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Question about mystery in a story (hope it isn't too late to ask). My protagonist, Will, is 14 when the story opens and we follow him until his mid-twenties. He refers now and again to "the camping trip," his big secret that he refuses to discuss, even with his therapist. During the course of the novel, it becomes clear that something happened during a camping trip when Will was ten.

Near the end of the book, in crisis, he tells the story to his wife, a dramatic cathartic moment and inflection point for the story, helping Will begin to recover from his guilt and his shame.

Is this a reasonable use of mystery in a non-genre novel?

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