Murderous Secrets

A Shandra Higheagle Mystery (Volume 4)

By: Paty Jager

Narrated by: Ann M. Thompson

Book four in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery Series

Jealousy…Deception…Murder

The accident that took her father's life has always haunted Shandra Higheagle. When her dreams become too real, she knows it's time to discover the truth. It doesn't take long to suspect her father had been murdered and that someone is unhappy with her probing.

Detective Ryan Greer knows Shandra well enough to insist he be kept informed of her investigation into the decades old death of her father. When signs implicate her mother, he can't withhold the information, even though he realizes it could complicate their relationship.

©2015 Patricia Jager (P)2017 Patricia Jager

Enthralling Western Mystery

I really enjoyed reading the Murderous Secrets, a fast-paced and creative western mystery. Shandra has received messages from her Nez Perce grandmother in her dreams before, from the grave, and has helped Shandra solve murders. When the messages involve the seemingly accidently death of her native American father, she takes it seriously. Suddenly she is investigating a possible murder with the help of her boyfriend and detective Ryan. She goes back to the Colville Reservation to interview members of her father's family to find clues and it leads her down the dusty path of the rodeo circuit, sometimes too close to home. No spoilers here, but the mystery heats up as someone is obviously trying to keep them from solving the case. I loved the colorful characters like her assistant Lillian and the cat and dog at the ranch, in addition to the rodeo suspects. There is a nice budding relationship with Officer Ryan as well. The only thing that detracted a bit from the book was the narrator who overall was good but she talked very slowly and carefully sometimes, especially when she was speaking for the native characters and it made them seem slow.

Even better than the previous books!

In Murderous Secrets by Paty Jager, Shandra Higheagle sets off to look into the death of her father, a rodeo star from the Nez Perce Native American tribe killed by a particularly mean horse during a rodeo when Shandra was four. Recently Shandra has gotten in touch with a friend of her father's now living in a nursing home who has inspired Shandra to look into both her father's death and her own Native heritage. Afraid that her Native relatives might not accept her for being half- white, especially since her mother brought her up to avoid all elements of her Native heritage, Shandra nervously sets out on a trip to her father's people. Fortunately, she finds a family happy to welcome her and which helps her to locate some people who might be able to assist her.

But it becomes more and more apparent that not only did someone murder Edward Higheagle, but that someone remains around and active in venomous behavior today, more than 20 years after the initial crime. But as all readers of mysteries know, a murderer, once threatened, becomes multiple times as dangerous in trying to keep safe from getting caught. Thus, Shandra and Jack, the detective she is slowly learning to love, get thrown together to fight for justice on behalf of Shandra's father and their own safety as they struggle to avoid the grasp of the murderer.

I have enjoyed this series since the first book, Double Duplicity, came to audio. I really like the setting on the mountain with Shandra's trying to find the missing side of her heritage. So I was happy to get to see Shandra finally meet her Native family. I see great promise for future books as Shandra goes through a further path of personal discovery. I also appreciate seeing the growing relationship between Shandra and Ryan. I like seeing them take their time to heal from past personal injuries before rushing into a serious relationship. Further, I like the way that without even knowing each other's secret, the pair are able to help each other gain a degree of healing.

Ann M. Thompson narrates the audio edition of this book. In my review of the previous book, Deadly Aim, I indicated that I was not very impressed by the narration and its pacing, but this time I was happy with the narration. So maybe I just had a bad day in my listening to that book. The pacing seemed fine to me this time.

The mystery plots of the series continue to improve with each new entry. This mystery was very well written with plenty of intrigue and drama. I am impressed with the way this series continues to get better as it continues. I give it five stars.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the author, but that in no way affected the content of my review.

Murderous Secrets

Although the book is part of a series you have no problem feeling like it was a standalone. I was a bit confused in the beginning though why she was concerned about calling to tell him she was going out of town. (It felt like she was under house arrest instead of keeping a friend or loved one in the loop about your plans.) I love the native American aspect of the story, allowing her grandmother to speak to her in her dreams. The narration was nice.

Who dun it?

Mysteries typically are not me normal read. This one was okay. I am tending to think I have an abnormal view on how adult relationships work, because a lot of the books I come across have this unrealistic ( in my opinion) way of how adults act around each other. Other than that, this was a good story. Narration was okay. Although this is book 4, I have not read any of the other books and had no problems jumping right into this book.

Great Mystery

Any additional comments?

Shandra Higheagle is determined to find out what really happened to her father all those years ago. Did he really died in a rodeo accident or was it murder? Shandra feels she needs to find out the truth about her father. Her mother and step-father kept Shandra from her Native American roots and they refused to discuss her father or his family. Shandra nervously reached out to her father’s family, but she was worried for nothing as she was welcomed with open arms. Fueled by this acceptance and information from one of her father’s rodeo friend Shandra with Detective Ryan Greer’s help launches her own investigation into her father’s death. She has to know what happened even if someone close to her was involved.

We get to see a more emotional Shandra in the story since the investigation is personal for her. I am really happy that she meets her father’s side of the family and is accepted into their lives. I am also glad that she has Detective Greer to lean on for emotional support. With each book, the couple is growing closer to a possible romantic relationship. I could not put this book down, I had to know how everything was going to turn out for Shandra and her family. I was very pleased with the storyline and happy that Shandra can finally get closer to a lot of what she has been missing in her life.

I listened to the audio version of this book, Narrator Ann M. Thompson does a great job bringing this book to life. She has great pace and diction in this book. I love her accents, in all her narration was a great addition to this book.


I recommend this book to all mystery fans. It can be read as a stand-alone mystery but you it might be better enjoyed if you know Shandra’s backstory from the previous books. *I was given a copy of this book in hopes I would submit a review. All thoughts and opinions are that of my own and in no way influenced.