How to Keep a Secret

July 1, 2018

What do we know of the secrets our loved ones hold and why? Sisters Lauren and Jenna have kept the frightening events of a stolen afternoon hidden from everyone since their childhood. Lauren, married to successful London businessman Ed, prepares an elaborate 40th birthday celebration for him. After a testy morning conversation with Ed that includes a cryptic comment from him and an exchange with moody 16-year-old Mack, the day goes without a hitch--except Ed is a no-show at the party. Jenna, married to the small-town boy next door, is struggling with getting pregnant and keeping that from Lauren and their mother. Nancy, the matriarch, widowed five years ago, is crumbling under the things she's keeping from both of her daughters. Secrets have a way of unraveling. Over a long Martha's Vineyard summer, all four Stewart women face the destruction of long-held beliefs and betrayals. VERDICT Morgan (Moonlight over Manhattan) transitions from contemporary romance to women's fiction with this winner. Her lovingly created characters come to life, the dialog rings true, and readers will fly through the pages and then wish for more.--Susan Santa, Shelter Rock P.L., Albertson, NY

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
Morgan makes the leap from series romance (Moonlight over Manhattan, 2017) to her first stand-alone women's-fiction novel with ease, but she doesn't leave romantic themes behind. Three generations of Stewart women have all been keeping secrets, but they must learn to trust each other when the death of Lauren's husband, Ed, and the discovery of his financial problems bring Lauren and her daughter, Mack, home to Martha's Vineyard. Lauren and sister Jenna have always been close?partly because of a secret about their father that they've never shared with anyone, and partly because their artist mother, Nancy, never took much interest in them. Jenna always has a smile for everyone, even though she's hiding the fact that she can't get pregnant. Sixteen-year-old Mack has just discovered that Ed is not her biological father, and Nancy has several secrets that she's trying to keep them all from finding out. Alternating chapters tell the story from the perspective of all four main characters. Fans of Karen White and Susan Wiggs will savor Morgan's pairing of a second-chance romance with an intense family drama.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)