Secret Lives

By: Mark De Castrique

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

At seventy-five-years-old, Ethel Fiona Crestwater is used to being underestimated. She looks like someone's grandma, although she's never married or had children; petite and a bit frail, she's not a threat to anyone. Or is she...?

Ethel runs a boarding house for government agents, and when someone murders one of her boarders, she springs into action—much to the surprise of her distant cousin Jesse, who has recently come to stay with her while he attends university. As he watches her photograph the crime scene, conceal evidence, and speed-dial the Secret Service Director, Jesse realizes that there's much more to Ethel than appearances suggest.

But when Jesse is assaulted and the gym bag full of cash Ethel had hidden is stolen from the basement, the pair decides it's time to launch their own unofficial investigation. With no one to trust but each other, these double-first-cousins-twice-removed form an unlikely bond and learn that the only thing truly worth risking your life for is family.

©2022 Mark De Castrique (P)2022 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Great Book!

"Secret Lives" is a fun and fantastic read. I loved the protagonist and the "page-turning" storyline.

Book Good but Narrator a Mixed Bag

This is a good book. I read it and enjoyed it. I decided to follow up by listening to th Audible version. The narrator has a good voice and articulates well. BUT he reads too fast! I started to feel a bit breathless and anxious throughout the story. I did not finish listening as I was not enjoying it. I would not choose to listen to this narrator again.

A fun read

I am a big fan of this author’s writing. I appreciate the ability to capture witty banter in his writing and he does that again with this book. The characters are interesting and the plot was suspenseful. I’m excited to see there is another book with the characters and look forward to reading it!

Great story with great characters.

We took a drive from Phoenix to Santa Barbra while enjoying the book.
Great companion.

Excellent story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The plot was tight and logical. The characters were interesting and I hope many books in the future will feature the cousins.

Engaging characters, but not a cozy

A nice degree of complexity. Murders, but no sadism. We are not subjected to the minds of the baddies. Central characters I’d like to meet again: a wise and experienced crone, her very much younger cousin beginning his adventures, some of her longtime friends, a dedicated, honest, middle aged detective. There’s even a sweet young boy we just might meet again.