Silent Shadows

I've really anticipated this novel, which concludes the Harbored Secrets series set in small-town coastal Georgia. Pecca was a side character in the previous two novels and I liked her and her son Maceo. Well, now she's in danger from a connection to her past, and it's up to Colton, a veteran who believes himself used-up and past-tense from his disability, to stand in the gap and help save her life.

I've always enjoyed books that feature a mother/child relationship and this one's really well done. Maceo has a prosthetic leg and fits in surprisingly well with the veterans at the rest center where Pecca works. Watching a small boy open up to a grown man is really cute; I think one of my favorite scenes was when Maceo and Colton meet (there's a ball involved).

The small-town setting seemed authentic and fun; everyone knows everyone and can tell random facts about each other, like when someone got a car or put up a new fence. There are a few appearances from characters from the previous books, which was fun.

The bad guy is quite convincingly nasty. He has a decent streak, of caring what happens to his family, but his bad streak is ready to sacrifice everyone else's family, providing his own survives. It kept me on my toes trying to guess when he was going to show up and if he was perhaps already there in another guise. I really loved the guessing game of putting together the clues to figure out what was really going on with him.

Thanks to the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.