It does "show, not tell" far better than the majority of AVN's. It really does a good job at hinting and foreshadowing its future plot lines, while so many other stories drop heavy exposition dumps. I'd put Shale Hill Secrets in that top tier that includes Eternum, City of Broken Dreamers, and Pale Carnations, amongst others. These stories all nail memorable, unique characterization while solidly weaving their plot twists and turns in a way that implicitly allows the player to think deeper than just the text on screen, although Shale Hill Secrets does feel more into the kinetic novel style than the aforementioned.
I suppose with Shale Hill Secrets I can see where some players are getting bored, as it takes a bit for the action and suspense to build along with the relationships of our main cast and can be pretty wordy. Personally, I was hooked from Chapter 1 and I appreciate each chapter adding a bit to the mystery and mystique of the main characters, particularly with Emily, Valerie, Leah, Haley, and Lidia's stories being especially connected to progressing the focal mystery. I think anyone who hasn't gotten to the later chapters is really missing out on a fresh experience.
