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Lyn Cote

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Winter's Secret: A Christian Romantic Suspense (Northern Intrigue Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Lyn Cote (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 7,950 ratings

Book 1 of 6: Northern Intrigue

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A selfless nurse, a wounded sheriff, and a cunning, malicious thief--can they stop him?

She will do anything to protect her elderly patients.

Wendy Carey, Steadfast’s home health nurse, wants the crimes targeting her patients stopped. But when the new sheriff points out she's the obvious link between the home invasions, she's blindsided. When will that old stigma from her troubled family stop stinging?

He can't forgive himself for a long ago rookie mistake.

New county sheriff Rodd Durand sees these crimes, as his first challenge since returning to his hometown. He must not tarnish his family’s good reputation. Years of experience in big city law-enforcement should be enough to help him catch this mean-spirited thief. Should be.

But what can either of them do to catch a thief who leaves no evidence? How is that even possible?

And a record-breaking snowy winter makes this even harder. With God’s help, can Rodd and Wendy crack the bone-chilling mystery — and the secrets of their own hearts?

The page-turning start to a romantic suspense series by a Carol Award-winning author. Welcome to Steadfast, Wisconsin, a small town whose people and mysteries you may never forget~

“I loved this book! Lyn is a great author; she creates a beautiful love story with an intriguing mystery that keeps you guessing. Some when I'm reading a mystery I can figure out who did the crime or who is behind it but Lyn keeps you guessing. I really like that in a story. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good clean love story and mystery combination that relates to real life people. Lyn's books do not read like fiction and I love that about them.”

“Not one boring sentence! This story is sweet and exciting with just the right amount of details! The inspirational parts were precious....Loved it! Can’t wait to start the next one.”

From the Publisher

sheriff romantic suspense, family drama romance, strong female lead, Christian suspense, Lyn Cote

A small northwoods town where everyone knows everyone. Or do they?

Who is the silent thief in the night? Who is setting fiery surprises? Is there a stalker? And more mysteries must be solved. Yet in the midst of the danger around them, unlikely couples find the courage to love. And faith to trust God. A small town with people and secrets you won’t forget~

Welcome to Steadfast, Wisconsin, a small town whose people and mysteries you may never forget~


Winter's Secret, Book 1 In a small Wisconsin town, winter brings a series of disturbing crimes. With God’s help, can sheriff Rodd and nurse Wendy crack the bone-chilling mystery — and the secrets of their own hearts?	Autumn's Shadow, Book 2 An unlikely couple--the new deputy and the daughter of the richest man in town--tackle someone with a mean, dangerous sense of humor. Can they stop him before someone suffers a fiery end?	Summer's End, Book 3 Will she still be alive by summer’s end? New M.D., Kirsi comes to work with Dr. Doug in a small northwoods town. Meth is poisoning students at the local high school. An anonymous dead body turns up. In the midst of this, will Kirsi and Doug finally believe that they too have a right to fall in love?	Spring's Storm, Book 6 Thea’s new next door neighbor turns her small town upside down. Trace is handsome, successful and committed to helping others. He’s a mover and shaker. She’s a quiet piano teacher. Yet opposites attract, don’t they?

Editorial Reviews

Review

WINTER'S SECRETAuthor(s): Lyn CoteNurse Wendy Carey loves her job. She visits patients in their homes, and even brings them to the hospital for overnight treatments. There's just one looming problem. Whenever one of her patients goes for a treatment, there is someone in the town burglarizing the empty homes.
Sheriff Rodd Durand is perplexed by the break-ins and has his own theory, including a suspect. His close contact with Wendy makes his suspicions hard to deal with since his growing attraction to her could be terminated if he is right.
Winter's Secret, book one in the Northern Intrigue series, is an excellent suspense story with a good hook and an interesting twist sure to hold a reader's interest. Ms. Cote continues to hone her craft and gain fans.
- See more at: rtbookreviews.com/book-review/winters-secret#sthash.eWJEdktH.dpuf

From the Author

When I married my husband many years ago, I "married" the northwoods of Wisconsin too. His family had been vacationing there since the 1920s and his father and uncle had bought land on Tomahawk Lake in the 1940's before going off to World War Two. Immediately I fell in love with this special place and loved going "up north" every summer and getting to know his uncles, aunts, and cousins who all "flew" to the Lakeland area just like the swallows to Capistrano. :-)

In the summertime, the north woods is a paradise of spring-fed lakes, tall pines, and sunshine. But after a snowmobiling trip one January, I found winter is completely different. Winter that far north so near Canada can be, at times, dangerous. I chose Wisconsin in winter as the setting for my first romance-mystery story because it was the perfect place to challenge my characters as they struggled against the elements and elusive evil.
In Winter's Secret, Rodd and Wendy had to learn to trust the Lord before they could accept God's gift of love. As my editor said, "Rodd had to learn to trust the Lord in the present, and Wendy had to learn to trust the Lord to clean up the past."

From the Inside Flap

Lyn Cote's winter is sparkled with the warmth of family, friends...Her winter is also very dangerous. from Jar *****

Wonderful. Thank you Lyn cote for creating a wonderful image in the characters through out this book. Thank you for creating a Suspenseful thriller and still putting God and morals written throughout the narrative. Thank goodness I found this book. You are one of my favorite author. BRAVO and God's blessings on you. from Sandra Buckley *****

Well as soon as I noticed that this book was by Lyn Cote I knew it would be good and was not disappointed. It caught my attention right away...I had trouble putting this down. Lots of people involved in this close town community. Amazon Customer *****

I really liked the well done characters in this mystery / romance story. This is a story that moves along to a surprising end. From Maryon *****

Very interesting story. Mystery with romance, well written. This is first in series and I am now on book 3 of the series. If you enjoy a clean wholesome mystery and romance, you should read this book and series. From Kindle Customer *****

This is a wonderful story about a community far from the big cities, with characters more true to life and representing the challenges of rural living. This story is not about the beautiful, wealthy, well dressed, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana suited people, but a hard working people with problems the same as in other parts of the country. There in rural America you will find poverty, mischief and trouble makers, good people with helping hands and a way of life some may scoff at in its simplicity. There is crime do not think that there is no crime. Overall this is a really good story. From Nanaon *****

I honestly wasn't sure what to think, being new to this author and the series. But I was surprised at how good it was. I did love so much about this book that it's really awesome and worth three stars. From Athenaon ***

About the Author

When Lyn Cote became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Rejections followed. Finally, Lyn got "the call" and was "accepted" at last. Since then, Lyn has had over forty-five novels published. Lyn's book, Meant for Me, was a finalist for the RITA, and, her book, Her Healing Ways, won an American Christian Fiction Writers CAROL Award, both the highest awards in the romance genre. Lyn's brand "Strong Women, Brave Stories," includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her time, authentic details and a multicultural cast of characters. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love. If you haven't already, click FOLLOW under the cover image above and keep up with Lyn's latest books.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006R7FXFW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ ; 2nd edition (December 25, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 25, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3090 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #104,612 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #309 in Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance (Kindle Store)
- #373 in Contemporary Christian Romance
- #638 in Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 7,950 ratings

About the author

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Lyn Cote

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Published for over twenty years, Lyn Cote lives in a cottage on a northwoods lake with her handy husband and entertaining cats.(She likes dogs too. :-) In her everyday life, she is “normal.”

But in her writing life, she demonstrates the classic split personality. She writes two kinds of novels: contemporary Christian romantic suspense and historical Women’s Fiction, Family Sagas. Her masters degree is in American history and she loves researching eras filled with conflict. Lyn's brand "Strong Women, Brave Stories," always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail and a multicultural cast of characters.

Her contemporaries focus on heroines faced with real life crises and unexpected changes and also usually includes a multicultural cast of characters. In both types of stories, Lyn celebrates the triumph of both human and divine love. No matter what her heroines and heroes face, they are not defeated.

Awards: Carol Award in Christian Fiction, two time winner of the HOLT Medallion Award, and 2005 finalist for the National Reader’s Choice Award and RWA’s RITA Award --Why not click FOLLOW here?

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

7,950 global ratings

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Yellow Rose

great book

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2023

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This was a very good read. It held your interest all the way through. There’s mystery, love, happiness, intrigue and sadness all with Christian values in the book. Really enjoyed reading this book!

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S. Dawn

So Close to Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2020

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For me, this book was so close to being a 5-star book. The story was intriguing. The relationships felt realistic. The plot was fun. I was cheering for the characters, and I wanted to know how the mystery along with the relationships turned out in the end. I really enjoyed reading it, and it was a pretty fast read. I enjoyed that it was a clean read, free of cursing and sexual content. As a warning, if you don't like a lot of praying and other religious content, you likely will not want to read this book.

There were several reasons why I ultimately gave this four stars instead of five. The first was that there were a few grammar mistakes, including missing commas. Second, I got a bit annoyed with Wendy at times. I felt like she got a little too self-righteous. For example, she gets mad at what she perceives as others judging her or those that she cares about, but she's not above sometimes being a little judgemental of others. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I'm not entirely sure that I want to spend the money to find out what happens next. If I didn't love the book enough to want to see what happens next, I guess I didn't enjoy it enough to give it 5 stars.

One person found this helpful

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430booklover

Clean Christian mystery with romance

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2023

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I enjoyed reading this story. This is a clean, Christian mystery and romance set in rural northern Wisconsin in the middle of winter. Plenty of suspense and enough twists and turns in the story to make it difficult to figure out who the culprit is. A lot of interesting characters and some who are not good people and one woman who seems to hate everyone and constantly spreads gossip, even right after church. Nice ending.

One person found this helpful

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Shane A Kirby

Nice easy read

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2024

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Easy read, good little mystery and love story within. Characters and setting not well developed enough for more than 3 stars but overall cute enjoyable read

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Susan Jacobi

Wonderful real life faith filled stories.

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2019

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I recomend this author and all the books in the 6 book series. I just finished them and they were some of the best books I have ever read. The stories are real, the faith and biblical truths so meaningful andshow how faithful our God is, how much He loves us. Iam going to start the next series she has written, knowing I will not have worry about the verbal porn in so many books today, written by great authors who need not add that smut to their books as it adds no value to them. This author writes from her heart and does not rely on junk to embelish her really wonderful stories. LOVE these books.

Susan Jacobi

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Jennifer Lara

A great romance and mystery story

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2019

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Winter’s Secret by Lyn Cote is the first book in the Northern Intrigue series. A small town in Wisconsin is experience a series of burglaries. The newly appointed sheriff, Rodd Durand, is determined to find the thief, he has nicknamed “The Weasel.” He notices that the victims have a connection to a local nurse, Wendy Carey. As the two team up to help catch this thief, the small town rumor mill starts turning about their relationship. The old stories of bad families and feuds between families start to turn their ugly heads. When the town bullies start to spread rumors about his incompetence, Rod is now in a race against time. Can Rodd ignore the small-town chatter to find the thief? Will he catch him in time before someone gets hurts?
Winter’s Secret is a very interesting romance/mystery novel. I loved every minute from the first page to the final gasp as the identity of the thief is revealed. It is a mystery that keeps you guessing. I loved all the characters from the ones you love to the ones you hate and love to see their reign of terror come to an end. I also enjoyed that the mystery for the next book begins near the end and pulls you in to continue the series. I will definitely be reading the series. The books are currently on my Amazon wish list for future purchase. I highly recommend Winter’s Secret.

Winter’s Secret
is available in eBook and audiobook

One person found this helpful

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Blue North

A Winter Nurse

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2017

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If this book is about one thing, it's about prayer. "In Winter's Secret" by Lyn Cote, a Home Health Nurse named Wendy, is followed through the heavy snow by a burglar. The homes where she visits are entered by this person after she and her patient leaves for care. She prays not too many of her patients will become harmed or fatally wounded. In the meantime, she and Sheriff Rodd deal with personal issues.

It's fascinating the way God works with Rodd during the crimes. He must learn to depend on God. It's hard for him. He feels there is no need to bother God. After all, this is a problem he can handle himself. While we read about his battle with God, there is Wendy with her set of trials. She deals with her past. Perhaps, working too exhaustion is her way of not facing the pain she has experienced throughout the years with her mother. In the present, she faces the pain of seeing a uncle over drink and fight at the bar. Then, there is her sister, Sage, who is going to make a very big decision involving her boyfriend, Trav.

Along with snowmobiles, there are hardened, bitter people like Veda McCracken. This woman has no conscience. It is difficult for Wendy to attend church on Sundays because of this woman's hateful words not to mention her deeds that involve a church fundraiser. It is possible for one person to bring unhappiness to a whole community.

There are so many incidents that go on during this Northern winter. Some neighbors are really hospitable. They put themselves in dangers to save someone else hours of turmoil. I did become confused whether this story happens in Minnesota or in Wisconsin's Northern woods. I am a stickler for place. I always think the setting might become a location to visit in the future.

Anyway, Lyn Cote's winter is sparkled with the warmth of family, friends and food. Her winter is also very dangerous. I experienced a different winter. Snowmobiles become the basic way to get around safely and quickly. There is the possibility of becoming lost in high drifts of snow. Truthfully, winter can become deadly. This isn't an overstatement.

With pleasant relief, there is attendance at the church. I loved the hymns mentioned throughout the book and the times spent in church with Zak, Harlan and the other members of the town. Oh, I must mention the romance. I waited quite a while for one of the romantic couple's to share a kiss. Then, it happened. This is a wonderful, suspenseful winter tale. Don't miss it. booksbylyncote.com

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

JackiSprat

Winter’s Secret…

Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2022

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…Is the first book by Lyn Cote that I have read. It certainly won’t be my last. I’ve already purchased the second book in this series. I like that scripture verses are sprinkled throughout the story and that most of the characters are Christian.
Someone is breaking into homes when the owners have been taken into the hospital for an overnight stay by their home health care nurse. Is she in on the burglaries? It certainly doesn’t help that, as the Sheriff tries to get to the truth, he finds her very attractive.
As the snow starts piling up and more burglaries happen and the attraction is now mutual, a lot happens between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years!

Lizz

Unexpected twist.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2024

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I enjoyed this story, loved the characters and the twists and unexpected turns the story took. I enjoyed the Christian principles subtly woven in to story and the lessons learned from them. I recommend this book!

Toots Sullivan

Good honest believable

Reviewed in Australia on December 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

I really liked this book because the story is so believable and real. There is sadness and turmoil to overcome but that is not the essence of the story, it is really romance. Trusting ourselves, our faith and accepting true love. This is an honest story, no over the top heroics with wiz bang unbelievable technology, this is real, gritty and fun.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Enjoyable read

Reviewed in Canada on April 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

Some reviews didn’t care for the references to prayer, scripture and church but I appreciated the background of faith in the story- if faith is a part of who you are this story will feel authentic but if you are bothered by profession of faith, this story probably won’t sit well with you. Yes, there’s not just one moral to this story, giving it some pleasant quaintness. I don’t mind stories that work in a thoughtful lesson or two.

This is one of those stories I enjoy. The heroine is strong and capable but has suffered a few bumps in life and guards her soft heart. She’s kind, generous and humble-but not syrupy sweet. She gets pulled into a mysterious crime and can’t avoid the new sheriff. Of course they both resist the inexplicable attraction that is obvious to everyone around them. It is a cozy mix of detective story and budding romance, filled with likeable folk, nasty neighbours and dangerous enemies-what’s not to like?

2 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Great intrigue

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

Really intriguing story. Great plot and well thought out relationships and changes in them. Was light and entertaining read. Characters were relatable and easy to get immersed in their lives.

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Winter's Secret: A Christian Romantic Suspense (Northern Intrigue Book 1) Kindle Edition

From the Publisher

A small northwoods town where everyone knows everyone. Or do they?

Welcome to Steadfast, Wisconsin, a small town whose people and mysteries you may never forget~

Winter's Secret, Book 1

Autumn's Shadow, Book 2

Summer's End, Book 3

Spring's Storm, Book 6

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the Author

From the Inside Flap

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Lyn Cote

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