Review: The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz

*We received this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Nobody believes Terra. She’s become the girl who cried wolf of Dayton, Massachusetts. 

Then: A few months ago after returning from a sorority party, 18 year old high school senior Terra was taken from her bed. Nobody else was home. Next thing Terra knows she’s in a well and all she has is a book that mimics her kidnapping. All she can remember is bits and pieces of being held captive.

Now: It’s been a few months and Terra is dealing with PTSD of the four days she was gone. Her Aunt never reported her missing and since the police couldn’t find the place she had been kept, they think she’s mentally ill. Plus, most of her friends abandoned her.

But Terra knows it’s true, even if everyone in her life has abandoned her. The only time she finds hope is when she logs on to Jane Anonymous, a website for trauma survivors. Peyton, who goes by Peylee, is the only person she can count on. Together they try to understand what happened to them.

Even though Terra tried to move on, more clues about that night lead her to believe that her capter isn’t finished. She becomes more determined than ever to learn why her? But, it’s a dangerous game of cat and mouse when nobody trusts you.

Terra’s story was intense. We were worried about her from the beginning. Her Aunt was terrible for abandoning Terra when she needed someone most. Plus, her former friends think she did it just to gain attention and a larger social media following.

Even though Terra can be an unreliable narrator at times, we believed that someone was after her from the beginning, which made us trust no one in her life. A few characters seemed a bit fishy from the start.

Unfortunately, the book starts off slow. However, it does pick up about half way through. The last few chapters get super intense and we liked how Terra fought back. She’d been through so much and she remained the type of person who would save others before herself. 

We did like the ending even though there were a few unknowns. Stolarz set it up for a sequel if she intends to write one. Honestly, we think Terra’s story needs to be finished. While we never read Jane Anonymous, the companion book to The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep, we still understood the significance the website plays in the book. If you’re interested in a heavy psychological thriller, pick this one up in March 2021.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️