Don't Tell a Soul

Lafayette Assistant DA Claire Sumner returns to her childhood home on the bayou for one last attempt at helping her father who has been on death row ten years for raping and killing her best friend, Jean Louise. He has four weeks until a lethal injection will take his life, thus burying the truth with him. Convinced that he was railroaded, she will do anything to prove his innocence, despite his admission of guilt. When the body of a young girl resembling Jean Louise pops up in the same river, with similar injuries, Claire goes into overdrive to convince authorities that the case needs to be re-opened. When she visits Jean Louise's brother Fegan, an immediate attraction develops between the two. Fegan is a burned out journalist who had one run in too many with a serial killer while working for the Chicago Tribune. He now makes his living as a PI. On the one hand, she has always loved Fegan, but on the other hand, the connection between them, namely her father's conviction will always stand between them. As her investigation gains momentum, strange things start to happen to her, and Fegan starts to believe that a miscarriage of justice has occurred and decides to help Claire investigate. She in turn is helping to insure that Fegan's granddaddy Amos Lee is not declared incompetent, despite his brother's efforts (and Frank's motivations are unclear to this reader). After finding Jean Louise's body, Amos Lee stopped talking and seemingly entered his own world. McClafferty has created a dynamic and charismatic yet unlikely duo in Fegan and Claire. My biggest gripe was the departure from reality - Claire's conversations with Jean Louise's spirit. I found this to take away from a pretty compelling story. Overall, there is plenty of nail biting suspense and a cathartic conclusion.

... however, there were some things that bothered me. In this day and time why was there no DNA testing. Seems a grave oversight by the writer. Yes, Deputy Cash Edmunds told his story; however, was he punished? He was an accessory before and after the fact, several times. He set the dogs on the girls so that makes him that much more an accessory. Then there is the statement given by Clare and Evangeline which made the culprits conviction certain. What about all the bodies?Then at the end of the book is the statement "*** incarceration had resulted n the petition grantng custodial guardianship and power of attorney to Frank being given over for review to Judge ***". What in the world was that related to? I could not figure this out. Made no sense to me.I did enjoy the book and the writing style very much.

Child advocate lawyer Claire Sumner believes her father Jimmy did not kill her best friend Jean Broussard ten years ago even if the evidence and his confession overwhelmingly prove otherwise. With about a month left before the state executes Jimmy, Claire finds new hope to prove his innocence. Someone murdered a young teen in Acadia Parish, Louisiana with what seems to be the same modus operendi used in the Broussard homicide, but this time Jimmy has an airtight alibi as a death row inmate.Claire returns to Acadia Parish seeking the truth. Most of the locals see the execution as closure and want Claire to leave. Desperate, Claire asks former reporter and now investigator Fegan Broussard to help her though it is his sister who her father was convicted of murdering. Initially refusing, Fegan begins to change his mind that the killer sits on death row. As he and Claire fall in love while making inquiries, someone tries to kill both of them.S.K. McClafferty provides an exciting modern day Cajun West Side Story romantic suspense starring two likable lead characters with a shared burden that makes them an unlikely couple. The story line hooks the audience as they wonder why Claire believes her father is innocent when Jimmy admits he killed her friend and if he did not commit the murder why did he say he did? These questions keep fans in suspense and continue to read until the audience learns the truth about what happened in Arcadia Parish, Louisiana a decade ago.Harriet Klausner

Claire Sumner's father is on death row for the brutal murder of her best friend, Jean Louise Broussard, ten years earlier. Claire believes that her father is innocent and has come home to prove this after learning about a recent and similar murder in the same location. At home she encounters Fegan Broussard, her friend's brother who believes Claire's father to be guilty but finds himself strangely attracted to his little sister's best friend. Claire's search for evidence does not sit well with the town of Evangeline. She soon finds that she is putting her life on the line and that she must rely on Fegan Broussard to whom she is reluctantly attracted.The story is well told. The romance which is great does not get in the way of the suspense. The ending although not a great surprise is very satisfying. It is an enjoyable book for the beach or on a cold night.