Madeline and Daphne were once as close as sisters—until a secret tore them apart. Now it might take them to their graves.

They knew his name, the man who tried to brutally attack twelve-year-old Madeline in her grandmother’s hotel. They thought they knew his fate. He wouldn’t be bothering them anymore…ever. Still their lives would never be the same.

Madeline has returned to Washington after her grandmother’s mysterious death. And at the old, abandoned hotel—a place she never wanted to see again—a dying man’s last words convey a warning: the secrets she and Daphne believed buried forever have been discovered.

Now, after almost two decades, Madeline and Daphne will be reunited in friendship and in fear. Unable to trust the local police, Madeline summons Jack Rayner, the hotel chain’s new security expert. Despite the secrets and mysteries that surround him, Jack is the only one she trusts…and wants.

Jack is no good at relationships but he does possess a specific skill set that includes a profoundly intimate understanding of warped and dangerous minds. With the assistance of Jack’s brother, Abe, a high-tech magician, the four of them will form an uneasy alliance against a killer who will stop at nothing to hide the truth….

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My Review:

Madeline Chase’s already chaotic life becomes even more complicated when she is urgently summoned back to a hotel her deceased grandmother abandoned almost two decades earlier.  The caretaker insists he has to talk to her immediately and in person.  Madeline arrives, only to find the caretaker has been attacked, and is near death.  He utters some cryptic last words, and Madeline barely escapes the killer, who was still nearby.  She summons her security chief, Jack Rayner, to join her, as it’s obvious that she’s going to need protection.

Jack and Madeline’s relationship is fairly new.  He was hired by her grandmother just before she died, and Madeline tried to get out of their contract so she could hire a different firm, but Jack wouldn’t budge.  They both feel attracted to the other, but neither has made a move yet.  When Jack arrives, Madeline realizes that she’s going to have to confess to him the whole history of what happened to her at this hotel eighteen years ago, when she was just twelve years old.  That devastating incident is what has made Madeline the type of person she is today – controlled, precise, and cool.  Jack, meanwhile, has his own demons, and has focused on building his business and avoiding personal relationships.  He does his job well, but doesn’t hesitate to state his mind, while remaining somewhat of an enigma.

As it becomes evident that the caretaker’s death, and the incidents that are happening now are tied to that long ago tragedy, Jack decides that they need to find Madeline’s former best friend, Daphne, who was also here eighteen years ago.  Madeline and Daphne have not seen, or spoken to each other since then, though they were once so close, they called themselves secret sisters.

While trying to solve the mystery of how the past is still affecting what’s happening today, Jack and Madeline begin an affair, though both feel it’s destined to be of temporary duration.  The story really takes off, with twists and turns.  Just when you think you have the villain(s) figured out, Jayne Ann Krentz throws another curveball.  The mystery is well done, and the writing is top notch.  I made sure to set aside several hours for myself to read this book, as I knew I wouldn’t want to stop.

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about this author’s heroines is that they are intelligent (and usually stubborn) but they manage to retain a certain softness, without being weak.  Madeline didn’t have much of a soft side, although there was a slight lessening in her rigidity near the end of the book.  She did endure that disturbing childhood incident, though, which was bound to have an effect on her.  Once we learn Jack’s secrets, I found him to be definite hero material.  The romance was satisfying, but the mystery took center stage of this book.  I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough while reading SECRET SISTERS, and I recommend it to all fans of romantic suspense – it’s a winner.