WHERE SECRETS STAY

Secrets bind several generations of women in this psychological thriller with paranormal elements.

You could say the story begins in 1962 in Savannah with best friends Marge and Dotty and the dark secret they come to share when they exact revenge on a violent man. Or it starts years before that with Marge’s own mother and the difficult decision she makes. But it is decades in the future when the storylines truly coalesce, when troubled artist Kevan Copeland, who’s disturbed by memory loss and the recent death of her grandmother, crosses paths with Nathan Hill, a man who dotes on and works for his aging godmother. Kevan’s return to her grandmother’s birthplace is full of resentment and hatred; it dredges up memories of Kevan’s violent father who physically and emotionally abused her and their entire family. The only friends she could count on growing up were her beloved Gammie Frances and her best friend, Beth, who accompanies her on her return journey. Back from Gammie’s funeral, Kevan starts to uncover long-buried secrets involving an old, decrepit property left to her—a house she used to visit with her grandmother. Nathan’s story is also full of tragedy; his younger sister has been missing for decades. As Nathan’s and Kevan’s tales merge, memories resurface, visions of a young girl start to haunt Kevan, and Nathan’s godmother’s own secrets add to the drama. Wright’s rich psychological thriller dabbles in the supernatural and features multiple narrators and plotlines set in the past and the present. The author explores generational trauma and questions the nature of evil: Are people born evil and can they inherit their personalities from an abusive parent? It’s a harrowing woman-centric story, with horrific, graphic sexual and physical violence. And while the answer to the mystery at its core is unsurprising and reliant on trivial details, the book is less about solving a cold case and more about thoughtfully exploring the ramifications of that case on the lives of multiple characters.

A ruminative, involving, and somewhat flawed psychological thriller.