Review: The Secret of Lies by Barbara Forte Abate
Reviewed by Lauren Cannavino
The Secret of Lies is a dark and introspective novel about one woman’s struggle to separate her past from her present. Stevie Burke is married and has a seemingly normal life in a sleepy little town. One day, she decides that she needs to break free. The reasoning is not exactly clear as she stows away in the night, but it all comes spilling out as the novel progresses.
Stevie, short for Stephanie, and her sister Eleanor spend the summers of their youth with their aunt and uncle in a beautiful house on the Atlantic Ocean. As the girls grow older and a bit different, the carefree summers begin to change. One particular summer, Eleanor, who is blossoming into a beautiful young woman, captures the attention and interest of the girls’ uncle. The two begin spending a lot of time together, much of it in secret, and the conditions at the house begin to change drastically.
When Stevie discovers the two engaged in sexual relations, she is mortified and this discovery ultimately sets the stage for a horrible tragedy. The secrets of that summer and the unfinished pieces of the story never leave Stevie and follow her into adulthood.
The Secret of Lies skips from present to past, and back to present, and author Barbara Forte Abate does a nice job of keeping the time periods easily identifiable, and the characters are all developed very well. Stevie is likeable and interesting, which helps the novel move quickly. However, I did feel that the ending of the novel was a bit lackluster and that while Stevie did receive answers to her troubling questions, there never was an exact moment that clarified that she was ready to come to terms with her past.
Rating: 
Lauren Cannavino is a graduate student, freelance writer, wine lover, and avid reader. Random musings can be found over at www.goldiesays.com.
Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Barbara Forte Abate. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Contemporary, Literature & Fiction
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It’s too bad when a novel builds and builds into something you are liking/enjoying and it builds to a point that it can’t finish it off. I usually feel this way towards final books in series.
I agree with the others that it is a bummer that the ending was blah. I think a good ending (whether it brings all the strings of the story together in a clean conclusion or reveals the final puzzle piece in this sort of saga story) is so important. I really enjoy stories that go back and forth in time and give me little pieces of how the two storylines connect and that have a sort of “ta da” moment at the end. I might check this one out for myself, I just hope the ending won’t frustrate me. Thanks for the review!
Gee, that’s terrible about the ending. It sounds like the author ran out of steam. It still sounds interesting to me and I am glad that the story goes rather quickly. I may still give it a try.
Carol Wong
Elements of this novel remind me of two others: “The Glass Lake” by Maeve Binchey and “The Sweet Hereafter” by Russell Banks.
I’m glad that the novel is able to successfully maneuver between past and present, but bummed that the ending didn’t quite live up to expectations. I think I will probably keep this one in mind the next time I’m looking for something different to read!
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