In Places Hidden (Golden Gate Secrets Book #1)

This is book one in the Golden Gate Secrets series, what a great place to start. I love the writing style of Tracie Peterson and this one does not disappoint. I look forward to reading more from those in this book. Camriann Coulter, Camri, is a determined, well educated woman. When she must leave all she knows behind to help find her brother she realizes many things about herself. Patrick Murdock is the handsome, irishman who may know something about Camri's missing brother. I love the sparks between Camera and Patrick. The other characters in this story each have much to offer to the story lines to come. I look forward to catching up and see what lies ahead. This book is full of mystery, friendship, romance and more. Even though part of this story is solved there is more to solve in the next book or two.

“In Places Hidden”, is the First book of Tracie Peterson's new Golden Gate Series. This series is set in San Francisco in the early 1900's. I have read many of Ms. Peterson's books and I enjoy her writing. She takes a Christian historical fiction novel and brings the story and people to life. I like the way throughout all of her books there is a thread of faith woven into the story. I found the mystery and the suspense in this story enjoyable and interesting. I had a little difficulty getting into some of the characters. Camri Coulter is going by train from Chicago to San Francisco to find her lost brother. She befriends two young ladies on the train and invites them to come stay with her at her brothers house. Judith has just lost her parents and is looking for a lost aunt she never knew about. Kenzie was left at the alter and is nursing a broken heart. Maybe because they are not a lead in the story and we didn't learn that much about them. I just had a hard time following their characters. On the other hand,my favorite character was handsome Irish contractor, Patrick Murdock and his sister Ophelia. Patrick is the type of leading man every novel needs. He is strong, buffed, gorgeous and very kind. What is not to like about him, plus he has the sweetest Irish brogue. I can not wait to start on “In Dreams Forgotten”, book two of this series. I was blessed to receive a copy of this book from Bethany House publishers.

In Places Hidden by Tracie Peterson is the first novel in the Golden Gate Secrets series. Camriann “Camri” Coulter has journeyed to San Francisco in late November of 1905 to locate her missing brother, Caleb. On the journey she meets Judith Gladstone and Kenzie Gifford. Each woman has their own quest that has brought them to San Francisco. The three women decide to pool their resources and help one other. They move into Caleb’s house and Kenzie helps them obtain jobs at her cousin’s candy factory. Caleb has been missing for over three months. Camri begins her search by speaking with Caleb’s boss, Mr. Henry Ambrewster. It seems Caleb took Patrick Murdock, a local contractor being tried for murder, as a client and got a not guilty verdict which angered some bigwigs in the city. What lengths would these high-powered individuals go to silence Caleb? Camri teams up with Patrick to discover her brother’s whereabouts and uncover the corrupt people responsible. In Places Hidden is well-written and it has some interesting characters. Kenzie’s candy maker cousin, George Lake is a quirky individual with exacting standards (he is very twitchy). Camri is an intelligent woman who believes in education and suffrage (she likes to pontificate on the value of education especially). I was happy to see her alter some of her opinions and behavior by the end of the book. I had a little trouble getting into the story, but once I did, I was curious to see how matters would play out. I did feel we were given too much backstory on each of the ladies. Since each woman (Judith, Camri and Kenzie) will have their own book, we did not need so much detail on Judith and Kenzie in this installment. It made for a tedious beginning. The Christian elements are strong throughout the book especially having faith in God to get a person through the troublesome times in life. I felt the romance between Camri and Patrick proceeded at a little too quickly. Since In Places Hidden is part of a series, I felt the author could have let their romance progress at a slower speed (which would have been in keeping with the time period). I will be curious to see how Judith and Kenzie’s stories unfold. In Places Hidden is a light, historical romance with touch of intrigue that will appeal to Tracie Peterson’s fans.