Rating: 
Summary: Do you ever REALLY know anyone?
Review: The book Keeper of Secrets is described by the author as an "ensemble
thriller", which he defines as a "good book with a lot of characters."
The entire story takes place in the course of a day and begins
five years after a murder has taken place. The central theme of the
book is secrets and how they continue to influence your life for days,
even years, afterward. This book is filled with mystery, political scandal, lies and deceit.
As the story develops it becomes clear that none of the characters are
as simple as they seem on the surface, each one of them had their own
private agendas. There are lots of backroom deals and secret
relationships that add twists and turns throughout the story. As you
move from chapter to chapter you learn more and more about the
characters. The story is fast paced and exciting and will have you
flipping pages trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together. This book was an enjoyable read, but at times it was just too much work
for me to keep up with all the characters in the story. I think I
would have enjoyed this story much more had the author focused on a few
characters and developed them more thoroughly and in a more linear
fashion. I felt like the story jumped back and forth and quite often I
was struggling to keep up with who was who. At the end of the story, I
found myself disappointed because I wanted more closure and a clearer
understanding on how all the individual characters tied together.
There was some closure, but I would have liked to have seen a little
more. I did enjoy the overall story and feel that it would make a
wonderful movie (where I could better keep up with the characters
because they would have different physical appearances). Dunson did
an excellent job of telling a story in a creative and exciting way.
The time constraints related to telling an entire story in a day
coupled with such a large cast of characters made this an ambitious
effort. He handled the mystery aspects of the story beautifully and
kept me turning pages. If the book had a stronger ending I would have
rated it much higher, but perhaps there is a sequel in the future. I
do look forward to future works by this author. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to Follow - Needs an Editor
Review: This book was obviously written by a first time novelist. Too many characters, ill developed plot - in general a waste of time (and money)! Hopefully the author has kept his day job! The most irritating part of the book are the trite sayings that are mistated. If you are going to use a well-known saying, possibly you would want to say it the way in which it became well known!
From one author to another - hire an editor (or a ghost writer).
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent choice for a book club
Review: This is definitely not the book for the person who reads the first 50 pages and then the last chapter in preparation to discuss the book at a meeting or over lunch with friends. Don't start this book until you know you have some time to relax and enjoy a good book. I don't usually finish a book in two or three days, but I read this in two evenings. I could not wait to get to the end of the book. Before I put the book down, I knew it would be my choice for my book club meeting. I had no idea that it would prompt such lively discussion among the eight women in the club. This discussion was just as lively the following day when we met with the author. We were disappointed he did not have copies of Day Two with him.
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