Title: Siblings and Secrets
Subtitle: A Brenna Wickham Haunted Mystery
Author: Kathleen Easley
Publisher: Ames Lake Press
ISBN: 979-8864211625
Pages: 309
Genre: Mystery
Reviewed by: Lily Amanda
Pacific Book Review
Siblings and Secrets is a cozy mystery debut with a dark twist written by Kathleen Easley and the first installment in the “A Brenna Wickham Haunted Mystery” series. Brenna Wickham was more than glad when her cousin Connie agreed to have her
move into the tumbled-down 1950s bungalow which used to be her grandma’s home, and where she had spent many happy summers visiting as a child after the tragic death of her husband and loss of her job. Her cousin had inherited the house three years earlier after the death of their grandmother. Brenna is shocked to learn that one of her childhood friends, Hannah, had vanished with no trace twenty-five years ago, and efforts to search for her had been in vain.
Brenna also becomes reacquainted with Hannah’s brother, whom she once had a childhood crush on, and whom she notices has grown into an irascible and grumpy man, a sad reflection of what she had known him to be many years ago. Hannah’s elder sister Maureen, on the other hand, had been blaming herself for decades over the disappearance of her sister and suffered from agoraphobia, staying indoors ever since that fateful day and occasionally experiencing terrible nightmares. When Hannah’s ghost begins making random appearances, little does Brenna know the mystery regarding the little girl’s death is about to be unearthed revealing shocking truths.
Kathleen Easley has written a slow-burning contemporary mystery worth turning the pages. Mystery writing is an art, like being a puppeteer. A writer has to pull the narrative strings masterfully by using red herrings, employing psychological insights and clever twists. Kathleen Easley delivers this and much more. The text’s intricate plot, nuanced relationships, and well-hewn characterization are among the book’s major strengths. Further, the dialogue is adept and Easley crafts up some adroit swivels of phrase.
Its catchy title is befitting for this novel as it provides an emotional hook and a hint of what readers should expect. Being the author’s first mystery novel, the book ably delivers much more than it promises. Siblings and Secrets conveys satisfying appeal and a text sure to entertain readers at the turn of each page.
