*Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for an ARC of The Son's Secret*

<b>Breakdown of rating:</b>

<i>Plot 4/5
Characters 2/5
Writing 3/5
Pacing 3.5/5
Spice 0/5 peppers (does not impact my overall rating)</i>

Overall I'd give the book 3/5 stars, given its compelling plot concept and thrilling pacing, but it lacked refinement in its writing and character development.

<b>The Plot:</b> The concept itself was thrilling and appropriately frustrating, so the plot got my highest rating in the breakdown even though I found it very predictable. There's something comforting about a quick and easy, predictable book when you're not in the mood for something too intricate. Aside from predictability, the idea that you know in your bones that a loved one is missing but no one will do anything because there isn't hard evidence of it, is terrifying. It was so infuriating every time someone would disregard Maggie's concerns as paranoia and make her just sit and wait even longer to find her son. However, there were definitely certain elements of the plot that were just outright unnecessary. The whole part of the plot with the athletic coach being accused of assaulting three of his gymnasts was so unneeded, especially the comment made by Gina when <spoiler>it turned out that the coach was innocent. She just had to say that so many men are impacted by false accusations?</spoiler> That was a wild thing to just throw in there, especially when Gina is a therapist. That's going to be so triggering for some who read this. Speaking of triggers, this book should absolutely have a trigger warning for suicide, especially with how much it's referenced.

<b>The Characters:</b> This was, in my opinion, the worst element of the book. The best character was the cat, who appeared in about 3 chapters throughout the entire book. Gerber showed that she can create a solid baseline for a thriller, but lacked the ability to create characters interesting enough to create any investment from the reader.

<b>The Writing:</b> The writing was a tricky one for me to rate, because there were some specific things I really was not a fan of at all, but the story as a whole progressed fine so the writing wasn't abysmal or anything. Its biggest hinderances were over-explaining the setting and using odd/uncommon phrases or terms. At some points it felt like Gerber just Googled synonyms of a word and picked the most obscure one, and it was never relevant that a store was on the corner of x and y, which was next to z and across from a, etc. Also: we get it, it's in New Orleans, that fact doesn't need to be drilled into our brains every chapter. It started to feel like an excuse to up the word count.

<b>The Pacing:</b> The pacing, although sometimes interrupted by the aforementioned over-explaining of the setting, was really enjoyable as a reader. With books like this, the real-time rush to save a life can be a thrill when done correctly. Gerber did a decent job of balancing a real-time plot progression with the reader's impatience to end their suspense. Even when I found myself skimming over repetitive setting details, I was still thoroughly enjoying the plot's momentum.


Please note that while these are my opinions on the book and my personal reading experience, my review is never meant to tear down the author or readers who enjoyed the book. I understand that a lot goes into writing a book, and that a book I didn't love could still be someone else's favorite.

Happy reading everyone!

I really enjoyed reading this nook,it felt easy to get into and to read. Overall it felt exciting to delve into the story and find out who to trust.

Thank you, NetGalley and Severn House for the copy of The Son’s Secret by Daryl Wood Gerber. I was pleasantly surprised by how engrossing this book was, especially because it’s more of a cozy mystery than a thriller. Maggie is an interesting character, but she was kind of annoying so I didn’t like her. I did like the complex story though, and even though I knew early on who the culprit was I didn't know why until the end. If you want a good and fast read, this is the book for you.