A tunnel offers the possibility of escape. It also gives a pursuer somewhere to listen.
That is the danger facing Grace Benson in Hidden Secrets. After surviving an earlier attempt on her life, she hopes to return to normal. Instead, she is abducted from her home and has to find a way out of captivity.
This week, I wanted to return to a Mirror Estate story where the immediate goal is painfully simple: get out alive. Grace cannot wait for every part of the larger case to make sense before she acts.
Her unexpected ally is a child who knows the bunker’s secrets. That knowledge gives them a chance, but it doesn’t make the route safe. Moving through the tunnels means choosing where to go, how quickly to move, and what risks they can afford to take while a captor closes in.
Elsewhere, an FBI investigation into the murders of a congressman and his staff begins to connect with Grace’s disappearance. The case reaches far beyond the place where she is being held. For Grace, though, the next stretch of passage still has to be crossed.
What makes an escape story compelling to me is the need to keep making decisions with incomplete information. Stopping may be dangerous. Moving may reveal where you are. Help can come from someone you would never have expected to depend on.
I won’t tell you which choices get Grace closer to freedom. If you’ve been following her story, you already know why an ordinary, uneventful day would mean so much to her.
Hidden Secrets is Book 5 in the Mirror Estate series. If you are catching up, it follows Tangled Secrets and continues Grace’s story.
Visit the Hidden Secrets book page for the description and buying options. It is this week’s invitation back to Mirror Estate, with the tunnel ahead and the way out still uncertain.