Secrets Never Die
by
Vincent Ralph
Order:
USA
Can
St. Martin's, 2023 (2023)
Hardcover, e-Book
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
V
incent Ralph's
Secrets Never Die
is a YA novel about a group of friends (Sam, his girlfriend Elisha, his best friend Haran, Dom and Dom's sister Lauren) who sneak into the woods for a ritual every Halloween. Each goes into their
Dark Place
(a hut near an arch of twisted elms) to confess a secret. They '
save up a year's worth of worry and chuck it into the gloom.
'
T
his year is different. Something bloody smashes against the hut and there's a scream - what is happening? We learn that Sam was a child star till his career crashed and burned. His secret relates to that, but the others have secrets too. All of them start getting messages from a
Sasha Craven
who says '
Someone hid me in the Dark Place.
'
I
t becomes clear that someone does know all they have hidden, and Sam muses, '
Maybe some secrets should never have been buried.
' They need to investigate. Then the threats begin - and escalate into violence targeting more than just these teens. Seems that older - and darker - secrets are in play, and that more than one person seeks retribution.
A
s matters escalate, and it's hard to know who can be trusted, Sam persists, determined to get to the truth and to keep his friends and family safe. He succeeds, but a final twist maintains the tension to the very end.
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