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Lena Padget #3
When Secrets Die
They have kept the heart of her child...They have accused her of murder...Angels of mercy...or the devil in disguise?Who owns your body, anyway? Lynn Hightower's novels have tackled such diverse subjects as female serial killers and lethal debt collectors. Now, in her most explosive and controversial thriller to date, she exposes the hidden secrets of hospital pathology labs, the darkest mysteries of motherhood, and the most unthinkable crime of all. Private investigator Lena Padgett has been approached by a single mother with a stunning tale to tell. Emma Marsden, still grieving over the death of her infant son from an inexplicable illness, has been dealt another devastating blow. Her pediatrician, Theodore Tundridge, has accused Emma of poisoning her son in a psychotic bid for attention. Emma wants to counter his charges by accusing Tundridge of keeping a shocking chamber of horrors in his pathology lab -- all the more frightening because it is entirely legal. Lena agrees to take on Emma's case and uncovers other suspicious deaths under the doctor's care. But when a secretly taped video incriminates Emma in the most intimate of ways -- and Emma's teenage daughter disappears -- even Lena isn't prepared for where the truth will take her.
- GenresMystery
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
5 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Hightower
42 books85 followersLynn Hightower grew up in Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky, where she studied creative writing with Wendell Berry and earned a degree in Journalism. She also teaches novel writing in the Writer’s Program at UCLA. Survival jobs include writing television commercials, catering waitress, and bartender for one day.
Her books have been included in the New York Times List of Notable Books, the London Times Bestseller List, and the W.H. Smith Fresh Talent Awards. She has received the Shamus Award, and been nominated for the Kentucky Literary Award, the Kentucky Librarians First Choice Award, and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Hightower’s books have been published in numerous foreign countries, including Great Britain, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Israel and The Netherlands.
Hightower spends ridiculous amounts of time curled up reading, but also enjoys small sports cars and tame horses. She is married to The Frenchman, writes full time, shares an office with her Belgian Shepherd, Leo the Lion, plays bad but fierce tennis, loves to dance and is learning to Tango.
Hightower enjoys canoeing and is witty after two glasses of wine. She has studied French and Italian, but is only fluent in Southern.
Hightower is a Kentucky native, and lives in a small Victorian cottage with a writing parlor.
Her books have been included in the New York Times List of Notable Books, the London Times Bestseller List, and the W.H. Smith Fresh Talent Awards. She has received the Shamus Award, and been nominated for the Kentucky Literary Award, the Kentucky Librarians First Choice Award, and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Hightower’s books have been published in numerous foreign countries, including Great Britain, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Israel and The Netherlands.
Hightower spends ridiculous amounts of time curled up reading, but also enjoys small sports cars and tame horses. She is married to The Frenchman, writes full time, shares an office with her Belgian Shepherd, Leo the Lion, plays bad but fierce tennis, loves to dance and is learning to Tango.
Hightower enjoys canoeing and is witty after two glasses of wine. She has studied French and Italian, but is only fluent in Southern.
Hightower is a Kentucky native, and lives in a small Victorian cottage with a writing parlor.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 13, 2012
I started reading Lynn Hightower's books only last year, and each and every one is an absolute gem. For fans of suspense thrillers, Ms. Hightower is definitely an author that should go on your auto-buy list, as her series starring private investigator Lena Padget only gets better and better as time goes on.
In WHEN SECRETS DIE, Lena is faced with a case that truly has her baffled. Emma Marsden is still grieving over her young son's death from what she believes to be some type of rare liver disease. Trying to piece her life back together for both her sake and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Blaine, Emma attempts to deal with infant Ned's death as best she can. Her temporary reprieve is shattered, however, when her son's pediatrician, Dr. Theodore Tundridge, accuses Emma of killing her son herself-of secretly poisoning him in a crazy bid for attention as a sufferer of Munchausen by Proxy.
Still reeling from her son's death, Emma must now deal with the charges brought against her. Blaine, Ned's half-sister, may now be taken away from her mother due to the investigation by the Department of Children and Family services. With nowhere else to turn, Emma enlists the help of P.I. Lena Padget to disprove the allegations against her.
Lena finds other suspicious deaths that have happened under Dr. Tundridge's care, most specifically two SIDS deaths of children of one of his employees, Amaryllis Burton. Then there's more incriminating evidence against the pediatrician-the doctor has sold, for millions of dollars, an unusual, patented genetic material that was found in Ned Marsden's blood. When it looks like the doctor himself might possibly be behind Ned's death, Lena discovers a video-tape that shows, almost without a doubt, that maybe Emma Marsden isn't the innocent, grieving woman she appears to be.
But then Blaine goes missing, and no one knows what to do. Is the doctor behind her disappearance, a man who wants nothing more than to get his hands on more genetic material? Is Emma Marsden really suffering from the horrible and unexplainable Munchausen by Proxy? What really happened to Amaryllis Burton's children? And most importantly, can Lena get to the bottom of the mystery before any more innocent children die?
WHEN SECRETS DIE is Lynn Hightower at her best. Although Lena Padget isn't the main character of this book in the series, I was thoroughly immersed in the story from start to finish. I've always been interested in the machinations of Munchausen by Proxy, wondering exactly what must be missing in a person's brain chemistry to make them harm their own children for attention. WHEN SECRETS DIE explores not only this dreadful disease, but the fact that power, in the wrong hands, can be a deadly weapon.
I can't wait for the next book in the series, and can only hope that Ms. Hightower delves into another interesting subject!
In WHEN SECRETS DIE, Lena is faced with a case that truly has her baffled. Emma Marsden is still grieving over her young son's death from what she believes to be some type of rare liver disease. Trying to piece her life back together for both her sake and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Blaine, Emma attempts to deal with infant Ned's death as best she can. Her temporary reprieve is shattered, however, when her son's pediatrician, Dr. Theodore Tundridge, accuses Emma of killing her son herself-of secretly poisoning him in a crazy bid for attention as a sufferer of Munchausen by Proxy.
Still reeling from her son's death, Emma must now deal with the charges brought against her. Blaine, Ned's half-sister, may now be taken away from her mother due to the investigation by the Department of Children and Family services. With nowhere else to turn, Emma enlists the help of P.I. Lena Padget to disprove the allegations against her.
Lena finds other suspicious deaths that have happened under Dr. Tundridge's care, most specifically two SIDS deaths of children of one of his employees, Amaryllis Burton. Then there's more incriminating evidence against the pediatrician-the doctor has sold, for millions of dollars, an unusual, patented genetic material that was found in Ned Marsden's blood. When it looks like the doctor himself might possibly be behind Ned's death, Lena discovers a video-tape that shows, almost without a doubt, that maybe Emma Marsden isn't the innocent, grieving woman she appears to be.
But then Blaine goes missing, and no one knows what to do. Is the doctor behind her disappearance, a man who wants nothing more than to get his hands on more genetic material? Is Emma Marsden really suffering from the horrible and unexplainable Munchausen by Proxy? What really happened to Amaryllis Burton's children? And most importantly, can Lena get to the bottom of the mystery before any more innocent children die?
WHEN SECRETS DIE is Lynn Hightower at her best. Although Lena Padget isn't the main character of this book in the series, I was thoroughly immersed in the story from start to finish. I've always been interested in the machinations of Munchausen by Proxy, wondering exactly what must be missing in a person's brain chemistry to make them harm their own children for attention. WHEN SECRETS DIE explores not only this dreadful disease, but the fact that power, in the wrong hands, can be a deadly weapon.
I can't wait for the next book in the series, and can only hope that Ms. Hightower delves into another interesting subject!
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December 30, 2008i hate mysteries.... hate them... and this one of course suffers from the same issue as all the ones. 100's of pages of setup with useless detail all to end and wrap everything up in less than 20 pages... lame.
May 23, 2008
another lynn hightower good read.
a lab keeps organs of dead children for experiments. the story is sort of broken up but a good read all the same
a lab keeps organs of dead children for experiments. the story is sort of broken up but a good read all the same
August 13, 2008
This book is really good and has opened my eyes about how doctor's can keep the organs of your loved ones once they're dead and it is LEGAL if you signed a "blanket consent" form. BAHUMBUG to that!
October 12, 2010
Compelling characters. I was really pulling for them.
April 2, 2011
I do wish we had more of the character Lena Padgett. That's pretty much my only complaint.
August 4, 2011
i thought this book was great. it keep me hooked the whole way through. i really also liked how much detail was put into it and how it was written in more then one view. great read!
February 17, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. The characters are great and the plot is outstanding. Couldn't put the book down!
January 17, 2017
Sorry I missed this series more than 10 years ago. She has a way with gently describing her characters that makes them realistic and appealing at the same time. I'll go back and read the others.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews