The Secret of Lies by Barbara Forte Abate starts at the end with Stevie leaving her husband and then propels us backward to Stevie’s younger self and her family. We enjoy summers with Stevie and her sister Eleanor who have always spent the summer at the beach with their aunt and uncle. The girls live on a farm with their strict parents so these summers are pretty important to them. Yet all things must change. Kids grow up, things change, and you can’t always take back the bad things that happen that will forever change everyone’s life.
Life at their aunt and uncles is great for Stevie and Eleanor. Their days are spent laying around the beach, swimming, or sitting on the porch sipping lemonade. Eleanor being a few years older is boy crazy so she’s always looking out for her next summer romance but Stevie’s not all that interested – yet. Then she meets Jake and has her own little crush on him. From that point on Stevie enjoys the summers even more and always looks forward to seeing Jake again.
Yet the last summer the girls spend at the summer house changes everything. Stevie is fifteen and Eleanor seventeen; both young ladies already. Stevie begins to notice changes in her sister and her aunt as well. Her aunt and uncle fight constantly making both girls uncomfortable. Her sister seems more secretive than usual and tends to go off on her own a lot more than normal. Even more strange is all the time their uncle is now spending at the summer house as with all the past summers he only came out on the weekends. Stevie lets it all pass though. She doesn’t want anything or anybody to ruin her summer with Jake. But something will ruin her summer with Jake. Something will end up ruining more than her summer, it will essentially take over her life as tragedies and secrets usually do.
I can’t say anymore for fear of spoiling the story for others but I will say that Stevie eventually ends up meeting a wonderful man named Ash who at first she adamantly hates. It’s actually quite funny to follow her little journey to finally discovering that she just might love this man. Unfortunately for Stevie she carries a lot of baggage and while Ash is a patient man, even he can only take so much. In order to have the life she wants Stevie has to confront her past and deal with it once and for all.
The Secret of Lies is full of great characters but Stevie was my favorite. I liked Stevie from when she was a young girl and even though there were times as an adult I wanted to bop her on the head I still liked her. This novel really takes us into the heart of a family who suffer from the lies we tell and the secrets we keep. Secrets and lies that never fail to destroy a family and hearts. The Secret of Lies is heart wrenching and yet hopeful and very much worth reading. I found myself at a loss as to what to read the other day and I just picked it up on the off chance that it would capture my attention and that it did – I finished it the next day! I love a novel that I don’t want to put down and that keeps me reading late into the night. The Secret of Lies was that book for me!
I’ll leave you with the book trailer to enjoy…
You can find Barbara on her website, blog, and Facebook. Your own copy of The Secret of Lies by Barbara Forte Abate can be purchased here in the US or here in Canada. It is also available for your Kindle or Nook.
Source: Review copy provided by the author. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.
I love books with family secrets. Sounds good. I’ll keep a look out for it.
I read this recently also and loved it. Will be looking for more from this new author!
Sounds wonderful. I enjoy books that start at ‘the end’, then show us how the characters got there.
This one sounds really good! Secrets and the way they change the landscape of relationships always intrigue me, and it sounds like Stevie is a wonderful character who a lot of readers will relate to. I also love coming of age stories as well, so this one is going on my list. Thanks for the great review, Dar!!
Secrets will either drive me insane (cos I am too curious), or they fit well
That is a beautiful trailer, and you have definitely made me curious about what it was that devastated Stevie! I can’t remember the last time I read a book in one day. That makes for a great recommendation.
These sound like interesting characters…and a good story. I liked the trailer too.
I love books that I just can’t put down too! Thanks for the review and recommendation.
I’m glad that your pick was good!! I think this may be a fun read for sure! I’m glad that you liked Stevie…that’s a make or break for me!
I feel like you’ve told me just enough to make an informed decision, but you’ve teased me so that I am dying to know the secret. Grr… lol. Nice review.
uh-oh…I think the secret. but I’ll still check this out because your fab review is compelling me too. Glad you enjoyed it so much 🙂
I’m always drawn to books set at the seaside. Perhaps it’s because it’s my favorite place to go on vacation, or maybe because we always spent our summers at the shore when I was a kid. I like the way you describe Stevie; she sounds like a character I would like as well. This one gets added to the TBR list, which gets longer every day, sigh 🙂
Sounds really good, I enjoy stories that keep me up late nights reading. I like the summer on the beach setting as well.
I really like the cover to this one and your review makes me want to pick it up and read it. Great review…I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one 🙂
Has anyone found a link for book club discussion questions for this book?
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