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Secrets She Left Behind [Paperback]

Diane Chamberlain
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)

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Book Description

May 26, 2009
One afternoon, single mother Sara Weston says that she's going to the store—and never returns. In her absence, she leaves her teenage son alone with his damaged past and a legacy of secrets.

Keith Weston nearly lost his life in an act of arson. He survived—but with devastating physical and emotional scars. Without his mother, he has no one to help him heal, no money, nothing to live for but the medications that numb his pain. Isolated and angry, his hatred has one tight focus: his half sister, Maggie Lockwood.

Nineteen-year-old Maggie Lockwood spent a year in prison for the acts that led up to the fire. Now she's back home. But her release cannot free her from the burden of guilt she carries. She grew up with Keith Weston, played with him as a child…and recently learned they share the same father.

Now the person Keith despises most is the closest thing he has to family—until Sara returns. If Sara returns….


Frequently Bought Together

Secrets She Left Behind + Before The Storm + The Courage Tree
Price for all three: $34.17

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  • Before The Storm $11.54
  • The Courage Tree $11.48


Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Keith Weston is having a rough year. After finding out that his biological father is the deceased husband of his mother’s best friend, he got caught in a fire started by his newly discovered half-sister Maggie. Now, badly scarred and very angry, Keith has no one but his mother, Sara, to lean on. Until she mysteriously disappears one afternoon without a word. Chamberlain offers a follow-up to Before the Storm (2008) that can stand alone as a fast-paced read that, through the alternating perspectives of the children and a diary kept by the still-missing Sara, explores the psychological complexity of a family pushed to its limits. Although some of the novel’s plot twists may be more significant to those who have read the first book, the alternating narratives allow plenty of insights into the characters’ motives while creating intrigue and suspense. Ultimately, Sara’s disappearance reveals a long history of secrets and deceit, forcing Keith to learn to be independent. --Claire Orphan

Review

"A fast-paced read that...explores the psychological complexity of a family pushed to its limits." -Booklist

Product Details

  • Paperback: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Mira; Original edition (May 26, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0778326152
  • ISBN-13: 978-0778326151
  • Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey where, at the age of twelve, I wrote several dreadful novellas, read and admired only by my family. When college rolled around, I forgot about writing and received my bachelor's and master's degrees in Social Work from San Diego State University. I was a hospital social worker in San Diego, and later in Washington DC. I also had a private psychotherapy practice working mainly with teenagers. All the while, I was writing on the side. I viewed my writing as a hobby, but it quickly became a passion. I finally decided to take a class in 'writing the novel.' I was very shy about showing my work to the instructor, but when I finally did, he loved it! He encouraged me to aim for publication and I decided to go for it. A few years later, my first novel, PRIVATE RELATIONS, was published.

Since then, I've written about a book a year- twenty-one at last count. I now live in North Carolina, the beautiful state where many of my books are set and where I'm ten minutes from my grandbabies. I share my life with my soulmate, John, who's a photographer as well as my muse, and with my two shelties, Keeper and Jet.

Are you wondering what my books are about? One of my readers in Japan had this to say about my work: "You make me believe life is beautiful even if it is full of pain and rage." Her words touch me deeply. They hang on the wall above my computer and help me remember exactly what it is I'm trying to achieve in my stories. I hope you'll enjoy them.

Customer Reviews

The characters are well developed and the reader is drawn easily and completely into their lives. Denise Crawford  |  16 reviewers made a similar statement
I read so fast, even skimming some parts just to get to the end. J. Dassaro  |  7 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A great conclusion May 27, 2009
Format:Paperback
This book is a wonderful conclusion to the stories that began in "Before the Storm". As Chamberlain is known for, this storyline quickly pulls you in and doesn't let go until the very last page. I read it in a week (and that is saying something since I am a stay at home mom of two). I am actually sad that I am finished, I want to know more about what happens with the Lockwoods...maybe Diane Chamberlain will make this a trilogy? In any case, if you are a fan of Chamberlains' this book will not dissapoint.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Too much of a soap opera (2.5 stars) October 18, 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I didn't find out that this book was a sequel to "Before the Storm" until I finished it and was flipping through the ads at the back. I open with that, because had I known that, and/or had I read the first book, my feelings about "Secrets She Left Behind" might be different.

Maybe then I might have understood more about why the characters took the actions they did, or if not, maybe I would have been more emotionally invested in them so that it didn't matter as much. This book is very soap opera like, but instead of having each plot point drawn out FAR too long (as in the soap operas I used to watch) major things like arson, rampant infidelity, fetal alcohol syndrome, etc just get skimmed over. It's like the author drops them into the plot to shake it up but then never lets us know why the characters do these things. (Again, had I read the first book, things may have been explained there, but at some point, this book needs to be strong enough to stand on its own.)

Maggie, one of the main characters, is released from prison in the beginning of the book. She served 12 months for arson, after setting (although not lighting) a fire in which several people died. The deepest explanation I have for why she did this is that her married boyfriend was a firefighter and she wanted him to succeed. The reader is not shown through any thoughts or flashbacks what type of relationship this was that led her to these actions. We are just told over and over that now she is sorry and now she is a good person. With a pretty healthy ego, I might add. When confronted by an angry group of adults during her community service, she thinks: "I brought out the mean side in them. How many of them knew me personally? Some did, I was sure of it. Some were probably the parents of my former friends - my friends before I flipped out. They'd probably wanted their kids to hang out with me back then, hoping a little of me would rub off on their own children. Now they thought I was crazy or dangerous. Maybe both." Keep in mind that she served one year for a fire that killed and maimed children and adults.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this book was the total lack of foreshadowing. Instead of carefully crafting a subtle arc of clues for a major reveal, at one point of the characters drops a bombshell that gives away the game for the reader, but then we are supposed to believe that Maggie doesn't notice. It's a spoken line that in the real world would have caused her to take a step back and she certainly would have started asking some serious questions, but the author expects us to believe that she just let the bombshell go by, and maybe, I don't know, saw something shiny. That's just lazy writing, and even worse, lazy editing.

I think there might have been one real story here. One about what led a young girl to commit arson and/or how she deals with her life after prison, or maybe the story of a boy disfigured by that arson and his attempts to rebuild his life, or one about the mothers of either the girl or boy and how they deal with their children in those situations. But ALL of these stories are here, plus about five others. It's too much, and as a result, there's too little. Too little character development, too little craftsmanship, too few insights. Had the author kept a focus - maybe there would have been less soap opera and more moments like this:

"Anyone could have been holding her at that moment, and she would have seemed just a peaceful. But it wasn't just anyone. It was me. And I felt strangely lucky to be able to hold her in my arms that way. She'd felt light that last time I'd held her here in her room. Now she seemed to become lighter by the second, and it took me a moment to understand the reason: circled by my arms, she was already turning to dust."

In this one moment, the author stops moving the characters around, and instead, keeps them still. And by doing so, finally moves the reader.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story that didn't quite stand alone October 14, 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed this book; Chamberlain is an excellent storyteller. That said, there were a lot of points during the novel when I found myself feeling a little lost, and it wasn't until I was finished with the book that I realized the first half of the story was told in Before the Storm. As I hadn't read the first book, I definitely felt at a disadvantage during some of the action.

This book is an unflinching look at the consequences from our actions however big or small. It is also a story of forgiveness and redemption as almost every character has something to atone for, something to be forgiven. Keith is catapulted into adulthood by the fire which almost claimed his life and by the sudden disappearance of his mother Sara. His half-sister Maggie (who started the fire that almost killed him) is wrestling with a community unwilling to forget and her own unwillingness to forgive.

The structure of the story that bounces between diary entries that explain the complicated history these two families share and their present-day attempts to navigate through that history to find truthful answers. I did think the ending was a little contrived, and that ending, combined with the need to read Before the Storm first, dropped this from 5 stars to 4. All in all, a great read, especially I imagine if read as intended as a sequel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Liked it.
I liked this book. A new author to me, but like the style of writing. I recommend it to women only.
Published 19 days ago by Jan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great sequel!
Diane Chamberlain never disappoints. I keep waiting to read a dud, and it never happens! In my opinion, that's what sets her & Jodi Piccoult apart. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Krista Watson
5.0 out of 5 stars a quick and easy read
Diane Chamberlain writes a a very easy to understand and read book. This is a great story. Fine for beach reading. Love her stories and her down to earth style. Read more
Published 1 month ago by shirlan
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent followup to Before the Storm!
Storm #2 series) This was an excellent follow up to the Before the Storm. Diane is a brilliant writer, as she gives you just enough general overview in her first book and then... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Judy D. Collins
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Second book I have read by this author...and really appreciate her writing style...she engrosses you into the story and the characters and you really feel as if you are... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Diane M. Kingman
5.0 out of 5 stars secrets she left behind
I have read everything this author has written and she continues to be a wonderful story teller. I look for ward to more series from her
Published 4 months ago by gerry
4.0 out of 5 stars Sequel
I really enjoyed reading "Before the Storm" by Diane Chamberlain and was anxious to read the sequel "Secrets She Left Behind". Read more
Published 5 months ago by Lynn M. Comicz
3.0 out of 5 stars Secrets She Left Behind
The story was good, but was not excited about the structure of the book. Each chapter about one certain character rather than a continual story line.
Published 6 months ago by noslnex
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put It Down
I couldn't put this book down anticipating what would happen next. I stayed up way too late, a few evenings, but it was well worth it. Great read!!!
Published 7 months ago by SHUG
3.0 out of 5 stars A needed conclusion!
This is a must read to get a conclusion to the story begun in "Before the Storm". However, I didn't like it as well. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Janice K Hurst
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