Review: The Secret Keeper
Title: The Secret Keeper
Author: Paul Harris
Published: April 2, 2009
Page Count: 336
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller
My Rating: 4/5
Four years ago, British journalist Danny Kellerman was given the opportunity of a lifetime: covering the political crisis in Sierra Leone as a war correspondent. While in Freetown he begins a passionate love affair with a beautiful American woman named Maria Tirado, who helps run an orphanage for ex-child soldiers. But Danny can’t shake the feeling that Maria is hiding something from him, and as the crisis escalates, Danny has no choice but to leave; he boards a helicopter out of Freetown and never turns back….
Until four years later, when, with a new relationship and a new life in London, Danny receives a mysterious, urgent letter from Maria. She’s in trouble and needs Danny’s help. But the letter is dated three weeks earlier, and it’s already too late. Danny learns that Maria was murdered in a roadside robbery.
Haunted and heartbroken, Danny leaves London and returns to Freetown. Although there is now peace in Sierra Leone, corruption is rampant and every promising lead is a dead end. But with the help of old friends and contacts, Danny uncovers a string of secrets that sheds a shocking light on the woman he thought he knew—and reveals a hidden truth that could destroy those in power. Trapped in the heart of a dangerous nation where he can trust no one, Danny is forced to choose between his journalistic integrity and the devastating consequences of speaking the truth.
I’m not really one to read books classified as “thrillers”, although I always make exceptions to my “genres I don’t like” rules for books that sound intriguing for some other reason. The Secret Keeper was one of those books – when I was asked by the author to review it, I was interested by the premise, and I figured that since I didn’t know much about Sierra Leone, I would hopefully learn something in the process of being entertained. I’m very happy that I did decide to accept this one, because The Secret Keeper ended up being very good, it grabbed me from the beginning and did not let go.
The book is, I suppose, technically a thriller-type novel but it’s truly a lot more than just that. The writing is excellent; Harris is a journalist by profession after all and this really comes across in the feel and flow of the novel. Not only is the reader kept in suspense throughout the novel, but there’s a much deeper feel to the book than typically found in other thriller/mystery books I’ve read. Of course, the fact that the majority of the book takes place in a country I knew little to nothing about was great too. Sierra Leone is, sadly, a place I have not studied at all, and while I’d heard of the region and knew there had been trouble there for years I hadn’t took it upon myself to learn any of the details. So it was great to see this historical fiction type element in the novel. And since Harris himself was a correspondent in Sierra Leone, I’m confident that the book’s representation of the area is pretty accurate.
One thing that could have been improved upon is the relationships between Danny and Maria, and also Danny and Rachel (his current girlfriend when he goes back to Sierra Leone to search for Maria). I didn’t feel like I got to understand either of these relationships enough to care about either woman. I was still interested to find out what happened with Maria because the novel was written so well, but I could have cared even more if I had a better emotional connection with her and Danny’s relationship. Same with Rachel – I didn’t get to know her at all, so I really didn’t care either way about what happened to their relationship. I wanted to care, it’s just that I wasn’t emotionally invested enough to.
Overall, The Secret Keeper is a very good book that will keep you on your toes throughout. If you are interested in recent African history or world politics, the book will be especially up your alley, but it’s generally a great read and I think most people will enjoy the suspense of the book no matter what your interests. Thanks to the author for sending me a copy for review!
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