Secrets - S.L. Pierce

Title: Secrets
Author: S.L. Pierce
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2011
Formats: Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes & Nobel
Smashwords

This book is a fairly standard thriller that follows Gwen Michaels, a woman who moved to California for a fresh start and the hope that her past would stay secret forever, even from her husband. However, after a hired assassin turns up to try and kill her, she assumes that her cover is blown. It turns out though that the assassin had no idea who she was and therefore a search for the truth begins which uncovers deception, betrayal, industrial espionage and an unhealthy collection of secrets.

The first thing I noticed about this novel was the large amount of chapters; it wasn't a very long story but had in excess of 70 chapters. I felt that this interrupted the flow of the novel quite severely, especially when there were multiple times when I didn't think a new chapter was actually needed. It just made the entire novel feel very stop-start at times, which was a shame as I think the author was trying to create a fast paced thriller.

The next thing I want to note in the review is that S.L. Pierce has written a novel which is very light on "filler" material. There is no excessive detail here, the story moves along quickly and there is no distractions from the overall storyline. I think that this is all part of the author's attempt to keep the novel fast paced and it works well outside of the issues caused by the excessive chapter issue I mentioned earlier.

In regards to the characters, we get a basic background throughout the story for both the main antagonists and the many side characters. There was just enough detail to gain and understanding of the characters without diverging from the story being told. I have to be honest and say I wasn't very fond of the main character, Gwen. I just found her to be emotionless at times and the simple black and white view she had on people made her seem cold. All of this makes sense due to her background, but it made it hard for me to really like her. I also had an issue was with the police officer character, although this was more to do with the story around him than the character himself. I was hoping to see some aspect of the plot being created around him lead somewhere exciting. However, it kind of just fizzled out and I am not sure what it actually added to the overall story.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and despite the issues I had with the amount of chapters, it was a fast paced and enjoyable read. The manner in which S.L. Pierce manages to wrap all the various events together at the end was rather satisfying, with the small exception of the plot lines regarding the police officer. If you are after a quick, standard thriller to read then you won't go wrong with this novel.