The secrets between us

No cover

Louise Douglas: The secrets between us (2011, Bantam Press)

457 pages

English language

Published Nov. 13, 2011 by Bantam Press.

ISBN:
978-0-593-06708-6
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

2 stars (1 review)

A chance encounter: When Sarah meets dark, brooding Alex,she grasps his offer of a new life miles away from her own. They’ve both recently escaped broken relationships, and need to start again. Why not do it together?

A perfect life: But when Sarah gets to the tiny village of Burrington Stoke, something doesn’t add up. Alex’s beautiful wife Genevieve was charming, talented, and adored by all who knew her. And apparently, she and Alex had a successful marriage complete with a gorgeous son, Jamie. Why would Genevieve walk out on her perfect life? And why has no one heard from her since she did so?

A web of lies: Genevieve’s family and all her friends think that Alex knows more about her disappearance than he’s letting on. But Sarah’s fallen in love with him and just knows he couldn’t have anything to hide. Or could he?

4 editions

Ploughed through it eventually

2 stars

The synopsis on the back of Secrets Between Us described the novel as 'reminiscent of' Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. Blatantly ripped off from would have been more accurate, and it doesn't have the former's eerie style either. I nearly gave up on this book a couple of times but did manage to plough through to the end eventually. Perhaps a more ruthless editing job would help because, at over 500 pages, it's a lot of ploughing. The main characters are repetitive and flat, but fortunately some of the supporting cast provide a sense of realism. Blue was probably my favourite! The ghostly elements could work with a more subtle approach, but Sarah's continuous whining that Alex must really love her deep down because he ignores her and treats her like dirt, but the sex is great is so cliched as to be laughable.