Buried Secrets

by J. Mercer

Shady Woods has morphed into something different than what it was when Grace first arrived, and so have Grace and Riah. But when a new teacher moves to town with his son, the two upend Grace’s life with the secrets they represent.

As girls start to go missing, suspicion is cast not only on the new town council and the Sentinel force protecting their borders, but on anyone who’s had a recent connection to them. Can the old council gain traction and tip Shady Woods back towards what it once was? Or will buried secrets ruin both Grace’s world, as well as the town she and her friends are fighting for?

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2023

About the author

J. Mercer grew up in Wisconsin where she walked home from school with her head in a book, filled notebooks with stories in junior high, then went to college for accounting and psychology. She now writes young adult and women's fiction novels and talks editing on The Novel Ending podcast.

IN ONE LIFE AND OUT ANOTHER is a finalist in the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, and won the Canadian Book Awards in the young adult category. Her novel TRIPLICITY won Moonbeam and Readers' Favorite awards, and SHADY WOODS received a perfect score from the BookLife Prize, an indie arm of Publisher's Weekly.

She wishes she were an expert linguist and enjoys exploring with her husband and two daughters.

For updates and news, you can find her on Facebook and Instagram @jmercerbooks, talking about what she’s reading and other bookish things.