![This Secret Thing: A Novel by [Marybeth Mayhew Whalen]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/515aKjXOoKL._SY346_.jpg)
This novel left me with a few questions about the message of this book. Many characters in a book can cause confusion, and this one certainly did. However, in some small ways they all seem connected. The introduction to the characters begins in the first couple of chapters.
Violet, a 15 year old is taken out of school to go home because her mother has legal issues. In reality her mother, Norah, was arrested for prostitution, running a house of ill repute. Violet is asked to go to her neighbors where her ex-friend does not want her, and where the college sister suddenly reappears, so the house is brimming with secrets. And, so she moves to her father’s home, whose new wife does not want her. Finally she settles down in her own house with a grandmother she has never met. Confused yet? On and on we meet more characters with problems, some are looking to solve them, some are not.
Essentially the book revolves around Violet, her mother trying to beat the arrest warrant, her family, friends and extended people who pop in and out of her life. This novel tries to solve everyone’s issues, but it becomes an impossible feat to believe. Leave your reality, and enter the world of one problem after another. A few characters, a few problems would be welcome, but this was too much. I did, indeed, want to know how each character dealt with their particular issue, but it is overwhelming. Prostitution, murder, missing brother, alcoholism and more abound. A positive is a recipe for poppyseed chicken casserole.
Recommended For Some. prisrob 09-01-2020
It’s no secret that many people dismiss suburbanites as boring, conventional, strip-mall enthusiasts. I know this firsthand because I grew up in the suburbs myself.
My town may have seemed sedate from the outside, but in cul-de-sacs, behind closed doors, our lives were just as complex and extraordinary as those of our metropolitan neighbors. This is something that author Marybeth Mayhew Whalen knows well. In This Secret Thing, she brilliantly reveals the network of secrets that bind a community together—and how these same secrets threaten to tear it apart. She masterfully exposes how the drive to be a good friend, mother, or daughter can morph into something altogether different when we have to cover up our lies.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that all suburbanites have something to hide. But I will say that we’re often underestimated. The tidy lawns and serene streets often belie much more complicated lives than you’d suspect...
My town may have seemed sedate from the outside, but in cul-de-sacs, behind closed doors, our lives were just as complex and extraordinary as those of our metropolitan neighbors. This is something that author Marybeth Mayhew Whalen knows well. In This Secret Thing, she brilliantly reveals the network of secrets that bind a community together—and how these same secrets threaten to tear it apart. She masterfully exposes how the drive to be a good friend, mother, or daughter can morph into something altogether different when we have to cover up our lies.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that all suburbanites have something to hide. But I will say that we’re often underestimated. The tidy lawns and serene streets often belie much more complicated lives than you’d suspect...
- Jodi Warshaw, Editor
