Secrets To The Grave included some characters from the first book of the Oak Knoll series. I liked those characters. However, in this installment, some of their actions made them a little less likable. I have enjoyed several of Ms. Hoag's books. This one was not my favorite. As far as a sequel to the first book- I would have rather read (and the reason I wanted to read the sequel was to find out) what happened to Tommy Crane and his mother. Did she know what Dr. Crane had done? Was she an accomplice? Would murder follow her to another town? Hoag answered none of those questions. Dennis Farman, the evil young character's story, continued; his path was foreshadowed and expected. Dr. Crane still sits in jail awaiting trial. We don't know if he'll ever face trial for the serial murders. These things would have been a better follow up book. Maybe the author intends to address this in the next addition? I hope.
The new elements of the novel, the murder of Marissa Fordham, and the Bordain family's involvement in her life were a bit lack-luster. I figured out who the villain was and their motives very early on - but that had to be an extremely disturbed party to commit such an act, and Oak Knoll has nuts abound. Poor Anne is not a cop, not a superhero, and yet, the woman wards off attacks by two different maniacs. That was tough to accept. The author usually does a great job with multiple plot lines and bad guys. I give the book three stars because I enjoy the author's style. Straight forward and concise. And because I felt compelled to finish it even though I suspected the ending. I plan to read the next book in the series.