Review: The Secret Path

Karen Swan is an auto-read author for me. So much so that I didn’t even read the description of her latest, The Secret Path, before requesting it! I know I will always enjoy the travels she takes me on through her writing and the story will be heartfelt and enjoyable. I really liked seeing Costa Rica in this novel but the actual story didn’t thrill me quite as much as I’d hoped.

Here’s the book’s description:

Every step leads me back to you.
At just twenty years old, Tara Tremain has everything: a trainee doctor, engaged to the man of her dreams—a passionate American biology student called Alex Carter. But just when life seems perfect, Alex betrays her in the worst way possible.
Ten years later, she's moved on, with a successful career, good friends and a man who loves her. But when she's pulled back into her wealthy family's orbit for an unmissable party in the heart of Costa Rica, she finds herself flung into crisis: a child is desperately ill and the only remedy is several days' trek into the heart of the jungle.
There's only one person who can help—but it's the man who shattered her heart a decade before. And how can she trust him, of all people?

It might have been because I wasn’t really sure what kind of story I was going to be getting into and because I was reading an e-galley (and couldn't check how many pages it lasted), but I found myself wishing the 2011 storyline would hurry itself up. Which is quite silly because it was really enjoyable! I knew it was leading up to Something Big, though, and I found I just wanted to know what that was already. I also couldn’t help but wonder if some of the things mentioned in that timeline (an Airbnb in the countryside or American true crime documentaries streaming on Netflix) really would have been things in London in 2011. I know both Airbnb and Netflix were around back then but it just smacked of Now-ness that it brought me out of the storyline a bit.

I’ve appreciated Swan’s stories even more in the last year (this is the third of hers I’ve read in 13 months) than usual because she always sets her novels in far flung places. Or, if they’re not that far flung, they’re at least flung enough that I’ve never been to them myself (that’s not too hard, I haven’t traveled a ton). Her books have been set in places like London (where she lives), the Scottish Highlands, Paris, the Netherlands, Greece, Banff, Norway, and, in this latest story, Costa Rica. Tara talks often about the Instagram worthy scenes she sees (a bit often, to be honest. It’s gorgeous but influencers are too surface level, I get it). She’s seeing a lot more of the country than she ever had before plus she hadn’t even been back to her family’s cabins in over a decade. The reader gets to “see” all the sights right alongside with her and I could almost feel the oppressive heat and humidity as she trekked through the jungle and hear the waves on the beach as she and her friends relaxed (before all hell broke loose, of course). It was a really nice escape, especially after a week that saw my province impose even more lockdown restrictions to try to curb the spread of COVID-19.

I liked Tara and I was impressed at how she tries not to let her father’s immense wealth get in the way of having a normal life. She has to work extremely hard for it to be that way, of course, but she was always determined to become a doctor and do a lot of good with the opportunities her family’s money provides her with. It was incredibly honourable and it made me really like her. Alex, on the other hand, didn’t seem right for her and I’m not sure I would have acted in the same way as Tara had I been in her shoes. I’m not totally thrilled with how the relationship ended up but if it makes them happy, then I suppose I should be happy for them too. It’s kinda strange how committed we get to these fictional characters and how we feel we know what’s best for them sometimes!

Ultimately, The Secret Path let me down. It is not a bad book and I think Karen Swan’s latest suffered simply from my high expectations. There was too much going on and I didn’t love how the Happily Ever After worked itself out. I know not all of hers will knock it out of the park and it won’t stop me from reading her next book, which will come out near the Christmas season. I wonder where she’ll take us next?! 

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, PGC Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*