The Secrets Beneath is a family drama with generous sides of intrigue, suspense, crime, and paleontology.

Secrets Beneath by Kimberley Woodhouse

Genre/Categories/Setting: historical fiction (1870s), family drama, crime fiction, mystery, paleontology, rural Wyoming

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Welcome to my stop on the Austen Prose PR Book Tour for The Secrets Beneath by Kimberley Woodhouse. Thanks #NetGalley @Bethany_House @AustenProse for a complimentary e ARC of #TheSecretsBeneath upon my request. All opinions are my own.

The Seccrets Beneath Blog Tour Graphic (cover and blurbs)

Anna and her father are a paleontologist team. She is responsible for drawing detailed sketches at the dig. Their lives take a dramatic turn when they discover dinosaur bones near their Wyoming home and are caught up in the intrigue and danger of the Bone Wars. Meanwhile, Anna’s father becomes ill, her first love comes back into her life unexpectedly, and a desperate search for a missing child develops. Drama unfolds and secrets are uncovered.

My Thoughts:

Dinosaurs + female paleontologist + second-chance romance + rural Wyoming? Yes, please!

Multilayered

If you appreciate a multilayered story, there’s lots to keep you engaged in this suspenseful story. Even though Secrets Beneath is promoted as a romance, I consider it crime fiction because of the intense search for a missing child, the fear of a serial abductor, and a heart-pounding rescue. The war over dinosaur bones, the ill father, and Anna’s second-chance romance are dramatic backdrops to the crime.

Reading Experience

So…..I went into this expecting a romance (which I did get), and, of course, the idea of digging for dinosaur bones was enticing. I was a bit surprised by the crime fiction aspect, and especially the disappearance and possible abduction of a child which I usually prefer to avoid. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I will simply say the buildup was suspenseful and the resolution caught me by surprise. Even though missing children is not my preferred type of mystery, it was more suspenseful than traumatic which helped. Other readers who embrace crime fiction will enjoy it! Content Warning: child abduction, missing child, kidnapping, child abuse (in the past), mental illness.

Setting

I did love the rural 1870s Wyoming setting, and the author described it all (including a harrowing flash flood) in vivid detail.

Themes

Thoughtful themes in Secrets Beneath include a father/daughter relationship, a nephew/uncle relationship, second-chance romance, family dynamics, women working in a man’s world, bullying, mental illness, child abuse, compassion, faith, and forgiveness.

Recommending The Secrets Beneath

I’m recommending The Secrets Beneath for fans of page-turning crime fiction and paleontology (dinosaurs). Readers who love rural Wyoming might also appreciate the setting. Those who look for suspense and a strong message of faith in God won’t be disappointed. Please consider content warnings.

Content Warning: child abduction, missing child, kidnapping, child abuse (in the past), mental illness, child death.

My Rating: 4 Stars

The Secrets Beneath by Kimberley Woodhouse (cover) Image: a woman stands gazing out over a Wyoming landscape

More Information Here

Meet the Author of The Secrets Beneath, Kimberley Woodhouse

Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling and award-winning author of more than two dozen books. She is a wife, mother, author, and musician with a quick wit and positive outlook despite difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she’s shared at more than 2,000 venues across the country. Kimberley and her family’s story have garnered national media attention for many years including ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Montel Williams Show, Discovery Health channel’s Mystery ER, The Hour of Power, The Harvest Show, and over 1,000 other TV appearances and radio interviews. She lives and writes in the Poconos with her husband of thirty years. kimberleywoodhouse.com

Find Kim on twitter and facebook:

twitter.com/kimwoodhouse

author fan page Kimberley Woodhouse

QOTD:

Do you love Crime Fiction?

Happy Reading Book Buddies!

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke

“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text

Let’s Get Social!

Thank you for visiting and reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.

Find me at:
Twitter
Instagram (Threads link in bio)
Goodreads and StoryGraph
Pinterest
Reading Ladies Book Club on Facebook