The Secrets Between Us

by Judith Lennox

A breathtaking and tumultuous love story of the secrets, hidden passions and loyalties that bind us together. THE SECRETS BETWEEN US is the latest mesmerising tale of drama and intrigue from Judith Lennox, the author of HIDDEN LIVES and THE JEWELLER'S WIFE. Not to be missed by readers of Rachel Hore and Kate Morton.

'I have fallen completely in love with Judith Lennox's writing - she's a fantastic storyteller!' Jill Mansell

It is Christmas 1937 when sisters Rowan and Thea travel from London to Scotland to visit their dying father. Having lost their mother in a tragic sailing accident when they were young, the two women are accustomed to grief. But they have no idea that their father's death will expose a terrible deception...

For back in London is his wife Sophie and their two sons. Neither family knows of the other's existence, and when news reaches Sophie of Hugh's death her whole world is turned upside down.

Meanwhile, Rowan's marriage is crumbling, and Thea reluctantly finds herself acting as a go-between for her sister and her lover. But, with the onslaught of World War II, the lives of all three women will change for ever. And they must confront the secrets between them before they can seize their chance of happiness...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2020

About the author

Aka Judith Lennox-Smith

Judith Lennox lives in Cambridgeshire, England with her husband and three sons.

Reviews

[Nadine Schrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wunderschöner Familie Roman in der Zeit des 2. Weltkrieges.
Großartige Hauptdarsteller. Wirklich ein Buch für die Seele!
Leider am Ende einige Schwächen....warum muss immer alles gut ausgehen?

Trotzdem ein wirklich schöner Frauenroman, der (fast) ohne die üblichen Klischees auskommt!

Perfekt für ein entspanntes Wochenende auf dem Sofa!

[Des · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story takes us through the journey of two families that share the common secret of Hugh, a father and husband. His is secret unknown to both families until Hugh's death.
This is a beautifully written book and masterfully told that will keep your interest throughout as the story unfolds.
It is gentle, sensitive and peaceful.
As their lives unfold the secret becomes less important to their immediate lives, yet it become the basis for their future.
Hugh's motive for his deception is threaded through the book for the reader to question.
Ultimately everyone gets on with their lives as war come to Britain and tragedy and hardship is faced.
The story’s strong defining event at the beginning gives ways to intertwined plots that were somewhat mundane and parts of the narrative lacks a gripping drama.
I can’t help thinking that there was much to build upon and the final culmination of the stories was somewhat disappointing.
There was more in this story that was not capitalised upon as the author seemed to bring closure as the plot unfolded.
If you enjoy reading about the struggle through adversity in UK in wartime British life, you will enjoy “The Secrets Between Us“.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Littlebookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Hugh Craxton dies of pneumonia, his wife Sophie is thrown into turmoil at the secrets that are exposed following his death- namely that her husband had another family and a whole other life, with two grown daughters by another woman - a woman he was married to before he ever met her. The book charts the lives of Sophie, as well as Hugh's daughter, Rowan and Thea, over the course of the years preceding and during WWII, as they struggle to deal with the secrets of the past and build new futures for themselves amidst a war torn world.

I'm a huge fan of Lennox and usually love escaping into her books, however, I have to say I have found myself a little disappointed with her last two now. Whilst I definitely thought this one an improvement on her last, Hidden Lives, it still felt somewhat lacklustre and didn't capture me in the way I am used to with her stories.

Certainly I thought the premise of the story had much potential, and the WWII setting is one that I am usually drawn to, Lennox always having an eye for detail in the way she captures the period, and there were some touching and interesting subplots relating to the war, such as Sophie's relationship with Kaz, Thea and Cormack's meeting in France, as well as Rowan's nursing and Joshua's covert mission.

I didn't like much of the first part of the story that focused quite heavily on Rowan's relationship with Simon, who was a very dislikeable character whom I felt too much time was devoted to, and also thought there was too much detail and time spent regards Thea's interest in archaeology and the people she was working with and likewise later at the farm. Much like in Hidden Lives, it felt as though Lennox spent too much time mentioning names of friends and acquaintances and describing them to no real purpose. Even other characters like Sophie's sons, didn't really feel fleshed out, and as for the women they went on to marry and the children they went on to have, it almost felt as if Lennox was just detailing events for the sake of it. The backstory regarding Rowan and Thea's mother should also have been more engaging than it actually was.

It wasn't that there weren't some good ideas and even some interesting characters, it was just that Lennox spent too much time on aspects I didn't enjoy, and on rather mundane goings on, and too little time on sub plots and characters that I personally thought held more potential. The three central women to the story were well depicted, but the characters around them ultimately didn't leave enough impact, and over all the story just didn't seem to have a strong enough voice.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rock shelter at An Corran in Skye,Scotland, facing towards Staffin Island, has been used for millennia. It was occupied from the Late Upper Palaeolithic into at least the Iron Age.Prior to the Victorian era, women in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States were rarely engaged in professional archaeology (though at this time, archaeology was not so much a profession as the practice of wealthy individuals, with workers paid to undertake the digging).Participation by women in the field was discouraged, both by men and societal pressure, as the occupation masculinized the accepted view of women as homemakers and nurturers.Even after they began to enter the field, the reluctance of male colleagues to accept them in fieldwork, led many women to choose roles outside of academia, seeking positions in museums or in cultural preservation associations.At the turn of the twentieth century, British women such as Eugénie Sellers Strong, who taught at the Archaeological Institute of America and British School at Rome and Margaret Murray, who lectured at University College London, began to join the ranks of university staff.To carve out their own niches, women typically focused on research close to where they lived or from their native cultures or undertook studies researching household items typically ignored by men. Christian Maclagan (1811–10 May 1901) was a Scottish antiquarian and early archaeologist. She is known for her collection of rubbings of Celtic crosses and Pictish stones from across Scotland and was a pioneer of stratigraphic excavation.Most families have secrets, but the kind and importance vary. Family secrets can be shared by the whole family, by some family members, or kept by an individual member of the family. The secret can relate to taboo topics, rule violations, or just conventional secrets. Issues like homosexuality,adultery,infidelity,divorce, mental illness; crime such as rape or murder, abuse, etc. More simple secrets may be personality conflicts, death, religion, academic performance, and physical health problems.Keeping secrets can create a false sense of reality and cause suspicion and resentment.

[Carlienka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first line of this book's description here makes it sound like a bodice-ripper of high drama and passion. It's more like sitting on your gran's comfortable old couch with a cup of tea, and seeing her in a new light as she tells stories of real-life struggles and pain and how ordinary people find love and a home even when the world seems to have gone mad.
Reading this in early 2021 when we are all wondering how long the world can stay "upside down", I found a gentle encouragement and parallel with these women who endured hardships and restrictions and worry over loved ones as they lived through the Second World War, and especially as they also asked themselves: How long will this go on for? When will life go back to normal?

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual kind of book but read for a book club and really enjoyed it! A sweeping tale of love and loss, set against the Second World War, the characters get under your skin and you wish them all a happy ending - not always possible in this era. The book has been meticulously researched and really evokes the spirit of the Blitz, with lovely detail that really brings the characters and events to life. In places it reads like a biography and you wonder how much came from people's actual lives. Well worth a read for fans of this era and historical romance.

[Meenehansgmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book...as usual Judith Lennox writes beautifully...

[Jose Vredendaal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hoewel ik deze schrijfster meestal goed vind, kon dit verhaal me niet boeien.

[Joyce Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off well, but I soon got bored of the endless archeology descriptions. Really felt the book lacked depth, and at 30% decided it wasnt for me, and gave up.

[Alma04 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wel een leuk boek maar ik heb het in teveel 'stukjes' gelezen zodat ik af en toe de draad kwijt was....

[HediBähren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein schöner Familienroman, der z. Zt. Des 2. Weltkrieges spielt. Er handelt von 2 Schwestern, deren Vater eine weitere heimliche Familie in London mit 2 Söhnen hatte. Spannend und berührend zugleich.

[Eva Rub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judith Lennox kann man einfach immer lesen...

[Lisa Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Voor mij mooi maar teleurstellend. Vind het vooral jammer dat de inhoud van de achterflap zo miniem aanbod komt

[Shani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The secrets of a bigamist father are laid bare after his death. The impact on those around him shatters their lives.

[Caroline Crossland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books by Judith Lennox; she has a wonderful writing style which draws you immediately into the stories and her clever writing allows you to identify with her characters almost immediately. Her novels are sensitive, intriguing, compassionate and intelligent. Her central characters have depth; strength yet flawed, and their journeys, trials and tribulations make compelling reading. Her plots are intricately woven and fast paced. Her latest book, The Secrets Between Us, is no exception. It is a wonderful read which centres around three strong female characters during and after World War Two, whose secrets and affiliations affect their lives and happiness. It is a wonderful read, totally inspiring, absorbing, interesting and heartfelt. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

lappentext

London, 1938: Während Rowan von einer Party zur nächsten treibt, arbeitet ihre jüngere Schwester Thea hart, um später studieren zu können. Trotz aller Unterschiede stehen sich die beiden sehr nahe, vor allem seit jenem tragischen Unfall in ihrer Kindheit, bei dem ihre Mutter starb und Rowan Thea das Leben rettete. Doch Thea merkt, dass ihre Schwester ihr nie die ganze Wahrheit über den Unfall erzählt hat, ein Geheimnis überschattet ihre Beziehung. Erst als der Zweite Weltkrieg ausbricht und sie in große Gefahr geraten, bahnt sich die Wahrheit ihren Weg – und Thea erfährt von der Schuld, die seit damals auf Rowan lastet.

Meinung

Der Klappentext ist irreführend. Es scheint sich wieder um Schwestern in der Zeit zwischen den Kriegen und dem 2. Weltkrieg zu handeln.
Aber das Buch ist viel mehr. Vielschichtiger, mehr Protagonisten und mehr heikle Themen.
Bis sich diese Themen zeigen ist es schwierig in das Buch hinein zu finden. Dann nach knapp 100 Seiten offenbart sich der Aufhänger der Geschichte. Von jetzt auf gleich kann man das Buch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen, wie konnte man an dem Buch zweifeln, auf einmal ist es so spannend das ich es in einem Rutsch durch gelesen habe.
Der Schreibstil ist wie gewohnt, eher ruhig, genau wie man sich das Leben der Frauen in dieser Zeit vorgestellt hat. Entweder gutsituierte Hausfrauen die ihrem Mann ein behagliches Heim schaffen, oder Frauen die zum Lebensunterhalt beitragen müssen. Man darf nicht vergessen, es ist die Zeit in der Frauen sehr hart um ihre Rechte in England kämpfen mussten. Das Vertrauen in die Ehemänner war ihnen in die Wiege gelegt worden.
Die Autorin beleuchtet das Leben der Frauen in England in dieser Zeit der Umbrüche von allen Seiten. Jedes Buch ist daher neu mit einem altem Thema

[Marjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judith Lennox stelt nooit teleur !
Wat een heerlijk boek weer 👍