Keep a Little Secret

October 24, 2011
Slow and bland, this historical romance set in 1939 Oklahoma features moments of high tension, such as a wildfire and a stampede, that somehow manage to seem unremarkable. The romance between school teacher Charlotte Tucker and mysterious cowboy Owen Williams is set against a background of Depression-era ranches and has all the ingredients for eliciting interest, but the hazy language and vague historical details make it seem as faded and devoid of taste as an old photograph of a forgotten dessert. A rancher vowing revenge on Charlotte's host and a pair of twins searching for their long-lost father similarly fail to add much to the book. Garlock must have been tired when she wrote this book, which is a disappointing addition to the canon of an author who's produced some of the best contemporary historical fiction around. (Apr.)â¨