Daisy Ingles Secret Circle

 Engaging, Witty, Entertaining

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery

Daisy Ingle's Secret Circle by James R. Lawrence

Amanda, Page and Sedona hadn't seen each other since school, and all three would have been in agreement that, that had probably been for the best. They are suddenly thrown back together by misfortune and fate when an unexpected brutal incident brings an old friend back into their lives, for which, all three girls initially think that another must be responsible for. Their mutual friend had made it her mission to bring people together, and it becomes clear that it is a mission that she also sought to become her legacy. In return her protégés are determined to locate her assailant. However, they are at a loss as to who would have possibly wanted to harm Daisy.....did she perhaps have anything to hide?

This is the first of James Lawrence's books that I have read. The cover design and title attracted me, giving me the impression that this was a light hearted, fun story, which everyone needs from time to time. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the three main protaganists. They desperately feel, when they meet for the first time in ten years, that they should be upholding their dislike of one another and sustaining any grudges that were formed all those years ago. Underneath though, I think they realise that they are adults and really want to take the opportunity to move on, but because they don't talk about it, each one keeps up the animosity.

The sassiness that the Author brought to the girl's dialogue, and generally all the female roles, really brought those characters to life for me and made them easier to imagine in both voice and image. Especially in the restaurant scene, with Amanda and Paige, peering over the the partition, which did make me chuckle.

I found keeping track of who was talking when Amanda, Page and Sedona were together, a little difficult at times, but it didn't detract from being able to follow the story. The girls full names being used so frequently, became a little distracting too. Then again they are names and characters that I am unlikely to forget for sometime, so this was probably a clever tactic on the Author's part!

The narrative was really compelling, and the twist was very well executed and extremely comprehensive. I thought that the Author did an impressive job of concealing the perpetrators right up to the last minute and solving not one, but two conundrums, and almost splitting his novel's cast down the middle, making a number of them complicit in a very well constructed plot. It must have taken some time to put together!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will definitely be looking into what else James has written, and look forward to reading other work produced by him in the same vein.