Secrets and Lies Books In Order

Publication Order of Secrets & Lies Books

“Secrets & Lies” is a romance trilogy by Sharon Sala, a bestselling author with more than 100 novels to her name in Women’s fiction, fiction, westerns, young adult and romance novels. The eight-time RITA award finalist published her first novel in 1991 and has gone on to win several awards over the years. Some of her awards include the Booksellers Best Award, Heart of Excellence Award, Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence, Janet Dailey Award, National Reader’s Choice Award and finalist for the RITA. She was awarded the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award by the Romance Writers of America in 2011. Her novels have been Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestsellers.

Sharon Sala first got into writing when she was aged only four and has always known that she was born to be a professional author. She would then be introduced to romance through the novels of the likes of Zane Gray, Emily Loring, and Grace Livingstone Hill. However, she would go on to take a job that she hated after finishing college. It was the hate for her job which finally drove her towards writing and by 1980 she had written a first novel, followed by another in 1982. She would then get bogged down with in family affairs and never wrote again until a series of family tragedies in 1985. She lost her sister and father within two months of that year and vowed that she would not be the person that died with regret at not achieving her dreams. She started attending conferences and joined writers groups and by 1989 had published her first novel Sara’s Angel. She has never looked back since.

“Secrets & Lies” series by Sharon Sala is a combination of a romance and suspense story with a long term mystery and short term mysteries. The long term mystery is alive throughout the novels and is resolved in the last novel of the trilogy while there are several short term mysteries resolved in each of the novels. The long term mystery is the decades-old mystery in which four joyriding teens are involved in a serious accident where one of them ends up dead. The other three lose their memories of the night until the other teens suddenly find themselves the target of an unknown killer picking them off one by one. In “Wild Hearts” the first novel of the series, the kind, and resilient Dallas refuses to believe that her father committed suicide. She seeks the help of Jake the local police chief and her former lover. However, it is not long before they find it impossible to resist the intense attraction between them. Jake will not let her get away from him this time around. “Cold Hearts” is the story of Mack and Melissa who grew up together and were set to get married until a misunderstanding scuttled the relationship. Mack had even left town and has only come back to bury his father when their old feelings for each other resurface. But just as they are about to get together, they learn that someone is stalking Melissa with deadly intent and they do not know who it could be. “Dark Hearts” the third novel has Sam come back into town after his mother is murdered. He has been away for years and no one understood his reasons for staying away. His reunion with his former love Lainey is beautiful even if brutal. But Sam still has to deal with the battle scars as his PTSD still flares up from time to time.

“Wild Hearts” is the first novel of the Secrets and Lies series that introduces the mystery of the trilogy. Three decades ago four teenage friends had been enjoying a joyride when a freak accident had resulted in the death of one of them. The friends are now adults and are enjoying their best years when one person is killed reminding the friends of their past. One of these friends is Dallas Phillips that had moved from the small town to go find a job in the big city. But then she receives a call telling her that her father was deceased. He had apparently committed suicide but Dallas does not believe her father could take his own life. Going back home, she has to confront the death of her father and the man she once loved and left behind. Trey Jakes had once been her lover and is now the police chief interested in getting to the bottom of the mystery of the apparent suicide. He is out to prove that he has the expertise to investigate the suicide and while at it get back the girl he once lost. But as they work together, more threats arise as they get more questions than answers.

“Cold Hearts” the second novel of the series opens to the murder of the final teen that had been in the accident three years ago. The killer had killed Betsy Jake, the only one left of the four alongside her friend Tina who is shot and left in a coma. Sam Jakes had been injured in the Afghanistan war and had never come back home, staying away for a decade. He had broken the heart of his fiancé Lainey Picket and that of his mother both of whom were eagerly waiting for him. It is now too late to reconcile with his mother who is dead, but he thinks he may still have a chance with Lainey. After he had recovered from his injuries, he had trained as a private investigator and has been very successful in running his own business in Atlanta. He is now back in town to bury his mother and help Trey Jake his brother and now police chief who works alongside the country sheriff to try to find the killer. But the mystery of what happened three decades past is coming back to haunt the investigation. They need to figure out just how it is connected to the current case before another person dies.

“Dark Hearts” the third novel of the Secrets and Lies series opens to the death of Mack’s father, He died under suspicious circumstances and Mack comes back home to bury him and get to the bottom of the mysterious death. But by coming home he knows that he is sure to meet Lissa, a woman he promised to marry before circumstances had forced him to leave town and the woman he loved. They had been serious about each other and even though they wanted to have children they had agreed to finish their college studies first. When she got pregnant, Mack was ready to act responsibly and take care of her and the child since he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. However, she loses the baby and soon after they have a huge fight and he leaves town. Circumstances have now brought them back together but past mistakes may just come to the fore, even as they are given a second chance at rekindling their love. Things get more complicated when they discover that Lissa is being stalked and that they are both in danger from a past they thought buried long ago.

One Response to “Secrets and Lies”

1. Peg Kiss: 3 years ago

   I am trying to find all Sharon Sala books featuring Charlie Dodge and Wyrick.

   Reply