It’s the 1960s in the busy oil town of Limite, Texas, population 65,000. Six-year-old Shelby Truman and her family move into a house on Chicory Lane, across the street from Eddie Newcott, and it’s the start of a childhood friendship and subsequent romance that will define and ultimately haunt Shelby for the rest of her life.
Told in Shelby’s voice, the thriller The Secrets on Chicory Lane is a harrowing tale of childhood physical and sexual abuse, and descent into madness as author Raymond Benson describes how sweet, eight-year-old Eddie becomes a 50-year-old Satan worshiper and Jack the Ripper-style murderer. By contrast, Shelby is now a bestselling author of romance novels living in Chicago. Past memories intrude upon the present, however, when she receives a request from Eddie, now on death row, for one last visit. How can she turn him down?
Benson’s tale unfolds on Shelby’s trip from Chicago to the infamous Polunsky Unit in Texas, as she recalls the events that destroyed her family and changed her and Eddie’s lives. Like a stone thrown in a lake, ripples of anger and violence and their consequences extend far beyond Chicory Lane. Readers will need a strong stomach for some of the gory details and subject matter. If dark is your thing this well-written tale of a sad, wasted life will make you count your blessings.