Review: Understated Horror
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2012
FAMILY SECRETS by Ruth Barrett is a short story about a child's fears. Told from the point of view of ten-year-old Jill, the tone is understated, at times, humorous. It is a story about the horror of a ten-year-old whose parents do not deal with their daughter's fears because they won't deal with their own emotions and family secrets. Rather, they suffocate the past with lies and drown sensitivity in platitudes. Fear mounts. Tension builds. And the reader wonders what will happen next. It is a gem of a story. Ms. Barrett's prose sparkles and I recommend FAMILY SECRETS to anyone who enjoys a refreshing read with a surprising end.