Book Review: Primitive Secrets by Deborah Turrell Atkinson (Storm Kayama #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Interesting characters and intriguing mystery...

Cons: ...once the story gets going

The Bottom Line:

Patience rewarded

Once the story gets going

Can't put the book down

Slow Start to an Intriguing Debut

Everybody loves going to Hawaii. And, since I can't afford to go, a book is the next best way, right? That's how I came to get Primitive Secrets, a legal mystery set in our 50th state. And while the beginning was rather slow, I enjoyed it in the end.

When Storm Kayama arrived at work that Monday morning, she was shocked and upset to find her "Uncle" Miles dead at his desk. While she and Miles weren't truly related, he had raised her after her parents died. Working with him and his law firm had been a blessing she had truly enjoyed.

The evidence suggests that the 77 year old died of a heart attack, and the family begins the grieving process. But then Storm is attacked and her apartment is broken into. Could there be more to Miles' death then they thought?

There were several flaws with the beginning of the book that worked themselves out as the story progressed. The first is the plot. We are the only ones who think there's been a murder of any kind until at least a quarter of the way into the book. In the mean time, we get details about Storm's life that, frankly, I didn't care about.

But once the apartment is broken into, things really pick up speed. Storm starts to get pieces of the puzzle. There are several nail biting scenes scattered through out the book that had me turning pages. The ultimate outcome makes logical sense as well.

I had a hard time keeping the characters straight at the beginning, too. I blame this on the author's habit of changing from first to last name and back. I had a hard time remembering which partner of the law firm was Wang and which was Wo, for example. Again, as the book progressed, that got better. I really got a feel for the characters and their personality traits became apparent. In the end, I felt these were real people, and I wasn't having any trouble keeping them straight.

This is a first novel, and it does show. The writing was weak at times, usually with overly poetic description and rough narration. It was noticeable throughout, but it stopped bugging me as I grew used to the writing.

In the end, I found the book well worth reading and plan to read more in the series. So don't let the early weaknesses keep you from enjoying Primitive Secrets.