Author: Gail Pruszkowski
Source: ezinearticles.com
The Secret Keeper is an incredibly powerful debut novel by journalist Paul Harris, who has been the US Correspondent for the British weekly newspaper The Observer since 2003. Before that he reported from Africa for the Daily Telegraph, the Associated Press and Reuters. The Secret Keeper was inspired by the conflicts he covered in Sierra Leone in 2000.
Reading The Secret Keeper is an intense experience, every page contains a vivid description, an extraordinary observation or a baffling choice. Baffling to those of us who find it hard to understand what makes a journalist go to a war torn country and put his life in danger. Harris brings life to a period of time the rest of us only know from newspaper accounts or TV. It would make a marvelous movie.
Danny Kellerman, a British journalist,, Search By Email
, receives an unexpected letter from an old girlfriend and it turns his life upside down. Maria Tirado, a children’s relief worker, was his lover when he was on assignment, Search By Email
, in Sierra Leone. But that was four years ago and he hasn’t heard from her since. The note says that she is in trouble and needs his, Search By Email
, help; it’s too dangerous to call or email.
Danny does a Google search and is devastated to discover that Maria was murdered, Search By Email
, before her note reached him. Authorities in Africa are calling it a roadside robbery but Danny has his doubts. He also has a girlfriend and a new, Search By Email
, life in London but he’s determined to find out what really happened to Maria. He convinces his editor to send him back and he will get him a story. Danny returns to Africa where corruption is rampant; he can trust no one and the secrets that he uncovers, Search By Email
, will change everything.
The canvas is large,, Search By Email
, Harris effortlessly, Search By Email
, transports readers between 2000 and 2004, London and West Africa. His ability to keep things moving and portray the atmosphere in two different locations adds a lot of depth to the book. The descriptions are quite graphic, some horrifically so. I learned quite a bit about the civil war and post-war deception in Sierra Leone.
Harris demonstrates his creative talents with an intriguing storyline, realistic dialogue and a sympathetic protagonist. His characters are not stereotypes; they’re carefully drawn paradigms of their countries.
This is a book that succeeds, Search By Email
, on multiple levels, a complex, Search By Email
, tale of political intrigue, a story of moral dilemmas, bittersweet romance and the journey of a man who must come to terms with the truth. It’s a tough read emotionally but well worth the time, a story that will linger in your mind long after you turn the last page.
Publisher: Dutton (April 2, 2009)
ISBN: 978-0525951025
Pages: 336
Price: $29.95
Gail Pruszkowski reviews for “Romantic Times BOOKreviews” magazine and her work has been published in the “Cup of Comfort” Anthologies.
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