Secret Keeping for Beginners
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Even the closest families have secrets ... it's when they are shared that things begin to change. The lives of three very different sisters collide in this witty new novel from bestselling author Maggie Alderson.
Recently divorced Rachel is juggling her new dream job in interior design PR with the demands of two young daughters. She's full of creative ideas but -- even with a colourful childminder or two -- some days she can't make it into the office in time and in matching shoes. Her life is balanced more precariously than she cares to admit.
Tessa, a talented muralist, is feeling flat. Her kids are growing up and she's feeling upstaged by her husband's new-found celebrity as the host of a reality TV fireplace restoration show. But everything turns on its head when she gets a surprise from her past.
Youngest sister Natasha leads a glamorous jet-setting life -- she's one of Vogue's favourite make-up artists who regularly creates the looks for the biggest shows in Paris and Milan. Single and childless, she's been focused on her career -- but when the lie she's concealed for years threatens to come to light, the truth will make her question everything.
Meanwhile their mother, Joy, a hippy vegetarian caterer, is carefully ignoring the letters that keep arriving at her door.
Into the mix comes Simon, Rachel's urbane boss, hiding secrets of his own. And everything lurking beneath the surface of this seemingly happy family is about to come out ...
'Stylish and engaging ... an elegant treat' The Lady
'Maggie Alderson is a national treasure. Her writing is pithy, warm, incisive and touching, her characters extremely lovable and relatably flawed.' Lauren Sams, Cosmopolitan
'Classy, entertaining, smart ... Seriously, buy this book, pour yourself a bath and crack open the chocolate. Your Friday night is now sorted. You're welcome.' Set in Motion
'Maggie Alderson has a light touch, a well-sharpened wit and lots of heart' Better Reading
'A lovely combination of glamour, humour and poignancy.' Marian Keyes on Handbags and Gladrags
'Brimming with wit and wisdom' Courier-Mail
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Maggie Alderson provides plenty of material for daydreams with this heartfelt and romantic family drama. Sisters Rachel, Tessa and Natasha are leading very different lives in London, New York and the English countryside, respectively. Secret Keeping for Beginners unfolds over the course of several months, during which Alderson’s three alluring heroines—and their bohemian mother, Joy—must contend with unsettling revelations that may totally alter their personal paths. We loved the rich detail about everything from architectural salvage and interior design to PR and high fashion.
Customer Reviews
Couldn't get into it!
I liked Rachael's story so I bought the book, then found out it swapped between so many people it was hard to keep track! I just wish it stayed with the first character! Got through it but wasn't my fave!
Lightweight reading
Way too many successful, independent, well educated, mature women getting themselves into ludicrous difficulty (particularly given their supposed business smarts) and being 'saved' from themselves by love. Didn't expect such a cop-out story line from Alderson, who is usually a witty, intelligent writer.
This book has horribly gone wrong
The writer is trying to keep up with all the new 'shades of grey' and I do not like it.
I used to like her books as funny and a bit romantic.