Past Secrets

This all started out very well indeed and I was instantly hooked on Chrissie and her gift of sight, uptight Faye and betrayed Maggie. At the beginning of this book, I loved them all and couldn't get enough of them, to be honest. Heck I even liked teenage daughter Amber and that, for me, is a very hard sell.

So, a strange kind of kudos to the author then for somehow taking that very strong beginning and tearing the whole thing into tiny pieces. It all starts to go wrong about halfway through when we start finding out those deep dark secrets - and they turn out to be either (a) super-cliched or (b) no kind of decent secret at all.

I mean Faye's secret is a naughty night out with her callow would-be rocker boyfriend when she gets pregnant show more with Amber, and then flings herself into a self-imposed Pit of Shame, which means she can never talk about the whole thing and believes she's some kind of slapper. Really???! To me, as an Essex Gal, that just seems like a decent night out, after which we all have a laugh with our girlfriends and move on. I couldn't honestly believe Faye would change her whole personality and style so she makes herself unattractive to men for the next eighteen years, and even makes up a marriage and dead husband to put Amber off the scent. It's totally ridiculous.

Not, however, as ridiculous as Maggie, with whom I lost sympathy when she bounces back from her doomed love affair and meets another more suitable man within about a minute or so. Honestly??? That whole scenario was just laughable, again, and so slushy it made my teeth itch. I also thought her way of getting over being a victim of bullying at school was simply unbelievable, on all counts.

Nor indeed as ridiculous as the whole Amber plot: Amber ditches taking her exams and her plans to be an artist, and runs off to America with her would-be rocker boyfriend - yes, this is exactly the same type of man as her mother had all the trauma about, so doesn't Ms Kelly know any other kind of Bad Boy? Do they all have to be would-be rockers? How I long for some sweet young heroine to run off with a man who wants to be an accountant and plays cricket for his local village team, but alas I fear I might be waiting a while …. Anyway, Amber soon realises her man is hopeless and leaves him - but not before some passing stranger in the States has offered her a fortune as he loves her artwork (on the strength of one scribbled picture at a party!) and longs above all things to sponsor her talent. Major Unreality Alert!! Is the author playing a trick on us? This one made me laugh out loud this time, and groan too. And yes, in the end, Amber comes home and it's all marvellous and perfect, etc etc. Yawn …

All this ridiculous plotting would have been just about acceptable, almost, but what really made me angry as a reader was the way Chrissie is held up as a shining example of goodness and yet finally tells her poor husband James about her long-ago infidelity in the most cruel and heartless way I can ever imagine anyone giving that kind of news to their spouse. It's not Chrissie's infidelity I had a real problem with (though it is of course hugely cliched again …) but how cold and downright nasty her way of confessing it actually is. I found that scene very shocking, and I really wanted to give her a huge slap and tell her to grow up. I was glad when James walked out - he could definitely get someone a whole lot nicer. However, of course, eventually he comes back and says it doesn't really matter. Um, again, no. That's not how betrayal works in real life - the way back is never this easy.

The only characters who kept my sympathy throughout and who were really worth any attention were the lovely Shona (a friend of Maggie's) and her husband Paul - now they were a class act, very witty and wonderful together, and I wish the book had been about them.

However, all in all, I was relieved to get to the end of all this nonsense. Overall, it's a mismanaged and mis-written book, in which a strong start is sadly and comprehensibly ruined.

Verdict: 2 stars. Disappointing and frustrating. show less

Potential for an interesting story here, featuring three main characters who live (or whose family lives) on a small street in an Irish town. And the book starts well, introducing Christie, Maggie and Faye, three very different women, all of whom have things in their past that they have mostly kept secret.

Unfortunately the book is rather rambling with too much introspection, and not much character development. People change decisions or directions with very little motivation - and none of them is really three-dimensional. I kept reading, but the novel never entirely grabbed me.

Not a bad story overall, although the 'secrets' really weren't secret by the time they were revealed; the gist was known almost from the start. But I wouldn't show more really recommend this book; Cathy Kelly has written other much better novels.

Full review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/11/past-secrets-by-cathy-kelly.html show less

This is a great book about 4 women of varyiong ages and stages in life who all have a secret. For Faye, its a deep dark secret about her daughters father. For amber, Faye's daughter its about the boy shes seeing and how her plans for the future differ from her mothers. Maggie, has a secret she drags around with her from her chilhood that holds her back. And Christie's secret could shatter her perfect marriage and perfect life.

I loved this book and tried to finish it as fast as I could. All these women are lovable and you are pulling for them all the way through.

Another page turner from Cathy Kelly, this time centreing around an idyllic street, where the facades hide a myriad of secrets. Secrets from the past which threaten to upset the seemingly calm and peaceful present. But only when they are revealed can they be dealt with and the future be faced with confidence and honesty.

A very nice and utterly predictable book about the various problems of several women in Summer Street, Dublin. Kelly has a very warm style of writing and she is often very funny.

Pretty standard chick lit fare. Long-held secrets threaten to destroy various relationships, but truth prevails and all ends happily. Not bad if you're just looking for something fluffy to pass a few hours.

An enjoyable read with likable characters but nothing startling.