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A Cooper and White Mystery #1
Sins of the Past
YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM THE PAST...
Stay-at-home mom Kate Martinez’s life is turned upside down when her husband Diego is stabbed to death, leaving her with no means to support their toddlers. Detectives Cooper and White are put on the case, and their only lead is the unusual knife left at the crime scene. Kate insists neither Diego nor she have any enemies.
It turns out that Diego may have more enemies than Kate thinks; he was once a member of a vicious gang and kept this from Kate. When Kate discovers his lies, she’s devastated and turns to Trevor, a man she once dated who's become a friend.
Little does she know that Trevor, too, used to be a member of a brutal gang—which happens to be a rival to her husband’s gang. Has the past caught up with Diego, or is there a more sinister reason to his death? When Kate learns the truth, it may be too late…
Stay-at-home mom Kate Martinez’s life is turned upside down when her husband Diego is stabbed to death, leaving her with no means to support their toddlers. Detectives Cooper and White are put on the case, and their only lead is the unusual knife left at the crime scene. Kate insists neither Diego nor she have any enemies.
It turns out that Diego may have more enemies than Kate thinks; he was once a member of a vicious gang and kept this from Kate. When Kate discovers his lies, she’s devastated and turns to Trevor, a man she once dated who's become a friend.
Little does she know that Trevor, too, used to be a member of a brutal gang—which happens to be a rival to her husband’s gang. Has the past caught up with Diego, or is there a more sinister reason to his death? When Kate learns the truth, it may be too late…
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 23, 2016
1483 people are currently reading
891 people want to read
About the author
Julia Derek
101 books115 followersJulia Derek is originally from Sweden and is a trainer by day and writer by night. She's the author of several mystery and thriller books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
June 5, 2017
Don't waste your time or money.
Unbelievable and predictable story. Dialogue keeps going on and on, repeating again and again same things. Felt bad about the two children.
Unbelievable and predictable story. Dialogue keeps going on and on, repeating again and again same things. Felt bad about the two children.
Want to read
January 14, 2018💝 FREE on Amazon today (1/14/2018)! 💝
May 27, 2018
There were twists and turns, but some things were pretty far-fetched. One of several incidents that stretched credibility was the female detective being allowed into the prison yard of a federal prison to talk to members of a violent gang; although the prison staff knew she was a detective, they let her go out among dangerous criminals pretending to be someone other than a cop. I appreciate that, although the book is part of a series, there wasn't a cliffhanger ending and there was no offensive language or graphic sex or violence.
July 26, 2017
Kate and Diego Martinez seem to have a perfect life -- he has a good job, they have a happy marriage and two beautiful young children. But when Diego is murdered, Kate discovers that her husband had a deep secret, a secret that shatters her reality. As the investigation proceeds the detectives discover that she has a few secrets of her own. How do these secrets fit together to solve the puzzle? An interesting story with a few twists. The dialog seems stiff, not quite natural.
No sex
No violence
No sex
No violence
June 14, 2019
Excellent murder mystery. Fast paced and can not put down.
Many secrets that unfold throughout the book. The characters are very realistic . I enjoyed the. Story very much. I am looking forward to reading more of her books
Many secrets that unfold throughout the book. The characters are very realistic . I enjoyed the. Story very much. I am looking forward to reading more of her books
May 27, 2020
I really enjoyed this murder mystery. Just as I thought I had it figured out, I was thrown another curveball. You will get caught up in the twists and turns of this story with characters you can identify with. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy murder mysteries with a twist.
May 30, 2017
Sins of the Past
All I can say is WOW I never would have thought this book would be this good!But I should have known better,look who the author is.
All I can say is WOW I never would have thought this book would be this good!But I should have known better,look who the author is.
June 4, 2017
An intriguing tale
This is a well crafted novel with some interesting twists linked to gangs and revenge. The ending is what links the high school chapter into the story and works the drama up for the final act. Would recommend this aurthor
This is a well crafted novel with some interesting twists linked to gangs and revenge. The ending is what links the high school chapter into the story and works the drama up for the final act. Would recommend this aurthor
June 21, 2017
Sins Of The Past
Loved it . Really good suspense. You don't want to put the book down. Believe me I didn't. I read it all in one day. I recommend this book.
Loved it . Really good suspense. You don't want to put the book down. Believe me I didn't. I read it all in one day. I recommend this book.
June 25, 2017
Kept you on your toes
The author kept your attention and the story was always riveting. Not what you were expecting at all... Excellent read
The author kept your attention and the story was always riveting. Not what you were expecting at all... Excellent read
June 24, 2019
Suspense from beginning to end
A great story full of twists and turns. The characters seem very real. A hard book to put down once I started reading it.
A great story full of twists and turns. The characters seem very real. A hard book to put down once I started reading it.
July 23, 2023
Mostly predictable.
June 6, 2017
Really good plot
Kate Martinez's husband Diego is stabbed to death in Central Park. Was it a random robbery or could someone have a motive to murder Diego?
It seems that everyone has some secret in their past, and now someone from the past is seeking revenge.
5
Kate Martinez's husband Diego is stabbed to death in Central Park. Was it a random robbery or could someone have a motive to murder Diego?
It seems that everyone has some secret in their past, and now someone from the past is seeking revenge.
5
June 9, 2017
An interesting story highlighting gang affiliations and the effect they have on peoples lives
June 15, 2019
WOW
It surprised me how good the book was. This was the first book by Julia Derek, I loved Wil age is a strong confident independent woman I love books like this. I was not expecting the killer who they were. I could write more but I don't want to give away the book. If you love a book with strong characters and twist and turn you will love this novel.
It surprised me how good the book was. This was the first book by Julia Derek, I loved Wil age is a strong confident independent woman I love books like this. I was not expecting the killer who they were. I could write more but I don't want to give away the book. If you love a book with strong characters and twist and turn you will love this novel.
February 27, 2018
Very captivating. Good read
December 29, 2022
I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
May 29, 2018
Your past will never stay hidden. Diego has made mistakes but he has put it all behimd him. He has a goos job a loving wife and two beautiful children so why does he land up bleeding out in the park? Kate can't understand why anyone would want to have killed her husband, he had no enemies and they have a normal life. But Kate doesn't know all about his old life and what he did to escape can she forgive him when she finds out? Detective Cooper & White are on the case and it just seems like a simple robbery but once they speak to the murdered man's family it might be something else. Kate finds it easier to cope evrytday as she has her old friend Trevor to help. Se knows that she should have been honest with her husband about Trevor but he was always so angry about her seeing him so she lied. Now she can see him all the time and he gets on really well with the children but is Trevor the man that she thinks he is? Trevor is not a nice man at all, he is using Kate to get justice for his father and his sister and she has no idea that she just invited evil into their lives.
The more that Cooper & White dig to they find more questions than answers, so the Aryan Brotherhood is involved but their main suspect is missing and now where do they go from here? Diego had enemies from his past but they had no reason to harm him now and what did he do to make the AB come looking for him? Will they be able to piece the puzzle together? A good read full of action.
The more that Cooper & White dig to they find more questions than answers, so the Aryan Brotherhood is involved but their main suspect is missing and now where do they go from here? Diego had enemies from his past but they had no reason to harm him now and what did he do to make the AB come looking for him? Will they be able to piece the puzzle together? A good read full of action.
June 4, 2018
A few things didn't add up
Sometimes a good story gets lost for me when details aren't accurate. Apparently the author doesn't have a grasp of Midwest states geography. Norman, OK is not a short drive to Houston. Similarly Marion IL is not close to either Texas or Oklahoma. Having the detectives driving between these locations in the apparent timeframe was unrealistic. The visit to the prison stretched reality way to far. As part of a previous job I had to make prison visits. These always had to be arranged in advance. All visitors go through a metal detector and no one would be allowed in the yard without a guard at their side. Not to mention she would not have been allowed in with her gun in her holster. Aside from those inaccuracies it was a decent plot and I did like the flashback style of introducing characters, however I wondered why the twin sister wasn't brought into the story in the same way.
Sometimes a good story gets lost for me when details aren't accurate. Apparently the author doesn't have a grasp of Midwest states geography. Norman, OK is not a short drive to Houston. Similarly Marion IL is not close to either Texas or Oklahoma. Having the detectives driving between these locations in the apparent timeframe was unrealistic. The visit to the prison stretched reality way to far. As part of a previous job I had to make prison visits. These always had to be arranged in advance. All visitors go through a metal detector and no one would be allowed in the yard without a guard at their side. Not to mention she would not have been allowed in with her gun in her holster. Aside from those inaccuracies it was a decent plot and I did like the flashback style of introducing characters, however I wondered why the twin sister wasn't brought into the story in the same way.
October 4, 2019
The basic story and characters were okay...but i felt like I was reading a grade 8 student's work. The dialogue was stilted...and Kate's character was more than just a little naive. The premise at the end was just not even tenable...it was so far removed from what would happen in real life that I really did feel like I was reading a student's story...you know...from a kid who has not experienced much in his life, and does not really know how the police operates. A couple of details are almost laughable...who has an identical twin sister with the same name? And how doesn't Trevor know that Kate did not live in his hometown...a simple conversation would uncover that pretty quickly. Seriously this story needs a major rewrite, because it has some good bones, but not a lot of meat.
June 28, 2017
Disappointing
The writing here was a bit clunky, especially the dialogue. The author telegraphs early in the story that something is not quite right with Trevor, so there were few surprises later. The plot went in a ludicrous direction and I just didn't buy it. Then there was the serious clunker of Detective Cooper taking a gun into a prison yard. Unless the rules in Illinois are different to other prisons, this was a bad error. An unsatisfying read.
The writing here was a bit clunky, especially the dialogue. The author telegraphs early in the story that something is not quite right with Trevor, so there were few surprises later. The plot went in a ludicrous direction and I just didn't buy it. Then there was the serious clunker of Detective Cooper taking a gun into a prison yard. Unless the rules in Illinois are different to other prisons, this was a bad error. An unsatisfying read.
July 22, 2019
Weak
A fairly promising start: a female detective with a traumatic past, teamed with a kindly and experienced partner. After that it kind of went to pot with the author grabbing any possible dark or criminal episode, and mixing it up to try and produce a novel. None of the characters had any great depth of personality and the storyline was desperate. I gave two stars though it deserves only one, sorry.
A fairly promising start: a female detective with a traumatic past, teamed with a kindly and experienced partner. After that it kind of went to pot with the author grabbing any possible dark or criminal episode, and mixing it up to try and produce a novel. None of the characters had any great depth of personality and the storyline was desperate. I gave two stars though it deserves only one, sorry.
February 23, 2023
Yikes, this was painful. It was as if I decided to write a book with no previous writing experience. Everything felt so scripted and explained. There was nothing for the reader to figure out or be surprised by. I was able to read this in record time because I could predict the next paragraphs and dialog. I got to the end, just be sure I was right about my hunches regarding the storyline. I was!!
June 8, 2017
Valiant Effort
As a reader of many, many books in numerous genres, I found the story hard to believe. The word usage in some sections was awkward and stilted. The characters seemed one-dimensional.
On the other hand, the author seems to relish storytelling and I applaud her efforts!
As a reader of many, many books in numerous genres, I found the story hard to believe. The word usage in some sections was awkward and stilted. The characters seemed one-dimensional.
On the other hand, the author seems to relish storytelling and I applaud her efforts!
February 19, 2019
"Slow and steady"
Not the gripping sort of opener to a brand new series that I hoped for. It wasn't an easy read, the plot had too many fundamental flaws and everything moved at a snail's pace. Maybe the quirky writing style had an input on how I perceived this one. Whatever it was I wasn't sorry to find I'd reached the end.
Not the gripping sort of opener to a brand new series that I hoped for. It wasn't an easy read, the plot had too many fundamental flaws and everything moved at a snail's pace. Maybe the quirky writing style had an input on how I perceived this one. Whatever it was I wasn't sorry to find I'd reached the end.
June 24, 2019
A good premise, and could have been five stars, but some details are implausible, like the cross-country wild goose chase Cooper and White did from NYC to Norman, OK, to Houston, TX, to somewhere in Illinois - not sure they’d have the energy to continue investigating after such a journey! Dialogue is often stilted, and repetitive.
June 28, 2019
I love a good mystery and this one was a very enjoyable read. It was a little more predictable than what I would have liked it to be but the plot and the cast of characters were well thought out and kept me wanting more. It’s always a good sign when I don’t want to put the book down and that’s where I found myself many times with this one. It was exciting and fast pace!
November 7, 2019
This story is so bad, the police work is completely off, what happens is so unbelievable stupidly written I couldn’t finish the book. How could a author write something like this without even check with authorities or cops or who ever has an idea how police work is done. Laughable or maybe even sad .....
December 13, 2017
Not Terrible, But Not a Page-Turner
The story is just okay. The characters are not very well developed, the dialog, at times, was backward, and many parts of the story were just not believable. Not terrible, but certainly not a page-turner.
The story is just okay. The characters are not very well developed, the dialog, at times, was backward, and many parts of the story were just not believable. Not terrible, but certainly not a page-turner.
June 26, 2017
NYC Police procedural
Wil and Larry, police detectives investigate a night time Central Park murder. Nice character development with well interwoven plots. Once the killer is identified, new data ties into a flashback to deepen the story line.
Wil and Larry, police detectives investigate a night time Central Park murder. Nice character development with well interwoven plots. Once the killer is identified, new data ties into a flashback to deepen the story line.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews