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Trail of Secrets

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Ellie Nightingale is still haunted by the kidnapping of her baby daughter. Kate Sutton is the woman who took on the "abandoned" child as her own. Now Skyler Sutton, leading a charmed life, meets a tough New York policeman, and the three women are brought together in a twist of fate.

528 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

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580 people want to read

About the author

Eileen Goudge

120 books710 followers
I began writing at the age of eight and wrote my way through the lean years before I found success as New York Times' bestselling author with my first novel GARDEN OF LIES. To date I have published 19 novels and a cookbook. Every life experience I've weathered has found its way into my novels in one form or another: bad exes, births, deaths, divorces, romances, and even true crime. My heroines are like me: tough cookies who don't crumble.

My latest novel, Book One of my Gold Creek series, ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW, is the story of a woman fleeing her abusive ex who finds refuge in a small California mountain town, where she's befriended by a group of women who call themselves The Tattooed Ladies and reinvents herself as a police sketch artist. Kyra "draws lines to stop crimes," as they say in the biz, never imagining she'll one day be forced to confront the biggest criminal of all: her ex.

I'm married to former entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon and the mother of two grown children. We live in Sacramento, California, where we remodeled a 1940's house for which I was the on-site project manager. Fortunately, multi-tasking is my superpower, so I was able to write a book and supervise a home remodel at the same time. The latter is sure to find its way into a future book. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see pics of my home remodel and other adventures.



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5 stars
434 (35%)
4 stars
423 (34%)
3 stars
275 (22%)
2 stars
65 (5%)
1 star
21 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Profile Image for Lewis Weinstein.
Author 13 books611 followers
May 4, 2022
I found this to be a fascinating read ... the plot is challenging and engrossing ... but the real attraction for me is the ability of the author to sustain from start to finish an extraordinarily high emotional level throughout the story and through several different points of view
944 reviews42 followers
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August 1, 2018
I have only reached page 77 or so.

This is one of those books where I spend a lot of time wondering if I'm supposed to like any of the characters. The author just spent five pages telling me how one of the main characters has helped guys with AIDS for years, how she scolded the medical profession for treating them like lepers, and basically putting a big ol' blinking light on her saying, "This lady is so much better than you, you can't even imagine" -- and then has her sitting in a room full of men dying of AIDS, telling God, “… you owe me. No one deserves [what I want] more than me. No one.”

Sitting in a room full of men dying of AIDS, she thinks this. Granted, she’s had a rough time; her infant daughter was kidnapped through no fault of her own, and she hasn’t been able to replace her (and, for the record, the fact that she’s trying so desperately to replace her daughter is not an appealing trait, either, and that is exactly what it feels like to me – replacing, not wanting to adopt a child for its own sake).. But how can a woman who meets every week with AIDS sufferers, and has watched a dozen or more young men die of the disease over the years, believe God owes her a baby? Does God owe these men a full lifespan? Apparently not. But He owes her, alright.

And the whole book so far has been like this. The two characters I think I’m most supposed to sympathize with – the mother who lost her daughter, and daughter who was raised by someone else – keep doing over-the-top “Aren’t I wonderful?” sort of stunts that everyone can see, and then reveal themselves to be egregiously shallow in their silent thoughts – except I’m not entirely sure the author means for me to see it that way.

But I have decided that I don’t care if I’m supposed to see her as being shallow here or not. This is not how you build well-rounded characters, and I think I am done.
Profile Image for Julie .
4,251 reviews38k followers
January 15, 2015
Trail of Secrets by Eileen Goudge is 2011 Open Road Integrated Media publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those books originally published in the mid- 1990's and reissued in digital format, so that is something you want to keep in mind before starting this one.

Ellie, a young single mother suffers a parent's worst nightmare. Her infant daughter is kidnapped and Ellie must go forward with her life never knowing what happened to her child.
A world away, Kate and Will are raising their beautiful adopted daughter, Skyler and living the good life. A freak horse riding accident brings them in contact with a young doctor named Ellie. A brief connection occurs between Kate and Ellie, one that will haunt Kate for years to come.
As time passes, Ellie struggles to conceive a child, has issues with her marriage, and seeks alternative solutions to her childlessness which includes adoption.
An unbelievable turn of events puts Kate, Will, and Skyler in direct contact with Ellie in a heart wrenching scenario that will leave you gasping for air.

While this book is very typical of the style of women's fiction written during this time period, and it is obvious in many ways, it is also a book that can still withstand that age factor and maintain it's incredible power over the reader.
This would make a very good book club read since I can imagine the storyline would evoke some really strong emotions in some people. The book starts off in the 1970's and goes up to through the 90's. Attitudes in those days of out of wedlock pregnancy were vastly different. Ellie chose to raise her child alone, which was a very brave decision on her part. Also, for someone like Kate, not being able to have children was an even larger frustration than it would be today. Adoption was pretty much her only choice.

A couple who can not have children is given the gift of a precious daughter, while another woman loses her only child, and that child grows up struggling with the unknowns regarding her parentage, and is lead to believe she was abandoned by her mother, and as a young adult must deal with a situation in her own life that mirrors that of her mother and and adoptive parents.

The plausibility factor was stretched to the max in some places, but it made for some pretty crazy twist in the story. The odds of this actually taking place are infinitesimal and created some melodrama that almost got a little out of hand. I don't know if it would work in a more modern day contemporary novel, which is why it is important to remember heavier drama was common in this time period in women's fiction. If you overlook some of that, the book still packs an emotional punch.

The complexities of marriage, relationships between parent and child are examined and the effect the choices made so many years ago can come back to haunt you. Did Kate do the right thing by keeping Skyler in the dark about her heritage? As a mother, Kate worried about how this information would effect her daughter, but she was also worried about losing her, which was the reason she kept quiet I think. I sympathized with Kate, but also felt angry with her. I could understand Skylar's attitudes at times, and at others I was truly mystified. She was a confused young woman in many ways and while I wanted to like her, at times she just left me feeling frustrated. The one person I felt the most compassion for was Ellie and while she may not have had the happy ever after she had envisioned, she does get much needed closure and a chance to be a mother, just not in a way she would ever have dreamed.
In the end, despite all the drama and secrets, and lies, the families begin to put forth an effort to right wrongs and strive for forgiveness. Things will never be the same, but a tentative step in the right direction left me with a good feeling. It will take work, commitment, and lots of patience and forgiveness for these characters to make it things work, but I have faith they will. 3.5 rounded to 4
Profile Image for window.
520 reviews33 followers
June 1, 2018
The premise was interesting and the characters were done well (even though at times I really wanted to smack Skyler) but at times, the story dragged and felt too long and drawn out. While details about equestrian activities, antiques, pediatrics, and crisis counseling (various characters' interests/professions) were interesting, I feel that it was sometimes too much detail and didn't move the story forward. The ending was a bit predictable.
Profile Image for Kara Hansen.
283 reviews14 followers
November 9, 2022
Set amongst the wealthy of Northfield, Connecticut, Trail of Secrets brings us the story of Kate Sutton. Kate works hard in her local antiques shop, and her husband Will runs a successful real estate development firm. Together they have raised adopted daughter Skylar, who has become a champion show jumper.
Trail of Secrets also brings us the story of Ellie Nightengale, a successful New York psychologist. At the age of eighteen, she found herself to be an unwed teenage mother. A shocking and nightmarish event changes all of that.
Now, many years later, the lives of Skylar, Ellie and Kate are brought together by fate and circumstance.
Eileen Goudge brings us a detail filled novel that keeps the reader on edge.
3.5 stars
Profile Image for Teresa.
104 reviews2 followers
May 25, 2012
It's been a while since I read any books by this author and I'm wondering now what I've been missing. This was an excellent story of family.

Two decades ago Ellie's infant daughter was kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder. Ellie knew in her heart that her child was alive somewhere but after spending years looking for her with no results her life moved on. Unable to have more children, Ellie and her husband have tried repeatedly to adopt a child only to have each birth mother change her mind at the last minute.

Skyler is a young woman raised by her wealthy parents with all the love and advantages they could give her. She's always known she was adopted and couldn't help but wonder about the birth mother who she's been told abandoned her.

Now Skyler finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and she's made the tough decision to give her child up for adoption. She's begun interviewing hopeful families searching for the perfect home for the baby she's carrying.

What follows is both heart-breaking and heart-warming. Ms. Goudge has done an outstanding job of capturing the emotions of her characters. I didn't want to put this one down....was so curious about how the chips would fall.
30 reviews
May 20, 2021
This book was rated 5 stars. I have a personal rule that if I think about a book when I am NOT reading it, it is a 5-star book. So many books are enjoyable but forgettable as soon as I put it down. And, sorry to say, I am still thinking about this book days after I finished it.
SPOILER ALERT. SPOILER ALERT
The ending was horrible. The solution of sharing the child has so many possible disasters that it is unnecessary to list them. A child needs a mother and a father. A child needs to know who is in charge. A child needs a home and her own room. This child either needed a grandmother who is the mother and a birth mother who visited a lot, or a mother with a grandmother who visited a lot. She did not need two mothers and two fathers and a third person to referee disagreements.
When I saw that this book was written in 1990, it made a lot more sense. I think our knowledge of what children need has changed since then.
It was very well written (love the author) or I would not have been so upset over the fate of this FICTIONAL child. LOL


Profile Image for Sassbot5000.
215 reviews8 followers
February 15, 2011
I'm a little conflicted by this novel. It had moments of very insightful and moving vividness of the happiness and difficulties within relationships. Be those relationships between mothers and daughters or a women and her husband. Those were beautiful. The constant internal dialogs with the characters where annoying and drove me a little crazy because they slowed the entire story down. The entire book plot can be found on the blurb and so the story was predictable. Getting there was wonderful and engrossing when I wasn't completely irritated with the internal dialog that all the main female characters had. Also, the ending left me wanting for more closure. Instead of the elaborate details that everything else had, things didn't feel fully explained and so I ended up frustrated by this novel.
Profile Image for Vannessa Anderson.
Author 0 books225 followers
April 24, 2017
Eileen Goudge did an exceptional job in writing this story and though she tried to make readers emphasize with the characters, I could not. The only characters I emphasized with were Tony, Skyler’s baby’s daddy who loved her, Mickey, Kate’s best friend since childhood, and Paul, Ellie’s husband. I found the rest of the characters: Ellie, Skyler’s biological mother and Kate and Will, Skyler’s adoptive parents, narcissistic and selfish.

Ellie Nightingale’s infant daughter was kidnapped. Kate learned that the baby she and Will had adopted was Ellie’s kidnapped daughter. She told her husband what she suspected and he told her to keep quiet about it.

Author Goudge introduced many characters but readers never lost tract of them because of author Goudge’s great writing. Sandra Burr did a good job in storytelling.
167 reviews
August 16, 2023
I picked this up at my local library. Had read Such Devoted Sisters years ago and remembered it being very good so thought I would give this one a try.
It was not very well written. I hated most of the characters. And the men all had what could have been a dimple, but was either a scar or just a crease????? Skyler was a spoiled brat who couldn’t think her way out of a wet paper bag!! And Kate was just so selfish. Ellie was soooo kind in contrast. Blah. And this story just went on for far too long.
763 reviews6 followers
March 3, 2019
I completely loved this book! This story follows a mother and daughter who are separated by a kidnapping.

Ellie Nightingale has a drive in her to adopt a baby. This starts to create problems between her and her husband. When Ellie meets Skylar Sutton about adopting her baby, she feels an instant connection to her.

Skylar's adopted mother, Kate Sutton, has kept the fact that Skylar was kidnapped form her all her life. When the truth comes out, Skylar turns her back on Kate.

I loved the ending of the book, when Ellie and Skylar decided to both be apart of baby Alisa. The reveal in the courtroom was very shocking.

Amazing and touching story about family! 5 Stars, on question!
Profile Image for Kimberly Lynne.
Author 1 book48 followers
July 31, 2020
A vintage Goudge offering recently re-released, so some heavier (read: fraught & overwrought) drama was to be expected. Lots of descriptive passages (show jumping, neonatal ICUs, antiques, clothes, rooms, houses... you name it) that slowed the pace of the narrative. I skimmed a great deal of description and internal monologue that at times, though beautifully done, got a bit repetitive.
There were plenty of twists along the way, and though the ending felt a smidge too convenient (and predictable) it was still an enjoyable read. I much prefer Goudge's more recent books --- her craft has improved so much!
7 reviews
April 30, 2018
This is such a good book I hate to bring attention to the small things I found annoying. There is too much description on everything and every character involved. And the descriptions are discussed not just once but over and over. The plot is terrific so is the information on antiques and horse jumping. Ms. Goudge did a terrific amount of research for this book. Without all the descriptions she could have cut 35 or 40 minute chapters for more readable pleasure.
Profile Image for Sheila.
58 reviews21 followers
June 12, 2021
Just finished reading "Trial of secrets" by Eileen Goudge...it starts off with a woman who lost her child because she was kidnapped....Then moves to the future....circumstances brings her lost daughter back into her life....the characters became like friends and family to me as I read through this story...they are so real...you feel for all who are involved...will read other books by this author if I get the opportunity. I definitely recommend this book for anyone's want- to-bread lists
Profile Image for Esther Bos.
322 reviews
July 27, 2022
This story kept my interest throughout, but the sex scenes could be edited considerably.

The story involves issues of adoption and parenting, and I found myself sympathizing with most of the characters while I had some major problems with each one of them. The conclusion was both satisfying and questionable as to it's workability. But the issues of adoption and truth-telling kept my interest as I felt mixed feelings about the workability of the arrangement at the end of the story..
Profile Image for Laura.
915 reviews10 followers
December 10, 2025
DNF @ 47%

I've seen what I needed to see.. and now I'm going to just stop while I'm ahead. I looked back to see what I had read by this author and was surprised that they were one in the same. I guess it should be comforting that she's grown so much as an author. However, she and I weren't on the same page for many things, including that characters should be likeable.

So for those reasons, I'm out.
1 review
August 17, 2020
I loved this book. It took awhile to get hooked but once I understood the connectedness of the three characters, Skyler, her mother Kate and her mother Ellie I had to rush through to see the end.
I think it was very powerful in its exploration of the mother daughter dynamic. I wanted to know more on the end but all in all it was a fun read that kept me interested throughout.
72 reviews1 follower
June 30, 2022
I normally love this author's writings, but this one disappointed. The topic was fantastic, but there was so much detail of, what I thought, unnecessary backstory topics/characters. I've always disliked when people say they couldn’t relate to a person or didn't like them, but now I understand, as I wasn’t a fan of Skyler.
7 reviews1 follower
June 26, 2017
Very interesting storyline

I'm not a fan of long chapters but this story was so captivating that I just had to get over it. Great story and great characters. I will definitely read other titles by this author.
Profile Image for Linda.
30 reviews1 follower
April 6, 2018
Eileen Goudge writes interesting books but for the most part they are simple and not intellectually challenging or provocative of further thought and discussion. Most are easy to discern the outcome early in the narrative - this is no exception.
523 reviews2 followers
June 1, 2018
Park lib. New York City, 1972. Riding for Mounted police. Prologue Northfield, Connecticut 1980. "Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in it's own way." Adoption, Horse Riding, & thruthfulness. Loved the ending. Great characters, great read!
Profile Image for Lori.
30 reviews1 follower
June 13, 2018
I don’t think I can say I enjoyed this book. It mostly made me feel antsy and annoyed, with too much description, and characters I wanted to smack across the face. The thing that kept me reading was wanting to know how the big secret would be revealed. In hindsight not sure it was worth it.
284 reviews1 follower
January 17, 2022
Ellie grieves for over 20 years for the girl who was stolen from her as a baby. The adoptive parents know quite early who the birth mother is but keeps it secret. There are sad and hurtful consequences that are revealed as the story progresses. Good story.
176 reviews
January 9, 2026
an amazing story!!

This is the first book by this author I’ve ever read so I had no idea what to expect, but, wow, I couldn’t put this book down!! It was sooo clever how the author wound the characters around and neatly tied them together!!
3 reviews2 followers
April 2, 2018
Wonderful story.

I enjoyed all of the characters,each one was so believable. The story just kept getting better. I didn't want to stop reading.
Profile Image for Myra Blake.
171 reviews6 followers
April 30, 2019
I like this book and wish I could give it a higher rating, but it just seemed a bit slow to me. I did enjoy the storyline, though.
Profile Image for Sheila E Dunbar.
72 reviews
March 28, 2020
A great read

A truly great read had me feeling as if I was part of the story that’s when a know it’s a great story !
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews

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