About the Book:

Some secrets are worth dying for.

For months, Doctor Rowan Dupont has been staring death in the face. It followed her back to her hometown of Winchester, Tennessee, ten months ago, cloaking the walls of her family’s Victorian funeral home like a shroud. In investigating the mysterious deaths of her loved ones, Rowan has unearthed enough family secrets to bury everything she’d previously thought true. But each shocking discovery has only led to more bodies and more questions; the rabbit hole is deeper than she ever imagined.

Despite settling in to a comfortable life with Police Chief Billy Brannigan, Rowan knows dangerous serial killer Julian Addington is still out there. She can’t let her guard down now. Not when she’s this close to ending his torment once and for all. But with a storm brewing on the horizon, she’ll get only one shot before the impending darkness takes hold, threatening to wipe away every truth she’s uncovered—and everything she holds dear.

Direct Amazon buy links for all books in this series:

The Undertaker’s Daughter
The Secrets We Bury (The Undertaker’s Daughter)
The Lies We Tell (The Undertaker’s Daughter Book 2)
The Darkness We Hide (The Undertaker’s Daughter Book 3)

My Review:

I recently read my first book by Debra Webb, and was thrilled to see that there was another book, THE DARKNESS WE HIDE, coming out soon.  I went ahead and read the book, aware that it was the concluding book three of THE UNDERTAKER’S DAUGHTER series.  While I was able to get pulled immediately into the story, and obtained enough previous information to not be lost, I definitely recommend reading the prequel and books one and two first.  You won’t be sorry.  This review is truly for the whole series, as opposed to just this final book.

Dr. Rowan Davenport has had a life filled with pain and trauma.  Her twin sister was murdered at only thirteen, and shortly after that, her mother committed suicide.  Rowan became a psychiatrist, working with the police department, eventually writing a successful book.  When it turns out that her long time friend and colleague, Julian Addington, is in reality, a serial killer, and she was unable to detect it despite her training and experience, Rowan leaves her job and returns to her small home town.  Julian has since murdered her father, resolving that he intends to bring so much pain to Rowan, that she will welcome her own death.  Rowan takes up the family funeral business, and occasionally helps Sheriff Billy Brannigan with cases, though in an unofficial capacity.

Billy and Rowan were school friends, never romantically involved, though young Rowan had a crush on him.  Currently they’re both unmarried, and while there is a simmering attraction between them now, neither has acted on it.  The specter of Julian Addington is always lurking in the background.  In the months since he killed Rowan’s father, he has periodically contacted her, taunting her to use her brain to find out the truth.  Though the FBI is now involved in the hunt for Julian, he is clever enough to elude them while staying close to Rowan.

As a genuine romance finally develops between Rowan and Billy, one that is over two decades in the making, the body count climbs as Julian is determined to take every happiness away from them.  I love this couple’s strength and commitment to each other while facing such a devious enemy.  I couldn’t turn the virtual pages quickly enough to find out the answers to all the questions.  THE DARKNESS WE HIDE is exciting, surprising, twisted, gruesome, and fascinating.  In addition to the superbly written suspense, I loved that Rowan and Billy are around forty-ish, not youngsters, and I adore the respect he had for her talent.  Another interesting (if somewhat morbid) facet was learning about the duties of an undertaker.  I truly enjoyed this series and wholeheartedly recommend it for fans of romantic suspense.    ~Rose