What do you think?
Rate this book
The Window #1
The Second Window
"Betrayal hides in what you don't see..."
As her senior year flies by on cruise control, seventeen-year-old Olivia Cole yearns for excitement—something her upscale private school no longer provides. Her job as a grocery store bagger isn’t much help…until the day she has a bizarre exchange with the cagey town recluse. When the woman abruptly surrenders to the police, Olivia feels compelled to dig deeper into her perplexing story. But the investigation stalls when Olivia receives another piece of news—Andre Steele, the golden boy of Westmont and her previous tormentor, has unexpectedly returned from his four-year stay in Brazil—and the whole school is buzzing! All at once, Olivia’s dull and predictable life is uprooted, and she wonders if “boring” was so bad after all.
As her senior year flies by on cruise control, seventeen-year-old Olivia Cole yearns for excitement—something her upscale private school no longer provides. Her job as a grocery store bagger isn’t much help…until the day she has a bizarre exchange with the cagey town recluse. When the woman abruptly surrenders to the police, Olivia feels compelled to dig deeper into her perplexing story. But the investigation stalls when Olivia receives another piece of news—Andre Steele, the golden boy of Westmont and her previous tormentor, has unexpectedly returned from his four-year stay in Brazil—and the whole school is buzzing! All at once, Olivia’s dull and predictable life is uprooted, and she wonders if “boring” was so bad after all.
First published December 5, 2017
About the author
Erica Kiefer
7 books217 followersErica Kiefer’s debut novel Lingering Echoes was published by Clean Teen Publishing in November 2013. She continued the series with Rumors (A Lingering Echoes Prequel) and her newest release Vanishing Act. All of her books can be read as stand-alone contemporary YA fiction, touched with romance, emotional drama and suspense. With a degree in Recreation Therapy from Brigham Young University, Erica’s experiences working with at-risk youth have influenced the realistic and relatable nature of her writing. Her first inspirational non-fiction entitled Borrowed Angel (published in April 2014 with Currawong Press) describes the loss of her infant son and her journey towards healing.
Married since 2005, Erica resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with her four children and can often be found satisfying her sweet-tooth with chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of milk. One day, she hopes to dust off her collegiate rugby skills and dive back into the game.
Married since 2005, Erica resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with her four children and can often be found satisfying her sweet-tooth with chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of milk. One day, she hopes to dust off her collegiate rugby skills and dive back into the game.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Want to read
March 17, 2018💝 FREE on Amazon today (3/17/2018)!💝
March 4, 2018
I had read a blurb or something for the second book a few weeks ago, and it stuck in my mind, so much that it made me want to source the first book. This was better than I thought it would be an OMG the ending was a cliffhanger and ARGH moment that reminded me of the PLL Finale. Without giving twists and secrets away, we have seventeen-year-old Olivia Cole who is studying psychology at school hence - the second window title. She has been working part-time at a supermarket where a recluse and hermit Jodie has been coming in for years through her checkout. They never speak words but Olivia feels a connection and cares for Jodie. Until one day, Jodie speaks and it starts a domino effect for Olivia as it turns out that Jodie has a few secrets and they involve Olivia. As the book goes along, Olivia feels the need to talk to Jodie but she seems to be blocked at every turn by everybody including her mother who Olivia will discover is hiding a big secret - one that will change Olivia's life as she knows it. I was surprised when I read this first twist, but the later twist near the end of the book really blew my mind and left me wanting the second book right this instance. For fans of the TV Show The Lying Game and Pretty Little Liars - both Sara Shepard's books will love Erica Kiefer's The Second Window as it follows a few similar themes. I now can't wait to get my hands on Book #2 which is released next month. Perfect for YA fans of psychological fiction.
March 19, 2018
SOOOO GOOD! next one please! now lol
February 11, 2018
After a smooth glide of building gentle tension, this book suddenly shoots off into mystery pure.
Olivia is a senior and lives in a perfect bubble. Her mother is a successful psychiatrist, her father loving, she has great friends and school life is a breeze. When one of her regular customers at the grocery store, a quiet woman who always comes on Wednesdays, almost sheds tears at the register, an entire nest of secrets begins to open up. Just as the mystery gets going, an unexpected ghost returns from Olivia's past. Not only does she have to face him, but soon finds herself uncovering information which no one wants her to know—things which turn life as she knows it upside down.
The moment I saw the cover, title and blurb on this one, I wanted to dive into Olivia's world. It wasn't what I expected. While this is a mystery thriller, it's not one that flings itself into dark shadows and high tension right away. The first chapter allows the mystery to begins, but before too many shadows take over, the story quickly reels back into more of a personal, teenage drama, and then launches into the mystery again little by little. The author allows Olivia's insecurities to come around full circle in a bout of teenage drama with a dash of potential romance. . .which seemed a little distracting at first. But by the end of the book, the sense of it flows into the main plot, adding the right amount of self-questioning needed for this psycho-thriller.
The pacing holds steady the entire way through, although much of this is a head-game more than real action. The author establishes the hint of wrongness right away, and then digs into Olivia's head and her own self-esteem issues. The mystery than mounts in dabs making a smooth transfer from Olivia's personal issues into the growing shadows around her. The secrets unfold little by little, meandering just enough to question what is true and what is a lie. While some things are very unexpected, others are easy to predict long before the truth is brought to light. It's a pretty even balance.
The book is engaging enough that it's not easy to set down. Still, the deeper concentration on Olivia's guy problems pulled further away from the mystery (even if a mental tie is clear), but then, this isn't the end of the story. The cliff-hanger ending leaves the mystery open ended with tons of possibilities to follow. I'm hoping that future twists and turns will wrap this early teenage drama into it's cocoon and weave the necessity into a tight web. Either way, I'm excited to see where the author will take us next.
I received a complimentary copy and enjoyed this enough to want to leave my honest thoughts.
Olivia is a senior and lives in a perfect bubble. Her mother is a successful psychiatrist, her father loving, she has great friends and school life is a breeze. When one of her regular customers at the grocery store, a quiet woman who always comes on Wednesdays, almost sheds tears at the register, an entire nest of secrets begins to open up. Just as the mystery gets going, an unexpected ghost returns from Olivia's past. Not only does she have to face him, but soon finds herself uncovering information which no one wants her to know—things which turn life as she knows it upside down.
The moment I saw the cover, title and blurb on this one, I wanted to dive into Olivia's world. It wasn't what I expected. While this is a mystery thriller, it's not one that flings itself into dark shadows and high tension right away. The first chapter allows the mystery to begins, but before too many shadows take over, the story quickly reels back into more of a personal, teenage drama, and then launches into the mystery again little by little. The author allows Olivia's insecurities to come around full circle in a bout of teenage drama with a dash of potential romance. . .which seemed a little distracting at first. But by the end of the book, the sense of it flows into the main plot, adding the right amount of self-questioning needed for this psycho-thriller.
The pacing holds steady the entire way through, although much of this is a head-game more than real action. The author establishes the hint of wrongness right away, and then digs into Olivia's head and her own self-esteem issues. The mystery than mounts in dabs making a smooth transfer from Olivia's personal issues into the growing shadows around her. The secrets unfold little by little, meandering just enough to question what is true and what is a lie. While some things are very unexpected, others are easy to predict long before the truth is brought to light. It's a pretty even balance.
The book is engaging enough that it's not easy to set down. Still, the deeper concentration on Olivia's guy problems pulled further away from the mystery (even if a mental tie is clear), but then, this isn't the end of the story. The cliff-hanger ending leaves the mystery open ended with tons of possibilities to follow. I'm hoping that future twists and turns will wrap this early teenage drama into it's cocoon and weave the necessity into a tight web. Either way, I'm excited to see where the author will take us next.
I received a complimentary copy and enjoyed this enough to want to leave my honest thoughts.
December 18, 2017
This seemed predictable as read the first, but that changed as i read and got involved with story. Once I got involved with the story i could not put it down.
This is the story of a girl who is a senior is high school with a pretty ordinary life, until she begins to discover that her life and family is filled with secrets that have been kept from her. Very well written and very interesting.
This is the story of a girl who is a senior is high school with a pretty ordinary life, until she begins to discover that her life and family is filled with secrets that have been kept from her. Very well written and very interesting.
January 31, 2022
The relationships in this book have no value. There are not build ups in the remoantic ones and the rest are all surface level, which seems counter productive considering the story line, which is also so convoluted and doesn't make sense. It Feels like the author just threw stuff together to "make it more interesting" but it had the opposite effect.
It has an extreamly abrupt ending, that has no conclusion to anything.
It has an extreamly abrupt ending, that has no conclusion to anything.
June 23, 2018
Great book. Lots of thrills. Think riding a roller coaster. You kinda dread it. You know that it is going to take you somewhere uncomfortable but a few minutes later, you are laughing and happy. As with any teenager, Liv has lots of issues. Yet, she has her best friend, a new, superhot guy and the insight and intelligence to ride the crazy coaster.
July 7, 2019
Interesting read; it kept me reading with the story line and I plan on reading the next book in the future.....didn't love such a cliffhanger ending. The book seemed to focus on more of the romance than the mystery. The romance was cute and the mystery kept you reading, but not sure if it was balanced well, but I guess that could be a good connection with a teenager's life.
April 8, 2021
I LOVED this book. Normally I don't really like books that are realistic (I like fantasy or sci-fi), but this made me stay up all night. The love story is prime, the characters are realistic, the main character was not pathetic as most books like this are, and the plot was perfect. Erica has caught the view of a high school girl perfectly. I think this book has something for everyone.
August 7, 2018
Good book
It took awhile for me to get into the book but toward the middle and end it started to captivate me more. Now I need to read the second book to see how it ends.
It took awhile for me to get into the book but toward the middle and end it started to captivate me more. Now I need to read the second book to see how it ends.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews