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Harbored Secrets
Psychological Mystery
Blinny Platt's life story has been one filled with longings and betrayal, a legacy that unfolds with all the complexities of a conspiracy. Even as a small girl, she should have known, connected the whispers and snippets, but never did - Not until her secretive step-mother tossed a cache of poems on her lap, exposing lonesome words that break the heart.
After years of internal angst, Blinny suddenly feels compelled to leave her father's ranch to buy land and build a home herself. In her few restful moments, she finds the image of her mother lingering in the acres around her, in the toast-browns of the prairie grasses, in the colors beneath the browns, in the hint of deep green lingering at the base of seemingly dead grass - the promise of life to come. Maman would always be part of the landscape - first thin and graceful, then cumbersome with child, then wistful and wan, then gone, leaving behind an emptiness she had not prepared Blinny for. The mystery left in the ashes of a burned home unravels slowly, until finally, Blinny learns of the last betrayal, and the truth of why the Platt family fractured.
Blinny Platt's life story has been one filled with longings and betrayal, a legacy that unfolds with all the complexities of a conspiracy. Even as a small girl, she should have known, connected the whispers and snippets, but never did - Not until her secretive step-mother tossed a cache of poems on her lap, exposing lonesome words that break the heart.
After years of internal angst, Blinny suddenly feels compelled to leave her father's ranch to buy land and build a home herself. In her few restful moments, she finds the image of her mother lingering in the acres around her, in the toast-browns of the prairie grasses, in the colors beneath the browns, in the hint of deep green lingering at the base of seemingly dead grass - the promise of life to come. Maman would always be part of the landscape - first thin and graceful, then cumbersome with child, then wistful and wan, then gone, leaving behind an emptiness she had not prepared Blinny for. The mystery left in the ashes of a burned home unravels slowly, until finally, Blinny learns of the last betrayal, and the truth of why the Platt family fractured.
380 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 30, 2013
1715 people are currently reading
2606 people want to read
About the author
Marie F. Martin
8 books30 followersMarie F. Martin is the author of an intense vow in MATERAL HARBOR, surprising twists of a family’s past in HARBORED SECRETS, a grizzly attack and lover’s spat in RATHAM CREEK. Together her four thriller, mystery, or suspense novels have over 500,000 Kindle downloads and over 700 five star reviews.
Marie lives in a fertile valley at the base of the Rocky Mountains. She enjoys a quiet life where laughter comes easy, love easier. She invites you to join in her rich, rural memories on her website where she has posted a memoir of her early childhood and raising her own family of four children.
www.mariefmartin.com
Marie lives in a fertile valley at the base of the Rocky Mountains. She enjoys a quiet life where laughter comes easy, love easier. She invites you to join in her rich, rural memories on her website where she has posted a memoir of her early childhood and raising her own family of four children.
www.mariefmartin.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 259 reviews
May 17, 2014
I picked this book from Book Bulb for my kindle because I love books that take place in Montana and was not disappointed! Takes place mostly on the flatlands of Montana about a family with deep secrets, a fire, death, grief, and sadness but also about joy in the land, hard work, and forgiveness. It was a page turner for me.
January 21, 2015
"The best way to go, is just to do it" - Uncle Lanny
Harbored Secrets by Marie F. Martin is a book filled with drama from the very first chapter. Do not make the same mistake I did and start reading it before you go to bed! It is a hard book to put down.
The book is about Blinny, a troubled woman, who longs to build her own house. While building her house she is flooded with painful memories from a past she can not escape. Through out the whole book many secrets are revealed. Some secrets are shocking some are very much expected. Martin is good at not giving away the answers to all the story all at once. It is because of this that makes it hard to put the book down.
I wanted to hug Blinny throughout the whole book and tell her how strong she was to be able to deal with everything. I also understood her longing for a place to call her own. We all want to be in a place that makes us happy. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good drama. I also would love to read some of Martin's other works to see if they all carry this type of powerful story.
Harbored Secrets by Marie F. Martin is a book filled with drama from the very first chapter. Do not make the same mistake I did and start reading it before you go to bed! It is a hard book to put down.
The book is about Blinny, a troubled woman, who longs to build her own house. While building her house she is flooded with painful memories from a past she can not escape. Through out the whole book many secrets are revealed. Some secrets are shocking some are very much expected. Martin is good at not giving away the answers to all the story all at once. It is because of this that makes it hard to put the book down.
I wanted to hug Blinny throughout the whole book and tell her how strong she was to be able to deal with everything. I also understood her longing for a place to call her own. We all want to be in a place that makes us happy. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good drama. I also would love to read some of Martin's other works to see if they all carry this type of powerful story.
July 2, 2015
Harbored Secrets
For me, this was a rather depressing read. That said, it was also a story where I could actually feel all different types of emotions for the flawed characters. It is sad to think how humans act/react to things that happen in their lives. Who is to judge how one reacts? I ended up with sympathy for all the characters in the book.
For me, this was a rather depressing read. That said, it was also a story where I could actually feel all different types of emotions for the flawed characters. It is sad to think how humans act/react to things that happen in their lives. Who is to judge how one reacts? I ended up with sympathy for all the characters in the book.
July 21, 2015
An unexpected gem
Honestly, I started this book because I got it for free. But I finished it because it was interesting, well-written, and I wanted to find out what happened. The intricate weaving of Blinney's past and present made for an interesting read. The characters were well developed and I came to care for them. The ending was satisfying. I recommend this book.
Honestly, I started this book because I got it for free. But I finished it because it was interesting, well-written, and I wanted to find out what happened. The intricate weaving of Blinney's past and present made for an interesting read. The characters were well developed and I came to care for them. The ending was satisfying. I recommend this book.
October 17, 2021
322 pages
3 stars
I wouldn’t call this book a psychological mystery. It is more of a family drama, complete with semi-forgotten memories, lies and secrets.
Blanche “Blinny” Platt, now in her fifties, is building her own home on the Montana prairie. It gives her plenty of time to think and that leads to a review of her life.
What follows is a long, somewhat rambling family drama that includes devastating secrets, childhood and teenage angst and purposeful deception.
I didn’t really like Blinny. I understand that she had a hard life on the farm in the middle of nowhere, but her general attitude rubbed me the wrong way. She is somewhat self-centered, not really thinking about the other person’s point of view. There are things that parents keep from their children - period. It is to protect them; to shield them from situations that perhaps they are too young to understand. Blinny needs to back off.
I doubt that I will read another book by this author.
3 stars
I wouldn’t call this book a psychological mystery. It is more of a family drama, complete with semi-forgotten memories, lies and secrets.
Blanche “Blinny” Platt, now in her fifties, is building her own home on the Montana prairie. It gives her plenty of time to think and that leads to a review of her life.
What follows is a long, somewhat rambling family drama that includes devastating secrets, childhood and teenage angst and purposeful deception.
I didn’t really like Blinny. I understand that she had a hard life on the farm in the middle of nowhere, but her general attitude rubbed me the wrong way. She is somewhat self-centered, not really thinking about the other person’s point of view. There are things that parents keep from their children - period. It is to protect them; to shield them from situations that perhaps they are too young to understand. Blinny needs to back off.
I doubt that I will read another book by this author.
January 14, 2015
What's around the bend
Secrets!!!!! Wow! This book kept me hopping !!!! I never knew there could be so many secrets in one into e family
There were so many secrets in this book and the time span between finding them out. The characters had so many different sides to them which made it an interesting read
?
Secrets!!!!! Wow! This book kept me hopping !!!! I never knew there could be so many secrets in one into e family
There were so many secrets in this book and the time span between finding them out. The characters had so many different sides to them which made it an interesting read
?
April 2, 2013
Such a thought provoking book. I wasn't sure about it but got caught up in the story right away. This family had deep, shattering secrets that seemed insurmountable. I enjoyed & would recommend this book.
August 4, 2017
3.5 stars. This was an interesting story of a woman who is coming to terms with her father and her sister and the terrible event that happened when she was a child where she lost her little brother, her home, and then her mother. Blinny is now a forty-something year old woman and is building her home on her family's land. The story alternates between the present and the past. The ending was not what I expected but it was satisfying. It started off a little slow but it was a good read overall.
February 16, 2019
Loved it
This story of a family with secrets is just what I needed. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, it's the story of a woman named Blanche or Blinny. It's told then and now, from 8 yrs to middle age, a story of heartbreak, hardships, family, and triumph. 8 yr old Blinny lost her mother, brother and home to a fire and her father sent her along with her 3 yr old sister by train to live with widowed uncles she doesn't know. Five years down the road their father and his new wife ( the haughty, bratty neighbor girl 5 yrs her senior) come for them and what a surprise that is. From then on, life is full of surprises for Blinny, bless her honest and hard working heart. All she wants is the truth.
The story has some twists and turns, was well written and interesting. The main characters felt like they were alive and breathing, and all so likeable...and irritating too. I could feel the sun on warm days and the clouds on cold days, could almost smell that farm and feel the gritty feed. Loved this book and my time with these characters.
This story of a family with secrets is just what I needed. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, it's the story of a woman named Blanche or Blinny. It's told then and now, from 8 yrs to middle age, a story of heartbreak, hardships, family, and triumph. 8 yr old Blinny lost her mother, brother and home to a fire and her father sent her along with her 3 yr old sister by train to live with widowed uncles she doesn't know. Five years down the road their father and his new wife ( the haughty, bratty neighbor girl 5 yrs her senior) come for them and what a surprise that is. From then on, life is full of surprises for Blinny, bless her honest and hard working heart. All she wants is the truth.
The story has some twists and turns, was well written and interesting. The main characters felt like they were alive and breathing, and all so likeable...and irritating too. I could feel the sun on warm days and the clouds on cold days, could almost smell that farm and feel the gritty feed. Loved this book and my time with these characters.
February 12, 2016
Could not put it down, it was a great read. I was just pulled right in.
May 17, 2020
WOW! A true genealogists nightmare!
This book was a real bag of tricks, didn't know if I should love it or hate it, but it had a pull that just would not let me discard it! Oh what a tangled web of lies, infidelity, and deceit and eventually almost something resembling hatred, leaving two very young girls at the mercy of their survival skills. These life experiences created some very unique personalities, Odette, who through the entire book, up until the last chapter, never seemed to grow up past her 3 yr old insolence, except for one outburst when she was about 11; Haughty-tottie Alice who right from the get go, put on airs and made everyone aware of how she felt she was superior to the rest, and then of course the storyteller, Binny, who had to grow up way too fast - by age of 8, she had delivered her baby brother, was driving tractor with her Dad, and then was entrusted to look out for her 3 yr old sister as they were thrust into the care of two aging uncles in a town 100 miles away from her beloved farm.
For the most part, the book read like a diary, with very little dialogue; covering two different time periods in Binny's life; until, of course, the last chapter which was conversations with her sister and her step mom. The unfortunate part of the whole story is that it took this family more than 40 years to forgive each other and learn how to get along.
This book was a real bag of tricks, didn't know if I should love it or hate it, but it had a pull that just would not let me discard it! Oh what a tangled web of lies, infidelity, and deceit and eventually almost something resembling hatred, leaving two very young girls at the mercy of their survival skills. These life experiences created some very unique personalities, Odette, who through the entire book, up until the last chapter, never seemed to grow up past her 3 yr old insolence, except for one outburst when she was about 11; Haughty-tottie Alice who right from the get go, put on airs and made everyone aware of how she felt she was superior to the rest, and then of course the storyteller, Binny, who had to grow up way too fast - by age of 8, she had delivered her baby brother, was driving tractor with her Dad, and then was entrusted to look out for her 3 yr old sister as they were thrust into the care of two aging uncles in a town 100 miles away from her beloved farm.
For the most part, the book read like a diary, with very little dialogue; covering two different time periods in Binny's life; until, of course, the last chapter which was conversations with her sister and her step mom. The unfortunate part of the whole story is that it took this family more than 40 years to forgive each other and learn how to get along.
March 18, 2021
Deeply moving
I have not been so moved by a story in years. This author gets love of the land, especially the prairies, that many of us who grew up roaming through the grasslands and helping work the fields and care for the cattle—contribute sweat, blood, and yes sometimes tears to the family enterprise. That understanding, the bone-deep connection to the land, threads through this deeply engaging story of self discovery. It touches on immigration, family connection—what makes family, betrayal, love, loss, forgiveness, and all woven together in a deeply meaningful way. I will likely be thinking about this tale as it relates to my own experiences for years. I thank the author for it’s insights crafted into an excellent, well crafted story.
I have not been so moved by a story in years. This author gets love of the land, especially the prairies, that many of us who grew up roaming through the grasslands and helping work the fields and care for the cattle—contribute sweat, blood, and yes sometimes tears to the family enterprise. That understanding, the bone-deep connection to the land, threads through this deeply engaging story of self discovery. It touches on immigration, family connection—what makes family, betrayal, love, loss, forgiveness, and all woven together in a deeply meaningful way. I will likely be thinking about this tale as it relates to my own experiences for years. I thank the author for it’s insights crafted into an excellent, well crafted story.
October 22, 2021
Mesmerising
Only the jealous desire to see if the eloquent beauty of the descriptions that opens this book could be maintained kept me reading until before I knew it I was totally enmeshed in the characters, the setting, the timeline and simply could not put it down. When needs must and I did, my head was still feeling the wind tumbling the emotional turmoil as I gazed out over the prairie. Absolutely held in its spell!!
Only the jealous desire to see if the eloquent beauty of the descriptions that opens this book could be maintained kept me reading until before I knew it I was totally enmeshed in the characters, the setting, the timeline and simply could not put it down. When needs must and I did, my head was still feeling the wind tumbling the emotional turmoil as I gazed out over the prairie. Absolutely held in its spell!!
January 21, 2019
‘Harbored Secrets’ is an emotional engrossing goodread. Marie Martin’s story telling took me to the prairie lands of Montana where I became part of Blinny’s life. What a life it was, too! She faced hardships working the land and heartaches from her mother’s secret life and her father’s lack of caring.
Most of her life was filled with guilt, then she learned the unbelievable truth. The book is full of twists and turns with shocking revelations that make life hard to bare. Readers will feel all the emotions of well developed characters from the past and into the present. It’s great reading!
Most of her life was filled with guilt, then she learned the unbelievable truth. The book is full of twists and turns with shocking revelations that make life hard to bare. Readers will feel all the emotions of well developed characters from the past and into the present. It’s great reading!
April 18, 2020
This surpassed my expectations. Compelling read with good descriptions of the Montana country, farm life, etc. It got a bit repetitive near the end, and the last third of the book had various punctuation errors that were annoying. Perhaps a function of reading on Kindle? Some parts were a bit choppy, but still an enjoyable story.
April 19, 2020
Although a dark and painful story, it is well-constructed and drags you along with it hoping to find some happiness. Well done. Very descriptive, many surprises, and family things that make your eyes widen and think 'wow... I thought MY family was a mess...' I admired the author's depth of caring for the characters.
August 5, 2020
Kept my interest throughout but was a dark book.... really messed up family. I could not like or even care about most of the characters and I tired of the unending hurt that Blinny endured. The end was redemptive (not in a complete sense, but mostly satisfying). Well written and very nice weaving of past and present as well as a deliberately slow revealing of the secrets.
October 23, 2020
A family mystery
BlInnie is happy in her farming life. Growing up learning to work in the absence of brothers. But her mother begins to lose her joy and father works harder to build his farm until a tragic night when everything changes for Blinnie and her sister. A tragedy of secrets and sorrows mixed with strength and a will to find serenity despite struggles. A lovely story of hard lives on the plains.
BlInnie is happy in her farming life. Growing up learning to work in the absence of brothers. But her mother begins to lose her joy and father works harder to build his farm until a tragic night when everything changes for Blinnie and her sister. A tragedy of secrets and sorrows mixed with strength and a will to find serenity despite struggles. A lovely story of hard lives on the plains.
January 20, 2019
Reads like a biography
Reading Harbored Secrets reminds me much of another excellent book; "To Kill a Mockingbird". This is a book to be savored as each powerful secret is revealed.
Reading Harbored Secrets reminds me much of another excellent book; "To Kill a Mockingbird". This is a book to be savored as each powerful secret is revealed.
June 18, 2019
A very good book
I haven't enjoyed a book this good in a long time. The author does not rush to tell the story, but let's it until slowly. I enjoyed how she took time building the charters.
I haven't enjoyed a book this good in a long time. The author does not rush to tell the story, but let's it until slowly. I enjoyed how she took time building the charters.
April 9, 2020
What a wonderful book
This book is so heartfelt and sincere that I wished it would never end,I have never read a book that hit home more than this one great writing and great story
This book is so heartfelt and sincere that I wished it would never end,I have never read a book that hit home more than this one great writing and great story
April 15, 2020
I got this as free ebook on Kindle and wasn’t so sure about reading it. But I am so glad I did. I loved the setting and what I thought would be a boring family saga was anything but. It was a story full of kids, secrets, betrayals, pain, conflict, family and love. Excellent read
July 7, 2020
I loved this book. I'm not great at written reviews, but I rarely give 5 stars. I really connected with the characters and the story of their lives as they grew older. There were a number of twists and turns and surprises throughout the story. I did find it hard to put down. I strongly recommend it.
August 13, 2021
This book was well-written and fascinating, but parts of it really went off the rails. Beginning in 1935 in a homestead shack in Montana, the book follows an emotionally dysfunctional family through 50 years of ups and downs, mostly downs.
June 13, 2017
Harbored Secrets
Oh what a tangled web. This book about a child finding her way through extreme adversity and family skeletons beyond measure.
Oh what a tangled web. This book about a child finding her way through extreme adversity and family skeletons beyond measure.
March 4, 2018
This turned out to be a very good book.
I really did enjoy it. kind of a history
of a family with a lot of secrets. I will
be checking out more Marie Martin
books.
I really did enjoy it. kind of a history
of a family with a lot of secrets. I will
be checking out more Marie Martin
books.
April 24, 2020
I walked the places in this book!
Took me back to so many memories. Fractured families and forgiveness. And all in my beautiful Montana! I Hope it is read by my contemporaries. They will enjoy it too.
Took me back to so many memories. Fractured families and forgiveness. And all in my beautiful Montana! I Hope it is read by my contemporaries. They will enjoy it too.
May 6, 2020
Spectacular story
This author has above average skill, her choice of words paints a vivid picture. The story is one that could be described as disturbing but the gentle storytelling lends gentleness to even the most tragic plots.
This author has above average skill, her choice of words paints a vivid picture. The story is one that could be described as disturbing but the gentle storytelling lends gentleness to even the most tragic plots.
May 14, 2020
Sooooo good
5 stars all the way.
I got completely caught up in the story and characters.
I wanted to know the ending f yet didn’t want the book to end.
5 stars all the way.
I got completely caught up in the story and characters.
I wanted to know the ending f yet didn’t want the book to end.
June 17, 2020
Excellent book
I could hardly put down this book. The author is an excellent storyteller. Her beautiful descriptions made me feel the prairie breezes and smell the earth and grass. The secrets of this family kept me fascinated. A wonderful book!
I could hardly put down this book. The author is an excellent storyteller. Her beautiful descriptions made me feel the prairie breezes and smell the earth and grass. The secrets of this family kept me fascinated. A wonderful book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 259 reviews