What do readers think of The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris? Write your own review.

I enjoyed this book. It caught my interest from the beginning and didn't let go. I could tell the author, who is also a journalist, was very knowledgeable about the location and people. I recommend this book to those who enjoy a fast paced thriller or story of intrigue.

Having read several accounts on the RUF, all harrowing, I appreciated the new slant given by Paul Harris. The subject is so disturbing, and when told from a person on the "sidelines" rather than personal involvement, the story takes on a whole new scary, sad, and sometimes exhilarating depiction on an event that we can't really understand.

Why would a reporter even venture into any war-torn area, let alone one whose soldiers are baby-faced? How can anyone grasp family and community fears and challenges and still remain "unbiased" especially after losing the one person he loves to the so-called effort? When the truth of his lover's death is finally unraveled, the choices left are not easy or morally straightforward.

I read this book in a few days and its message still haunts me. It would be a shame to miss out on a new view on this most recent, and possibly still ongoing, event.

This book captured my attention immediately. I've read books taking place in other African countries but not Sierra Leone - the author has done an excellent job of making you feel as if you are there - the heat, destructive forces of many types, the people - both powerful and powerless, the stress of wartime and the awful use of children in war, but also romance and friendship. The book is exciting and terrifying at the same time. I will look forward to other books by Paul Harris.

Mr.Harris kept me riveted from start to finish. I learned a lot about that war in Sierra Leone.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It is a love story within a land torn by war and unspeakable cruelty. I was very impressed with the way Mr. Harris drew his characters and how much more I learned about Sierra Leone in reading it. I would certainly recommend this book to young people who need to learn about this world. This is a fictional story but Sierra Leone is real and it is that reality that will stay with you when you turn the last page.

The basic story within the covers of The Secret Keeper is quite good, dealing with the aftermath and the effects of war in Sierra Leone. The civil war there and its casualties (in all senses of the word) make for interesting reading. The twist in the story was quite unexpected, and made for a bit of an "aha" at the end. However, the characters in this book seemed a bit flat, one-dimensional and were people I really cared nothing about.

The author is a journalist who spent a lot of time in Africa and actually covered the conflict there. He might consider writing a nonfictional account of his experiences -- they would probably come off as being more realistic.

I would probably only recommend it to people who want to know more about the politics and conflict in Sierra Leone. The story he's trying to tell is a good one and should be heard.

While I had a hard time putting this book down, I can't say that I liked it. The story line, which focuses on a reporter's efforts to investigate the murder of his former lover who is caught up in a civil war in Sierra Leone, is compelling, and its tensions are well developed. The characters, while not particularly likable, are quite human and appropriately motivated. However, the writing is too flabby and casual for this high tension story. Harris is particularly fond of the verb-less description posing as a sentence, and sometimes strings 6 or 7 together in a distracting way. The stylistic devise of switching between two time periods to tell the story is confusing at times. On several occasions, I had to flip back to the beginning of a chapter to determine whether I was in the 2000 or 2004 segment of the story. Tighter writing would have turned this book into a first-rate thriller.

The best thing about this book is the information revealed about the politics and dire social circumstances in Sierra Leone during the civil war (and the post-war deceptions of its leaders). The story had potential, but the characters were one-dimensional, obvious. Also, too much prose was focused on the main protagonist's alcoholism and narcissism, and the tone of the narrative was a bit off. It didn't match the seriousness of the story.

The author is a journalist--it was apparent in the execution of the novel. The author seemed to digress into a journalistic delivery at intervals, especially when he was imparting the socio-political details.

There were some nice metaphors and imagery. It just didn't add up to a juicy tale. The climax was bathetic and too foreshadowed.