Peter Spiegelman

This is a novel about an idealistic young doctor who sets up a clinic servicing poor patients in LA's Skid Row. One day a woman brings a young boy into the clinic suffering from anaphylactic shock. While he is being treated, she sneaks out and abandons the child to Doctor Knox's care.

Before too long it becomes very clear that there is keen interest in the whereabouts of both the woman and the boy, from different but equally implacable people. Despite pleas to extricate himself, Knox gets more and more involved and exposes himself, his clinic and his colleagues to serious risk.

This is an enjoyable read in the hard-boiled LA crime tradition. It's not up there with Ellroy or Connolly, but it's a good outing nonetheless.… (más)

An isolated enclave and a big secret

Peter Spiegelman’s uncanny ability to tell a story is the compelling reason to read “A Secret About a Secret.” This tale unfolds in the first-person narrative of Agent Myles, and consists of what he says to others, what they say to him, what he says directly to readers, and most importantly what he says to himself. The investigation is methodical and focused; subtle implications of past relationships and personal interactions are disclosed in the conversations. Chapters are conveniently labeled with day and time of day, with most events occurring over two weeks.

There is no clear definition of Agent Myles’ position within the vaunted “Standard Division;” he does not even know exactly why he has been dispatched. However, he is authorized to examine, to investigate, to discover, to take confessions, to punish, and to simply bear witness. This assignment sends him to a company that is a cloistered academic environment into which only a select few are admitted. It primarily develops genetic therapies using adeno-associated viruses as vectors for vaccines. Nothing of “this” sort has ever happened, but he wonders if there have perhaps been past “incidents” that should also be examined. Standard Division is looking for first-person testimony; therefore, Agent Myles starts in the cafeteria where the body was found. The body? There was no body; then, there was.

Speigleman’s linguistic artistry manifests itself in descriptive language and exquisite explanations. The places -- “The road was long and secret: a tunnel of trees that leaned overhead and wept like mourners in the wind.” The people --“Her voice was low and pleasant … calm, and friendly. A voice to tell you how the market did today, without provoking mania or panic.”

I received a review copy of “A Secret About a Secret” from Peter Spiegelman, Knopf Publishing, and Penguin Random House. Spiegelman packs everything into this story that readers want: nail-biting suspense, tense drama, and startling events. Of course, there is always that one piece of the puzzle that has been there from the start, that one little thing, so easy to overlook, but so important that it holds the answers to all the questions.
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“A Secret About a Secret” is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries, and anywhere you get your books.… (más)

Fast and fun mystery thriller with a gothic atmosphere.

A very powerful and secretive government agency, Standard Division, sends Agent Myles to a remote research facility when one of their scientists is found dead in the executive kitchen walk-in fridge. Ondstrand Biologic sits cliff side with a private beach and was the former site of a boarding school with a disreputable past; many of the researchers both live and work there. Dr. Allegra Stans was one of them but Myles discovers that she was certainly not the nerdy academic who spent all of her time with her nose in the high tech pursuits of the company. Who murdered her and why? Myles has open access to all of the employees and the management team but everyone tries to keep their secrets despite his efforts and implied threats backed by his organization.

I really enjoyed this and liked the writing style. The plot was interesting and the protagonist, Myles, was clever and discerning. Many parts of the book were deliberately vague, but it gave off a gothic vibe with the isolated location and the creepy history of the place. There were a lot of characters to keep straight, but the author did a good job of making each memorable -- and I was suspicious of them all. The whole story of who Myles is, who he works with and for, and the details about Standard Division were quite entertaining. I would definitely like to read more books in a series featuring this character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.… (más)

Having enjoyed Spiegelman's John March trilogy years ago, I was excited to find another of his novels to read. Dr. Adam Knox is a do-gooder: he runs a free medical clinic in a Los Angeles slum by day, being able to afford this by providing "no questions asked" medical care by night, accompanied by his ex-Special Forces pal, Ben Sutter. The two met while Knox was serving in Africa in a Doctors without Borders-type organization. One afternoon, Knox saves a young boy from an allergic reaction to peanuts, only to have his mother abandon him at the clinic when some thugs appear. Knox cannot bear to ruin the quiet kid's life by turning him over to Child Services, thereby endangering himself, his clinic, and his co-workers as a Russian trafficker and an even more dangerous, politically connected family seem to want the child and/or mother. Sutton is a classic bad guy (e.g., Hawk, Joe Pike, Bubba Rogowski, Win Lockwood) and Spiegelman does as good a job of covering seedy L.A. as Michael Connelly or James Ellroy.) A thrilling page-turner.… (más)