📚A young adult suspense #thriller. Rosie’s #Bookreview of Secrets So Deep by Ginny Myers Sain @stageandpage

Secrets So Deep by Ginny Myers Sain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Secrets So Deep is a young adult suspense thriller with a paranormal sub-theme, plus a sprinkle of romance.

The setting is a summer theatre camp in Whisper Cove, Connecticut in Long Island Sound, a tidal estuary sheltered from the Atlantic.

A group of teenagers has been selected to work with the famous playwright, Willa Culver. Avril’s place in the group is particularly meaningful to her because Whisper Cove is the place where her mother died.

There are tales surrounding the Cove; legend says that the sea calls people to their deaths. Was Avril’s mother called by the sea? Each night an eerie fog rolls in from the coast along with ghostly whispers and strange sightings which begin to haunt Avril’s days.

Avril is cast as the lead actress in the re-enactment of Culver’s famous play. Both the play and the place begin to trigger Avril’s memories as she tries to piece together what really happened all those years ago.

The setting was very good with plenty of atmosphere and tension. However, Culver’s play was a little odd as there really didn’t seem to be many parts for all the other ‘brilliant students’ who were selected for the course and their roles as sub-characters became non-existent. Only two other official course attendees had roles in this story.

I also found that the pace was a little slow in places, circling back to the fog each evening which became rather wearing in the end, while I was eager to get to the denouement of the story. There were a few red herrings thrown in which added to the suspense, but I did guess the outcome before the end. Overall, quite a good story with a memorable setting, creating a great spooky vibe.

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Book description

Twelve years ago, Avril’s mother drowned at Whisper Cove theater, just off the rocky Connecticut coastline. It was ruled an accident, but Avril’s never been totally convinced. Local legend claims that the women in the waves—ghosts from old whaling stories—called her mother into the ocean with their whispering. Because, as they say at Whisper Cove, what the sea wants, the sea will have.

While Avril doesn’t believe in ghosts, she knows there are lots of different ways for places, and people, to be haunted. She’s spent the past twelve years trying to make sense of the strange bits and pieces she does remember from the night she lost her mother. Stars falling into the sea. A blinding light. A tight grip on her wrist. The odd sensation of flying. Now, at seventeen, she’s returning to Whisper Cove for the first time, and she might finally unravel the mystery of what really happened.

As Avril becomes more involved with camp director Willa and her mysterious son Cole, Whisper Cove reveals itself to her. Distances seem to shift in the strange fog. Echos of long-past moments bounce off the marsh. And Avril keeps meeting herself—and her dead mother—late at night, at the edge of the ocean.

The truth Avril seeks is ready to be discovered. But it will come at a terrible cost.

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