Twisted Secrets (Deadly Isles Special Ops Book 1) by Amy McKinley – Review by Stephanie Chapman

Twisted Secrets by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Attraction to another person can lead to connection. Connections, in any facet of life, have a way of becoming intertwined. Amy McKinley executes this intertwining with perfection in Twisted Secrets: Deadly Isles Special Ops, Book 1. The book view is through the eyes of Xander and Riley. Xander, a Navy SEAL on temporary leave due to an injury, hears Riley’s voice outside the Coffee Hut and immediately decides to meet her. Riley feels the same attraction but feels somewhat guilty since she already has a boyfriend. Xander continues his pursuit of a friendship with her, and Riley begins to question her current relationship with Charles. Charles was her theory professor that she had met via her friend Mel. Mel was also dating Charles but to make everything more complicated, the professor was also married. When Riley chooses to no longer make Charles a priority and spends a day with her confidant and best friend Ava, the thoughts of how unhappy she is with him surface. Finally, Riley attempts to end her relationship with Charles and begins to spend more time with Xander. Meanwhile, Xander has been working on finding answers to the ambush that had caused his injury. After several days of spending time together, Riley and Xander begin a relationship. Trouble brews as Charles refuses to end the relationship, Mel suddenly disappears, and Riley’s apartment becomes the focus of a murder investigation. Will Riley and Xander’s new relationship fail with the strain of issues that plague both of them? Who broke into Riley’s apartment? How far will Charles go to make Riley his?

The character development that McKinley crafted is far superior to many suspense romance novels that I have read. The ending of the book is definitely shocking and tied all loose ends together. It also left open the future of Xander’s investigation on the ambush in his last mission.
I eagerly looked forward to reading the sequel.

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