Customer Reviews

Secrets In The Shadows

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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For a first time author T.L. Haddix's Secrets In The Shadows does not disappoint. It would be unfair of me to pigeon hole the book but it does a good job of being a mystery novel and a romance novel without being sappy. This is very realistic subject matter and I felt the hurt and pain emminating from the characters that inhabit the fictional town of Leroy Indiana. I go for the more "out there" stories but I was invested with the outcome of the characters and wanted to see how the mystery unfolded and like any great writer is suppossed to, Haddix delivered. I'm glad this is going to be a series and can't wait for the next book. Devil worshippers? Hey that's pretty "out there."

This was a great book filled with twists, turns, mystery and drama. It left me wanting more...and quickly!! Still a couple mysteries that remained unsolved at the end of the book and they make me want that second book, like, YESTERDAY!! Great read, highly recommend!!

This book is not a genre mystery (though there is a mystery in it). It is not a romance (though there is plenty of romance). It is not a psychological thriller (though the psychology is as twisted and creepy as any you might read about in your most lurid of true-crime exploitations). What you have here is an honest-to-God literary work that deals with the secrets of people that could very well be your next door neighbors. Secrets masqueraded beneath the thin skin of normality, that take us all by surprise when they erupt in sudden and dispicable violence. And it is pulled together by a newly published author who is only going to get better. The prose is sometimes lyrical, but the dialogue is as rough and real as the every day America. You never have the feeling she is putting words in her characters' mouths.

The author is not dealing with mythical monsters, but the real ones that feed off that dark stream of malignance that runs through the heart of every idyllic American town. Living in the shadow of evil affects us all. And she tells us through the lives of her people that even the best of us are scarred. Even those who fight evil are touched by it and can never be the same.

The true mark of a good book is that reading it makes you want to read more. I was about fifty pages into this better than three hundred page book and I was already wanting the next one.

I really loved this book. I've often thought that every town has its own personality. Every town also has its own layers of a public facade..a facade that you have to carefully peel away, layer by layer, to find the truth. The town of Leroy is that town.

The author handled the PTS theme beautifully and very accurately. This book shows how one sin can cause a ripple effect that touches everyone in its ever widening circle. Very few people in Leroy were left untouched, and I want to know more about this town. I'm looking forward to reading the entire series. Well done!

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in reading stories about sexy supernatural beings, fairytale endings and demonic monsters, that we push aside the reality that you don't have to have supernatural abilities to be a real life monster. The monsters I am referring are like those found in the book one of the Leroy's Sins series, Secrets in the Shadows by T. L. Haddix. These monsters can be your best friend, your next door neighbor, the guy who always smiles and says hello as you pass each other on the street, or even your closest family member. Living a seemingly normal life by day but lurking in the shadows at night, they leave a trail of emotional destruction where ever they go. In Secrets in the Shadows, such is true for cousins Margie and Lauren, as we follow their shared story and learn why sometimes people have to do the unthinkable just to be able to survive. T. L. Haddix covers some real life issues such as rape and abuse and how hard emotionally it is to overcome such terrible struggles, especially when there are unanswered questions preventing the healing process. The first couple of chapters are a little slow moving, but it quickly found its pace and moves along and keeps the reader intrigued and wanting to know what happens next! One thing that I particularly liked, was that T. L. Haddix doesn't sugarcoat these issues and have the stereotypical fairytale ending, where everyone goes skipping off happily into the sunset. The reader feels the raw emotions and struggles that they character is facing and not everyone is lucky enough to make it out alive. I can't wait to see what happens in book two of the Leroy's Sins series, Under the Moon's Shadows.

Secrets In The Shadows by T.L. Haddix is Book One in the series. And you just can't wait to read the second one once you finish this one! It's mysterious and suspenseful, and so much fun! We are all surrounded by evil, even if we are not aware of it. This book is full of small town life, filled with secrets. I could not stop reading! Exciting!!! Very well written. Haddix develops her characters very well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Small towns tend to be much more complex than major metropolitan areas, they represent the stability of family life, while at the same time... turn into harbors for those looking for a fresh start, an escape, or more often than not...a hiding place.

The town of Leroy is no different.

Lauren Grant is the definition of "small town." As the loved owner of a downtown cafe she has what everyone wants, home... family... and love, but what the rest of the town doesn't know is that Lauren is trapped. With a past that starts to become the present, and ghosts (that she thought had long since disappeared) start popping back up, she has no choice but to face her demons. What she didn't have in mind however, was that the demons would find her first... and consequently try and destroy her happy little abode. As her horrible past starts to come to light Lauren struggles to understand not only why these things happened to her so long ago, but how she can get past them. The biggest problem she has however, is trying to stay alive long enough to get her answers.

This book was wonderful. It was well written, well plotted, and sucked the reader in with numerous viewpoints. While the main and most important story was told through Lauren's experiences and thoughts, several chapters were glimpses from the people around her, which only added depth to the emotional connection you felt for her. The pace of this book however is what kept me enthralled. To say it was bumpy would be a gross understatement. Just when the story would level off for the "expected" pages of explanation, Haddix would throw another curve ball, and knock her beloved characters right back into the mud. The "past offense" spoken of so often in the forefront of this novel is no secret, if you have a brain you can figure it out rather quickly, what is important, is not the act itself, but more the journey Lauren takes in explaining and reliving it.

There was romance, deception, moments of psychoticness, unforgivable memories, and just enough action to squash any hidden fight fetishes you may harbor.

Overall?? I say it was a winner, but more importantly it was a great all encompassing read.

Happy reading my fellow runaways and remember: Sometimes crazy just can't be explained.

This is a great book! I couldn't put it down and even finished reading it within 24 hrs! It left me wanting more, which is why I'm off to purchase book #2 now!

Secrets in The Shadows (Leroy's Sins) is an excellent book. Found it while roaming through the bargain ebooks and so glad I did! Interesting characters and relationships. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Need to look into book 2.