Review: The Deepest Secret, Carla Buckley

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book on Netgalley from the publisher in return for an honest review*
The Deepest Secret, Carla Buckley
Diagnosed with XP, a rare medical condition which makes him lethally sensitive to light, Tyler is a thirteen-year-old who desperately wants just one thing: to be normal. His mother Eve also wants just one thing: to protect her son. As Tyler begins roaming their cul-de-sac at night, cloaked in the safety of the darkness, he peers into the lives of the other families on the street-looking in on the things they most want hidden. Then, the young daughter of a neighbor suddenly vanishes, and Tyler may be the only one who can make sense of her disappearance…but what will happen when everyone's secrets are exposed to the light?

Carla Buckley was born in Washington, D.C. She has worked as an assistant press secretary for a U.S. senator, an analyst with the Smithsonian Institution, and a technical writer for a defense contractor. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband, an environmental scientist, and their three children.

The title of this book caught my attention. After reading the synopsis I was really curious about Tyler's medical condition and how that would influence the story. Plus I love a good mystery novel.
The first fifty pages did not really pull me in though. It was hard to connect to the characters as a lot of information was given from multiple points of view. The story developed really fast with the disappearance of Amy and explanation of Tyler's condition and the relation between David and Eve. A lot of characters are introduced and it is easy to mix them up. Still my curiosity was bigger than my annoyance and I had to know exactly what the secret was and if it would come out.
After a while I noticed this book reads best when you can read it in long sittings. If you are distracted a lot or just read chapters when you have a few minutes it is harder to get in but after I found a few spare hours to really read I noticed it was easier to get connected and into the story. Eventually the atmosphere is getting a hold of you. The story is developing in a good way and I did end up giving this book 4 stars because you cannot put it down when you are past a certain point. The story lines all have a proper end which is good because there are so many subjects handled in this book that it felt a bit stuffed. Though I am usually not a big fan of the multiple person point of view it did work in t his book because the chapters were cut nice and clean with a beginning and an end and the time line made sense

The Deepest Secret
Author: Carla Buckley
Publisher: Bantam
Pages: 448
Format: eGalley
ISBN-10: 0345535243
ISBN-13: 9780345535245
Publisher: eBook | Hardcover | Audiobook
The Deepest Secret
4 stars

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Melinda
AUTHOR
03 February, 2014 delete

I'm glad the story picked up after the first few pages that annoyed you :) I love a good mystery too!

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Jen G.
AUTHOR
04 February, 2014 delete

This sounds interesting. Reminds me of a movie where a kid is home bound because of a crime he committed and sees his neighbor committing crimes because the kid is always watching the surrounding houses from his house. Yes, I wrote all that because I couldn't remember the movie title.

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Ciska
AUTHOR
04 February, 2014 delete

hahaha I have not seen a movie like that so lets hope someone here recognizes it!

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Isi
AUTHOR
10 February, 2014 delete

It sounds really good, Ciska! The medical condition of the character reminds me to the film "The others" (the main character was Nicole Kidman), which I loved because it makes the characters be in danger during the day!!

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