Secrets So Deep by Ginny Myers Sain

Secrets So Deep

by Ginny Myers Sain

For fans of We Were Liars and from the bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies comes a  paranormal thriller about a seventeen-year-old girl returning to camp to uncover the truth of what really happened there twelve years ago, the night her mother drowned.

Twelve years ago, Avril’s mother drowned at Whisper Cove theater, just off the rocky Connecticut coastline. It was ruled an accident, but Avril’s never been totally convinced. Local legend claims that the women in the waves—ghosts from old whaling stories—called her mother into the ocean with their whispering. Because, as they say at Whisper Cove, what the sea wants, the sea will have.

While Avril doesn’t believe in ghosts, she knows there are lots of different ways for places, and people, to be haunted. She’s spent the past twelve years trying to make sense of the strange bits and pieces she does remember from the night she lost her mother. Stars falling into the sea. A blinding light. A tight grip on her wrist. The odd sensation of flying. Now, at seventeen, she’s returning to Whisper Cove for the first time, and she might finally unravel the mystery of what really happened.

As Avril becomes more involved with camp director Willa and her mysterious son Cole, Whisper Cove reveals itself to her. Distances seem to shift in the strange fog. Echoes of long-past moments bounce off the marsh. And Avril keeps meeting herself—and her dead mother—late at night, at the edge of the ocean.

The truth Avril seeks is ready to be discovered. But it will come at a terrible cost.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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Eeee! It's finally here! I fell in love with Ginny Myers Sain's writing last year (was it only last year?) when Dark and Shallow Lies was released. Naturally, I've been counting down the days until the release of Secrets So Deep (unluckily for me, my book got delivered to the wrong address, so I had to wait a bit longer than I had hoped).

Whisper Cove is a small town off the coast of Connecticut, full of lore – the dark kind. They say that an entire village of women and children died here. Avril can't attest to the truth of those claims – but she can vouch for at least one death. Her mother's.

Now Avril is heading back to Whisper Cove, where she hopes to finally connect to her past. Perhaps by doing so, she will eventually find a way forward into her future. Or perhaps the past will claim her.

"I don't admit I came here searching for something. For someone. Or that I've been here before. I don't mean to Connecticut. I mean right here. To this exact spot. And I definitely don't tell them that this is where I died."

It probably goes without saying that I went into Secrets So Deep with extremely high hopes and expectations. Dark and Shallow Lies was one of my favorite reads for 2021, and I was counting on a repeat success here.

So, did I get it? I would have to say that it is a resounding yes. While I didn't feel quite the same emotional connection this time, I was utterly captivated by Avril's story and the tale of Whisper Cove.

Something about the setting of Whisper Cove felt familiar. Like a dream that slowly fades away upon waking – it's still there, but just barely. It made for an excellent foundation for everything that follows.

The mystery of what happened – and is currently happening – at Whisper Cove would have been enough to keep me invested. Throw in the personal drama, the twists and turns, and the implications, and we're talking about an entirely different beast.

In many ways, the story of Whisper Cove hits close to home. Maybe that is just the case for me, as someone who grew up surrounded by areas that could have been Whisper Cove had things not gone so well.

This is the second novel I've read by Ginny Myers Sain, and I am still hooked! I would kill to see an adaptation of either Dark and Shallow Lies or Secrets So Deep (or both!). And yes, I realize the irony of that statement. Even if I never get that adaptation, I'm still happily waiting for the next novel (One Last Breath) to drop.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 October, 2022: Finished reading
  • 21 October, 2022: Reviewed