The Secret [Hardcover]

Cynthia Victor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

After her self-absorbed novelist husband fakes his own death and leaves her with a mountain of debt, Miranda Schaeffer vents her anger by writing and publishing a novel under his pseudonym."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA?Doormat Miranda marries narcissist Stephen Schaeffer and raises their three children while he becomes rich as the pseudonymous author of junky bestsellers. As their wealth (which Stephen considers his alone) accumulates, he begins to hide his money, preliminary to dumping Miranda. When a terrorist bomb goes off in the Manhattan bank from which Stephen has just withdrawn a final chunk of money for transfer to his secret account, he realizes that this is his chance to disappear and begin anew. He moves to Los Angeles and takes on a new identity. In a year, he has run through his money and must rethink his game plan. Meanwhile, Miranda and the children, believing Stephen dead, are left to pick up the pieces of their lives. She slowly discovers Stephen's perfidy in leaving her and their children penniless and is finally ready to admit how badly she had been treated. Since his identity as an author had been kept a secret from even his publisher, Miranda, desperate for an income, studies Stephen's style and writes another book under his pen name. Meanwhile, she has met Stephen's editor by chance and they fall in love. The characters in this fast, interesting read are all delineated by their relationships with one another. Those personality characteristics emphasized to advance the plot leave little room for more thorough character development, but this same drawback is what keeps the plot moving at a rapid pace.?Judy McAloon, Potomac Library, Prince William County, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Miranda grew up among unhappy parents who argued constantly. She vowed never to be like them. So when she marries Stephen, she promptly becomes his adoring doormat. On a whim, Stephen writes a trashy adventure novel using the pen name Forrester. To everyone's surprise, the book is a best seller, and the royalties roll in. One day, Stephen seizes the chance to fake his death and begin a new life, with no wife, and no kids, and no responsibilities: he just takes the hidden money and runs off to write the great American novel he knows is in him. After the memorial service, Miranda discovers that all the money is gone. To survive, she writes another Forrester novel that the critics claim is the best yet?which predictably drives Stephen into a rage. This story has two fatal flaws. First, for an intelligent educated woman, Miranda can behave quite stupidly. Second, the conclusion is contrived and hurried, as if the author did not know how best to end. Not bad, but not Victor (Only You, LJ 9/1/94) at her best.?Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First edition (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525940340
• ISBN-13: 978-0525940340
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,363,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, November 7, 1999

By 

Marcy L. Thompson (Sammamish, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Secret (Paperback)

All the way through this book, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

On the whole, I think the book could have been stronger. We never really got to see the early parts of the marriage which was supposedly so great. Stephen's descent into madness was a little unbelievable, and the ending was too contrived.

HOWEVER. It held my attention, and I liked it in spite of its flaws. I think this is because the main character was believable, and her transformation was also believable.

On the whole, excellent mind candy, recommended for a lazy afternoon or a long plane trip.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revenge, plot-twists made this worth reading, June 14, 2003

By 

"wendy0528" (South Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret (Hardcover)

Miranda Shaeffer met her husband Stephen in college and now have three children. On a whim, Stephen writes a trashy adventure novel under the pen name Forrester, mostly to avoid the harsh disapproval of his stuffy parents. Neither his agent nor his editor know Forrester's identity. Only Miranda. As Stephen sees his fifth bestseller published, the money is rolling in and he is changing. He's moved his family into an outrageously huge apartment overlooking Central Park. He's got new friends, Armani suits and a new attitude. He's a different person, while Miranda has quit working, gained weight and turned into what Stephen sees as a dull, frumpy housewife, unwilling to grow with him. Stephen's eager to leave his wife and starts diverting most of his earnings to secret accounts. When a bomb goes off at a bank where Stephen just closed an account, he seizes the opportunity to play dead and escape, leaving Miranda to fend for herself and their children.

Miranda secretly takes over the role of Forrester, in a desperate attempt to mirror Stephen's writing style and save herself and her children from financial ruin. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Stephen West (formerly Stephen Shaeffer) has completed what he thinks is the Great American novel. He's almost out of money and can't get his book published. You see how the tables have turned?

The character development is weak, except for Stephen. His rotten character is as clear as a bell. What keeps the reader turning pages is the complex and interesting plot, occasionally predictable, but sometimes surprising. Overall, very entertaining.

By the way, Cynthia Victor doesn't exist any more than Forrester. The authors here are actually Cynthia Katz and Victoria Skurnick on their 5th collaboration.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, great book, lots of suspense, June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret (Paperback)

Miranda Schaeffer is happily married to Stephen. Stephen is a bestselling author under the pseudonym of "Forrester", who writes anonymously. No one, besides Miranda and Stephen, knows he is Forrester. Stephen becomes very rich and at the same time more insecure. Stephen's secret is that he leaves Miranda and the children and runs off to California with all their money to live a selfish life of luxury and women. Miranda is left with barely enough money to survive. She believes he died in a bomb explosion. As Miranda discovers the real truth about Stephen, she grows stronger and more determined to make a good life for her and her children, and the secret comes back to ruin Stephen. Ms. Victor did a great job with this book, and having read several of her previous works, I believe this is the best one! A good, fast read especially if you like stories about women who come out on top.