Every Single Secret

 
       by Christina Dodd

Rowan Winterbourne is hiding from her past in an isolated lighthouse on the California coast. She has been hiding from a powerful drug and arms dealer named Gregory Torval. Torval murdered her mother and father and promised to kill every member of her family. She’s both lonely and frightened, but tough enough to survive and build a business called “The Fixer.” Her clients hire her to “fix” their problems most of which are everyday things like finding gardeners, plumbers, housekeepers, construction workers, and handymen. She prides herself on matching her clients with the proper people who will fix, clean, plant, repair, and most of all listen. For special clients, for an elevated fee, she also finds travel agents, nannies, doctors, and bankers. When one of her favorite clients tells her he is dying and wants her to hire an assassin to kill him, so he won’t suffer, she is shocked but the connections she has from her past allow her to make the call. Her grief regarding her friend’s illness and the shock of having to hire an assassin drives her to make a terrible mistake.

When the unusual happens and someone knocks on her door, Rowan thanks it is the assassin she hired and allows him in and allows him to seduce her. Rowan recognizes her error in judgement and suddenly finds her isolation coming to an end. The person who knocked on the door was not the assassin, but Joe Grantham who claims that he too wants to enact revenge against Torval and demands her help with his own brand of blackmail. Rowan is fascinated by Grantham and tired of hiding. She wants revenge and while Grantham’s plan seems outrageous and likely to get them both killed, she is tired of her isolation and much too interested in Grantham.

 Torval lives on a private island which is not only isolated but well-guarded. Grantham has been invited to Torval’s decadent birthday party on Raptor Island. Grantham brings Rowan as his date which puts her into extreme danger. They both walk a knife’s edge of danger and could die at any time. The tension keeps the reader on edge and the chemistry between Grantham and Rowan keeps you wondering if they survive will Dodd write another book with both of them sharing the spotlight.

It's hard to imagine that Rowan and Joe actually believe they can enact revenge and get off an isolated, guarded island alive, but desperation drives them both and desperation sometimes brings out the best in people. The cast of characters at the party are varied and interesting. Joe remains mysterious, but Rowan is a strong and determined woman with a tragic background. Rowan does find a possible ally on the island but doesn’t know if she can really trust the person. Both Joe and Rowan have learned that telling their secrets could well kill them so getting those secrets out into the open is difficult for both of them.

 Dodd peppered the book with interesting characters, some humor, lots of danger, and thrills. An abundance of secrets are revealed and tension is ramped up pretty high. Once you start reading this book, it is pretty hard to stop!

Dodd went in a slightly different direction in June when she put out a historical mystery which looks unique called "A Daughter of Fair Verona." Another of her mystery novels “Girl Anonymous” is expected to come out in March 2025.