Family Lies (San Diego Case Files #4) by Karen Rose
Publication Date: March 31st 2026 by Berkley
Pages: 513
Source: Publisher
Rating: ★★★★
My
Thoughts:
Kit McKittrick’s adopted sister, Akiko, is contacted by a
woman claiming to know the truth about her birth mother. Thirty‑two years ago,
Akiko was left as an infant at a firehouse and bounced through foster homes
before finding stability with the McKittrick's. Akiko is eager to learn what
this woman has to say, but Kit, as a homicide detective feels they should be
cautious, so she and Sam accompany Akiko to the meeting place. When the woman,
Mary Sherman, fails to show, they head to her home only to find her dead and
come under fire themselves. Kit is injured and placed on leave, but there’s no
chance she’s stepping away from the case. And of course, Sam, the department
psychologist, is right there with her.
The slow‑burn romance between Sam and Kit has been simmering
since book one, and things are finally getting serious. I enjoy
their bond more as a deep partnership than a sweeping romance, their internal
reflections about how grateful they are for each other started to feel
repetitive, and I didn’t feel a ton of romantic chemistry. Their closeness
works; the constant emotional commentary less so.
Family Lies was a fitting name for this mystery because
Kit, Sam and Akiko discover layer upon layer of deceit in her past. The bodies
and suspects pile up, and no one wants to talk. There’s danger around every
corner and no one is safe!
This is book four in a series, and while this is a
standalone mystery I think it’s best read in order because of the ongoing
mystery arc that hasn’t been solved, the developing relationships and character
growth. I look forward to the next book since there seems to be a lead in the ongoing
mystery!
4 Stars
Book Description:
The fourth nerve-shattering installment of the San Diego Case Files from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose sees Kit McKittrick’s sister caught in a maelstrom of deadly family secrets.
As an infant, Kit McKittrick’s foster sister Akiko was abandoned at a firehouse. Now 32, Akiko has received an unsettling phone call from a woman who says that she knew her birth mother but refuses to divulge any details except in person. Akiko is nervous but also thrilled at the prospect of finally learning about her blood relations.
Kit has a bad feeling about this and insists on accompanying Akiko to meet the woman. Sure enough, as they stand on Mary Sherman’s doorstep, shots are fired and Kit is hit...and inside the house is a corpse: Mary Sherman herself.
Although she’s on medical leave and forbidden to work the case, Kit cannot rest. With police psychologist Sam Reeves, she undertakes a covert investigation into the mysterious Mary Sherman. Was she Akiko’s birth mother? Why did she reach out after all these years? And who had a motive to kill her?
As more bodies pile up, Kit starts to put together the pieces of the frightening puzzle that is Akiko’s birth family, and she’ll come to wonder whether some secrets should stay buried after all.
