Customer Reviews

Secrets Unveiled

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There are so many books being published each year, but SECRETS UNVEILED is one of those you have to add to your collection. The author gives you a story that is not only told well, but it keeps you waiting on the next drama to unfold. It's truly an incredible talent from a debut novel, and I can't wait until the next installment.

Secrets Unveiled, by Sheshena Pledger
The story meanders, featuring extremely callous murders, lots of habitual swearing and occasional sex, which are the best segments of the book. It features the Harris family, a brutal "crime" family whose only goal appears to be the killing of opponents, family of opponents, friends of opponents and anyone closely associated with opponents. The leader of the family is Samuel Harris, whose "family" consists primarily of women with a past of being heavily abused. He befriends them, gives them acceptance and a purpose.
Their prime opposition is a group that speaks almost exclusively in black street dialect, it is easy to differentiate when the focus is on them rather than the Harris family, that generally speaks at the level of the college educated. The group that speaks in black dialect is not as cruel as the Harris family but is just as efficiently deadly in their actions towards others. As the story progresses, there is a back and forth with one side killing one or more of the other, yet it appears that the Harris side is dominant. The conversations between members of the Harris family are difficult to read, their matter-of-fact debates about how to dispose of the enemy are the mark of true psychopathic killers.
Ironically, Pledger's best moments are when she is writing about the sex scenes between the female assassins of the Harris family and their intended victims. Her tactics here, so unlike the relentless swearing in the conversations, is understated so well that they are truly erotic rather than just descriptive.
I lost most of my interest approximately 2/3 of the way through the book, the continued violence and descriptions of planned violence were too heavy and lost their shock value. While Pledger shows some talent as a writer, it will be necessary for her to get out of the channel of violence before she can reach her potential.

Fans of modern urban fiction will enjoy the writing style of new writer Sheshena Pledger. Sheshena's debut novel "Secrets Unveiled," is a fast paced novel wrapped around the Harris Crime Family. The Harris family is notorious for their murderous crime nature. The protaganist, Nick Miller is from a good family but caught up in his new life he has constant thoughts about his past and various suppressed memories. Not to mention, Nick can't seem to escape a high profile murder investigation that unfolds on the television news. Nick's life smashes into the Harris family and Nick has no choice but to determine what kind of life he wants to have for himself. Will he be a 100% honest man with himself inside and out or will he continue to repress his past?

"Secret's Unveiled" is a really good book. Fans of urban fiction will easily cling to Sheshena's writing style. The book is easy to read. Each chapter is titled with an interesting quote. Hopefully Sheshena Pledger continues to write exciting novels. "Secret's Unveiled" is an excellent debut title.

Nick Miller's world is messed up enough. He operates day in and day out without any really purposes in his life. Nick does understand that he needs to straighten up soon. He can't keep making the same mistakes over and over again...like Keisha, the busty woman that he keeps letting back into his bed. Women like Keisha are bad for a guy's health. She has been with every guy with a pulse.

As much as Nick hates his life, he hates it more when anyone tries to interfere in it, especially anyone like the Harris family. The Harris family is one of the most feared crime families around. They know only one thing...blood. They can smell fear. In fact they prey on the weak. This time it's personal. When crime boss's daughter, Natasha Harris "Cleopatra" is found dead, the family goes on a warpath to paint the town red...blood red. Now it is every man for himself.

The beginning of this story really drew me in. Towards the middle it started to fizzle a little and by the end, I was left undecided on my thoughts about the book. It took me a couple of days to gather my thoughts to write a review on this book. The reason for this is because I liked the plot, deceitfulness of the characters and the pace of the story but my problem was with Nick. I was put off by Nick's lazy attitude. Also when Nick would flash back to the past, it wasn't as smooth as I would have liked. When Nick would go back in the past it seemed like a weird acid trip that I was lost in. This story was fine as it was as long as it stayed in the present and not in the past.

After the death of Cleopatra, the member of the notorious Harris crime family, the rest of her family will stop at nothing to reclaim their presence on the streets. Things get confusing when Nick Miller unknowingly gets into the way of the Harris family's plan for revenge. When Nick finds comfort with the wrong person, the answers to the secrets of his past could be revealed. But will he live long enough to get the answers he seeks?

Secrets Unveiled by Sheshena Pledger is an interesting tale of how a crime family seeks revenge. There were a lot of good main characters and scenarios. The idea of this book was very intriguing but when reading this story it felt like something was missing. It would have been better to see how Cleopatra and the Harris family came into power instead of the story beginning with her death. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, too many characters, and confusing sub-plots by the end of this story. Secrets Unveiled is still a decent debut novel by Sheshena Pledger.

Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
for Urban Reviews

The Harris family is one of America's most ruthless crime families. It's a family of stone cold killers with secrets. The Miller family is seemingly an average family with no secrets but when Nick Miller's father is killed Nick learns that his family has secrets too.

The story is told from the point of view of both the protagonist and antagonist. At first it was very disconcerting and it would take me a few pages to realize who was talking but once I got more into the book it was easier based on who the characters were talking to. One other thing that bothered me was the grammar. In a few instances words weren't used correctly such as meat instead of meet and when I ran across them it was very distracting. I guess that's just one of the downfalls of a self published book.

The writing was real gritty and street but it played well with the story. The characters are a bit unlikable but this also works for the storyline. This was not my typical read but found it an interesting step out of my favorite genres.

The truth can be a scary thing when nothing is clouding it. "Secrets Unveiled" follows Nick Miller as he soon finds out secrets of his life that he rather not know. Wanting a nice peaceful life like anyone else, he finds his life on a collision course with the infamous Mafioso family of the Harrises, notorious for their violent tendencies. "Secrets Unveiled" is riveting and well worth reading for thriller fans.