Secondary Target (2024)

About the Book

Book: Secondary Target

Series: The Secrets of Kincaid #1

Author: Angela Carlisle

Release Date: May 7, 2024

Genre: Romantic Suspense

After the brutal murder of her mother and brother twelve years ago, Corina Roberts built a new life in Kentucky. But then strange things begin to happen, and she is thrust into a perilous game of life and death. With nowhere else to turn, her best hope of survival depends on her ex, army veteran Bryce Jessup.

Recently returned from service, Bryce has every intention of staying away from Corina, but when threats close in around her, he isn’t willing to leave her safety to chance. As their search for answers uncovers lethal secrets her detective father kept hidden, Bryce and Corina must untangle the mystery of the merciless killer intent on terrorizing and eliminating Corina’s family before it’s too late.

Debut author Angela Carlisle will leave you breathless with this bone-chilling story of a ruthless murderer, a deadly secret, and an unbreakable love.

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My Thoughts

Secondary Target by Angela Carlisle is a wild ride! I’ve been struggling to read Romantic Suspense lately. The stories I’ve picked to read in this genre have been slow and unrealistic and have lost my interest around the 50% mark. I was a little nervous to read Secondary Target, but I had absolutely nothing to be nervous about. This story is solidly good from page one to page done. The intensity hits immediately and lasts the entire story, but it never feels unrealistic. I never had eye-roll moments. And the characters definitely come off as very realistic and relatable. I was hooked from the very first chapter and hated whenever I had to put the book down. What I loved so much about this story, and what I’ve been searching for in Romantic Suspense stories for a while now, is that surprise factor. I found that with Secondary Target and then some. I was edge of my seat the entire time. When I was little, one of my favorite books was The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone. I distinctly remember the first time I read that book when I was six. If you don’t know, each page builds tension because Grover (from Sesame Street) tells the reader not to turn the page or he/she will come closer to the end of the book and there is a monster there. It’s a silly comedy for kids. What six year old can resist turning the page?! I know this is a goofy comparison, but the tension that Carlisle builds in Secondary Target is similar to my favorite kid book, just totally scary. Yes, the characters are fantastic. I loved Carina and Bryce and Allye. I loved how they work together throughout this entire mystery. I love the reconnection between Carina and Bryce. And I really loved the police officers in this story. I look forward to book 2 where Officer Eric will play a leading role. I also really enjoyed the many timely themes discussed throughout this story. It always amazes me how deep a book can go thematically speaking while characters are running for their lives desperate to vanquish enemies. While I truly did enjoy all these facets to the story, it is the awesome suspenseful tension Carlisle creates in this story that is my favorite aspect. I loved that I was up way past my bedtime furiously turning pages. I loved that I said time and time again, “One more chapter. Tomorrow’s a slow day at work!” LOL!

Secondary Target is a stand-out Romantic Suspense novel I highly, highly recommend. If you are a fan of well-written, highly engaging, realistic mysteries that discuss timely themes, then this is definitely the book for you. You will not want to miss out on this story!

I requested a copy of this eBook edition from the publisher, Bethany House, via NetGalley, in order to review. I am under no obligation to leave a positive review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.