Review: Something Secret

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Author: T.R. Kester
ISBN:  9781548571535
RRP: $15
Publisher: Self-Published
Copy: Courtesy of the Author

Last year I read and reviewed local debut author T.R. Kester after the release of Something Wicked and hinted at following up with an interview which never eventuated, perhaps I should look at doing that this time. Can you tell I’m still procrastinating? The to-do list is overwhelming so … look shiny things let’s do that instead.

My book club pile and my to-read pile is huge at the moment but I received a copy of Something Secret from the author a while back and stacked it on the shelf for that day I had some time. I haven’t had the time but the day came that I decided I was reading it anyway, Treadwell was calling and I got sick of tuning out the ringtone. That was nearly two weeks and I don’t want to count how many books ago, and now I need to try and write a review.

Something Secret is the second book in the series and after the meaty first volume it is only snack size. 168 pages isn’t a lot in the scheme of a fantasy saga and it really did leave me wanting more; there is so much that I still need to discover.

We begin with a cast of characters, quite hefty in Wicked and now with a few additions; I think there are still more to be introduced later in the series. This cast list is required reading and it almost needs to come as a bookmark so that you can keep it with you wherever you are up to in the story because the characters can get a little confusing.

In the beginning we go back to the beginning with a Prequel told by Maria, Queen of Good Magic, of origins. The story of the creation of the first evil witch and the dawn of man.

Chapter One brings us into the present and the Romani Crypt, we aren’t in Treadwell anymore readers but we are still with our Treadwell characters, and sure to return at some stage.

Kester has kept his world building pretty solid and it all felt quite fluid, there were no glaring continuity crises and the characterisation was quite true to what we had come to expect from Something Wicked.

I have head the Something Series compared to Charmed and though I never watched the show I have Foxtel and have seen more than enough ads to get the comparison. I was of the Charmed era but was more a Buffy and Angel fan. The Morrigan trio evoke a sense of the Charmed sisters in me but that may be from comparisons already made. This series seems to draw upon a lot of the 90s pop culture supernatural drama genre in that I always seem to be getting a picture of one of the shows. Hellmouths wreak havoc in the Something Series as did the one in Buffy Summers’s Sunnydale.

Something Secret is quite busy, there is a lot going on with betrayal, secrets and inter-dimensional travel but the pacing is quite constant and the timeline fluid. We are often transported to the past through flashbacks or visions being seen by only one character.

I think Something Secret is a worthy read, especially for fans of the aforementioned shows, because it is quite familiar; it’s almost nostalgic.

I do look forward to what comes next in the series because with the huge cast list and many connections I will be interested to see how it all plays out and is then resolved. We are left with a cliffhanging To Be Continued and I am intrigued to find out what’s next.

For more information on the book, and to see where T.R. Kester will pop up next you can find him on Facebook and TRKester.com.au.

To check out stockist info head to TRKester.com.au and look for the Stockist and Buy pages.

Digital copies are available from Amazon and Kobo.

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