Trail of Secrets [Paperback]

Eileen Goudge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

A psychologist, haunted by the kidnapping of her baby daughter 23 years ago, decides to try adoption. Her missing daughter, now grown up and pregnant, hears of a woman desperate for a child. Thus Eileen Goudge sets the stage for a story rich with drama and delicious family secrets.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The bonds of motherhood are yanked, twisted and stressed to the breaking point in Goudge's brazenly manipulative new novel (after Blessing in Disguise, 1994), which follows the fates of Ellie Porter Nightingale and the infant daughter stolen from her in 1972 in N.Y.C. Ellie's daughter has been raised as Skyler Sutton by a wealthy Connecticut couple who learned of the kidnapping but decided to keep their knowledge secret. Now 23, Skyler is pregnant, from a one-night stand with Manhattan cop Tony Salvatore; unwilling to raise a child, she decides to give up the baby for adoption?perhaps to one of Tony's acquaintances, that nice psychotherapist who is desperate to adopt a child: she is, of course, Ellie Porter Nightingale. The ensuing complications, though rarely unpredictable, are milked by Goudge for maximum melodrama, culminating in a swoony climax at a custody hearing. Goudge's prose, though often skillful and down-to-earth, can be plagued by too much descriptive detail and sentimentalized interior monologue. But her characters are sympathetic; her expressions of the fierce emotions of motherhood are immediate; and her crafty decision to reveal likely plot turns to her readers but not to her characters will keep all who love a secret riveted. 125,000 first printing; $125,000 ad/promo; paperback rights to Signet; Literary Guild main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Expect to hear lots about this title from popular and prolific romance writer Goudge (Blessing in Disguise, LJ 5/15/94), but don't expect as much from the actual story. In 1972, young Ellie's infant is stolen and privately offered to wealthy Kate and Will as an abandoned baby. Ellie's tragedy is heightened by her inability to conceive again, and her repeated attempts to adopt strain her marriage to Paul. Her daughter, Skyler, is now a lovely young woman, raised among love, money, and horses. She unexpectedly becomes pregnant by Tony, a policeman. Through a twist of events, she offers her baby to Ellie to adopt, not knowing that Ellie is her own mother and her unborn child's grandmother. Confused yet? Skyler is too stubborn for words, Tony too gorgeous and patient to believe, and the novel's resolution less than satisfying. But the themes of secrets, infertility, adoption, parent-child bonds, and what defines who we are will spark interest. Purchase where Goudge has a following.?Rebecca S. Kelm, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib, Highland Heights
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Signet (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451187741
• ISBN-13: 978-0451187741
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,741,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on the Fourth of July, and it's been fireworks ever since. I began writing at age eight, with short stories and poems, and I haven't looked back since. From the early days of mostly collecting rejection slips, I went on to publish thirty-two novels for young adults, thirteen (and still counting) of women's fiction, as well as numerous short stories and magazine articles, and one cookbook.

Often I'm asked where I get my ideas. Fortunately, I have a wealth of life experiences to draw from. Starting when I dropped out of college to get married, at age eighteen. Two years later I was divorced, with a baby son and no means of support. I ended up briefly on welfare, and stood in line for government surplus food. But every cloud has its silver lining, and this one led to my determination to make it as a professional writer. I borrowed a typewriter, and lacking a desk, plunked it down on the living room floor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Following a string of young adult novels, I published my first adult novel, GARDEN OF LIES, in 1986. The saga of baby girls switched at birth---one rich, the other poor---went on to enjoy a combined total of 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. Though there's no such thing as an overnight success, I felt like one, having gone in a matter of months from not knowing how I was going to pay the rent to wondering what I was going to do with all that money. The first thing I did was fulfill a fantasy born of years of wearing hand-me-downs: I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue and bought a dress...without even looking at the price tag!

I've since gone on to write many more novels. My most recent, which came out in June of '07, is WOMAN IN RED, a very special story about a woman just out of prison and a man struggling to get back on his feet after losing his wife on 9/11. Look for it in trade paperback in May of this year. I also have another hardcover coming out,in June, titled DOMESTIC AFFAIRS ---a Cinderalla story in reverse: Riches to rags but with a happy ending. I'll be posting sample chapters on my website at www.eileengoudge.com, so stay tuned. I would love to hear your comments once you've read the book! And, remember, there's always more where that came from...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK!, June 17, 2001

By 

Cindy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trail of Secrets (Bookcassette(r) Edition) (Audio Cassette)

In her book, Trail of Secrets, Goudge tells of 3 protagonists. All of them are linked together by a secret that only one ofthem knows, which is Kate, and that is that her adopted daugther, Skyler, is the daugther of Ellie, whom she will meet up with years later. This secret will continuely hunt Kate, which boils it all down to the fact that she has kept this secret from her daughter which in the end, almost breaks her bonds with her daughter. Other things that also come into play in this book is that the reason the secret has become so important is because Skyler has a child, by accident, and gives it up for adoption, and who else none other than Ellie? So it is fate that brings all of them together which will wear down their defenses.

I felt that this book was really good. I mean, it describes in beautiful detail the horrors of losing one's own child and what happens when you find her again. And I love how the author just brings everything together so beautifully. If you enjoy a good book, this is one to read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely done., March 2, 2001

By 

A. Massey (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trail of Secrets (Paperback)

This story is about a girl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. This is no ordinary adoption story and the reader knows this all along. Most characters do not realize what is going on until the end. This story has rich characters, colorful dialouge and an interesting premise. I was not disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was very entertaining and hard to put down., January 2, 2000

By 

Joan Falcon (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trail of Secrets (Paperback)

I loved this book. I thought it was thoroughly entertaining. I think the readers who didn't like it were trying to read too much into it. It's not a masterpiece. It's simply a book that a reader can get lost in and enjoy. I do agree with the reader that said that the male characters were poorly developed. I also hated the fact that Tony had to do all of the chasing. However, this is fiction. Purely enjoyable fiction.