Sexual wiring is the oddest thing. For some, it seems to be hard-wired from the very beginning. For others, it's something of which they claim to have been unaware, a bombshell only discovered at a late date. For some, they are led to an unexpected discovery by a certain partner with particular tastes and perhaps great inclination or skill. Some forever hide their tendencies from the world, where they only escape their cages behind the closed eyes of fantasy at that crucial moment. How many partners have lived out their days without ever unveiling their hidden cravings? Can the line between fantasy and reality be crossed, and if so, how?

In Closely Held Secrets, Claire Thompson's latest BDSM quickie, she explores those closely held secrets in the persona of Trisha, a woman in her thirties out for a night on the town. Will Jacobson is the man who catches her eye, the man who tells her she has "Dark secrets, secrets you’ve never shared because you didn’t have the right person to share them with," the man who promises her that he is the one ". . . to take you past your own unnecessary inhibitions. Someone who appreciates the beauty of erotic suffering, who understands your body’s craving for more than mere pleasure."

In spite of being a quick read, Claire Thompson's writing manages to present a real world feel, with the sense of actual breathing people rather than characters. And these people don't have static lives, but instead grow and learn and interact, sometimes in surprising ways in a journey of self-discovery. As for the sex, it is always caught alive in the moment, as tentative, passionate and edgy as the real thing. Ms. Thompson is as wise and careful a spokesperson for BDSM who as ever walked the earth. A hot read with a domestic twist.

Reviewer Maîtresse
Copyright 2005