The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz

 

Four days…
Trapped in a well, surrounded by dirt, scratching at the walls trying to find a way out.
Four days of a thirst so strong, that when it finally rains, I drink as much as possible from the dripping walls, not even caring how much dirt comes with it.

Six months…
Since my escape. Since no one believed I was taken to begin with – from my own bed, after a party, when no one else was home…
Six months of trying to find answers and being told instead that I made the whole incident up.

One month…
Since I logged on to the Jane Anonymous site for the first time and found a community of survivors who listen without judgment, provide advice, and console each other when needed.
A month of chatting with a survivor whose story eerily mirrors my own: a girl who’s been receiving triggering clues, just like me, and who could help me find the answers I’m searching for.

Three days…
Since she mysteriously disappears, and since I’m forced to ask the questions: will my chance to find out what happened to me vanish with her? And will I be next?

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Terra is still trying to get over a tragedy that happened a few years ago when she is kidnapped from her bed and imprisoned in a dry well. When she finally manages to drag herself out, four days later - no one has noticed she's missing. And, with a history of occasionally vanishing for a day or two, no one believes her when she describes her captivity. No one except the anonymous people in her support chatroom, and the boy who didn't walk her home when she went missing.

First of all; yes, in theory this is a sequel to another novel by the same author, Jane Anonymous. However, the actual crossover is very, very faint; I didn't even pick up on it until I read someone else's review, so don't worry if you haven't read that one. You won't miss anything.

Secondly. I have rarely felt so mixed up about a novel on this level. Terra is one of the most unreliable narrators I've met in a long time; I lost count of the times the narration described something and Terra questioned whether she'd done it or when she'd done it. While she was being held she worried about being off her meds for so long, but several months later she seemed to skip them far more often than take them. No doubt that was adding to the unreliability problem, but still. I found it hard to read simply because I had so little idea what was going on; it nearly made me feel nauseous.

I didn't like Terra's aunt too much, either. Working through her own things or not, I felt she was very unsympathetic to Terra - although, of course, there's the unreliable narrator thing again; maybe she was actually very supportive and nice and we just don't know!

Overall, I do recommend this, and it wrapped up nicely, but be ready to be totally confused as you read.

The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep publishes on the 16th March, 2021. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.