I've been fixated on creating quality characters since, well, since my own writing workshops, and I can't help but notice that Mindy is an author whose characters are so believable, they seem lifted from real life. They are so complex and well-written that you feel like you're getting to know them face-to-face. Secret Keepers focuses on a family with a deep, painful history. Some authors do well with a handful of characters narrating their book, and some authors lose the voice - their own and each character's - in the muddle. Mindy is one of those authors who can hold her own - and school you on how it should be done. Each character is so clear-cut that you never forget their names, histories, or confuse them for someone else.

The story begins from the point-of-view of a grandmother who is thisclose to a taste of freedom, only to have it ripped away. I thought it was very ambitious of Mindy to write about an older woman, and she kept impressing me with each new section. In addition to the seventy-two year old Emma, there is her born-again/relapsing daughter Dora and her religious zealot husband Donny, their struggling-to-be-normal son Kyle, and Dora's old flame, Jake, who just returned to the town they grew up in. Though he died in Vietnam, Emma's son Will is still a present character, and added an interesting spin to certain scenes. Emma's other son, Bobby, is... somewhat handicapped, though that might be too strong a word. He's a genius, and perhaps just paranoid and socially stunted. I thought Mindy did an especially great job with Bobby, because just as you accepted that he was mentally handicapped, he'd surprise you with an intricate scientific explanation of flowers or insects; two seconds later, he was looking for his foil hat, concerned about who was listening and watching him.

I read a few reader reviews that addressed the slightly supernatural quality of the flowers that bloom in this story. There is definitely a magical quality to them, and I'm not sure that's ever fully explored. There is a family history behind the flowers, and gardening is a major storyline throughout the book, so I understand why it's there. The titular flower is a special bloom that smells differently for each person, based on a moment in their past they value or long for. I was so swept away by the characters in the story that I didn't really focus too much on the flowers or their importance, so I might have missed something in that respect. Either way - if I missed it, or if it was never really clarified - it didn't bother me one bit, or take away from the overall story.

The ending, I thought, was incredibly well done. I often think I know how a book will end after a chapter or two. I had a few theories for certain characters in this book, but, like I said, everything was so realistic that I knew I couldn't count on a character to act the way I had them pegged. Sure enough, the ending surprised me - in a good way. It was hopeful and honest without being a typical "happy" ending. It was realistic enough to be open-ended, but still give a strong resolution so you're not left wondering what really happened.