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Vital Secrets #5
Carnival of Secrets
Some cases hit closer to home than others…
FBI agent Nathan Thomas and his team are determined to find and stop a cold-blooded, dispassionate killer whose machinations claim the most innocent of victims - small children.
Nathan's delicate balancing act between his professional life as a federal agent and his personal life as a loving husband and doting father will be put to the ultimate test - and the result could shatter his world.
FBI agent Nathan Thomas and his team are determined to find and stop a cold-blooded, dispassionate killer whose machinations claim the most innocent of victims - small children.
Nathan's delicate balancing act between his professional life as a federal agent and his personal life as a loving husband and doting father will be put to the ultimate test - and the result could shatter his world.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 30, 2021
4 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
D.F. Hart
23 books39 followers***Go to www.2ofharts.com to get signed up for my newsletter. That way you'll get advance notice of releases, promos, and freebies! ***
D.F. Hart is my pen name for suspense & thrillers; I've never found my given name to be particularly suspenseful or mysterious, so when I opted to finally give in to the siren call of writing, using my initials felt as natural as breathing. (I write contemporary romance as well, and you can find out more here on Goodreads by looking up D. Faith Hart!)
I’d always intended to be in this career; a college professor teaching Chaucer and Shakespeare somewhere and writing fiction in my off time. However, life has a sense of humor, it seems. Before I even realized it, I found myself hip deep into a career in Accounting – just about as far left-brained as you can get from being an author. I went with that flow and obtained my MBA with Accounting concentration to augment what I’d learned ‘in the trenches.’ I’m going on my twenty-sixth year of ‘crunching numbers’; I like it and I am good at it. But it has never been my passion, and it never will be.
In 2009, the pull to write became overwhelming. I’d had the plot idea for “Wall of Secrets” since 1989, but until I approached my fortieth birthday had been too timid to get it out of my brain and onto paper. I finally decided I’d wasted enough time. If nothing else ever came out of it, I would at least walk that fire path and put this story out into the world. “And the Wall Came Down” was the original title of the result.
By late 2018, I felt I’d told a good first story back then, a unique one, a gripping one. But it seemed a shame to just end it there. So, I picked up the loose threads I’d deliberately left at Wall’s conclusion ten years prior, and started weaving the sequel, re-titling books and their stations along the way. “And the Wall Came Down” became “Wall of Secrets”, the history-and-backstory rich prequel of the Vital Secrets series, and its sequel, “Book Keepers”, morphed into “Book of Secrets“, the first 'official' book in the set.
2019 also brought with it a unique opportunity to truly ‘go indie’, and I seized the chance and haven’t looked back. The advent of the next title in the Vital Secrets Series, “List of Secrets“, firmly set the path for a ensemble cast of characters whose lives develop and grow throughout the series while battling bad guys and catching killers.
Seven stories plus the prequel are the plan for the Vital Secrets series. The final installment, "End of Secrets", will be done sometime in 2022. I've also started a new series, "Raven's Path", which will follow an international hitman's travels as he wrestles with being a hired killer with a moral compass. The first installment, "Raven's Rise," will be released June 26, 2021.
D.F. Hart is my pen name for suspense & thrillers; I've never found my given name to be particularly suspenseful or mysterious, so when I opted to finally give in to the siren call of writing, using my initials felt as natural as breathing. (I write contemporary romance as well, and you can find out more here on Goodreads by looking up D. Faith Hart!)
I’d always intended to be in this career; a college professor teaching Chaucer and Shakespeare somewhere and writing fiction in my off time. However, life has a sense of humor, it seems. Before I even realized it, I found myself hip deep into a career in Accounting – just about as far left-brained as you can get from being an author. I went with that flow and obtained my MBA with Accounting concentration to augment what I’d learned ‘in the trenches.’ I’m going on my twenty-sixth year of ‘crunching numbers’; I like it and I am good at it. But it has never been my passion, and it never will be.
In 2009, the pull to write became overwhelming. I’d had the plot idea for “Wall of Secrets” since 1989, but until I approached my fortieth birthday had been too timid to get it out of my brain and onto paper. I finally decided I’d wasted enough time. If nothing else ever came out of it, I would at least walk that fire path and put this story out into the world. “And the Wall Came Down” was the original title of the result.
By late 2018, I felt I’d told a good first story back then, a unique one, a gripping one. But it seemed a shame to just end it there. So, I picked up the loose threads I’d deliberately left at Wall’s conclusion ten years prior, and started weaving the sequel, re-titling books and their stations along the way. “And the Wall Came Down” became “Wall of Secrets”, the history-and-backstory rich prequel of the Vital Secrets series, and its sequel, “Book Keepers”, morphed into “Book of Secrets“, the first 'official' book in the set.
2019 also brought with it a unique opportunity to truly ‘go indie’, and I seized the chance and haven’t looked back. The advent of the next title in the Vital Secrets Series, “List of Secrets“, firmly set the path for a ensemble cast of characters whose lives develop and grow throughout the series while battling bad guys and catching killers.
Seven stories plus the prequel are the plan for the Vital Secrets series. The final installment, "End of Secrets", will be done sometime in 2022. I've also started a new series, "Raven's Path", which will follow an international hitman's travels as he wrestles with being a hired killer with a moral compass. The first installment, "Raven's Rise," will be released June 26, 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 6, 2021
4 1/2 stars
This is book five of the Vital Secrets series and sees FBI Agent Nathan Thomas and his team having to deal with some sickening cases. This is a very long read of over seven hundred pages, with lots of different stories all happening at the same time, which can be a bit confusing until you figure out who is actually telling their story at the time. Agent Zimmerman gets a call from a fellow agent, who went through the academy with her, telling her of the news of his sudden transfer to their office in Dallas, Texas. She takes this call to her boss Nathan, with a few worries about his suitability for the job and it soon raises a lot more questions, when Nathan pulls a few favours to look into this young Agent Jones. It seems he and a couple of fellow new agents, got themselves caught up in a Mexican drug cartel turf war. Jones is in danger and his transfer is supposed to be a trick to confuse the cartel about his location, but they have a mole in the FBI and it puts Nathan and Lizzie’s family lives in danger!
They start with a series of three dead men and are asked to give a profile of the killer, when a fourth is added to the list. One doesn’t fit and the team have to try and figure out where the killer is located and who they might be. They look at the disposal sites and the specific clues left on the bodies, to write their profile and then pass it on to local authorities. At the same time, a series of three then five dead bodies with a very strange pattern of internal burning of the organs, puzzles emergency doctors and coroners. They believe they are now looking into five deaths and a possible serial killer, but the true facts are even more horrendous when they are finally revealed. There are actually a massive number of unaccounted deaths, mostly of really young and completely innocent children. A sick killer is experimenting on people at their work place, which moves around the Texas area, including some who they work with and dislike, becoming their first guinea pigs. Nathan is enjoying his family life with his wife and toddler son, but more than one of the cases will test his strength of character and ability to keep his personal and professional lives separate. Almost costing him everything!
Really hard hitting cases in this read with the work of the FBI profilers shown to their strengths, in helping smaller departments and police forces to stop killers before they can continue to kill more. The serial killer case left nearly a hundred young children dead and it didn’t come to immediate attention due to the wide area they occurred over and the lack of any real evidence of foul play for many. Only by chance are the majority of the dead linked to the initial five cases they were given and it hits very close to home for Nathan, for more than one reason, when the killer is finally questioned. Personal injuries and devastating news brings extra strain for members of the team and show the strain these agents work under all the time. A job not all are suited for and the pressures can lead to other issues as well, at home and work. A very detailed book, possibly a bit on the long side for some, with numerous characters to follow along with and different cases for the team to work on and solve. Allowing the law to deal with some killers is not always what people might want, when the true depravity of said killers is revealed and it takes a lot to not take the law into your own hands. A compelling read. I look forward to seeing what the team may come across in the next book. Hopefully, not quite as complex and intertwined as this one. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
This is book five of the Vital Secrets series and sees FBI Agent Nathan Thomas and his team having to deal with some sickening cases. This is a very long read of over seven hundred pages, with lots of different stories all happening at the same time, which can be a bit confusing until you figure out who is actually telling their story at the time. Agent Zimmerman gets a call from a fellow agent, who went through the academy with her, telling her of the news of his sudden transfer to their office in Dallas, Texas. She takes this call to her boss Nathan, with a few worries about his suitability for the job and it soon raises a lot more questions, when Nathan pulls a few favours to look into this young Agent Jones. It seems he and a couple of fellow new agents, got themselves caught up in a Mexican drug cartel turf war. Jones is in danger and his transfer is supposed to be a trick to confuse the cartel about his location, but they have a mole in the FBI and it puts Nathan and Lizzie’s family lives in danger!
They start with a series of three dead men and are asked to give a profile of the killer, when a fourth is added to the list. One doesn’t fit and the team have to try and figure out where the killer is located and who they might be. They look at the disposal sites and the specific clues left on the bodies, to write their profile and then pass it on to local authorities. At the same time, a series of three then five dead bodies with a very strange pattern of internal burning of the organs, puzzles emergency doctors and coroners. They believe they are now looking into five deaths and a possible serial killer, but the true facts are even more horrendous when they are finally revealed. There are actually a massive number of unaccounted deaths, mostly of really young and completely innocent children. A sick killer is experimenting on people at their work place, which moves around the Texas area, including some who they work with and dislike, becoming their first guinea pigs. Nathan is enjoying his family life with his wife and toddler son, but more than one of the cases will test his strength of character and ability to keep his personal and professional lives separate. Almost costing him everything!
Really hard hitting cases in this read with the work of the FBI profilers shown to their strengths, in helping smaller departments and police forces to stop killers before they can continue to kill more. The serial killer case left nearly a hundred young children dead and it didn’t come to immediate attention due to the wide area they occurred over and the lack of any real evidence of foul play for many. Only by chance are the majority of the dead linked to the initial five cases they were given and it hits very close to home for Nathan, for more than one reason, when the killer is finally questioned. Personal injuries and devastating news brings extra strain for members of the team and show the strain these agents work under all the time. A job not all are suited for and the pressures can lead to other issues as well, at home and work. A very detailed book, possibly a bit on the long side for some, with numerous characters to follow along with and different cases for the team to work on and solve. Allowing the law to deal with some killers is not always what people might want, when the true depravity of said killers is revealed and it takes a lot to not take the law into your own hands. A compelling read. I look forward to seeing what the team may come across in the next book. Hopefully, not quite as complex and intertwined as this one. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
May 3, 2021
Reading one of the Vital Secrets stories by D.F. Hart feels like coming home. I have read all the books in the series and feel like the characters are part of my family. I look forward to each new book. Carnival of Secrets has a gripping story with fast paced action and realistic dialogue and can be read as a standalone …..highly recommend. I received this book as an ARC and this is my honest review.
April 22, 2021
Carnival of Secrets, by D.F. Hart, is an engrossing tale of madness and detection! The story is gripping from the very beginning. How long will it take for someone to stop him? It is well written with good character development and keeps you engaged throughout!
April 15, 2021
What an amazing book. The characters are wonderful and the plot is amazing, especially with the several twists in there!! I love this series.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews