Secrets Hidden in the Glass (Carter Island, #1)

by Cate Beauman

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

3.5 Stars

It takes one simple occurrence to uncover a deeply buried secret from the past.


I enjoyed the author’s Bodyguards of LA County series. When I discovered she would be releasing a new book with a different series, I was excited to get my hands on a copy.

What the story is about.

Secrets Hidden in the Glass is the story of Callie Davis and Nate Carter. Callie is a renowned Stained-Glass artist who is facing a slump in her artistic talents. To combat the pressures and the stress, which contributed to her slump she escaped to Carter Island where she hopes to get peace, rest and her creative juices flowing again. However, her plans never included meeting the hot and sexy sheriff of Carter Island, a meeting that would change her life in ways she never expected.

Sheriff Nate Carter was looking forward to the quiet and peaceful days, which usually accompany the autumn season. Now that summer was over and the tourists have left the island, life could not get any better. However, the arrival of the mysterious and beautiful Callie Davis would put a kink in his plan. Shrouded by mystery, her presence unknown to them would wake up deadly and deeply buried secrets, which would place them in the cross-hairs of a killer.


What I Liked
The beginning of the story, which set the tone for the rest of the book, was intriguing. It peaked my curiosity, making me eager to discover the identity of the child abandonned twenty-two years ago and her connection to Callie Davis. However, after sometime the story slowed down as the story focused on the life Callie is establishing with Nate. For a moment I found my interest waning and I was tempted to give up on the story, but I am glad I stuck it out. The story heated up, when Callie made a discovery, which would set her on a path to discovering her true identity. However, the fallout from this new development would turn her life upside down. Hounded by the media and the emergence of crackpots would prove more stressful than the very thing she came to the island to escape.

There were a few tense moments as Nate tries to uncover the secrets from Callie’s past. Some parts of the story was predictable, but there were areas where the author had me guessing the identity of the persons responsible for the tragedy in Callie’s past.

Nate proved to be a caring, funny, protective, determined and a loyal hero. The way he stood by Callie was endearing and inspiring. His determination to help her discover the buried secrets of her life was a testament to how much he cared about her.

Kind, warm and brave are the words I would use to describe the heroine. However, sometimes I was turned off by her indecisiveness as it relates to the investigation. I recognised her propensity to cry when events from her past and present appeared overwhelming has a sign of anxiety, which was a product of the events from her past.

Together they made the perfect couple. Their relationship, which I found inspiring was built on two important ingredients love and trust. It was these ingredients, which helped them survive the chaos, which surfaced because of Callie’s discovery. Callie found her home in Nate's loving arms and Nate discovered what it meant to love and be loved unconditionally.
I enjoyed reading about the secondary characters, both the good and bad ones. I was especially intrigued by Brad and Molly. I would love to know their story.

What I did not like.

The problem I had with this book had more to do with its length and not the story. It was quite a lengthy story at 599 pages. Now I rarely have problems with stories that long, but when there a lot of details that does not add value and takes away from the important aspects of the story then that is when I have an issue. This was the main thing that contributed to the slow pace of Secrets Hidden in the Glass. I skipped pages just so I could get to the important details.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, Secrets Hidden the Glass was an intriguing and interesting read and one I would recommend to readers who love romance and mystery and do not mind stories filled will many details.