Sunday, April 21, 2013

Keep No Secrets by Julie Compton

Title: Keep No Secrets
Author: Julie Compton
Genre: Drama/Romance (?!)
Publisher: Fresh Fork Publishing (March 10, 2013)
Available: $5.99 at Amazon
Rating: 3 stars
Rater: Dihanna



From the publisher:
After the ultimate betrayal, which is more important: trust or forgiveness?

In KEEP NO SECRETS, the controversial follow-up to Compton's debut legal thriller TELL NO LIES, a district attorney struggles to redeem himself after a one-night stand damaged his marriage and professional reputation.

After surviving the private and public fallout from a one-night stand four years before, St. Louis DA Jack Hilliard wants nothing more than to be trusted again by his wife, Claire, and to earn back the respect of the community he serves. Since the day Claire accepted him back into the family, he's vowed to be true to these goals, and so far he's succeeded.

But all of Jack's efforts begin to crumble when the woman involved in his earlier downfall, Jenny Dodson, returns to town claiming threats on her life and asking for his help, and resurrecting for Jack long-buried emotions and questions of her guilt for the murder of a client. Just when he thinks the pressure can't get any worse, his son's girlfriend, Celeste, accuses him of sexual assault, and he suddenly finds himself on the wrong end of a criminal case, battling for his freedom.

Can Jack trust his freedom to the legal system on which he built his career? Or will the ghost of his one-night stand four years before come back to haunt him, causing him to be convicted on the mistakes of his past? 




What I liked: The author is skilled, and has woven a complex story. I believed it, and reading this story stirred a lot of emotions.


What I didn’t like: These characters are horrible, horrible people, most especially including the protagonist. Before I was halfway through the book, I hated him, and I ended up hating him even more before the story ended. I hated him and his horrible girlfriend. Neither have any redeeming qualities, and in fact, their selfishness and irresponsibility and sociopathology destroyed their families’ lives. This story made me angry; I have met and heard about more than enough bad men, and bad women. I sure don’t want to read about them.

In sum: If you secretly root for the bad guys, this one’s for you.




No comments:

Post a Comment