Walker Shows Impressive Range. I’ve been reading Walker’s books for a few years now, and this is a first for him in my experience with him (though he notes in the Author’s Note that he had written a few books of this type prior to when I started reading his books). A laid back mystery of a form I call a “Gulf Coast Mystery”, almost like a more serious version of D.P. Lyle’s Jake Longley books – and set decades prior to those books. (Ok, so Ray Longley (Jake’s dad) and Quentin Jones crossing paths could have been interesting – just sayin’, Walker and Lyle. 😉 )
Walker, who has spent time living in many different places even in the few years I’ve been following him, among which was this particular region of Florida described in the book, captures the setting well – perhaps added by Shainberg’s original text, which Walker notes (again in the Author’s Note) was much of the tale up to Chapter 12.
Being set in the 1970s, this book has some things that will offend “modern sensibilities”, including quite a bit of cigarette smoking (virtually unheard of in many places in the 2020s) and even one particular situation that even hints of in the 2010s and beyond in particular tends to be vilified to the nth degree, and indeed gets snide comments even now in the 2020s even when everything plays out perfectly legally. I’m not going to indicate how it plays out in the text just because that would be a spoiler, as the tension of this particular situation plays into the overall narrative.
Speaking of which, Walker does a particularly good job of sticking to the old adage of “if you show a blue shoe on page 2, that blue shoe better play into the end game”. (Ok, so I absolutely butchered the quote, but the point being to show *exactly* what you want shown and *nothing* else.) Meaning that this is one of those tales where everyone has secrets… and, well… how everything comes together can get quite a bit thrilling…
Seriously, this was perhaps the more interesting aspect of this book is that even as a women’s fiction/ mystery blend – the men’s fiction side of it tending to be something Walker has excelled at in my reading of his work these last several years – Walker really does manage to do the thriller and even romance sides particularly well, particularly deep into the text.
Overall truly one of Walker’s better books from several different angles, both in showing more fully his range and in his ability to work with what another author had begun and finish it out in a way that seems true to that original author’s vision – which could provide Walker a path forward, should he ever run out of his own ideas. 🙂
Very much recommended.
This review of The Secrets Of Good People by Boo Walker and Peggy Shainberg was originally written on March 18, 2025.
