Books & Spoons: Wild Hearts by Sharon Sala

Past Sins Cast a Long Shadow

Dallas Phillips refuses to believe her father committed suicide, even though things were tough on his farm and he was deeply in debt. When she hears he'd told a neighbor about an upcoming windfall, she grows suspicious, and her suspicion only deepens when she realizes someone is lurking in the nearby mountains after dark.

For help, she turns to Trey Jakes, local police chief—and her former lover. As they begin to investigate, another mystery comes to light. Trey's mother is beginning to remember events from thirty years ago, something shadowy that happened in the mountains, and Dallas's father was there, too. Is what happened that night connected to his "suicide"? As they search for the truth, Trey and Dallas struggle to fight their attraction, but they may not be able to fend off another force—a killer who's more than willing to kill again to make sure old secrets stay buried.

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The dark and edgy beginning of the story, with accidents and murders, in the mall town up in the West Virginia mountains pulled me right in.
While the town is mourning one of the beloved residents, and wondering about the apparent suicide, the story of the people of the town starts to unfold. I could feel the atmosphere of the town, the sorrow of Dallas, as she is mourning for her father. She left over six years ago, to chase her dreams, leaving the love of her life, Trey, behind.
Trey has never stopped loving Dallas, and now has a front seat view into the mystery of her father's death.
The story is told from multiple points of view, nearly everyone in town gets their fifteen minutes. So much is happening in this little mountain town, and at times, I wasn't sure how it all was relevant to the tale. Part of the story is unfolding via dreams and memories from the past, drawing a timeline through two generations of the town.
Trey and Dallas obviously have a connection. His patience, sweetness, protective and forgiving nature, while still a complete alpha male, made him easy to like and admire. Dallas has focused on her career for the past years, but as soon as she gets back to her home ranch, she settles down to the old farming routines, the career behind, like a shield she had used before. The passion runs hot between them, and even though the time apart, they still know each other better than anyone else.
The suspense and mysteries were twined into the story masterfully. The interesting little town, and its people were fascinating, the 'who-done-it' for the murder was intriguing. Totally hooked on the story, I stayed up till 3:30 am to finish the book, to find out who did it. You can imagine my disappointment at the end, when I realized, that was not solved in this first book of the series. Also, there's no information if the next book, that comes out in September, will continue the story with Trey and Dallas, or is there another couple in the focus.
~ Four Spoons