Keep No Secrets by
Julie Compton
BOOK DESCRIPTION ON AMAZON:
After the ultimate betrayal, which is more important: trust or forgiveness?
In KEEP NO SECRETS, the controversial follow-up to Compton's debut legal thriller TELL NO LIES, a district attorney struggles to redeem himself after a one-night stand damaged his marriage and professional reputation.
After surviving the private and public fallout from a one-night stand four years before, St. Louis DA Jack Hilliard wants nothing more than to be trusted again by his wife, Claire, and to earn back the respect of the community he serves. Since the day Claire accepted him back into the family, he's vowed to be true to these goals, and so far he's succeeded.
But all of Jack's efforts begin to crumble when the woman involved in his earlier downfall, Jenny Dodson, returns to town claiming threats on her life and asking for his help, and resurrecting for Jack long-buried emotions and questions of her guilt for the murder of a client. Just when he thinks the pressure can't get any worse, his son's girlfriend, Celeste, accuses him of sexual assault, and he suddenly finds himself on the wrong end of a criminal case, battling for his freedom.
Can Jack trust his freedom to the legal system on which he built his career? Or will the ghost of his one-night stand four years before come back to haunt him, causing him to be convicted on the mistakes of his past?
MY REVIEW:
Lies of Omission Are What Keep This Story Going
I want to start off by saying that I did not read the book before this one. This book did give enough information so that I could understand the story and it read well on its own. I was so involved in it, I didn't want to put it down. It is obvious the author has a deep knowledge of the legal system. I was engrossed with the story. There are many layers to the book: the marital relationship, the parent/child relationships, and the relationship Jack wants - but doesn't have - with Jenny. Jack made a mistake in the first book and cheated on his wife with Jenny, who was involved in the murder case of her father's mistress. This mistress was believed to be the reason Jenny's mother, father, and little sister were executed. Another man went to jail and Jenny walked away free. Jack is never sure if her feelings for him were real or if she used their one night together as an alibi for the crime. In this book, Jenny comes back, but Jack fights his impulses and his desires. Jenny says she needs his help because someone has been sending her threatening letters that look like they refer to the murder of her family. He doesn't know if he can trust her, but he agrees to help her anyway because he wants to know the truth about her once and for all.
His son, Michael, makes poor choices with his girlfriend, and in Jack's eagerness to repair some of the damage he caused their father/son relationship when he had the affair, he covers for Michael with Claire. This eventually bites Jack in the backside when Michael's girlfriend accuses him of sexual assault in a case where it is her word against his.
The way I read it, this story was of redemption. Jack tries to do the right thing for his marriage and his family while battling for his legal life against charges made by his son's girlfriend that he sexually assaulted her. Since being tried by the press previously for his adultery, it makes it an even bigger deal to be accused of assault by someone who looks so much like the woman he cheated with. Can he stay within the law, tell Claire no lies, and keep himself out of Jenny's bed while he proves his innocence and regains his son's respect?
I was hoping for a happy ending...but happy depends on your point of view. I'll let you form your own opinion.
I was given this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
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