Meg Allison

**Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

Sabrina Layne left her family home and her wealthy father years ago to marry a man against her father’s wishes. Although her husband soon proved to be the con artist and ne’er do well her father had suspected him to be, Sabrina stayed away even after her husband’s betrayal and the subsequent divorce.

Now she has returned home finally, reunited with her father only upon his death, left with the pain of her father’s unrequited love and regrets for a show more reconciliation whose last opportunity has passed. But her father’s funeral reunites her with Jason Sinclair, the man who broke her heart when he left without explanation years before after stirring her heart and leaving her love unfulfilled.

Can she reconcile with Jason and find the friendship they once shared? She knows Jason is keeping secrets from her, and is not sure she can trust him anymore, especially with a string of murders surrounding her, including her own father’s.

Jason knows his life as an undercover CIA agent is too dangerous to include love, but when little Sabrina Layne returns home, all bets are off.

Secrets and Shadows is a suspenseful tale fraught with romantic tension, mysteries, and the most delightful twist to the end. I can usually predict the twist to most stories, but I confess to never having seen this one coming! Although in hindsight, I see there were tiny clues peppering the story, Meg Allison so cleverly distracted me with the romantic tension that I was completely surprised when the twist came.

Meg Allison has a wonderful writing style, and the reader is quickly swept up in her characters’ live, enjoying a complete immersion in the world she has fashioned. As the story unwound, I was continuously impressed that no scene, no character, no line was superfluous, although they never felt premeditated, instead flowing naturally with the progression of the story.

While categorized as a romance, the suspense was as important to the story as the romance, to the point where the reader forgets they are reading a romantic novel, and is left satisfied with both elements.

I would recommend Secrets and Shadows to anyone who enjoys suspenseful romance. I will certainly be looking for more of Allison’s work! show less

When Alaina Ryan promised to take her father home to die, she never dreamed he wished her to marry a stranger.

After surviving the War Between the States and a violent attack, she’s unable to stand the thought of a man’s touch. But her betrothed awakens new feelings and Alaina finds herself trusting him despite her fears.

Torin O’Brien regrets his misspent youth and the death of his first love. Unwilling to burden another with the shadow cast over his life, he refuses to consider show more marriage. Then Alaina’s beauty and sweet nature tempt him beyond measure, and his resolve is sorely tested.

But what kind of life can they share if no one trusts a man accused of murder? show less

4 nice short stories. Each showed the the author had a good, but realistic inauguration. Even the paranormal story made sense.