Julie's Review: The Dirty Secrets Club

Summary: An ongoing string of high-profile and very public murder-suicides has San Francisco even more rattled than a string of recent earthquakes: A flamboyant fashion designer burns to death, clutching the body of his murdered lover. A superstar 49er jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge. And most shocking of all, a U.S. attorney launches her BMW off a highway overpass, killing herself and three others. Enter forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett, hired by the SFPD to cut open not the victim’s body but the victim’s life. Jo’s job is to complete the psychological autopsy, shedding light on the circumstances of any equivocal death. Soon she makes a shocking discovery: All the suicides belonged to something called the Dirty Secrets Club, a group of A-listers with nothing but money and plenty to hide. As the deaths continue, Jo delves into the disturbing motives behind this shadowy group—until she receives a letter containing a dark secret Jo thought she’d left deep in her past, and ending with the most chilling words of all: “Welcome to the Dirty Secrets Club.” ~amazon.com

Review: Jenn gifted me The Dirty Secrets Club (Jo Beckett) for my birthday a couple years ago and it ended up on my TBR Challenge list for 2011. It's not that I didn't want to read it, because I did other books just got in the way. I love Meg Gardiner; her Evan Delaney books are some of my favorites and now I feel a need to devourer all the Jo Beckett books. If you love thrillers, mysteries, crime fiction then you need to start reading Meg Gardiner. No, seriously go buy her books!

Immediately she draws you in and her storytelling never lets you go. I liked Jo from the moment she was introduced. I knew she was going to be a take charge kind of gal and how can you go wrong with that?! She's also a woman with a lot of emotional pain and baggage. Ms. Gardiner slowly reveals her history throughout the book and does it in a way that is consistent with the plot. I can't stand it when authors add a back story with out plot justification.

There were a couple times in the course of the book that I felt it was a little slow but that didn't last for that long. This is definitely a high octane ride with a couple stops to fill up for gas. I feel like I should have seen the twist coming in the end but I didn't.

Unfortunately, there were no pet bunnies in this book but there was an emotional support therapy monkey. Yes, a monkey. He actually isn't just a comic bit, he works his way into the storyline in quite a useful manner.
Like Evan Delaney, Jo finds herself wrapped up in the case a little too tightly but then again that's what I've come to expect from my female heroines.

My next book order will include The Memory Collector and The Liar's Lullaby. Just add two more books to my huge TBR pile. :)

Final Take: 4.5/5

Jenn's Review: The Dirty Secrets Club