The Secret Path

I felt this a bit of a departure for Karen, a more exotic, less civilised location with some genuine peril and more mysticism.

The story falls into two rather different parts. A medical student, Tara, meets and falls deeply in love with a biologist from an unconventional upbringing. He betrays her in a deeply hurtful way and almost destroys Tara’s life.

In the second part we flash forward eleven years to a holiday in Costa Rica where we find that Tara has overcome the betrayal and made a career for herself as an emergency room doctor. The holiday is timed to coincide with a handover ceremony for a conservation project managed by her old lover.

Inevitably they are flung together, although deep in the rainforest rather than an exotic civilised location.

Provided you accept the premise this is an enjoyable read, although the forest location is a bit claustrophobic and full of both natural and human caused peril.

I felt that the big climax was slightly bottled to give us a happy ending but this is a Karen Swan after all.

I liked most of the characters, although Tara’s parents were a bit one dimensional. Worth a read (or a listen in my case) but not a re-read.