Friday, February 4, 2011

Secret Society by Tom Dolby

Summary:
Rumors of secret societies are always floating around, especially in a city as big as New York. Nick, Patch, Lauren, and Phoebe have grown up hearing whispers of a huge clandestine organization, but they assumed that if there ever was a secret society, it would have disappeared by now. So imagine Nick, Lauren and Phoebe's surprise when they discover that they part of a new class of Initiates of the Society, a group dedicated to helping its members achieve their greatest dreams and find sucess. Tattooed with the symbol of an ankh on their neck, the high schoolers are roped into lavish parties and find themselves part of a society that may not be entirely benevolent, which becomes apparent when body is found dead in Central Park with the ankh tattoo on the neck.

Review:
I really enjoyed reading Secret Society. Secret societies have always fascinated me and the fact that there could really be an organization like the one in the novel gives me the creeps. The Society is pretty evil, and has a lot of power politically, socially and economically, which is good for its members and not so good for its opponents. The story is fast-paced and there is never a dull moment as Nick, Patch, Lauren and Phoebe try to discover the mysteries of the Society. The characters were a little boring and one-dimensional with not much growth or development, which is usually a turn-off for me. The only character I was interested in reading about was Nick's father who doesn't play a big role until the end. He is very manipulative and is hiding a lot of secrets from his son. However, the stellar plot and pacing make up for the novel's other faults.

Secret Society ends on a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read the sequel to find out what happens. This is a really short review because I don't really have much to say. Secret Society was good but not great and it has a really interesting plot which makes it worthwhile. I would recommend this for fans of mysteries and prep school stories.

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: received copy from Flamingnet Review program.

2009/Katherine Tegen Books/341 pages.

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