Secrets

by Anita Dawes

This haunting family drama is about deeply buried guilt, full of all the secrets and suspicions that invade and control most of our lives. Many children have an invisible friend, and sometimes they can be a necessary part of a childs life. But when this 'friend' starts to cause more than just mischief, it is time for his mother to investigate.

334 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Anita Dawes loves all things esoteric, magical and the otherworldly and would prefer to live in a fairy tale. In between these moments, she likes to visit old churches and ancient buildings.
She has written six fiction novels in various genres, Bad Moon, Simple, Secrets, The Scarlet Ribbon; Let it Go and Not My Life. Presently working on a sequel to her popular supernatural romance, The Scarlet Ribbon.
Anita has recently rediscovered her childhood love of poetry and often writes and posts them online.
Once owned by an egocentric black and white cat called Merlin, named after her favourite hero, Anita dislikes computers and prefers to writes longhand, sharing a website http://jenanita01.com with Jaye Marie, who transcribes and edits her work...

Reviews

[Valerie Poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been thinking about this review for a few days. I finished Secrets a short while ago and I've been trying decide how to express what I felt about it. In short, this is a strong and powerful story, very well told. The characters are well-drawn and empathic; you have to like and sympathise with them fully, and the main plot, being that of a child who has an invisible but somewhat malicious 'friend', is very compelling. If you enjoy and read a lot of paranormal suspense, then you will really love this book. It isn't my usual choice but I still found myself 'turning the pages' on my Kindle till I reached the end. In fact, it is very good!

I won't say too much about the story as I don't want to spoil the suspense and excitement for the reader, so this review is quite short. However, I think Anita Dawes has tapped into subjects that are very topical today and it's well worth reading the book to see what can happen when we bury secrets for too long.

[Mae Clair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this novel is built around a child's invisible friend, there is so much more going on in this book. The characters are vivid and their problems complex. This author really has a knack for getting into her character's heads and flaying open their feelings and thoughts for the reader. The mysteries twined throughout kept me guessing, especially the theme with Danny's invisible friend. Very well done on the author's part. This would be a five star read for me except for the amount of head-hopping that takes place throughout. That aside, the tale is well-conceived and satisfying.

[Jaye Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very unusual story, so many different threads all cleverly woven together.
It has everything, from an imaginary playmate to a murder. All very complicated, but surprisingly easy to read.

I had trouble putting this book down and was sorry when I reached the end.

[Janet Gogerty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished reading this in the middle of last night; though it is not unusual for me to turn my Kindle on in the early hours, this is not the sort of novel you should be reading in the dark watches of the night! It is a good paranormal thriller, but more than that it will make you reconsider all our childhoods. How responsible are children for what they do and what is really going on in their minds? In some ways I felt most sorry for Jack's parents, a poignant back story gradually revealed, an event that ruined any chance of his father continuing the life he loved or his mother coming to accept their rural life. There is a lot going on in everyone's lives, but Jackie is a reminder that those of us who have led ordinary lives cannot know what others have had to overcome. There were only a few things that jarred - I thought it was likely the social services would have got involved, Maggie did not guess an obvious pointer as Jack's story was revealed and some dialogue and characters' thoughts could be confusing in the pace of the story. But overall I really enjoyed this unusual novel.

[Lizzie Chantree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this book on my kindle for a while, but just found some spare time to pick it up. I read it over a day and it's a really thought provoking book. The relationships between the child, Danny, and his invisible 'friend', kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. The characters are really well written and although I have read other books by this author, they've all been completely different. This story is full of suspense and you might need to read this story during the day and not before going to sleep!

[Courtney Guerette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads Giveaway. Unfortunately I started reading this book while I was dealing with a lot on my plate and barely had any time to read. So it took me a long time to get through it. But once I got through it I liked it a lot. I love ghost stories like this. I will be picking it up again in the future when I have more time and can focus on it better for sure.