Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag and a Giveaway

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.

When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child's voice saying, "My daddy hurt my mommy."

Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won't fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough-she's a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen.

As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.

My thoughts:  I enjoy a good mystery.  I love trying to piece together the facts to reach a conclusion and either being justified at the end or proven wrong in a surprise twist.   Tami Hoag is a new to me author and from what I understand is an outstanding contributor to the genre.

I know I've said it before, but I think that there is a certain time in which one is going to really enjoy a particular book.  Maybe it addresses something that the reader is going through, or brings a distant memory to the forefront.  It might reflect the readers priorities at the time.  Something happened to me when I became a mother nearly three years ago.  My tolerances for certain things increased along with my sensitivity to others.  

I know that as a general rule a murder mystery is going to contain some element of wrongdoing, otherwise what are we going to be figuring out?  I felt that this one started out at a fairly gruesome level and was continuing in that direction.  One of the biggest things that I've become less tolerant of is the involvement of children in these types of novels.  From what I can tell the victims four year old daughter is a major part of the story which was a turn off for me at this point in time.  

At this point in my life, this book was not for me.  In my humble opinion, it seems to be well written and I'm not saying that I won't enjoy it in the future, but right now I just couldn't continue it and I stopped reading after the first 50 or so pages.  

I think a reader who is not as sensitive to the two things that I mentioned would probably enjoy this story. I know it has gotten rave reviews by others.  

My Copy of Secrets to the Grave was provided by the publisher in order to participate in this blog tour put together by TLC tours.  If you get a chance, stop by some of the other participants to see what they thought.  

Monday, December 6th:  A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, December 7th:  Luxury Reading

Wednesday, December 8th:  Musings of an All Purpose Monkey

Thursday, December 9th:  Under the Boardwalk

Friday, December 10th:  Life in Review

Monday, December 13th:  The Well-Read Wife

Tuesday, December 14th:  My Two Blessings

Wednesday, December 15th:  Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Thursday, December 16th:  Bewitched Bookworms

Friday, December 17th:  Presenting Lenore

Monday, December 20th:  Man of La Book

Tuesday, December 21st:  I’m Booking It

Wednesday, December 22nd:  Rundpinne (Deeper Than the Dead)

Thursday, December 23rd:  Rundpinne (Secrets to the Grave)

Monday, December 27th:  Reviews by Molly

Monday, January 3rd:  Teresa’s Reading Corner

Wednesday, January 5th:  Lesa’s Book Critiques

Monday, January 10th:  Jen’s Book Thoughts

Do you love a good mystery?  Want to find out if this one will appeal to you more than it did to me?  The publisher has graciously offered one of my readers a copy of BOTH of Tami Hoag's Novels.  You have the opportunity to read both Secrets to the Grave as well as the first in the series, Deeper than the Dead.  

The Giveaway for these two will run through Midnight Mountain Time on January 14, 2011.  I will then randomly select the winner who will be notified via email.  They will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.