Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Anchor (2009), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages
Description
Deborah Monroe and her daughter, Grace, are driving home from a party when their car hits a man running in the dark. Grace was at the wheel, but Deborah sends her home before the police arrive, determined to shoulder the blame for the accident. Her decision then turns into a deception that takes on a life of its own and threatens the special bond between mother and daughter.--From publisher description.
User reviews
LibraryThing member KathyWoodall
Deborah Monroe and her daughter Grace are headed home during a rainstorm when the unthinkable happens. Someone runs right out in front of them and is struck by the car when they are unable to stop in time.
After getting out of the car and searching for the person they hit, they find him laying by a
Grace realizes in horror that the person laying there is her high school history teacher. Deborah tells Grace to go home and take care of her younger brother while she deals with the police.
When Deborah makes the decision to protect her daughter, she doesn't tell the police that it was Grace that was behind the wheel of the car when the accident happened.
Guilt is heaped on Grace when she finds out that her history teacher has died and her mother has taken the blame for the accident. She hasn't told her mother she had drank 2 beers before getting behind the wheel of the car that night.
It seems everyone in this story has a secret. When they are revealed, they change the lives of everyone around them.
The author has an interesting concept for a novel but fails to deliver in the end. She introduces the characters so fast and with little development I honestly didn't care for any of them or their so called secrets. I just felt kinda cheated by the end of the book.
After getting out of the car and searching for the person they hit, they find him laying by a
Show More
tree still alive but seriously hurt. Deborah calls 911 for an ambulance and police to come. Grace realizes in horror that the person laying there is her high school history teacher. Deborah tells Grace to go home and take care of her younger brother while she deals with the police.
When Deborah makes the decision to protect her daughter, she doesn't tell the police that it was Grace that was behind the wheel of the car when the accident happened.
Guilt is heaped on Grace when she finds out that her history teacher has died and her mother has taken the blame for the accident. She hasn't told her mother she had drank 2 beers before getting behind the wheel of the car that night.
It seems everyone in this story has a secret. When they are revealed, they change the lives of everyone around them.
The author has an interesting concept for a novel but fails to deliver in the end. She introduces the characters so fast and with little development I honestly didn't care for any of them or their so called secrets. I just felt kinda cheated by the end of the book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member reader-T
This should have been a good 'story'. However, despite persevering with it (it was an easy read after all), I just found that it bugged me. The whole process was too quick. Everything happened within a space of two weeks! The accident, the results from the accident reconstruction, the demise of
Show More
Grace. And Deborah was so damn nice and so perfect (yes, one of the underlying themes), as to make her annoying and unlikeable! .....And at one stage Deborah referred to Grace - her 16 year old high school daughter - as being premed ... at high school? .... is that possible? Show Less
LibraryThing member RPerritt
I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I have read by this author, but definatly not the last. It was a very easy read.
LibraryThing member bobbieharv
Mother picks daughter up at a party; daughter hits her teacher on the way home; teacher ultimately dies. Mother lies and says she was driving, then happens to fall in love with the teacher's brother-in-law. Oh and by the way the daughter was drinking and the mother's father is an alcoholic. How
Show More
does all this get resolved? I cared only enough to struggle throughto the end of this ultimately improbable highly irritating book. Show Less
LibraryThing member MsKelly65
Barbara Delinsky effectively and dramatically explores the delicate relationships between family members, espcially mothers and daughters in _The Secret Between Us_. I found the book refreshing despite it's heavy subject matter and read it cover to cover within forty-eight hours. I recommend _The
Show More
Secret Between Us_ to lovers of modern-day mysteries and dramas, and those who are interested in the intricacies of family expectations and bonds. Show Less
LibraryThing member skrishna
I picked this book up because I really enjoyed Family Tree, but I just couldn't get into it.
LibraryThing member Ebba
Novel about family realationships and small town living. A car accident changes lives forever. Sweet story line, but nothing that really kept me listening for hours past my bedtime.
LibraryThing member marian50
Starts out promising, but then becomes repetitious and too drawn out. I didn't care for the ending.
LibraryThing member busyreadin
One little lie can lead to so much heartache! While driving home on a rainy night, Grace hits and kills a man. Her mother, Deborah, sends her home on foot, and takes the blame for the accident. The aftermath might tear the family apart.
LibraryThing member re_re_98
I enjoyed this book very much. The author did an excellent job showing how not telling the truth can quickly spiral out of control. I cannot even begin to imagine the terror, fear, and guilt that the young lady had weighing on her mind.
LibraryThing member nglofile_reads_2008
Not a favorite, but I can see how this would be a good choice for a book discussion group.
LibraryThing member Spibrarian
I could not put this book down! Excellent novel on how our choices can affect those we love - with not so good consequences. Barbara Delinsky always delivers.
LibraryThing member cloedoris
This was a goood book :) the first I've read by this author
LibraryThing member louisville
Deborah Monroe and her daughter, Grace, are driving home from a party when their car hits a man running in the dark. Grace was at the wheel, but Deborah sends her home before the police arrive, determined to shoulder the blame for the accident. Her decision then turns into a deception that takes on
Show More
a life of its own and threatens the special bond between mother and daughter. Show Less
LibraryThing member LauraMoore
The Secret Between Us was unlike any other Barbara Delinsky book i've previously read, and I don't know if that was such a good thing. I did like this book, but feel like this book didn't blow me away as many of her other romance-type novels did.
The Secret Between Us is a story of a mother and
There were a few twists and turns in the story that I wasn't quite anticipating, but overall the book felt very predictable and stale in many parts. It didn't draw me in and compell me to keep reading as many other Barbara Delinsky' books have in the past. I didn't think it was a bad story at all, but in comparision to other mystery/adult fiction writers such as Jodi Picoult, this book felt a bit stale to me.
The Secret Between Us is a story of a mother and
Show More
daughter who get into an accident in the middle of a rainy evening where they hit a man with the car. The only problem is the police believe the mother was the one driving, when in fact it was the daughter. The mother covers for her daughter and the conseqences ensue, especially when the plot thickens that the man they hit with the car was the daughters' teacher.There were a few twists and turns in the story that I wasn't quite anticipating, but overall the book felt very predictable and stale in many parts. It didn't draw me in and compell me to keep reading as many other Barbara Delinsky' books have in the past. I didn't think it was a bad story at all, but in comparision to other mystery/adult fiction writers such as Jodi Picoult, this book felt a bit stale to me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ginger72
A quick easy read.
Nothing super exciting happens,it didn't suck me into it where I couldn't put the book down, but still an enjoyable read.
Lots of previous reviewers had noted the comparison between this author and Jodi Picoult - totally agree, at least for this book. I think Ms. Delinsky's
Nothing super exciting happens,it didn't suck me into it where I couldn't put the book down, but still an enjoyable read.
Lots of previous reviewers had noted the comparison between this author and Jodi Picoult - totally agree, at least for this book. I think Ms. Delinsky's
Show More
writing tends to lean toward romance so I'm not sure if I'll be reading to much more of her books but will definitely take notice the next time I see her name. Show Less
LibraryThing member JudithDCollins
One of her best books - Deborah Monroe and her daughter, Grace, are driving home from a party when their car hits a man running in the dark. Grace was at the wheel, but Deborah sends her home before the police arrive, determined to shoulder the blame for the accident. Her decision then turns into a
Show More
deception that takes on a life of its own and threatens the special bond between mother and daughter. An unforgettable story about making bad choices for the right reasons and the terrible consequences of a lie gone wrong. Show Less
LibraryThing member moonshineandrosefire
As Deborah Monroe and her teenage daughter, Grace, are driving home from a party that Grace attended; the unthinkable happens. Their car is in an accident; striking a man who is running in the dark. Although sixteen-year-old Grace was the one at the wheel, Deborah sends her daughter home before the
Deborah's rash decision, made in an attempt to protect Grace, quickly takes on a life of its own. Her decision soon morphs into a deception, one that ultimately threatens the special bond between mother and daughter. In The Secret Between Us, Barbara Delinsky explores the limits of personal responsibility - responsibility of a mother to a daughter, of a daughter to a father, and of a husband to a wife.
Once again, Ms. Delinsky has delivered a riveting, superbly crafted family story. This book was absolutely great. I find that Ms. Delinsky is wonderful at creating nuanced family relationships and dramatic plots. I do like reading books that deal with secrets and deceptions, and how such things can detrimentally affect the family dynamics. I give The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky an A+!
Show More
police arrive, determined to shoulder the blame for the accident herself.Deborah's rash decision, made in an attempt to protect Grace, quickly takes on a life of its own. Her decision soon morphs into a deception, one that ultimately threatens the special bond between mother and daughter. In The Secret Between Us, Barbara Delinsky explores the limits of personal responsibility - responsibility of a mother to a daughter, of a daughter to a father, and of a husband to a wife.
Once again, Ms. Delinsky has delivered a riveting, superbly crafted family story. This book was absolutely great. I find that Ms. Delinsky is wonderful at creating nuanced family relationships and dramatic plots. I do like reading books that deal with secrets and deceptions, and how such things can detrimentally affect the family dynamics. I give The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky an A+!
Show Less
LibraryThing member soosthemoose
Interesting book regarding family relationships and consequences.
LibraryThing member justablondemoment
This was just an okay book for me. It started out strong and then somewhere in the middle I was just over it. Although I would like to think that in the real world a teenager would really act as Grace did and end up making the decisions she did it just wasn't very believable to me. I kept thinking
Show More
of my own and of their friends and how they would have behaved and I'm just thinking ummm probably not. Show Less
LibraryThing member KimSalyers
won this book from listia.com over a week ago and it came from NJ.
LibraryThing member bookappeal
A car accident changes the dynamics of an already-troubled family. Delinsky tries to make the story compelling but there is no real tension here and the resolution is somewhat unsatsifying. An easy read but also easily forgettable.
LibraryThing member tsmom1219
Not as good as some of her others, but not bad either. I liked it, but I don't think I'll read it again.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008-01
ISBN
0307388476 / 9780307388476