I Can Keep No Secrets From My Blog!

Yesterday I finished Tell No Lies by Julie Compton so I felt it was appropriate to begin it's followup Keep No Secrets. I'm currently 30% in this novel and I can see a very distinct difference in how the author approached this one. There is definitely action in this novel whereas the first one was more getting to know the characters. I almost feel bad that I rated it as two stars on goodreads.com because I didn't think it was bad but I did feel that it took way too long for anything to surface. It was a very slow simmer.

What we know so far is that the story of Keep No Secrets is following up four years later from Jack Hilliard's admission at trial that he slept with his good friend Jenny Dobson. This trial also leads to the conviction of her ex-boyfriend Alex who's presence at her home the same night Jack had an affair with Jenny was no accident. It was planned out and methodical and the exact nail in the coffin needed to keep Jenny from going down for murder of one of her clients. After the trial, Jack is given evidence that strongly suggests that Jenny may in fact have been responsible for the murder.

Jack Hilliard in the current book is doing all he can to keep the trust of his wife as well as his constituents. His oldest son Michael is a tyrant. Sidebar- I don't understand why defiant teens are a must in so many books. Aren't there any out there who do as their parents wish or actually act like they even like their parents? To say that Jack and Michael's relationship is treacherous is an understatement. Michael blames Jack for their familie's problems, which has some merit, but he may be involved in some pretty bad cahoots with his girlfriend who's accusing Jack of raping her. Oh no! That's the same thing I thought. Here Jack is trying to be a standup guy and some teen girl insists she's been raped by him and to top it off she looks like she could be Jenny's twin.

So far we know a lot. Jenny's also back! I don't think I've mentioned that. But yes! She's back in Jack's life and he still must dance with the devil. Claire, Jack's wife, compares Jenny to being Jack's drug and I totally agree.  In conclusion, I'm fairly interested in where this novel is taking me and I'm excited that there is much more going on in this novel than the last. There's actually underlying suspense and reasons to keep turning the pages to see how Jack's life can be unraveled. I personally hope that he doesn't have to pay for the sins of his affair forever because he's a pretty likeable guy who made a very bad decision. That's the point essentially. The decisions we make need to be good ones or else we'll be haunted by them forever and pay the ultimate price.