Shattered Secrets (Cold Creek #1) by Karen Harper

From Goodreads

Returning to Cold Creek, Ohio, is an act of courage for Tess Lockwood. Abducted and held captive as a young girl, she is unable to remember anything about the crime that destroyed her childhood and tore her family apart. Now a grown woman with a bright future, she is certain she has put the past behind her. But when she inherits the family home, Tess must confront the demons that still haunt her and the town of Cold Creek.

Gabe McCord has always blamed himself for what happened to Tess. He had been a teenager when she was snatched from the group of children he was responsible for watching. Now Gabe has taken on the role of sheriff and hopes to shed new light on the cold case, especially given his growing feelings for Tess.

Tess isn't ready to recall what happened to her, and she has no intention of digging up any details that might remind her of the truth. But when another child in the town goes missing, she's certain it's related to her return to Cold Creek. Together,Tess and Gabe will have to work to unlock their painful memories in order to save another child and heal their damaged souls, for good ...

My thoughts

I gave this a 3.5 stars or 7/10.  This is a roller coaster of a read, with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and guessing where it's all going to end.

Tess Lockwood returns to the smalltown that she grew up in, following her inheriting the old famiily home. As her past begins to catch up with her, certain similar aspects of her childhood are happening in the present. A couple of young girls go missing which mirror how she was abducted as a young child. As old memories are reawakened and old friendships rekindled between her and Gabe McCord the current sheriff, time is of the essence as it becomes more and more apparent that Tess might be able to help with the current problems if she can only remember what happened in the past.

I enjoyed this story and found it a gripping read on the whole. I felt that the relationship between Tess and Gabe progressed well and I will be looking out for further books in this series to see how things develop.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for the chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review.