This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

---

BOOK INFO

---

BOOK BLURB

As an infant, Kit McKittrick’s foster sister Akiko was abandoned at a firehouse. Now 32, Akiko has received an unsettling phone call from a woman who says that she knew her birth mother but refuses to divulge any details except in person. Akiko is nervous but also thrilled at the prospect of finally learning about her blood relations.

Kit has a bad feeling about this and insists on accompanying Akiko to meet the woman. Sure enough, as they stand on Mary Sherman’s doorstep, shots are fired and Kit is hit…and inside the house is a corpse: Mary Sherman herself.

Although she’s on medical leave and forbidden to work the case, Kit cannot rest. With police psychologist Sam Reeves, she undertakes a covert investigation into the mysterious Mary Sherman. Was she Akiko’s birth mother? Why did she reach out after all these years? And who had a motive to kill her?

As more bodies pile up, Kit starts to put together the pieces of the frightening puzzle that is Akiko’s birth family, and she’ll come to wonder whether some secrets should stay buried after all.

---

---

MY REVIEW

Family Lies is the fourth book in the San Diego Case Files series, and the thirty-third book in the Romantic Suspense series by Karen Rose. While Family Lies can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the first three San Diego books, Cold Blooded Liar, Cheater, and Dead Man’s List.

Kit is a homicide detective. Sam is her boyfriend, and a police psychologist. Their latest case involves Kit’s foster sister, Akiko.

Akiko is contacted by a woman claiming to know information about Akiko’s birth mother. When Akiko and Kit arrive to speak to the woman, shots are fired, and the woman who contacted Akiko is found dead. This leads to Kit working a case involving Akiko’s birth family.

Family Lies is a well-developed story with interesting characters. A fast-paced and intriguing mystery. Recommended for fans of romantic suspense and police procedurals.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the Romantic Suspense series by Karen Rose:

1. Don’t Tell (Chicago #1)
2. Have You Seen Her?
3. I’m Watching You (Chicago #2)
4. Nothing to Fear (Chicago #3)
5. You Can’t Hide (Chicago #4)
6. Count to Ten (Chicago #5)
7. Die for Me (Daniel Vartanian #1)
8. Scream for Me (Daniel Vartanian #2)
9. Kill for Me (Daniel Vartanian #3)
10. I Can See You (Minneapolis #1)
11. Silent Scream (Minneapolis #2)
12. You Belong to Me (Baltimore #1)
13. No One Left to Tell (Baltimore #2)
14. Did You Miss Me? (Baltimore #3)
15. Watch Your Back (Baltimore #4)
16. Closer Than You Think (Cincinnati #1)
17. Alone in the Dark (Cincinnati #2)
18. Every Dark Corner (Cincinnati #3)
19. Monster in the Closet (Baltimore #5)
20. Edge of Darkness (Cincinnati #4)
21. Death Is Not Enough (Baltimore #6)
22. Say You’re Sorry (Sacramento #1)
23. Into the Dark (Cincinnati #5)
24. Say No More (Sacramento #2)
25. Say Goodbye (Sacramento #3)
26. Quarter to Midnight (New Orleans #1)
27. Cold Blooded Liar (San Diego #1)
28. Beneath Dark Waters (New Orleans #2)
29. Cheater (San Diego #2)
30. Buried Too Deep (New Orleans #3)
31. Dead Man’s List (San Diego #3)
32. Knife in the Back (New Orleans #4)
33. Family Lies (San Diego #4)
34. The One Who Walked Away