Secrets We Left Behind

by Susan Elliot-Wright

Paperback

Reviews

[Marsha Raasch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grandmother concerned about her daughter's post-natal depression receives a phone call from a person who had been gone from her life for 30 years, and she thought was gone forever. The call was from her daughter's father and he wants to reveal a secret before his death, a secret that will rip her life apart down to its foundation.
The phone call took her back to the 1970s after her alcoholic mother's death and she was spending her nights in London doorways. A free-spirited hippie couple took her to their seaside home they were squatting in, and she falls in love with both of them: the girl is more like a mother she never had and the boy....well, he was attractive and hardworking.
The book is well written, moving back and forth in time, evoking the innocent days of the 70s and youth, and the settled joys of late middle age and security.

[P Busick Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Caveat, i listened didn’t read). This was nice. I could tell where the story was going, but that didn’t take away from the unfolding story. I enjoyed the characters, setting, and plot. The main character’s way of dealing with the problem was realistic enough. Not light enough for a beach read, but a book worth your time.

[Angela Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predicable but still an emotional provoking book that was funny in some parts but mostly emotionally gripping. I love that the book went back and forth between the main characters life before and life after a traumatic event. Sad but realistic and makes you think about what you would do in the same situation as a 17 year old. Provoked some anger but lots of empathy. I loved the ending.

[Linda Christianson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. It was OK, but a lot of detail about things that just were not important. I figured out the “secret” and then it just bored me. I considered not finishing it but i was engaged with the characters and wanted to find out how it all wrapped up.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

First time doing this. Wrong book, don’t forget the “The”

[Jennifer Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good. I did figure out where it was going early on, but it was still a good read.

[Majuice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free on audible
Slow and predictable

[Samantha Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was enjoyable. Not great but good. I liked it.

[Christi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute story but very predictable

[Emily G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw where the book was going, so the end was a little slow as it was predictable. Still worth the listen as I did it as an audio book.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free audible book. Overall pretty boring and anticlimactic. We were chasing what the secret was the whole book even though you could easily figure it out early on. Not very exciting or original.

[Lawana Sisam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melancholic ending.

[Destiny Affholter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reallllly fought to finish this book cause I actually was curious about the ending. It was honestly a solid effort on writing a really interesting complex story. However the effort was an utter failure. The writing was confusing, and I often found myself lost as she jumped between different timeframes of Jo’s life. Then when she switched between first and third person it became even worse. Highly recommend skipping this one.