By Carla Buckley 

ISBN-13: 9780345535245

Random House Publishing Group

Publication date: 2/4/2014

Pages: 448   

My Rating:  (5 Stars) 

 

 

Wow! The Deepest Secret was true to its name in so many ways! Everyone has a secret and family members are protecting one another. This is my first book by Carla and was blown away! I had a 12 hr drive ahead of me, and the audio kept me engaged for the duration of my long road trip from NC to South Florida. 

Without giving away the details – the novel was brilliantly written, emotional and suspenseful from beginning to end. There was so much going on with each of the characters, drawing you in to uncover each of their secrets. Reminds me of Wisteria Lane, (Desperate Housewives), as you never know what goes on behind closed doors.

The family dynamics were at an all- time high in this neighborhood! I especially loved the character, Tyler and his daily struggle with the rare condition of XP and UV rays, living in darkness. In addition, his mom, Eve was a strong woman, making it her life’s mission and obsession to protect her son at all costs.

The Deepest Secret is about love and forgiveness and family. You cannot even put yourself in this family’s position, until you live their life. A page turner, this novel would be ideal for book clubs and further discussions from different viewpoints of the characters. 

I have read all of Jodi Picoult’s books and a huge fan, and yes, if you love her work, you will love this compelling – “The Deepest Secret” (movie worthy)! I look forward to reading more from this talented author!

 

 

 

I had NO idea what to expect when I started reading The Deepest Secret. Straight adult contemporary is not a genre I venture into often. I used to read a lot of Jodi Picoult, but it has been many, many years. And yet, I have always said that I read books based on blurb, not genre. If the blurb interests me, I am interested in reading it. First of all, I like learning things. I tried to read a book about XP last year (What We Saw at Night), but I didn't like it. I thought I would try again with this book, and I am glad I did.

I have never read a book by this author before, but I will be certain to do that again in the future. I really like Carla Buckley's style. She is great at building atmosphere, and it REALLY felt like the majority of this book was set in the middle of the night. It's not an easy thing to accomplish, making a reader be able to get lost in the book and forget about the world around them. But I sat up at night with this book in my hand for three days, reading and burning the midnight oil. The book gave off a Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock vibe for a little while there, and I was in LOVE.

The Deepest Secret is written in multiple POVs and I know some readers don't like that, but I was completely satisfied with the way they were handled. The voices of each character were different--Eve sounded like a troubled mother who was trying her hardest to keep her son alive, David felt like a disillusioned, lonely father trying to make the best of the living situation he has to deal with, and Tyler REALLY sounds like a restless teenage boy suffering from a terminal illness. I was convinced. And if an author can convince me that their characters really do exist, they can write in TWENTY different POVs, for all I care. The characters were all remarkably well-developed, and even if you don't like them, you will think about them and be invested and question their choices.

That said, I had a few small issues, and man they are really small because I so badly wanted to give this book 5 stars but I sat and thought on it for almost 24 hours, and I just couldn't do it. This is primarily a character-driven novel. And I know the blurb makes it seem like that is not the case, it just isn't so. That is not what I am marking the book down for. I had a few pacing issues. The book gets off to a bit of a boring start. There is all this exposition and getting to know the characters going on, and I was never bored, but I do think it could have been shortened. And then...I also felt there were some unnecessary scenes that really didn't add much to the story. It is a bit repetitive at times but I was really invested in the characters (mainly Tyler) so I didn't care about that so much. What I really would have liked to see is a bit of a shorter book by maybe 50 pages. But I don't think it's the type of thing that is going to make you not like the book, because I really still did love it despite that small issue. 

All in all, this is probably the best book I have read this year so far. It took me away from the world, made me question my moral choices, and wonder how I would react in the situations these characters faced. This is one of those books that I call a thinking book, and there is nothing more that I like than a book that makes me get all philosophical in my head. 

3.5 star read

Carla Buckley's latest novel, The Deepest Secret, poses not only the question about how well do you know the people around you, but also that the line between right and wrong isn't always clearly defined.  I was exited to read it after I enjoyed Buckley'sThe Things That Keep Us Here in 2012, and interested to find out more about Eve's son's condition.

Xeroderma pigmentosum (or XP) is a genetic disease in which the sufferer's ability to repair damage caused by UV light is deficient - in other words, XP sufferer's cannot step into sunlight or any other type of UV light such as halogen bulbs without suffering burns, and subsequently skin cancers.  Eve and David's son Tyler was diagnosed with XP as a baby, and their whole lives have been adapted to keeping him safe - from nighttime birthday parties through to asking all their neighbours to use non-Halogen globes in their homes and having all the street lights in their cul-de-sac turned off.

Such is Eve's obsession with keeping her son safe, that her husband has taken a job in another state, travelling back and forth every weekend to spend time with his family, and starting to feel very disillusioned with his life.  What makes this relationship stand out from all the standard 'troubled marriage' story lines however, is the obvious fact that he still loves his wife - he has regular flashbacks to what she was like when they first met, the beginnings of their relationship, and how she lived before Tyler's diagnosis.

Eve's best friend Charlotte, who is her complete opposite, also lives in the cul-de-sac, and many of the residents are on friendly terms with each other, attending Tyler's birthday party and obliging Eve's requests, but there are also a few rebels who refuse to go along with her security measures.  Tyler's nightly forays reveal a few of their secrets to him, but there's not actually that many revelations about the neighbours themselves - more their reactions when another child vanishes in the night.

Although I'm not always keen on alternate POVs, they work well for The Deepest Secret - it very much suits the underlying theme of the novel to see events from multiple perspectives.

Eve is admirable in her dedication and sacrifice to her family, but it also means that she doesn't really have her own personality - it has been pretty much absorbed by her determination that Tyler will remain well and have as fulfilling a life as possible.  And although it's easy to feel sympathy towards Tyler due to his condition, his frustration with his life makes him rather unpredictable and unlikable.

But what I did particularly enjoy about The Deepest Secret was the main theme of the storyline - that although people have very definite ideas about what is right and wrong when they are removed from the situation, when they are in the middle of it, it's very difficult to make that distinction.  Buckley's storytelling made it easy for me to see why Eve did things in a certain way, and although I appreciated the realism of the ending, it did feel a little rushed and not completely logical to me.

Review first posted on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-deepest-secret.html

What would you do to protect your child? How far would you go? That is the question at the heart of The Deepest Secret. Eve and David have two children. Melissa is teenager dealing with the struggles of growing up. Tyler is a young man with a disease that will probably be fatal before he reaches the age of 20.

The Lattimore family lives on a quiet cul-de-sec on a quiet suburban street. Tyler's condition is a rare sensitivity to light, one in which exposure to light could potentially kill him. There is no cure. David and Eve have created a home environment designed to keep Tyler safe - dark curtains, night activities, requests to neighbors about using lights, and restrictions on Melissa and Tyler.

David's job keeps him away much of the time. Eve is completely dedicated to Tyler's needs, and to shepherding Melissa through the teen years.

One day, an accident threatens the world Eve has so carefully built. Her decision and actions come from a need to protect her child, and yet have catastrophic effects for her and for those around her. By her decision, she creates a mystery and wreaks havoc in the lives of another family. In the ensuing events, the police get involved, and Melissa and Tyler get involved. It all spirals out of Eve's control.

The chapters move back and forth between the points of view of the different main characters - Eve, David, Tyler, and a few bring in some different perspectives. Eve is a mother trying to protect an ill child, mother her healthy child, and hold her marriage together. As she says, "How is a parent supposed to balance the needs of a healthy child against a fragile one? It can't ever be equal - not the time, nor the resources, nor the hours lying awake in the dark consumed by tangled thoughts - but the love can be exactly the same. The love has always been split precisely down the middle, an effortless divide."

David is away from home working most of the time. He struggles with the love for his family and the feeling that life has become about Tyler's illness to the exclusion of everything else - at least for Eve.

Tyler is the young man with a death sentence. Yet, he is also a teenager rebelling against the rules set by his mother to keep him safe.

The central theme of what you would do to protect your child touches the heart of any parent. The struggle between what is the right thing to do for your child versus what is the right to do period is Eve's dilemma. That emotional turmoil carries this book through the over 400 pages. I won't say where it ends up, but I don't think it could have ended any other way. I am glad that it did not.

*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***