Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Haunting of Secrets #1

The Haunting of Secrets

Rate this book
Are some secrets worth dying for?

Sixteen-year-old Aimee doesn't like to touch people. One touch and she sees their past. One graze over her skin and she can see all the good and bad deeds a person has ever done. It isn't until a bomb explodes during lunch that she realizes exactly how many dirty secrets the students in her school harbor-or exactly how far one of them would go to keep his secrets safe.

In the aftermath of that fateful day of the bombing Aimee is brushed by a fellow student as they are caught in the mob running for their lives. Images of tortured and murdered young girls rise up to choke her. The problem is, Aimee doesn't know who touched her. Somewhere in this school a fellow student is a killer, and Aimee is the only one that can find him before he murders again.

With the help of her friends Aimee must sift through her stolen memories to determine clues. The quest to find a killer unravels the very fabric of her carefully woven life. He won't stop until he silences her- for only she knows all his secrets. She will have to summon all of her inner strength to decide what she must do: hunt or be hunted. Are some secrets worth dying for?

162 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2014

3 people are currently reading
113 people want to read

About the author

Shelley R. Pickens

5 books9 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
10 (30%)
4 stars
13 (39%)
3 stars
5 (15%)
2 stars
4 (12%)
1 star
1 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Cathy Ryan.
1,278 reviews76 followers
January 6, 2015
For all that she is caring and warmhearted, Aimee is a loner and keeps people literally at arm’s length. It took her only friend, Dejana, a year to break through her reserve. Aimee is cursed with the ability to see, in detail, the memories of anyone she touches skin to skin. To others she appears to be weird and insular but the Goth attire of all black with long sleeves and gloves, whatever the weather, is her protection from personal contact.

When a bomb explodes in the school cafeteria, Aimee inadvertently touches someone in the ensuing confusion and chaos and is assaulted by horrific memories of torture and murder. Aimee doesn’t know who she touched, but realises it must be one of her fellow students who is the sadistic killer of her visions. She must find him before he kills again and enlists the help of Dejana and a new friend, Leah, who is a computer whizz. As Aimee recalls the killer’s memories and the friends’ gathering of information increases, it becomes apparent the killer is stalking Aimee and she is to be his next target.

Aimee is the main protagonist. She is very strong-willed and a definite survivor considering how her life has been up to this point. Most of the story is told from her perspective with occasional passages from the killer’s point of view as well as one or two others. Aimee, Dejana and Leah are the strongest characters and are at the forefront, and as the story progresses more is revealed through the memories Aimee has absorbed and the mystery and tension build quickly. I did have my suspicions as to the killer’s identity but the other twists were a complete surprise.

I enjoyed the book very much, although it was quite graphic and gory for the YA genre, but maybe that’s just my squeamishness surfacing. Even so, I would recommend this for older teens. Having said that, it’s a solid debut novel with good pacing and a distinct concept. I’ll be interested to see where the sequel takes Aimee.
Profile Image for Karen.
Author 3 books22 followers
January 22, 2015
With The Haunting of Secrets, Shelley R. Pickens has created an intriguing story of a girl who tries to keep to herself. Her secret is only known to Mary who adopted her four years before and to her friend Dejana. When a bomb explodes at lunch time, life is getting harder. Some classmates are killed or hurt and when trying to get to safety, someone touches her arm. This boy knows that she now knows his secret. The Haunting of Secrets is a very gripping read with a three-dimensional main character; the more I learned about her, the more I liked her. Shelley R. Pickens develops the story in a great way - it gets more and more thrilling as the story proceeds. I was drawn into the story right away, was really close to Aimee and all events. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel! The Haunting of Secrets is a great read for young adults as well as fans of paranormal and mystery reads.

This a book to read again. Highly recommended.
Profile Image for N.A. Granger.
Author 9 books25 followers
January 9, 2015
The Haunting of Secrets by Shelley Pickens is really a YA novel, but I decided to give it a read because the premise – a high school girl who sees and feels all the memories of anyone she touches –seemed rather intriguing. Also, I’ve found a lot of other YA books very enjoyable (think the Harry Potter series, the new volumes of which I anticipated as much as my daughter).
This book indeed held my interest, and I had a hard time putting it down – but looked forward to picking it up again, like a treat. The author has teenagers pegged: their brattiness and snide senses of humor, their brutal honesty, and of course their bullying. There were also rare kindnesses, providing sweet spots in the narrative. The action moved briskly and the author provided a few tantalizing hints of whom the villain might be.
Sixteen year old Aimee protects herself from touch by dressing as a Goth in long black pants, long sleeve black shirts and black gloves. During her escape from the high school’s cafeteria following the explosion of a bomb in the room, her clothes are torn and she inadvertently makes skin contact with another student. This student is a butcher of young girls and the memories that flood Aimee’s mind are devastating. Worse, she has no idea who this boy is. Worse yet, he knows that she knows.
Aimee is faced with a conundrum: how can she find this person and how can she identify his victims without revisiting his terrifying memories. She is helped in her search by her one friend, Dejana, who is willing to overlook Aimee’s idiosyncrasies and who brings in another student to help in the search. During this time, Aimee is bewildered, flattered and ultimately warms to the attention paid her by Logan, a handsome young jock who wants to protect her from her demons and the killer who begins to stalk her. The author does a great job portraying a first love with its angst and tremulousness.
If there is anything of a drawback to this book, it is the fact that there was a great deal of narrative, particularly at the beginning. In other words, a lot of telling instead of showing, and there were areas where this repeated later in the book. The dialog is great, and I would have liked to see more of it as a way of telling the story.
That being said, this book was really enjoyable and the ending had a kicker of a twist. It kept me on the edge of my seat and since it is obvious from the ending there will be a sequel, I am looking forward to reading it!
Profile Image for Diane Coto.
388 reviews10 followers
September 25, 2014
What you think you see in a person is not always the case. Sixteen year old Aimee appears to be ‘Goth’. Some people even see her as freakish. But if they were to take a closer look at Aimee, they’d see a caring, compassionate individual. She only has one friend, Dejana, and her guardian, Mary. No one else knows her secret. She dresses fully covered in all seasons; I’m sure this is no small feat in Georgia where the story takes place. She has a gift (or a curse). When anyone touches her skin, she sees their complete past history – the good, the bad, and the very evil. When the school cafeteria explodes from a bomb, she is a survivor. But, someone touched her as he also managed to escape. From his memories, she could see he is a sadistic killer. He’s now focusing his attention close to home; he’s focusing on sandy-blond, blue-eyed girls in their school. Due to the school bombing, they have several days with no classes. Dejana enlists the help of Leah, a computer geek, to assist with hacking the school’s records for a list of ‘possibles’ that the killer may be attracted to.

This is Shelley Pickens debut novel. Aimee is the protagonist, but occasionally, a chapter is told by other’s perspectives – even that of the killer. Aimee is a strong female lead – she’s scared but she pushes on. It’s got a bit of romance also as Logan tries to connect with her; it takes her a while to trust him. Even though this is a YA paranormal / fantasy, the novel is fairly graphic. I think parents may want to read it first. The story has an ending — but, it also leaves an opening. The last chapter actually sent shivers down my spine. I rated the novel at 3.5 out of 5.

http://www.fictionzeal.com/haunting-s...
Profile Image for Elisabeth Hamill.
Author 2 books23 followers
July 25, 2014
Holy cow...teenagers these days! I've been waiting for Shelley Pickens' first book to come out, and it did, with a bang. Literally. Like, somebody blows up the school cafeteria right away in the first couple of chapters.

Aimee is our heroine, who affects a standoffish goth persona in order to prevent people from touching her, physically and emotionally, it seems. But Aimee has a a curse and the second she touches anyone with her bare skin, their memories flood her mind. And she seems to have a propensity for touching/getting touched by some really really bad people. During the cafeteria bombing, in the ensuing chaos, she is touched by someone she can't see- and realizes that they are a sadistic, torturing murderer. What's worse, that person is now aware of Aimee, and aware that she knows. And she's on his list of special girls now...

This book is extremely dark for YA, and very bloody. I really felt that it might have been better aimed at an older audience, but I'm the mother of teens. I know what they watch on TV is even darker and sometimes more violent than this. For the majority, it's a very well written book with some plot twists that are quite clever. My grownup brain had trouble with the villain reveal- it just seemed a little cliche and too easy, but teens are going to gobble this book up like hot Cheetos. This will be an author to watch!
Profile Image for Pratr- Authors.
442 reviews10 followers
September 15, 2014
4 fangs
Reviewer for paranormal romance and authors that rock.

This book is a teenage thriller, it can be read as a standalone but I believe there to be at least one more book.

Aimee has always been different, she hides herself by covering in all black clothes and gloves. If she was to touch you she would gather every bit of your memories then collapse.

The book starts with a bomb in a school cafeteria. Under the rubble Aimee touches an arm of someone next to her and sees all his memories. She can't wait to be rescued to find out who he is because she has seen him kill a blonde girl with blue eyes that she has never met. Follow the story to see if she finds him before he finds her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It will keep you hooked through start to finish. It's we'll written. It will keep you guessing who the killer is. You won't be disappointed. I wouldn't say you will fall in love with the characters but it does keep you there.
Profile Image for Aubrey Wynne.
Author 103 books453 followers
Read
January 10, 2016
The Haunting of Secrets by Shelley Pickens is a carefully crafted YA thriller. Aimee is a high school girl who has been running away most of her life. She has a gift, or as she sees it, a curse. If her bare hand touches someone, she is able to read his memories. Tragedy strikes the high school. A bomb destroyed the very cafeteria she was sitting in. During her escape, she accidental touches someone.
Although she doesn't know who he is, she sees chilling scenes through his eyes. Aimee turns to her one and only friend Dejana, who convinces they need the help of Leah, a computer genius. Together, they start putting together the information that will bring them closer to the killer.
Aimee has the haunting feeling that her past is still lurking in the shadows. Is she feeling the killer or someone from her past? Pickens keeps you on your toes with suspense and twists and surprises the reader will never see coming.
Profile Image for Alice J..
Author 58 books48 followers
December 12, 2018
In this novel, Aimee is a young sixteen year old woman who not only has to battle with the normal intricacies of being a teenager and a loner at school, but something she calls an awful curse that she has. Whenever she touches someone's bare flesh, all of their secrets are revealed to her and she tends to avoid people for this reason. However, when a bomb blows up the school and someone accidentally brushes past her, she realises there's a killer at loose at school and she must do everything to find out who it is before the next victim turns up.

Haunting of Secrets is a good mystery novel filled with supernatural elements and surprises. Aimee is a good character that I felt I could follow throughout the novel, she was strong and independent and didn't let anything get in the way of what she wanted.
Profile Image for Valerie Clarizio.
Author 37 books193 followers
January 25, 2015
I don’t typically read YA but the book cover caught my attention on this one, and then I was sucked in from page 1. Shelley Pickens did a wonderful job creating an intriguing YA suspense novel that kept me flipping pages. I love the main character, Aimee, she’s a strong, ‘take the bull by the horns’ heroine, yet she knows when to seek help from others for the safety of others. Aimee has the unusual ability to absorb people’s memories at just one touch. Unfortunately, she comes to absorb the memories of a serial killer and finds herself scrambling to catch him before he kills again.
Profile Image for Erin Pemberton.
23 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2014
Awesome book full of unexpected twists and turns as Aimee finds a purpose for her "curse". Travel with her as she searches for a killer among her peers in order to find some justification for why she's different. This book will hook you right from the start and keep you hanging on right until the last page!
Profile Image for Sue Wallace .
7,433 reviews142 followers
July 15, 2018
The haunting of secrets by Shelley R Pickens.
Sixteen-year-old Aimee doesn't like to touch people. One touch and she sees their past. One graze over her skin and she can see all the good and bad deeds a person has ever done. It isn't until a bomb explodes during lunch that she realizes exactly how many dirty secrets the students in her school harbor-or exactly how far one of them would go to keep his secrets safe.

In the aftermath of that fateful day of the bombing Aimee is brushed by a fellow student as they are caught in the mob running for their lives. Images of tortured and murdered young girls rise up to choke her. The problem is, Aimee doesn't know who touched her. Somewhere in this school a fellow student is a killer, and Aimee is the only one that can find him before he murders again.

With the help of her friends Aimee must sift through her stolen memories to determine clues. The quest to find a killer unravels the very fabric of her carefully woven life. He won't stop until he silences her- for only she knows all his secrets. She will have to summon all of her inner strength to decide what she must do: hunt or be hunted. Are some secrets worth dying for?
A fantastic read with brilliant characters. I loved Aimee.  I loved the bit when the school blew up. The way it was written I could visualise the mayhem. I loved the ending to. 5*.
Profile Image for Rachel.
1,455 reviews154 followers
March 11, 2018
*thank you to Netgalley and City Owl Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars.

This was just ok. It didnt really work for me though as I found my mind drifted a bit too much. I dont think that there wasn't anything really wrong with it, just that it wasn't for me. I just didn't find myself absorbed in the story. I lost interest at around 35% but kept going hoping it would improve. It didnt but thats not to say others wont enjoy this. No book is for everyone.
Profile Image for Susan.
1,408 reviews1 follower
March 5, 2020
WOW Im sorry it took me so long to actually read this book because it sucked me in from the very first page till the last word. Will definitely be reading more in this series
Profile Image for R.M. Gauthier.
Author 26 books833 followers
February 13, 2017
The Haunting of Secrets
What an interesting take on a seer.
Mrs. Pickens's story of one girl's life as a seer is completely different than anything I've read before. She twists and plots this story keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
Aimee is a girl hiding from the world and what she is. Just like every teenage girl she hates herself and the world she lives in, but none of that is really true, she's just been hiding from everyone and everything.
Forced out of hiding she must figure out who is killing you girls in her community before the killer finds her.
This is a great story, a wonderful read and I for one can't wait for the next installment to find out where this story will go next.
Well done, Mrs. Pickens.
Profile Image for Caroline.
Author 9 books62 followers
April 23, 2016
This sat on my "reading" shelf here on GR for far too long.
I actually finished this book LONG ago.

This is the story of a girl the world sees as a Goth and a loner. Weird.
What they don't know is that Aimee has a secret. With one touch she will see everything that's ever happened in your past.

So, when a bomb goes off in Aimee's school cafeteria, killing and injuring numerous students around her, Aimee is disoriented and worst of all - the gloves and long sleeves she wears to protect her from others' touch are gone. In the mad dash to escape the wreckage of the demolished cafeteria Aimee is touched and what she sees is a violent past so terrible she vows to find out which of her peers is responsible.

Aimee teams up with her best friend Dejana to pick apart the visions of a killers past that continue to plague her and stop him from killing again.

This story had me turning the pages, not wanting to put it down, needing to know what is going to happen next. This is an author who isn't afraid to take some risks with her characters and the risks pay off.

The ending is satisfying but leaves the door wide open for a sequel. Which is coming. In the spring of 2015!

4 Stars.
* Note - this is a novel meant for older teens as it does contain some very violent themes, though it in no way glorifies violence.

* Note - This book is published by the company I work for and I am the cover designer, however my opinions on the book remain the same. It rocked.
Profile Image for D.G. Driver.
Author 24 books97 followers
August 13, 2016
This is a good thriller. Aimee's power to see the memories of other people is interesting, and what she sees is truly horrifying. I thought she was a well-crafted character, and I understood her motives and desire to stop the killer in their midst. It was definitely a page-turner, as I was eager to find out who the murderer was. It has some graphic violence, so I'd push it for 14 and up.

There is a big deal about a bomb going off at the beginning of the book, and I don't think that gets addressed quite as realistically as it should or with as much immediacy as it should as the story continues. That incident is definitely overshadowed in the book by the primary plot: the need to find the serial killer. For a while that frustrated me, I'll admit. However, it winds up making sense (I won't say why), and now I'm eager to read book two.
Profile Image for Jill.
Author 4 books20 followers
August 17, 2014
A strong female character leads this story into a dark, mysterious world. Aimee is such a unique, intelligent young woman trying to come to terms with the ability to see others' memories if she touches them. When she accidentally absorbs the memories of a serial killer she is put into the uncomfortable position of finding the identity of the person before he kills again.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.