Element of Secrecy

Element of Secrecy by Heather Slawecki 2020 Mystery

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This is a rollercoaster ride of a story and like the uphill climb for the first major fall, the reader needs to be patient while the author sets up the events and characters in the beginning of the story.

Once the background is explained, the story takes off with Jennifer O’Rourke going back to her childhood home to find out the truth about the death of her brother, Danny, and her mysterious father, Sean O’Rourke and a cult he became part of before their family was torn apart.

Jennifer doesn’t know who to trust in the story and neither does the reader as we try to decipher the clues along with Jennifer in the first person narrative. She has been in the witness protection program and most of that was filled with lies as well.

She finds out what happened to Danny and befriends an old neighbor, who helps her on more than one occasion. Old friendships are tested and new enemies revealed. The plot is complex and involves two families feuding one another, a cult that judges child killers, and a plan to pass the teachings onto a new generation. It was a lot to digest and for me, was a distraction. I like logic and focus in a story and there were times when this was lacking.

Jennifer begins by uncovering clues that appear safe but then someone tries to scare her off with a dead chicken and other threats. She puts her life on the line more than once as she digs deeper. You have to admire her tenacity as she races to the finish line and the answers to her questions, but I thought she had plenty of information long before the final chapter and wondered why she insisted on a public confrontation.

Some readers won’t want to read through the long setup at the beginning, but not every book needs to start with the action on the first page. It is a gamble for a writer, and the patience of the reader must be rewarded. A lot goes on after Jennifer arrives at her childhood farm and that should reward those waiting for the action to begin. The motives of the villains could have been a little better defined but most people will be satisfied with the ending. There are more books to follow.

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