Kristin's Bookshelf

📖 The Secret
✍️ A.J. Rivers
📚 Juniper Springs Mystery, Book 5
🎙️ Tiffany Vanlandingham
⭐⭐⭐✨

Dallas Griffin has chosen a quiet, secluded life in the mountains, carrying both physical scars and a past that continues to haunt him. But when a house fire takes the life of his nephew, Collin, Dallas refuses to accept the initial explanation. What follows is an investigation that connects far more fires than anyone expected and raises one very important question: What really happened to Collin, and why?

Five books into the Juniper Springs Mystery series, I continue to appreciate how A.J. Rivers balances mystery with a little bit of romance. Neither element completely takes over the story, and both have room to develop. This time, Dallas, Avery, and the rest of the Juniper Springs crew begin connecting the dots between multiple arson cases as they try to uncover the truth about Collin’s death.

I was especially happy to see Avery play a bigger role again because I think she may be my favorite character in the series. As the cast continues to grow, I’d love to see more depth added to both the characters featured in each individual mystery and those becoming Juniper Springs regulars. Five books in, I want to know these people better so I can become even more invested in what happens to them.

Tiffany Vanlandingham continues to bring Juniper Springs to life with strong, consistent character voices, which is no small task because there are A LOT of people in this town! She does a great job keeping the growing cast distinct and easy to follow throughout the audiobook.