What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is this week’s Reader Friday, Here’s the first line: Savanah Webster should have known the bright July day would be upsetting the minute she saw Boo Radley blocking the brick walkway to her classroom.
But first the photo and verse. My Limelights have outdone themselves this year! And I have no idea where they came from. I think someone gave me one rooted sprig two years ago, and they took off! And the verse is one I’ve held onto this week. Don’t you just love verses that give your strength!
Now for What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. here’s the cover and back copy:
Family secrets. Historical wrongs. And the truths that refuse to stay buried.
Savannah Webster is trying to find her way forward. She and her husband, Hez, have been separated since tragedy tore them apart and he began numbing his grief and guilt with alcohol. She returned to Tupelo Grove University, which her family helped found over a century ago, to teach history.
When Hez turns up in her classroom asking for a second chance, she rejects the idea immediately. But twenty-four hours later she’s under suspicion for murder, and since Hez is the best attorney she knows, she reluctantly asks him for help. They suspect the murder is tied to someone selling off the university’s pre-Columbian artifacts, but the secrets go much deeper than they realize.
The only hope they’ve got is each other, and they’re going to have to put their past behind them if they’re going to stay alive long enough to uncover all that’s hidden.
My Take:
Oh, my goodness…I read this a couple of months ago in view of endorsing it, and I could not put it down, reading until 3 in the morning to finish it. Colleen Coble and Rick Acker have created great characters with twists and turns you will not see coming…and they’re not done, either. The last chapter indicates the mastermind behind the thefts and murder is still plotting mayhem. And now I have to wait until the next book releases to see what the killer has planned!
I loved watching Hez and Savanah’s relationship change and grow. This book is about second chances as much as about the suspense of discovering who the murderer is. Both characters are well-drawn, and I quickly cared about what would happen to them. What We Hide will keep the reader flipping the pages to the end!
Okay Readers, what have you been reading this week? Leave the first line in the comments and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library!
This Weekend I’ll be joining these awesome authors in Murfreesboro, Shelbyville, and Chattanooga, Tennessee! They’ll be signing their books and I’ll be signing Fatal Witness! If you’re in the area, stop by and visit. The schedule is below.
Murfreesboro, TN
Sat July 13
10 am-12 pm CDT
Christian Publishers’ Outlet
2033 Old Fort Pkwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
Guest Authors: Patricia Bradley, Cindy Sproles
Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/events/358097267277433/
Shelbyville, TN
Sat July 13
1-3:00 pm CDT
New Covenant Christian Bookstore
800 N Main St, Shelbyville, TN 37160
Guest Authors: Patricia Bradley, Cindy Sproles
Learn more: https://shopnewcovenant.com/events-2/
Chattanooga, TN
Sun July 14
2-4:00 pm EDT
Barnes & Noble
2100 Hamilton Place Blvd, Chattanooga, TN 37421
Learn more: https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/2337
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Comments 42
I’ve never heard of Limelights. What an interesting shape to them! They remind me of a bush outside my childhood home. It was a white hydrangea, but we called it a snowball bush.
The verse is powerful and definitely one to claim always and especially during this very busy week for you! Enjoy the book signings.
I’m getting ready to start Matters of the Heart by Kelly Irvin. I read the first four chapters several months ago and was hooked. The book finally arrived this week. The first line reads, “Not a blustery March wind propelling a heavy mist across the Knowles county, Virginia, fairgrounds to the auction platform could stop Declan Miller.”
Author
Barbara, I’m not certain that’s the official name for them. I’ve heard them called oak leaf hydrangeas, but mine don’t have leaves that look like any oak leaf I’ve ever seen. lol And my mother-in-law had a white snowball bush years ago. It was beautiful.
I love Kelly Irvin’s books!!
“You have to tell him.” from Hidden Secrets Between Them by Mindy Obenhaus.
Carolyn Frazier
frazierhlhs@yahoo.com
Author
Oh, Mindy’s book sounds intriguing, Carolyn!
I love the verse! I just wrote it down.
Great review, Pat. What We Hide sounds like a fantastic romantic suspense.
I’m reading Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell. The first sentence: Pam Pantser loves writing so much she’d do it even if she never got published or paid.
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Priscilla, evidently I do too because when I tried to save the meme under the verse address, I had to choose a different name since I already had a meme under that verse. lol
I JSB’s Write Your Novel from the Middle at least once a year! So much good information.
Read that book a few weeks ago. Definitely a nail biter.
My first line comes from Saved by the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund. I just finished it. “World’s biggest fool”
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What We Hide was a nail-biter, Paula! And I love the opening of Jody’s book!
I love your flowers. I have never heard of limelights before, they’re lovely. I’m currently reading “One Last Promise” by Susan May Warren. The first line goes like this: “It was time to tell London the truth”. It’s Book 3 of her Alaska Air One Rescue series, and I am thoroughly enjoying the series.
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Susan May Warren is such a good writer, Linda! I love all her books.
I’m reading Jungle Fire by Dana Mentink. It’s really good and is keeping me guessing.
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I’ll have to check Dana’s book out, Megan!
I enjoyed What We Hide also. I am looking forward to the next one they collaborated on. Have a fun, safe weekend with the signing.
I just finished Queen of Hearts by Heather Day Gilbert, and this is the first line:
Prologue
The wet leaves give way beneath my sock feet, but I can’t slow down, even as another crack of lightning splits the dark sky.
Author
Gloria, I plan to ask Colleen and Rick this weekend just how they collaborated on that book…I can’t imagine writing a book with someone else. lol Heather’s book really sounds good!
Pat, your comment on collaborative writing reminds me of waaay back when the movie and book “2001, A Space Odyssey” came out. The screen play was written by Stanley Kubrick, and the book by Arthur C. Clarke (based on his short story called “The Sentinel”). Clarke later wrote about how they did it. This was long before e-mail, and they lived half a world apart. Kubrick would take a portion from The Sentinel, write the corresponding words needed for the screenplay, and mail it to Clarke. Clark would edit and comment, and write the corresponding portion of his book, “2001”. This went back and forth until they both were satisfied with the “products”. I saw the movie first, and remember trying to figure out the ending. After reading the book, I understood it completely. The story of how they collaborated was intriguing.
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That is interesting, Tim! I’m not sure I could do it, especially through snailmail. lol
I am interested in hearing what you find out, Pat. I am approved for reading their next one, I Think I Was Murdered. It doesn’t appear to be a series, so I am interested in hearing more about that book also. Thanks!
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I love that title, Gloria!
I am coming to the book signing in Murfreesboro. Can’t wait.
Author
I’m so excited to see you, Judy!! It’s going to be so much fun…
I’m another who has never heard of Limelights before. They are beautiful, and my kind of plant. The kind you plant (or not), and it grows no matter what, and it looks beautiful. All the boxes checked. And I love Scripture that speaks to where our strength comes from. Great choices!
I’m reading “What We Hide” right now, and I concur with you, Pat. I’ve enjoyed all of Colleen’s books so far. She does not disappoint. I have some thought about who the mastermind is, but I know from her previous record, I’m probably wrong. She’s good at dropping subtle clues that are red herrings.
The book I’ve just finished is part of the Mountain Country K-9 Unit continuity series. This one is by Maggie K Black, and the opening line is “The sweet scent of yucca flowers filled the warm June air as Ophelia Clarke pulled her car up the narrow Sangre de Cristo Mountains road on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico.” This might be the best in this series so far.
Author
Tim, email me when you finish and let me know if you guessed correctly. 😉 And I’ll tell you if I guessed correctly…I’ll have to look up Maggie Black’s book!
Tim and Pat, I did guess correctly. That is all I will say.
Author
Well, I thought I did until I read the epilogue, Gloria…and there’s something there that makes me wonder…the First person POV isn’t really identified by name…
I just learned about limelights this year. Growing hydrangeas in Texas is very different from growing them in the deep South! I’m hoping to plant some this fall and have gorgeous blooms like yours in the coming years.
I’m currently reading an ARC of Hannah’s Halo by Urcelia Teixeira. The preface begins with, “Hannah Jackson had no idea that the darkness she sought to expose would soon turn against her.” I haven’t gotten very far into the book yet, but it’s SO good!
Author
Wow, that books sounds good, L! I hope you have great results with your limelights!
I, like others, have never heard of limelights. They are very pretty and I love the verse you chose.
I’m looking forward to reading What We Hide. I have read most, if not all of Colleen’s books and she is one of my favorite authors.
I am beginning Forged in Secret by Kendra Warden. I just discovered this author and this is the second in a series, Forge Brothers Security. “Donald Fairman grimaced as he looked down at the phone resting in his palm.”
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Mary G. I love series and I’ve not read any of Kendra Warden…will have to remedy that. 🙂 I love Colleen’s books!
Addendum: Enjoy your book signings Pat! I know your readers are excited to meet you!
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I hope so, Mary G…my nightmare is no on will show up. lol
I’m sure no one showing up is VERY UNLIKELY! Pat, you are loved by your readers!
Author
Awww, Mary G, thank you–it was a great weekend and a LOT of reaeders showed up. 🙂
This comes from Suspicious Homicide by Elizabeth Goddard: Grief lashed at Finnley Wilbanks’s heart while rain pelted the windshield. The wipers worked overtime as dusk deepened. She hadn’t intended to be driving this road in the dark. She hadn’t intended a lot of things. Life had taken an unexpected turn. Dad was dead. Gone. Murdered. Nobody believed her on the murdered part.
Author
I’ve read many of Elizabeth Goddard’s books, Diana, but not this one…will have to get it!
My first thought upon seeing the picture was that they were snowballs (hydrangeas). Then I read what you said about them being limelights. I had never heard of such a flower. After looking on the internet, the article I skimmed referred to them as limelight hydrangeas. My grandmother had a snowball bush when I was a boy. We planted two bushes over 15 years ago. One died after the first summer. The other one finally has two flowers on it this year after going flowerless for most of its life. I love the verse.
I want to read the book by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. I’m not sure when I will ever get to it. I’m still reading the book I started last week. I will share the first sentences of Chasing Amanda by Robin Patchen. She wrote the book in 2015. This is an updated, expanded version.
“So now we’re going to attack a nation of innocent civilians.” The long-haired English professor leaned forward and slapped his hand against the rectangular table.
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I love hydrangeas, Edward. My mother in law had several blue ones and one white one that bloomed in the spring. It was beautiful. And I hear you on having time to read. I have Robin’s book on my kindle…soon…maybe soon. lol
The seemingly deserted street with empty houses, their windows as black and vacant as the eyes of those who had become causalities in St. Louis’s war on heroin. (Fatal Frost by Nancy Mehl)
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Love Nancy’s books, Shelia!
The flowers are beautiful. The book sounds really good. I’m reading Never Fall Again by Lynn H. Blackburn. I’m really enjoying it so far. Landry Hutton didn’t believe dreams came true anymore.
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Lynn has a great books, Erika!
I started The Garden Girls – can’t stop…
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I think you’ll like it, Natalya!