Deadly Little Secret

The first book in the five-part Touch series, Deadly Little Secret (2008) is a young adult, speculative fiction novel by American author Laurie Faria Stolarz. Set in the fictional town of Freetown, the story revolves around sixteen-year-old Camelia Hammond, an ordinary girl beginning her junior year of high school. When Ben Carter, the new boy in town, saves Camelia from being hit by a car, Camelia is terrified to learn Ben has a so-called murderous past. As Camelia attempts to get closer to Ben and learn more about him, she receives a series of ominous gifts, threatening phone-calls, and terrifying text-messages from a mysterious stalker. Along with her close friends, Kimmie and Wes, Camelia must determine if Ben is the one terrorizing her, or if it is someone else. Deadly Little Secret is followed by Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, and Deadly Little Lessons.

Narrated in the first person by sixteen-year-old protagonist Camelia Hammond, the story begins as Camelia recollects the final day of her sophomore year at Freetown High School. She describes nearly being hit by Gloria Beckham’s car and how an unknown boy with a scar on his arm saved her at the last minute. The boy asked if Camelia needed medical attention. She refused, and he took off on his motorcycle. Three months later, as Camelia begins her junior year, she meets her best friend, Kimmie, in pottery class. Knowing Camelia’s mind is far away, Kimmie decides she needs a boy to distract her from her troubles. At lunch, Camelia and Kimmie meet their close friend, Wes, who tells them that a new boy has arrived at school and he’s rumored to be a murderer. Camelia’s ex-boyfriend, Matt, approaches and asks Camelia to help him study French. Camelia spots the unknown boy who rescued her from the car accident and is inexplicably drawn to him.

Ben Carter is rumored to be responsible for the death of his ex-girlfriend. Because of this, everyone at school is afraid of Ben and tries to avoid him at all costs. When Camelia thanks Ben for saving her, he denies it was him, brushing her off. Upset, Camelia wants to find out more about Ben, and why he has returned three months later. Kimmie urges Camelia to avoid Ben and to find a nicer boy, but Camelia refuses. Soon, Camelia and Ben become lab partners in chemistry class.



At home, Camelia’s vegan “health nut” mother, Jilly, gives her an envelope from the mailbox. Inside the envelope is a photograph of Camelia taken the day before. This begins a series of mysterious notes, creepy photographs, threatening phone calls, ominous text messages, and strange gifts that are sent to Camelia by a supposed secret admirer. Chapters of the novel alternate between Camelia’s point of view and anonymous journal entries from her stalker. For example, a profane message is left on Camelia’s bedroom mirror, and a final photograph is sent with the words, “Time’s almost up.” Camelia believes Ben might be her stalker, but she finds him too attractive to inform the police. As the stalker’s notes become angrier and more aggressive, Kimmie and Wes urge Camelia to sever ties with Ben. When a freshman named Debbie slips into a coma, she utters Ben’s name as she falls in and out of consciousness, further implicating Ben as a dangerous person, and making Camelia’s friends and family even warier of the boy.

Camelia trusts Ben. When they finally begin speaking to each other, Ben explains he has a condition called psychometry—he can see and sense past and future events through the sense of touch. This explains why Camelia feels strange every time Ben so much as brushes his finger against her skin. As Ben and Camelia grow closer, Ben explains what happened to his former girlfriend, Julie, whom everyone assumes he murdered. Ben and Julie got into a fight one day on the bluffs. When Ben grabbed Julie’s arm, she pushed him away, accidentally falling off the cliff. The scar on Ben’s arm is due to scraping it on a rock while searching for Julie after she fell. Camelia believes Ben. When he touches her arm, he senses that she is in grave danger. Ben tells Camelia that he has known she is in danger since the day he rescued her from the car accident, because the moment he touched her stomach, he envisioned a dead body. Ben promises to protect Camelia, and they share a romantic kiss.

As Camelia and Ben grow closer, Matt warns Camelia to stay away from Ben. Matt shows up at Knead, the pottery shop where Camelia works and tells her that the police have arrested Ben.



As Camelia and Matt go to the police station to release Ben from custody, Matt confesses that he is the anonymous caller. He kidnaps Camelia, taking her to an old trailer, where he locks her up, holding her captive. Ben visits Knead to see Camelia. When he learns she isn’t there, he touches one of her clay pottery projects to activate his psychometric abilities. He senses Matt has abducted Camelia, envisioning Camelia being held in the old trailer. Ben races to rescue her. When Ben arrives at the trailer, he finds Matt physically battering Camelia. Ben overpowers Matt, beating him to the floor before calling the police. Camelia returns home safely, feeling even stronger about Ben. As the novel ends, Ben decides to leave town despite the strong relationship he has with Camelia.

Laurie Faria Stolarz is the bestselling author of several young-adult novels. She is best known for her popular Blue is for Nightmares series, which also includes novels White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, Red is for Remembrance, and Black is for Beginnings. Prior to her five-edition Touch series, Stolarz wrote two standalone novels; Bleed, and Project 17.