Secret Keepers [Hardcover]

Mindy Friddle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009

At age seventy-two, Emma Hanley plans to escape small-town Palmetto, South Carolina, and travel the globe. But when her fickle husband dies in undignified circumstances, Emma finds herself juggling the needs of her adult children. Her once free-spirited daughter Dora turns to compulsive shopping and a controlling husband to forget her wayward past. Her son Bobby still lives with her, afflicted with an illness that robbed him of his childhood promise.

 

When Dora’s old flame Jake Cary returns to Palmetto with a broken heart and a gift for gardening, the town becomes filled with mysterious, potent botanicals and memories long forgotten. Soon enough, Jake and his ragtag group of helpers begin to unearth the secrets that have divided the Hanleys for decades.

 

Written with the warmth of Lee Smith and the magical touch of Alice Hoffman, Secret Keepers is a beguiling second novel by the acclaimed author of The Garden Angel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her second novel, Friddle (The Garden Angel) returns to the family plot for the surprising story of a dysfunctional Southern family, a long-buried secret and the possibility of redemption. Aging housewife Emma Hanley lives in Palmetto, S.C., but dreams of traveling the world; unfortunately, her long-planned European vacation must be postponed when her erstwhile husband up and dies after his regular Saturday coffee klatch with a gaggle of female admirers. Left alone, Emma must learn to deal one-on-one with her mentally troubled son Bobby, born-again daughter Dora and the ghost of son Will, who was killed in Vietnam. While her family goes to pieces, Emma lets her yard go to seed; enter gardener Jake Cary, Dora's old flame, whose efforts to cultivate Emma's garden soon spill into her family life. With fluid prose and telling details, Friddle deftly captures the downward pull of the past and the Southern penchant for mythmaking; transcending the easy stereotypes of Southern dysfunctional family sagas, Friddle's clan is a genuinely quirky lot with its own unlikely ideas of happiness. (May)
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Review

In her second novel, Friddle (The Garden Angel) returns to the family plot for the surprising story of a dysfunctional Southern family, a long-buried secret and the possibility of redemption. Aging housewife Emma Hanley lives in Palmetto, S.C., but dreams of traveling the world; unfortunately, her long-planned European vacation must be postponed when her erstwhile husband up and dies after his regular Saturday coffee klatch with a gaggle of female admirers. Left alone, Emma must learn to deal one-on-one with her mentally troubled son Bobby, born-again daughter Dora and the ghost of son Will, who was killed in Vietnam. While her family goes to pieces, Emma lets her yard go to seed; enter gardener Jake Cary, Dora's old flame, whose efforts to cultivate Emma's garden soon spill into her family life. With fluid prose and telling details, Friddle deftly captures the downward pull of the past and the Southern penchant for mythmaking; transcending the easy stereotypes of Southern dysfunctional family sagas, Friddle's clan is a genuinely quirky lot with its own unlikely ideas of happiness. (May) --Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312537026
• ISBN-13: 978-0312537029
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,583,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mindy Friddle is author of THE GARDEN ANGEL (St. Martin's Press & Picador) and SECRET KEEPERS (St.Martin's Press). She writes, reads, gardens and works in Greenville, South Carolina, where she lives with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and Well-Written, June 25, 2009

By 

Nancy Williams "ardent amateur pianist" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Secret Keepers (Hardcover)

A great balance of well-written prose (you keep your brain cells active!) and engrossing characters (you can't help but turn the pages). I found myself looking forward to my nightly read to learn more about what would happen next to Emma Hanley, her adult children, and her grandchildren. (The book narrates a summer's events from many of their perspectives.) The writing had a great comic touch and was particularly strong in all matters gardening. What I liked most about this book (and I found the same was true of Mindy Friddle's first book, The Garden Angel) were the characters: endearing, quirky, yet all too human, each with their own foibles. During my morning walk not long after finishing the book, I found myself ruminating over Jake, Dora, and Bobby, some of the main characters in the story, as though they were real friends or neighbors. A great summertime read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay read; didn't peak until the end., August 31, 2010

By 

Alayne (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Secret Keepers: A Novel (Paperback)

I had high hopes for Secret Keepers. I'm not ashamed to admit I judge books by their covers and this one is fabulous. The synopsis uses words like "wayward past," and "old flame," and "mysterious, potent botanicals and resurgent memories." Sounds good right? Unfortunately Secret Keepers didn't really find its true potential until the last third of the book, at which point it was nearly over.

Secret Keepers circles around Emma Hanley and her children. Told in alternating past/present snippets, we learn that Emma's ancestor had a penchant for gardening with foreign plants; her oldest son died in a war; her other son hears voices and sees people who aren't there; her daughter Dora was once wayward and lost until she became found by a religious zealot; and Dora's teenage son Kyle is trying to balance his father's religious demands with dreams of his own. Then Dora's old flame comes back to town, stirs stuff up, and all hell breaks loose. So much potential, just not a stellar execution.

Secret Keepers plods along until the end when things get fanciful and dramatic and one whiff of a flower sends people reeling in memory to their favorite places and times. It seems like it was trying to be magical realism, but took to long to figure that out. In general, I am left feeling underwhelmed and slightly disappointed that it didn't peak until the end.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely summer escape, July 24, 2009

By 

C. G. La Ferle "Columnist and reader" (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Secret Keepers (Hardcover)

I love Mindy Friddle's writing. I was hooked after The Garden Angel, another great read. She employs touches of magical realism -- reminiscent of Alice Hoffman -- and consistently delivers endearing or eccentric characters that keep the pages turning. In this one, I love how she also pokes a little fun at Christian fundamentalism, while showing how controlling parents can do more harm than good. Anyone who loves gardens will appreciate Friddle's careful attention to botanical details, too. Atmospheric and entertaining -- perfect for summer.