Someone murdered Katie Curtis' father when she was five years old, and now they are coming after her.
JW Kelley’s life has spiraled out of control following a devastating incident when he was with the Secret Service protecting the Vice President’s family.
His dreams and his spirit shattered, he returns to his hometown a changed and damaged man.
Years later, Katie Curtis, the Second Daughter seeks help from the only person she can trust as she runs for her life in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a cruel and cunning killer.
She and JW must learn to face and overcome their demons together if they hope to win. With the help of JW’s sister, Nichole, and his best friend, Will, they set out to solve the mystery of Katie’s childhood memory before it’s too late.
Excerpt
Prologue
Baltimore, Maryland
The sound of thunder shook the house as staccato flashes of lightening illuminated the child’s bedroom. Katie Curtis sat straight up in her princess canopy bed.
On any other night, she would have run to her parents’ room and jumped into bed with her mommy. But, she knew her mommy was out of town for the weekend.
She could hear her papa’s voice booming from downstairs. He sounded so happy.
Katie got out of bed and tiptoed to the top of the staircase. Then she heard another voice. A woman’s tinkling laugh. But it wasn’t just any woman. It was Maria, her nanny.
When she reached the bottom stair, she could see the two of them in the hallway. They were facing each other and standing very close together. Then, Maria lifted her face and her papa leaned down and kissed her.
Katie covered her mouth with her small hands to hide the gasp of surprise, and then quietly made her way back to her room. Even at the tender age of five, she knew what she had seen would change her world forever.
~ ~ ~
The next morning after breakfast, Maria dressed her in her warm, yellow and white sweater. Even though Katie begged her father to let her stay home with him, he wouldn’t budge.
“Don’t be silly, honey. Run along to the park and have fun with Maria. I have work to do.”
Katie didn’t want to be anywhere near Maria. She wasn’t sure if she could ever really like her again. She had awakened with the horrible thought that her mother would be coming home and find out that Papa had been kissing her nanny. Should she tell her?
On the way to the park she refused to hold Maria’s hand and ran as far ahead of her on the sidewalk as possible. Katie hid behind the slide until Maria got busy talking in Spanish with a few of the other nannies in the park, then Katie took off running for home.
She had so many questions to ask her papa. Why had he kissed Maria? Did he still love mommy? She felt sick about it.
When she reached the house, she ran through the living room and into her father’s study. Surprised to find the door open, she peered inside. Her father was slumped at his desk. At first she thought he was sleeping, but as she moved closer she could see a bright red river of blood running down the side of his face and onto the desk.
Katie screamed, but she was frozen in place. Suddenly she saw movement near the sliding glass doors to the left of her father’s desk. A tall, shadowy figure in a red, baseball cap lurched as if coming for her. Katie lost her balance and fell to the floor, and at the last moment the figure turned and vanished through the doorway.
Professional Reviews
Second Daughter
Fantastic book from beginning to end. It had the perfect blend of mystery, intrigue, romance and suspense. Read until it was finished. I'm hoping the authors will consider writing a sequel.The main characters in the book have some real staying power!
by Lisa Fuentes
An Exciting and Intriguing Read
"Second Daughter" kept my attention from the beginning. The story line is complicated and intriguing, yet easy to follow and very hard to put down. I judge a book by wether or not it will take me weeks to finish it, or I feel compelled to read until the end. "Second Daughter" was a "do not put down until I've read ever last word" book. My pet peeve are novels that take up space with "filler" descriptions and this book has no "filler" paragraphs. Every word and description is relevant to the story line. The characters are intriguing and psychologically challenged and well developed. I am excited to read the next Tess Thompson book "When an Angel Whispers" which I see is now ready
