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

In the hands of a better writer this could be a great first novel rather than just average. The author's style reminds me of the repeat novels of many of today's mass produced authors, full of cliche and soppy sentiment.

It's not that the plot isn't good and you do get a good sense of the characters and life in war torn Sierra Leone but the writing got in the way of my fully enjoying this novel. If I didn't feel a commitment to finish it I would have closed it mid-sentence and moved on.

This book has all the makings of a compelling novel. It is clearly written and contains an intriguing mixture of war journalists, child soldiers, corrupt officials and blood diamonds. Sadly, it doesn’t quite live up to its promising premise. I found it difficult to sympathize with any of the characters and at no point was I tempted to skip ahead to find out what was going to happen. However, it does raise enough interesting questions that it would make a great discussion book.

I selected this book hoping to learn more about Sierra Leone while reading an engaging story, but I found the writing to be "flabby" as another reviewer accurately described it and the story to not be as compelling or tightly plotted as I would have liked. Overall, I can't recommend this one.