Secrets Never Die by Vincent Ralph
We call it the Dark Place. I don’t know who built it or when but, for us, it’s special.
Every year Sam Hall and his friends hold funerals for their secrets in an abandoned hut in the woods that they call the Dark Place. But this year, their secrets are coming back from the dead…to terrorize them.
Sam is a former child star whose career went up in flames – literally. And no one, not even his best friend knows why. His friends each hold a secret pertaining to the night. A secret they would all like buried.
Now someone from the past is blackmailing them with their dangerous secrets. Sam isn’t sure who he can trust, who’s watching him – or how far he’s willing to go to bury the past once and for all.
When you’re alone in the dark, some things won’t stay hidden.
Review:
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After reading the synopsis, I was excited to check out this book and find out what these dirty secrets were that this friend group was hiding. Unfortunately, the book as a whole left me feeling a little underwhelmed. I went into this one expecting an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, but what I got was more like the kiddie roller coaster ride.
The storyline centers around a group of friends who – every Halloween – hold funerals for their secrets in an abandoned hut called the Dark Place. When the book begins, the friend group prepares for their annual ritual. When it’s time to go spill the beans, something goes wrong. When the main character, Sam, goes into the Dark Place to confess, he hears loud thuds coming from outside. When he goes to investigate, he and his friends find the abandoned cabin covered in blood, and screams tear through the surrounding forest.
The next day someone begins to send messages to the friend group. These messages start off taunting and then become increasingly threatening. Soon the threats extend to their immediate families. Sounds creepy in concept, right? Unfortunately, the execution of this concept fell flat, and left me underwhelmed. The opening scene at the Secret Place was pretty intense, and after reading it, I was super excited for what lay ahead. Sadly, the intensity in this scene didn’t carry forward through the rest of the book.
One of my biggest problems with the book was the characters, particularly the protagonist Sam Hall. I didn’t find Sam sympathetic, and the other characters in the book felt like a caricature. There was a lack of depth which failed to elicit any real connection or empathy from me. I was never fully invested in their experiences and struggles.
I also felt the plot itself was riddled with clichés and predictable twists. The notion of secrets coming back from the dead to terrorize the characters is hardly original, and the blackmail angle felt forced and unoriginal. Also, the secrets were very benign, and when the reveal finally happened, all I could think was, “Wait, THAT’s your darkest secret?” On the other hand, the reason as to why the big bad was after them made sense (to an extent). I can see why what happened to the “villain” would elicit revenge; I just felt like the revenge plot was disjointed and not as strong as it could have been.
Overall, I was disappointed in this one. From one-dimensional characters to a lackluster plot, the book failed to deliver on its creepy promises. For those seeking a thrilling and engaging read, I would recommend looking elsewhere.
