Open Secrets: A Novel

by Sheila Kohler

The lies between a husband and wife are revealed, unraveling their family in this thrilling novel that moves between the French Riviera, Switzerland, and Amagansett

Alice, Michel, and their daughter Pamela live a charmed life with a beautiful house on the French riviera, elegant vacations, and boarding school in Switzerland for Pamela. But when Michel discovers Alice's betrayal in the midst of dealing with a crisis at the bank that he works for, he makes a sudden decision that completely unravels their family, sending Alice to Amagansett to stay with her artist sister, while repurcussions of Michel's illicit deals move closer in on Pamela in Switzerland. Open Secrets is beautifully written suspenseful novel, showing what happens to one family as their lies are brought to the surface.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2020

About the author

Sheila Kohler was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the younger of two girls. Upon matriculation at 17 from Saint Andrews, with a distinction in history (1958), she left the country for Europe. She lived for 15 years in Paris, where she married, did her undergraduate degree in literature at the Sorbonne, and a graduate degree in psychology at the Institut Catholique. After raising her three girls, she moved to the USA in 1981, and did an MFA in writing at Columbia.

In the summer of 1987, her first published story, “The Mountain,” came out in “The Quarterly” and received an O’Henry prize and was published in the O’Henry Prize Stories of 1988. It also became the first chapter in her first novel, "The Perfect Place," which was published by Knopf the next year.

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

did not fufill my angsty novel cravings, way too passive. beautiful descriptive writing combined with the most stilted dialogue. some of the characters are russian but that's no excuse. there are some sweet moments about grief and family, but had neither excitement nor heft.

[Renee(Reneesramblings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michel, Alice, and their daughter Pamela are living the good life. They have a beautiful villa and Michel enjoys the perks of his job as a banker. While everything may look good on the surface, Michel learns that Alice has betrayed him, his Russian client is using him to launder money, and his precious daughter is growing up, and doesn't need him as much anymore. It is time to make some hard decisions about his life, but a tragedy might stop him dead in his tracks.
Alice cannot believe that the body in the morgue is Michel. Consumed with guilt and grief, she heads to Amagansett to visit her sister Lizzie and to try and figure out what to do next. Pamela has gone back to her boarding school, but a phone call has Alice on the next flight to Switzerland. What kind of secrets did Michel keep from her, and will they threaten Pamela from the grave?
Open Secrets was a quick read at only 272 pages. Many secrets about this family are exposed and in the end, a shocking decision comes to light. Alice and Lizzie have a warm and loving relationship, though neither woman is perfect, they can always rely on each other. Finding and protecting Pamela is Alice's main goal, but if she chooses to keep another secret, will she be doing the right thing?
Pamela, Alice, and Lizzie were well-developed characters that I came to care about very quickly. I did not like Michel from the first chapter, and by the time the book ended, I realized just how selfish and self-centered he was. While the mystery around Michel's death was revealed, the short length left me wanting to know more about these strong female characters.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ms. Kohler writes evocatively of place, home and beauty, but I found the characters simple and the plot improbable.

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An atmospheric work that didn't, ultimately, satisfy me. I've read other of Kohler's books and have been fully immersed, but this one only sort of compelled me.

[Iva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kohler has written a domestic drama enfolded in a sort of thriller/mystery. We are wondering throughout about Russians and banking. (Kohler thanks both Masha Gessen AND Vladimir Putin in the acknowledgments.) There are familiar themes from Kohler's other books: life with servants, boarding school, multiple homes, infidelities, difficult parents. A quick read, but compelling. 3.5 stars.

[Carol LaHines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice must unravel what has happened in the wake of her husband’s disappearance while on a sailing trip with a man who has ties to the Russian mafia. Everything is not as it seems and everyone – Alice, her husband, her fourteen-year-old daughter, sister Lizzie and her lover Sergei -- is harboring a secret of some kind or another, a matryoshka doll of deceptions, both simple and grandiose. The novel surprises at every turn, both suspenseful and elegantly written, as Kohler conjures landscapes across the continent and eastern Long Island and deftly weaves together the stories of the various characters to a satisfying resolution.

[Onceinabluemoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried twice to read this, just could not engage at all, 2 dnf...

[Wmba Dams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got this for a buck at the dollar store remainder pile.
Very confusing book. Seemed like a YA but ended up like a tweenie read.
Only good point is no BAD cursing.
Poor editing.
Very slow and dull. Not a page turner.
Too much filler and detours to use up the word count for a novel.
EG long side diversions that were pointless and could have been done in a few grafs.
The ending was known early on when the inciting event occured.
BUT there was NO real ending. They did confirm the obvious ending.
However the author never told us what really happened next which was key to liking the book as everything else was filler until the true ending was confirmed. But what was to happen next was key to caring about this book.
A number of SPAG errrors.
Continuity issues and other confusing things.
Awkward formatting.
Fake tension.
Names came from nowhere.
Bad and confusing flashbacks.
Some really unusual words that even most adults do not use.
The author was from South Africa so some others may be british usage.
Editor should have fixed those for USA readers.
Dialog often confusing.
Irrational/Impossible actions happened when needed to move things along.
Very long and slow wrap up that had NO ending.
Just said she described it to her family. Should tell us what happened after x was found alive and had the boat and could have gotten the gold from the bank too.

[Bethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice is a professional violinist who creates beautiful music with her elegant instrument, married to her handsome banker husband Michel. Charming, suave and trustworthy he finds himself in financial bother when things at his small bank start to dry up. Then there is Lizzie who leans on Alice too much and Pamela the witty, secretive teenager.
Lines may be crossed. Friendships formed. Deals made. Secrets resurfacing. Doubts swarm and accidents.. happen.

Nothing good can come from doing deals with the devil.

A gripping read but I felt the plot was given away, way to early on in the story. For such a small book it moved really slowly at times.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Sheila Kohler doesn't disappoint! Her writing is beautiful and expressive. She has the amazing gift for creating vivid pictures of small precious moments in the daily lives of her characters. In Open Secrets, she has a genius way of showing the elegant, calm, easy and graceful world of privilege while, at the same time, letting the reader feel the undercurrent/riptide of the universal human experience of passion, pain, grief, and loss without resorting to overt violence. Well done once again!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shelia Kohler delves into the ways that people can hide aspects of themselves, even from their most intimate family members and friends: matters of money, business and emotions. Moving evocatively from Europe to the East End of Long Island, the plot revolves around the disappearance of a Swiss banker, and its effect on his wife and daughter, as well as the relationship between the wife and her sister. The resourceful young daughter is a particularly well-drawn character. A great pleasure to read.

[Nancy Condon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read and kept my attention. Fast paced story of banker in Switzerland who gets mixed up with Russian oligarch who is part of Putins cronies. The settings, in France, Italy and Long Island were well described and delicious. The relationship of Alice her sister Lizzie, whom she raised, and daughter Pamela rang true.

[Jane Pettitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very intriguing read. The husband acting strange ends up disappearing. The. Daughter has a good memory is kidnapped. The wife is beside herself, she has sold everything and moved back to the states living in her mother’s old home. A good read follows right in line.

[Erin Newkirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful imagery, light on substance

Just meh. Surprising just how unsurprising the big reveal was. The imagery of Europe and the Hamptons were the highlight.

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story sounded like it could be a good one, but it was too superficially written to flush it out well. It felt rushed and incomplete. On the plus side, it was an easy read.

[Mom2nine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and easy read, I so wanted to like it more, but there were just too many unbelievable things.

[Ayny · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was okay. could have been better, no spoiler, but come on! mentioning Vladmir Putin?

[Taylor Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest. I dont really like this book. But i read it all the way thru. Wouldnt personally read again

[Christina Marcon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off pretty good, that juicy Beach feel. But a considerable amount of the last quarter of the book was just boring! It was such an anti climatic way to finish a story…

[Jeanette Burt · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I tried my hardest to finish; I made it to 60%, but it didn't grasp my attention. Personally, it made the reading feel more like a chore.

[Sally Koslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, deceptively simple writing with a conclusion that surprised me. I would like to read more by Sheila Kohler.

[Christine Boyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just ok. Didn’t love the storyline and wanted to connect with the characters a little more. I will give Shelia Kohler another read though.

[Natalie Strebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine.