No Safe Secret

February 29, 2016
After 21 years, brutal injustice gets its due in this somewhat roughly written story of secrets, revenge, and personal redemption from bestseller Michaels. Maddy Carmichael is a poor but honest and hardworking Florida high school senior. Her no-account brother sets her up to be raped on prom night. After a traumatized Maddy believes she’s killed three of her attackers in a hit-and-run accident afterward, she runs as far as she can and ends up in Boston. But changing her name and marrying Tanner McCann, a wealthy suburban dentist, can’t take away the awful memory of that night—especially when Tanner turns out to be an abuser who raises his sons to disrespect her too. Two decades after the accident, a mysterious phone call frightens her into thinking her secret is out, and Maddy runs again. But this time, she’s determined to get some justice. Michaels’s dedication to advocating for abused women is heartfelt, but the story suffers from repetitive writing, plot holes, and stereotypical characters. Michaels’s many fans, however, are likely to forgive those problems for this tale of strong emotions and courage.