The Secrets You Keep Review

This was my first read by Kate White, and although I enjoyed it I doubt that I'll go out of my way to pick up any of her other books. The book is definitely a quick and easy read, which is apt for a story about not rushing into things. The theme that I left the story with was that you never really know a person until you are living with them. The majority of the drama in the book centers around the fact that Bryn rushed into her relationship with Guy, married quickly, and continued with a commuter relationship. It was only when she was living with him full time that she started to see the holes in their relationship. In this story, no one can be trusted. There were a lot of moments that I found even Bryn to be an unreliable narrator. She has moved to live with her husband for a few months, while she is still physically and psychologically recovering from a car accident where the driver and only other occupant of the car was killed. The idea that she is essentially isolated in a small town where she is an outside adds to the distrust of everyone. She is thrown off by thinking someone is trying to remind her of that traumatic event and as she deals with that trigger she finds herself the suspect of another murder. Solving the dual mystery of multiple vague deaths adds to the stories speed and suspense. The entire time you're not sure if they're meant to be linked or not, but one thing is sure: they both seem to be too closely related to Bryn's husband Guy to be coincidental. White excelled at structuring her chapters in a way that begged you to continue reading. The short chapters, each ending in their own cliffhanger encourages to continue for "just one more." But there were still moments when the plot slowed and was a struggle to read through.

There was so much oddly pointing at Guy to have committed the murders that I knew there was no way he actually killed anyone. Sure he was a jerk and definitely a bad husband, but not a murder. By the halfway point of the book, I just wanted to zoom past all of this information and look deeper at some of the other dinner party guests. Overall, the story was kind of meh. If you're really looking for a murder mystery "who dun it" style of book then it's not a bad pick. But, for me, there are stories out there.

Tags

Fiction
Mystery
Mystery & Thrillers
Suspense
Thriller