirdly written. The dialogue is strange and seems unnaturally worded and structured.
- Everything happens too quickly, not a lot of details are shown or told. I'm almost always back tracking to see if I missed something because the transitions are non existent. The story becomes confusing at points because of this.
- FULL of cliches. I like a cliche or two that make me smile at the ridiculousness of it, but it has to be balanced with realness. This story is just absolutely unbelievable in so many frustrating ways.
- Speaking of frustrating... How could Karlie not be caught? How did they not know who she was when at the end her father says somehting about a DNA test. Clearly he knew then where and who she was so why did it take half the book for no one to catch her and then she just runs to NYC to "face" her father? What was her mom even doing in the story? It could have been the same with or with her.
- At the very end the author says "Karlie even saw Heath on occasion when he came into the restaurnt," and then literally a few sentences later Karlie is absolutely SHOCKED to see Heath walking up her driveway... What????? Why????
Honestly, you could read the "about this book" and you'd know the whole story. Save yourself the time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2024
This story kind of reminds me of those old scholastic romances for teenagers, the hero is idolised and the young woman is adventurous and takes a lot of risks to get what she wants, Mum is a drag who she believes has been hiding the truth about her father from her and she desperately wants to escape the small town she grows up in or does she? Maybe the boring life she has been leading is not so bad after all. Everything in this book fits more with a teenage romance than an adult novel (not a lot of character development and everything is just a little too black and white and the bad guys are just a little too predictable) There is nothing wrong with the storyline, it is easy to follow and not too complicated but I do prefer my mysteries to have clues to follow rather than being told who the bad guy is right away and the suspense could have been amped up a few levels until she discovers who the new sherriff actually is. Probably could have included how she felt about losing the other waitress and she shows no concern at all for her boss following the explosion so comes across as somewhat shallow and self-centred rather than as a reasonable adult and rushing into the lions den of the city, again not a move that a rational person would make. Good effort and I am sure that the author will improve over time.
December 20, 2024
Karlie Marshall and her mother Sharon are in witness protection, but Karlie doesn’t know it until her crime boss father wants her and her mom to live with him. Witness protection has kept the two of them safe for many years. However, Karlie’s father, Bertolline, finds them. Then he comes for Karlie with an entourage of criminals to do whatever it takes, including killing people, to get to them. The gangsters are up against Heath Westbrook and Shadow though. Heath’s an undercover FBI agent posing as a sheriff and Shadow’s a dog trained to protect people.
Danger increases as Bertolline gets closer to Karlie and Sharon. Sharon goes to Bertolline’s home to get him to leave Karlie alone. Then Karlie realizes what her mom has done, and she goes to Bertollini’s. Are either of them safe there? Heath’s torn between looking out for Karlie and following his romantic interest in her. A committed agent, he knows first and foremost he must do his job. Then, he’s wounded in a skirmish.
The book kept me turning pages to find out what would happen next. How would Heath protect Karlie and Sharon after he was wounded? Also, where would he and Karlie's attraction for each other lead? I highly recommend Secrets of Misty Hollow for all who enjoy mystery and edge-of-your-seat suspense
September 25, 2020
Unfortunately this book did not work for me. While the plot, even if not entirely original, has some merit to it, and the first part of the book is not all that bad, at some point silliness starts pilling up.
That Karlie seems to have very little interest in protecting herself is strange, but not overly so since she has no memory of her father. That a mob boss would need to kidnap and kill a series of women before finding his real daughter is also weird at this day and age, especially since she took a DNA test of which there are most likely records. But that that very same mob boss actually hires a FBI agent to work for him as a body guard because he believes that way Karlie will be more protected was way over the top for me. After that, I kind of lost interest in the book and just went through the motions to get to the end.
Three stars for an idea that actually had potential. No more than that because sadly the potential was curtailed by strange dialogs and even stranger characters.
That Karlie seems to have very little interest in protecting herself is strange, but not overly so since she has no memory of her father. That a mob boss would need to kidnap and kill a series of women before finding his real daughter is also weird at this day and age, especially since she took a DNA test of which there are most likely records. But that that very same mob boss actually hires a FBI agent to work for him as a body guard because he believes that way Karlie will be more protected was way over the top for me. After that, I kind of lost interest in the book and just went through the motions to get to the end.
Three stars for an idea that actually had potential. No more than that because sadly the potential was curtailed by strange dialogs and even stranger characters.
August 14, 2024
When Sharon finds that her husband is putting a hit on somebody in his mob organisation, she packs a little bag and together with their 5 year old daughter she leaves the spoiled life with Antony Barrtelloni .
Both are put in witness protection and for 20 years live happily in the small town of Misty Hollow. When Antony is released from prison, Heath Westbrook of the FBi becomes the new sheriff of Misty Hollow to protect Sharon and Karlie because Antony is adamant to find his daughter and bring her back to New York.
From there things are getting from bad to worse when mob members appear in town and try to find Karlie who is determined not to leave and start a new life somewhere else but see it through.
Things are getting heated, a trained dog is saving lives and twists and turns keep the readers on their toes too.
Definitely worth reading.
Both are put in witness protection and for 20 years live happily in the small town of Misty Hollow. When Antony is released from prison, Heath Westbrook of the FBi becomes the new sheriff of Misty Hollow to protect Sharon and Karlie because Antony is adamant to find his daughter and bring her back to New York.
From there things are getting from bad to worse when mob members appear in town and try to find Karlie who is determined not to leave and start a new life somewhere else but see it through.
Things are getting heated, a trained dog is saving lives and twists and turns keep the readers on their toes too.
Definitely worth reading.
February 19, 2022
first book I’ve read by this author
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it! There was plenty of suspense with some twists and turns. I enjoyed the changes in setting, which helped make the book even more interesting.
I definitely recommend reading this
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it! There was plenty of suspense with some twists and turns. I enjoyed the changes in setting, which helped make the book even more interesting.
I definitely recommend reading this
July 18, 2022
Enjoyabld
Nice, light, fast paced and clean suspense. The main characters are very likeable (although stubborn), and the ending is rather moving. How often in real life mob bosses are very sentimental about their families (or are those days mostly over?). Any,way, this is book worth reading.
Nice, light, fast paced and clean suspense. The main characters are very likeable (although stubborn), and the ending is rather moving. How often in real life mob bosses are very sentimental about their families (or are those days mostly over?). Any,way, this is book worth reading.
September 14, 2022
Suspense with a Touch of Romance
From the small town of Misty Hollow to New York City, trouble abounds in this romantic suspense tale involving crime bosses and an FBI agent. A heroine seeking answers to secrets and trying to stay alive. I highly recommend this one. Fast-paced and lots of action.
From the small town of Misty Hollow to New York City, trouble abounds in this romantic suspense tale involving crime bosses and an FBI agent. A heroine seeking answers to secrets and trying to stay alive. I highly recommend this one. Fast-paced and lots of action.
November 6, 2023
Finally found
Aggravating women to be sure, the only people they listen to is themselves! FBI/Sheriff has the duty of protecting them and with that he discovers that the mob has no intention of giving up until the have both women returned to their boss and that isn't happening on his watch! Thank goodness the retired bomb dog listens.
Aggravating women to be sure, the only people they listen to is themselves! FBI/Sheriff has the duty of protecting them and with that he discovers that the mob has no intention of giving up until the have both women returned to their boss and that isn't happening on his watch! Thank goodness the retired bomb dog listens.
September 7, 2020
I must say this was a good story. A young girl and her Mom run from their home when they discover her father is a mob boss. While in jail he leaves them alone but when he gets out he comes after them with a vengeance. Meanwhile the FBI sends in an agent to keep them safe.
March 5, 2022
Good romantic suspense
This is an interesting romantic suspense novel! Carly finds out the secrets her mother has kept that she's been in witness protection the last 20 years as she meets the new handsome sheriff/ FBI agent.
This is an interesting romantic suspense novel! Carly finds out the secrets her mother has kept that she's been in witness protection the last 20 years as she meets the new handsome sheriff/ FBI agent.
November 4, 2022
Secrets of Misty Hollow
A delightful story of two very strong willed women and the trouble that stocks them. Then there is Heath who is assigned to keep Katie safe. Good story that was hard to put down.
A delightful story of two very strong willed women and the trouble that stocks them. Then there is Heath who is assigned to keep Katie safe. Good story that was hard to put down.
January 26, 2023
Good read would have liked if it was a little longer story.ed it if
Story line was good, to short though. Would have enjoyed it more if it was a longer story. Will read more from this author
Story line was good, to short though. Would have enjoyed it more if it was a longer story. Will read more from this author
September 30, 2023
Wonderful story.
This is a wonderful story. A mob boss's wife leaves in the night with his five year old daughter. She ends up in a small town. She takes all the family secrets with her.
This is a wonderful story. A mob boss's wife leaves in the night with his five year old daughter. She ends up in a small town. She takes all the family secrets with her.
November 12, 2024
Quick, fun, romantic suspense read about Karlie, who's been raised in a small out of the way town by a single mom finds out her real father is a mob boss, and the undercover FBI officer who's job it is to protect her.
December 16, 2020
Recommend as good read with lots of action.
First book I’ve read of Cynthia Hickey. Story kept moving at a good pace. Clean read.
I will read more from her collections.
First book I’ve read of Cynthia Hickey. Story kept moving at a good pace. Clean read.
I will read more from her collections.
May 5, 2021
Best yet
I've read many books by this author and this is my favorite yet. A mix of adventure and romance will leave you wanting more.
I've read many books by this author and this is my favorite yet. A mix of adventure and romance will leave you wanting more.
March 4, 2022
Hickey does a nice job of throwing curve ball which keep your attention. Read it in one day. Kept my attention. An easy read but refreshing & with strong women
March 18, 2022
Interesting book and characters. Overall, the story is believable but near the end of the book, the main protagonists seem to become a bit larger than life. Still, I would recommend reading!
September 18, 2022
Excellent
A read that was so good hard to put down loved this author will follow.This author is great and well liked
A read that was so good hard to put down loved this author will follow.This author is great and well liked
May 6, 2023
Great read, looking forward to reading more about this town and its inhabitants
June 6, 2023
loved it
Couldn’t put it down. Knew there would be suspense & love getting to know the people of Misty Hollow. Looking forward to the next book
Couldn’t put it down. Knew there would be suspense & love getting to know the people of Misty Hollow. Looking forward to the next book
June 7, 2023
Dammit! Tricked into another kissing-only book. I’m not reading Facebook ads anymore. Loved the hero. The heroine was a bit of an idiot.
August 14, 2024
Amazing and addictive
I couldn't stop. I had to read thru to the end. Great characters, plot was exciting, smooth twist transitions. And a happy ending!
I couldn't stop. I had to read thru to the end. Great characters, plot was exciting, smooth twist transitions. And a happy ending!
February 6, 2025
Ugh! Perhaps the story was ok, but the writing was juvenile at best. This surely could have benefited from a good editor (and maybe a 6th grade writing teacher).
February 27, 2025
I just wasn’t interested and was 45% into the book. The writing style isn’t my taste.
March 26, 2025
A joy to read, with great characters, a touch of romance, and an intriguing plot to keep you on the edge of your seat till the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews