Where Her Secrets Lie

by Katie Tallo

From the bestselling author of Dark August comes a tense, moody thriller about a reclusive grandmother forced to confront her darkest fears to protect her family from a ruthless foe.

Seventy-year-old Lenny Bird lives in a cage of her own making. It’s protected by a strong will, stubborn habits, and hidden secrets—like the crime-scene photos in her basement. And the body in her backyard.

Lenny shut down long ago, when her daughter was murdered and her husband committed suicide. But fifteen years later, a court has ordered her estranged grandson Juls to move back in with her when he’s arrested, courtesy of his notorious paternal grandfather. Juls has crossed the wrong people and his criminal world comes crashing through Lenny’s door, along with his twin daughters.

Lenny’s sanctuary overrun, she and Juls clash over long-held grudges. When she delves into his shady world, Lenny realizes he’s more pawn than player. But when her investigation threatens to dredge up her own dark past, Lenny must fight a ruthless crime boss—and choose between protecting her private purgatory … or breaking free to save the family she loves.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery

327 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication August 1, 2026

About the author

Katie Tallo has more than three decades of experience as an award-winning screenwriter and director. After winning an international novel contest, she began writing mystery thrillers. Her debut thriller, Dark August, was an instant bestseller, earning acclaim as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and an Apple Book of the Month. It also made the Globe 100 list. Since then, Katie has written two more novels in the critically acclaimed Gus Monet trilogy: Poison Lilies and Buried Road, along with two standalone thrillers, Where Her Secrets Lie (August 1, 2026) and The Last Villa (coming June 22, 2027). The author lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her husband.

Reviews

[Carin Ganjon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well thought out thriller with twists and turns. It’s one that’s tied up nicely, easy to read. Quick read, compelling not too complicated characters way to follow. Great palate cleanser. It was a little to convenient for me, simple and I really wasn’t a fan if most of the characters until the end.

Follows Lenny a grandmother who was involved in some shady stuff as well as her grandson and almost every other character.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some Cold Cases remain cold, even when they are 25 years old. Enter Lenny, a detective wanna be , who wants to know how and why her detective husband passed away. This psychological thriller is a page turner!!!

[Bruce Dodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool book that had you on the edge of your seat the whole time…wrapped up nicely!

A great read….drama, suspense, doubt and a creative ending!! Was thinking it started slow, but then gained momentum about 1/3 rd into the book.

[Rhonda Zatezalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story, tough lady

It was a fun read. It has heart, good pacing, and a nice tidy ending. It was a fun afternoon living in Lenny’s world.

[Kathleen Fraska · Rating 5 out of 5]

The excitement builds

This was an excellent book. The excitement to read the next page increased as I read along. It was impossible to predict each event. Such a clever and unique author.

[Profmarianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a difficult time giving a rating for a genre I don't enjoy. I didn't expect this book to fall into that category based on the book summary but it did. I love thrillers and mysteries but this one was gangland, dark, just icky. I didn't feel any fondness for any of the characters and it moved sooooooo slowly. There were only a few plots I wanted answers to but it was dragged out too long to keep my interest.
For those reasons, I can only give 2 stars.