The Secrets We Keep

by Jonathan Harvey

It's hard being that woman, the one whose husband disappeared. It's made me quite famous. I just wish it was for something else.

He went out five years ago for a pint of milk and never came back. So here I am with a daughter who blames me for all that's wrong in the world, a son trying his best to pick up the pieces and a gaggle of new neighbours who are over friendly, and incredibly nosy. Then I find a left luggage ticket in the pocket of one of his old coats and suddenly I'm thinking... What's if he's not dead? What if he's still out there somewhere?

You think you have the perfect life, the perfect kids, and then it's all turned inside out. What if I don't like what I find? And is it a chance I'm willing to take?

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Thriller

433 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Harvey was born in Liverpool in 1968. He has a brother, Timothy Harvey who is a music teacher in Chester. His first serious attempt as a playwright was in 1987. Fuelled by the attraction of a £1,000 first prize to young writers from the Liverpool Playhouse, the result was The Cherry Blossom Tree, a garish blend of suicide, murder and nuns. This effort won him the National Girobank Young Writer of the Year Award.

Feeling very encouraged, he went on to write Mohair (1988), Wildfire (1992) and Babies (1993), the latter winning him the 'George Devine Award' for that year and The Evening Standard's 'Most Promising Playwright Award' for 1994. In 1993, Harvey, premiered Beautiful Thing, a gay-themed play-turned-movie for which he won the prestigious 'John Whiting Award' the following year.

1995 saw the premiere of Boom Bang-a-Bang, at the Bush Theatre, London, originally directed by Kathy Burke. Harvey cites it as "my most comic play ever, but with some dark bits". Centred on a group of friends gathering to watch the Eurovision Song Contest, the play was a sell-out. That same year, he also premiered Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club. Guiding Star (1998), is a portrayal of one man's struggle to come to terms with the Hillsborough FA Cup Semi-Final disaster, while Hushabye Mountain (1999) deals with a world that has learned to live with HIV/AIDS. Television and film works include: West End Girls (Carlton); Love Junkie (BBC); Beautiful Thing (Channel Four/Island World Productions); the 1999-2001 hit/cult comedy series starring Kathy Burke and James Dreyfus, Gimme Gimme Gimme (Tiger Aspect); Murder Most Horrid (BBC); and Coronation Street (ITV).

He also wrote the book for Closer to Heaven, a stage musical with songs and music written by Pet Shop Boys. Closer to Heaven ran for nine months at the Arts Theatre in London during 2001 and in Australia in 2005. In 2003 Harvey heard the singer-actress Abi Roberts perform and was so enchanted he offered to write a solo show especially for her. Taking Charlie was the outcome, staged at the 2004 Edinburgh Festival with Roberts starring, under the direction of Susan Tully. The piece was darkly comic and focused on the destructive nature of an insecure, 30-year-old addict.

Harvey is a patron of London-based HIV charity The Food Chain and a patron of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. His first novel All She Wants was published in 2012 by Pan Books

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natalie and Danny have a wonderful family and lifestyle but everything alters for Natalie one day and life will never be the same. Danny popped out to get a pint of milk but he never returned home and Natalie's life came crashing down. Danny is missing presumed dead and eventually Natalie has to sell the house they lived in and move to give her some money to survive on. She moves to a street with some very nosy and over friendly neighbours. You know the type with twitchy curtains who thrive on gossip for after all she is the woman with the missing husband. One day Owen, Natalie and Danny's son finds a left luggage ticket from years ago in the lining of his father's coat and Natalie starts to wonder is Danny still alive.

The story keeps flipping to each of the characters in the story and the most annoying was Cally whose voice made you cringe. In fact if you watch Coronation Street Cally just sounded like Rosie Webster and I'm left wondering if it in fact it was. The story made me smile at times and I never expected the story to end as it did.
This is the first book that I have listened to by Johnathan Harvey and I will listen to other stories in the future. Not a five star book this time but I feel sure I will be luckier with the next audiobook by Johnathan Harvey.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very readable book, I found all the characters annoying at times for a variety of reasons, frustrating that some of the stories were just left but I guess you need some unanswered questions and the coincidence at the end was a bit much.
But overall an enjoyable easy to read story.

[Peter Birchenough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure Jonathan Harvey. Comic genius weaving his web and drawing you in to the lives of the hip and trendy turned conventional family. Laughed out loud at the humour, which is unheard of for me! Worth a read, if you are just wanting some comic escape from today's troubles.

[Lisa Baynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author and the latest book didn't disappoint. I like the narration coming from each character and it makes the book impossible to put down. Dark themes but the usual humour included too.

[Ingstje · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secrets We Keep is a character-driven story and is told through the voices of all four members of the Bioletti family. At the start of the novel Danny is standing on the cliff and it’s a long time waiting before I found out if he really killed himself and why. Why would he do this to his wife and children? This novel focuses on much more than on the missing person of this family though.

16 year old daughter Cally is dreaming of becoming a famous model and wants to take her first steps in the business after being discovered by a scout, even though her mother Natalie wants her to focus on getting a degree first. She’s headstrong though and she will fight for her dream to come true. Her gay older brother Owen is in a relationship with Matty and he struggles with his relationship. Cally often gave jibes to her brother about his being gay but I know she never meant it in a derogatory manner, she was just this cheeky teen. It was totally cool as far as I’m concerned.

Don’t let the luggage ticket fool you, it is this discovery that makes Natalie spring into action but I never actually found out what was in the luggage or why he left both luggage and ticket behind. It is only a means to crack the story open and while Natalie is finding out her husband Danny kept some things from her the author dives into Danny’s past. Danny recounts his life from the time he was a young boy and this section of the novel was the most compelling for me. His teenage life was very hard, he even slept on the streets before meeting Natalie and I felt for him in these sections. It also felt like he loved her the minute he saw her so it was a big mystery to me why he would walk out on his family.

I sort of received an answer in the end why he did what he did but it didn’t entirely satisfy me. The sympathy he had built up was slowly evaporating. He could have gotten a divorce surely if he wanted an escape. Then at least his wife and kids would have had closure and known what had happened to him.

The last 20 pages or so also felt a little rushed and it wasn’t wrapped up like I would have wanted it. Owen receives an important visit for example but you don’t know how that unfolds anymore. The lingering feeling after I finished reading remains that Danny is quite egoistic and thinks only of himself which is a bit disappointing after all.

[Jayne Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was the plotline outlined on the back cover that intrigued me and made me buy this book: man goes missing and years later a left luggage ticket in his name turns up. What could the left luggage be?

Ultimately, the handling of this element of the story was much like the rest of it - a damp squib. It was written with undeniable energy and wit, but there was a tendency to build up dramatic situations only to have them peter out, or just drop them as if we didn't need to know what happened next. The sections written from the point of view of typical teenager Cally were my least favourite with their FREQUENT SHOUTY CAPITALS and thoroughly unlikely events. I know the author was taking the mickey out of how annoying teenagers can be, but unfortunately she was just that - annoying.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second Jonathan Harvey book and this one did not disappoint.
Much like the first book, I just couldn't put it down. I needed to know what was happening and where the story was headed.
My one criticism was Cally. I found her chapters a bit boring. I wasn't sure what she actually brought to the story, but it came together in the end!
The end. Ahhhhh!!!!! I'm not sure how I feel about it right now but my gut tells me that it was right.

Go and read.

[Linda]

I've read enough to know I won't finish it I hate the teenage daughter if she were mine I'd have told her to get lost long ago.

[Kirstie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a slap stick kind of style book. This follows the story of Danny who goes missing but 5 years later his family have lots of unanswered questions. This is told from the point of view of several people. The teenage daughter Cally was very annoying!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the writings style of Jonathan but for this one I wasn’t a fan of the ending. For me there were too many loose ends which was disappointing. Great book though and brilliant story telling.

[Hayley Summerfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book as part of a Jonathan Harvey bundle. This is the first book of his that I've read so I wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise, I enjoyed the storyline and warmed to the characters.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing. Promised much at the beginning but delivered little.

Danny & Natalie are married with 2 children Owen & Cally. It is a story about their secrets. It starts with Danny having been missing for 5 years. Owen has been having a secret affair with his mum's best friends husband & Cally lies to go to London to do modelling. Owen finds a left luggage ticket in his dads coat pocket, when Natalie tracks down who collected it she finds out that it was another of the women that Danny had been having an affair with.

[Ruth Loizides · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read for bookclub. Found the book to me dull with minimal progress.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

When successful former nightclub owner Danny Bioletti leaves his house to get a pint of milk, no one in his family would believe he wouldn't come back, but that's what happened 5 years ago and no one has heard from him since.

Although uncertainty remains about his whereabouts, Natalie decides to move house into a new neighbourhood along with her daughter Cally and supported by her son Owen, who has recently moved in with his boyfriend, but as soon as she does, she realises that rather than being supportive, her new neighbours have already googled her and treat her as some sort of local celebrity.

Overbearing and full of questions, Natalie struggles to deal with their attention alongside Cally's latest stroppy teenage phase and just wants to move on, but when Owen discovers a left luggage ticket in the lining of one of Danny's jackets, it opens up a can of worms and gives Natalie an insight into the world of her husband that she knew nothing about.

Written in two parts, the first being the aftermath of Danny's disappearance and the second being Danny's story from childhood up until his disappearance, I enjoyed reading this book, but ultimately felt let down by the ending.

I feel there were too many loose ends - don't want to give any spoilers, but there are a few things I would like to have either seen resolved or explained - and to be honest, having read the whole story, I'm not quite clear the reason behind Danny's disappearance. I understand parts of it, but find it hard to believe that despite everything we learn about him, he would choose to do what we are led to believe he ultimately does.

[Sumaiya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just about managed to finish it,though I have to admit I ended up skimming through a significant chunk of the book.

The reason being- after the halfway mark, the story shifted into this really long backstory about one particular character. It just went on and on, and honestly felt like I was suddenly reading a completely different book altogether.

The tone and plot of this particular section didn’t really match with the rest of the story.

In short, this backstory felt totally out of sync with the main storyline.

--> Even the main plot which was at least tolerable had its fair share of issues.

Also, there’s this teenage character who might just be the most annoying person I’ve ever read.

“ Are all teenagers like this? Kidding (kind of) ….. as a mom of two, it’s slightly concerning! “

--> So if you’re planning to read this , you might wanna prepare yourself for the two distinct narratives.

Things do come together in the end , but the shift is too jarring and takes some getting used to.

[Ryan Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it contains all the hallmarks of a Jonathan Harvey novel, The Secrets We Keep is a little different from the writer's previous literary offerings. Although we have the usual collection of camp characters living in the north of England, this book is more serious than the previous and has a lot more depth to it. The 'secret' of the book isn't really revealed until towards the end, and the narrative is compelling enough to keep you occupied. The real difference though, and what makes me think this is his finest work, is the depth of the protagonists journey and how the story concludes. A dark tale, a funny tale, and also very very good.

[Kayleigh-Ånn Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy it so much at the beginning as it all felt just a bit too much comic fodder but as part 2 developed I felt the multiple character voices really came together and the story actually began to centre around Danny, the how and the why. Still feel more could have been made of the suitcase (realised on the last page I was still interested in what was in it) - and the end wrapped up a little too quickly but an intriguing look at opinions, what can be made of not knowing the full story, and what judgements come from it.

[Holly Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the premise of the book and it was an easy read. I liked the different narrators and the addition of Danny’s voice to help understand the situation, I’m even ok with the ending which all tied up a bit to closely. However I didnt like all the voices - especially Cally - I didn’t mind the character and her arc but the writing for her felt forced and stereotypical ‘what a teenage girl sounds like’ I found Owen unlikeable but I guess that was just the parallels showing to Danny. A good idea that just slightly missed the mark for me.

[Rustybooklove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a readable book. I wanted to know what happened to Danny. But it was also a bit rubbish. Cally's sections felt a bit like an old man trying to be a young girl and totally failing. Owen was well written but he wasn't likeable. In fact, none of the characters were likeable. And the strange loooooooong Danny sections with their subtitles were cringey. But then I wanted to finish it.

This review is confused because this is how I feel having finished it. Because it should have been a brilliant book. And it just wasn't.

And I missed the bits that were supposed to make me laugh as well.

[Gill Schell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at a hotel - can understand why the previous reader left it behind ! It was a quick and easy read, and in fact I wondered for a long time if it was a young adult book. There are three different narrators, members of the same family, who reveal their thoughts and feelings after the unexpected disappearance of their father several years previously. The teenage daughter has the most character but it's very stereotyped. Ending quick and disappointing. I won't be rushing to read another by this author. Not my cup of tea.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harvey certainly likes his multiple narrators. There's three in Part 1 and this goes up to four in Part Two and he gives them all distinctive voices... though the young girl does come across as more than a little cliched. As is to be expected the "truth" of the narrative lies somewhere in the middle of the various perspectives. Couldn't quite go to four stars as the ending was rather a let down - almost seemed to run out of steam but it was mostly an enjoyable read for all that

[Susan Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Natalie's husband goes out to get some milk and doesn't return the mystery remains about what happened to Danny. Jump forward 5 years, he's still missing, and we pick up the story to see how Natalie and her 2 children are getting on. I really enjoyed the fact that the narrative jumps from different characters to tell the story from their perspective. Very cleverly written and the humour throughout was really well balanced.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was close to giving this a 5 star. I was hooked but there’s just a few things holding me back.
I loved the whole of part one. The multiple POV and the fast pace. Part two was slower and began to become more far fetched and not so believable.
All in all, a lot happens and I liked the story lines but this is not a book that ties up all ending and you are left with a lot of questions at the end!

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author seems to have a track record of writing a whole cast of characters that you cannot root for. I wanted to shove them all off a cliff. The story premise was mildly interesting, which is why I have given it a very low 3 stars, but there were far too many loose ends for it to really be classed as enjoyable.

[Retrievingme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Umm I read this and realised half way through I had read it before. Ooops. Anyway, its an entertaining read. The teenaged daughter character is so over the top she's a bit beyond the realms of reality - a 16 year old who behaves like a 12 year old - and is really annoying. Other characters better and its an entertaining enough story.

[رواية · Rating 4 out of 5]

من الصعب أن تكوني تلك المرأة التي اختفى زوجها.
لقد خرج قبل خمس سنوات للحصول على نصف لتر من الحليب ولم يعد أبدًا. لذلك أنا هنا مع ابنة تلومني على كل شيء ، ابن يبذل قصارى جهده لالتقاط قطعنا المشتتة ومجموعة من الجيران الفضوليين بشكل لا يصدق. ثم وجدت تذكرة أمتعة يسارية في جيب أحد معاطفه القديمة وفجأة أفكر ... ماذا لو لم يمت؟ ماذا لو كان لا يزال هناك في مكان ما؟

[Sarah Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed his books that I’ve read previously but this one didn’t hit. The teenage girl made me cringe hard although people did speak like her 10 years ago so maybe it’s more a question of it not aging well. I will still read more of this author’s books but this is not the best of them in my opinion.

[Marc]

Really good book but I was waiting for a twist a la Harvey and it didn’t really materialise - however that said it was a really good book.

I loved how at the end how two people are just inches away from each other and don’t know it and that was a great irony.

Definitely worth a read!

[Elizabeth Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into this book and the stop/start of storylines was a bit frustrating at times, but after a while, I couldn’t put it down. Cleverly put together and refreshing not to have everything neatly tied up at at the end.

[Bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me awhile to get into this book and I enjoyed the 2nd half much more. The humour of the characters was quite funny but I couldn’t believe it ended so abruptly! After such a coincidence, then surely he could have tied up so many loose ends.