SEVEN FOR A SECRET [Hardcover]

Victoria Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1992

A newcomer in Wiltshire, Frederica Hammond quickly befriends Rachel Grey and Tamarisk St. Aubyn, and together the three girls grow to adulthood and fall for handsome Gaston Marchmont. 100,000 first printing. $100,000 ad/promo. Lit Guild & Doubleday Main.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The idyllic village of Harper's Green seems picture-perfect, with its Norman church, stately manor house and full complement of local busybodies. But as the prolific Holt ( Daughter of Deceit ) illustrates in this haphazard romantic mystery set in turn-of-the-century England, nasty secrets wait to be uncovered. Frederica Hammond, a spunky and expressive teenager who comes to Harper's Green to live with her Aunt Sophie, forms close bonds with Rachel Grey, a timid orphan, and Tamarisk St. Aubyns, daughter of the local gentry. Frederica immediately falls for Tamarisk's aloof and patronizing brother Crispin, who, at 20, already has a troubled past and a mysterious devotion to his two retired nannies, one of whom is quite mad. Enter debonair Gaston Marchmont, allegedly an heir to French and Scottish estates, who seduces Rachel, weds Tamarisk and terrorizes the elderly nannies before being murdered. The novel quickly unravels when Frederica and Tamarisk embark on a series of implausible adventures en route to a remote Pacific island rendezvous with Frederica's father, who abandoned her at birth. Pallid characters, insipid dialogue and bizarre plotting combine to result in a less than memorable effort.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Harper's Green is the name of the little English town where Holt's latest heroine suffers twinges of foreboding, is baffled by mystery, finds romance--and is shocked by murder. The time is a comfortable and familiar, vaguely late-Victorian era. Frederica Hammond--removed, after her mother's death, to Harper's Green to live with dear Aunt Sophie--will not learn for some time of the location, history, not to mention existence, of her father (of whom her mother had always refused to speak); but she will have other things on her mind. There are new friends--shy and timid Rachel, and naughty Tamarisk, daughter of the widowed Lady St. Aubyn and sister of handsome Crispin. Mysteries abound. Why is Rachel's household so sad, and why is her father so scary? What is the secret held by demented Flora, former nursemaid of Crispin--a secret that an old rhyme reminds her is ``never to be told''? There's a terrible confrontation with Rachel's father, a rescue by Crispin, and by the time the three girls reach their majority, the arising of all sorts of problems. Tamarisk marries most unwisely; there's a shocking murder; Frederica travels with Tamarisk to a remote island to find her father; and it's Crispin, Frederica discovers, who clings to Flora's secret. At the close, revelations and an all-consuming fire--a staple of romantic suspense novels. Holt's 31st and reliable as ever--she hasn't dropped one stitch. (Literary Guild Triple Selection for October) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038542406X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385424066
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #804,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Classic Holt, April 2, 2000

By 

Robin Fenner (Beautiful SW Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven for a Secret (Mass Market Paperback)

Thirteen year old Frederica (called so she tells us because there were many in her family line but she prefers to be called Fred) lives in what she calls "genteel poverty" with her mother and two maids. All questions about her Father are meet with a stone face and very little information from her Mother....the first secret surrounding Fred.

Soon Fred's Mother becomes so ill she has to be sent to a nursing home and Fred is sent to live with her Mothers sister in Wiltshire. Fred quickly makes friends with two of her new classmates. Rachel, quiet and reserved and Tamarisk, just the opposite! Other new acquaintances include Tamarick's much older widowed brother, who, much to Freds dismay finds her, at 13, plain. Fred dislikes him ....though she can not seem to stop thinking about the dark man. Also to be found here is Lucy Lane and her unbalanced (why she is this way is yet another secret) sister Flora. This is where Fred becomes reaquainted with the old child's rhyme One for sorrow Two for Joy Three for a girl Four for a boy Five for silver Six for gold and seven for a secret never to be told.

As the three girls grow to womanhood Fred finds there are many secrets surrounding their lives. When the truths are finally revealed will Fred be able to move past them and find happiness or will she be forever reminded haunted by them?

Many people complain that Victoria Holt's books are too alike. I think this is what keeps bringing me back. You can always count on a brave heroine, egnimatic love interests and of course a gripping story. "Seven For A Secret" is no exception. I found it a very interesting book. At just under 300 pages it is a quick and consuming read! If you have never read Holt it is a great book to start with... if you are a fan and somehow missed this book what are you waiting for?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Well Written, February 5, 2005

By 

jeanplaidyfan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven for a Secret (Mass Market Paperback)

Don't believe what's written in the editorial review from Publishers Weekly. Read the book and find out for yourself how good it is. As one would expect from Victoria Holt this book is yet another winner. All of her books are easy to read, and she spins an interesting yarn. I agree that her stories tend somewhat to follow a pattern but as the other reviewer has already pointed out, this is what brings readers back to her time and time again.
This book is as good as any of her other titles to start on if you haven't previously tried this author. You may also be interested to know that Victoria Holt wrote over 200 books (under several different pseudonyms). All I want to say to Publishers Weekly is - if the books are as bad as they say this one is why would a publisher have printed so many of her titles, and why would the author remain (to this day) so well-beloved to many readers all over the world. At the time of this review several of this author's books under the pseudonym of Jean Plaidy have just been reprinted. The Jean Plaidy titles are magnificent (if you like historical fiction) & they too are very easy to read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasing, May 18, 2008

By 

Backroads "Scatter-brained book fan" (Cache Valley, Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Seven for a Secret (Mass Market Paperback)

It has been years since I last read a Victoria Holt novel--and then that opinion was that of any teenage girl desperate for a little darkly romantic fluff. And hey, it still is. That's how Ms. Holt intended it to be and that is why her large assortment of novels are so popular.And that's that. If you want suspense, intrigue, and romance minus all the sex and plus some interesting characters, this is fun."Seven for a Secret" holds all the great stuff: orphans who grow up together despite romantic triangles, sexy brooding heroes, and lots of murder.I liked the romance, but it's the mystery that intrigued me. And I guess I'm a sucker for all these feminist girls stuck in a Victorian world.Suspenseful fluffy goodness at its best.