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Valheiden takaa
Ulkopuolisen silmin lääkärisisarukset Maya ja Rebecca vaikuttavat toistensa kopioilta. Heidän eroavuutensa ovatkin syvällä heidän menneisyydessään. Maya elää hiljaista elämää ja pitää vastaanottoa miehensä Adamin kanssa. Rebecca on vapaa sielu, joka työskentelee maailman kriisipesäkkeissä avustusjärjestön leivissä. Sitten Maya katoaa helikopteriturmassa. Rebecca ja Adam luulevat Mayan kuolleen ja yrittävät toipua menetyksestä, kun taas Maya koettaa löytää takaisin elämään kaukana kodistaan, eksyksissä, loukkaantuneena ja vieraiden armoilla. Hänen on kaivettava rohkeus itsestään tietämättä, millainen tulevaisuus häntä odottaa. Valheiden takaa on sympatian lämmittämä kertomus traagisesta menneisyydestä, mutkikkaasta nykyisyydestä ja epävarmasta tulevaisuudesta.
335 pages, Hardcover
First published May 25, 2010
685 people are currently reading
12241 people want to read
About the author
Diane Chamberlain
80 books15.1k followersDiane Chamberlain is the New York Times, USA Today and (London) Sunday Times best-selling author of 28 novels. The daughter of a school principal who supplied her with a new book almost daily, Diane quickly learned the emotional power of story. Although she wrote many small “books” as a child, she didn’t seriously turn to writing fiction until her early thirties when she was waiting for a delayed doctor’s appointment with nothing more than a pad, a pen, and an idea. She was instantly hooked.
Diane was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey and lived for many years in both San Diego and northern Virginia. She received her master’s degree in clinical social work from San Diego State University. Prior to her writing career, she was a hospital social worker in both San Diego and Washington, D.C, and a psychotherapist in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia, working primarily with adolescents.
More than two decades ago, Diane was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, which changed the way she works: She wrote two novels using voice recognition software before new medication allowed her to get back to typing. She feels fortunate that her arthritis is not more severe and that she’s able to enjoy everyday activities as well as keep up with a busy travel schedule.
Diane lives in North Carolina with her significant other, photographer John Pagliuca, and their odd but lovable Shetland Sheepdog, Cole
Diane was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey and lived for many years in both San Diego and northern Virginia. She received her master’s degree in clinical social work from San Diego State University. Prior to her writing career, she was a hospital social worker in both San Diego and Washington, D.C, and a psychotherapist in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia, working primarily with adolescents.
More than two decades ago, Diane was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, which changed the way she works: She wrote two novels using voice recognition software before new medication allowed her to get back to typing. She feels fortunate that her arthritis is not more severe and that she’s able to enjoy everyday activities as well as keep up with a busy travel schedule.
Diane lives in North Carolina with her significant other, photographer John Pagliuca, and their odd but lovable Shetland Sheepdog, Cole
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,090 reviews
June 19, 2013
I am going to rant.. Coz i hate this book.. How can someone love her sister's husband.. Is 3years of marriage a shame.. He cheated on her unintentionally.. But the blow was so strong to me that I hated this book.. This story is very complicated and really out of scenario.. The sister feel in love with her sisters husband during they are searching for the sister... And than what after 2weeks of staying together.. They feel in love.. Are u kidding me... The hero Adam was married to maya.. And they are trying for a baby.. But she miscarried.. And than maya gone missing and her sister Rebecca enters and all of a sudden everything shifts.. And I hated the ending.. Adam married Rebecca.. And what about maya dude.. Who you were married to years.. Coz she can't give a child.. This story was absurd.. I was crying knowing the end.. Coz Rebecca was pregnant and I felt the hurt of it to maya.. This story is just too much to bear..
So i recommend to not read it.. U will be emotionally drained like i am.. I still feel so bad for maya.. I hate Rebecca and Adam.. Damn u mother fuckers... Get lost...,!
So i recommend to not read it.. U will be emotionally drained like i am.. I still feel so bad for maya.. I hate Rebecca and Adam.. Damn u mother fuckers... Get lost...,!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2025
Most of the book was good and entertaining. But the ending did not do it for me at all. It was all just way too convenient. Talk about tying it all up with a nice pink bow!
There seemed to be a complete turnabout in the personalities of the characters. And, Rebecca, especially. How could her feelings change in the space of a week or two. It's a pity really as the beginning of the book, well, most of the book was good and engaging.
I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them so I am sure I will try a few more of hers.
There seemed to be a complete turnabout in the personalities of the characters. And, Rebecca, especially. How could her feelings change in the space of a week or two. It's a pity really as the beginning of the book, well, most of the book was good and engaging.
I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them so I am sure I will try a few more of hers.
April 9, 2017
I'm left feeling slightly conflicted after finishing this book. While I did very much enjoy the majority of the book, towards the end it kind of lost me. Things did a complete 360 and then it was all wrapped up in a perfect happy ending that was just incredibly unbelievable. Especially since it ended kind of up in the air and then in the epilogue a year later, you're just plunked into what seems like an alternate universe. I'm still wondering what in the hell happened...
January 2, 2011
What in the world? This book has ticked me off, Rebecca is a selfish hussy, Maya is a spineless wuss and Adam is just a d-bag! The only character that was any good was Simmie! Have fun with this crap!
December 17, 2019
Maya and Rebecca Ward, two sisters, both doctors and both carrying guilt and secrets from the past. When Maya was fourteen and Rebecca eighteen, their parents were gunned down. This has left Maya cautious and fearful of guns but Rebecca is a risk taker who is involved with an organisation that helps during disasters called DIDA. It is always front and centre at crisis places. When there is devastation caused by a hurricane, Rebecca is right there and Maya’s husband Adam ends up going this time as well, despite the fact that he and Maya have recently suffered their third miscarriage. That decision and subsequent decisions which happen over the next weeks change all their lives in ways none of the three ever imagined.
I am a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain’s work and couldn’t believe this one from 2010 had escaped my notice. I eagerly started on it and was right there with Maya and Adam. But then somewhere into this narrative I started to feel less enthusiastic about this book, although I did like the interaction between Maya and Simmie. Events around the time of Adam and Rebecca in the disaster area stretched credibility as far as I was concerned. It was all too sudden a switch as far as the people involved were concerned. Can’t say more without giving plot points away. And I don’t like spoilers. But I became far less enamoured of the characters and the book at this point.
Then the ending was the final straw. Not only was it abrupt but for this reader it was totally unbelievable. Changed the whole way I viewed the book. How each person views the scenes while Adam and Rebecca are away and especially the ending will determine how you feel about the book as a whole. Though the writing was good, character development changed too sharply. For me it ended up a disappointing read.
I am a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain’s work and couldn’t believe this one from 2010 had escaped my notice. I eagerly started on it and was right there with Maya and Adam. But then somewhere into this narrative I started to feel less enthusiastic about this book, although I did like the interaction between Maya and Simmie. Events around the time of Adam and Rebecca in the disaster area stretched credibility as far as I was concerned. It was all too sudden a switch as far as the people involved were concerned. Can’t say more without giving plot points away. And I don’t like spoilers. But I became far less enamoured of the characters and the book at this point.
Then the ending was the final straw. Not only was it abrupt but for this reader it was totally unbelievable. Changed the whole way I viewed the book. How each person views the scenes while Adam and Rebecca are away and especially the ending will determine how you feel about the book as a whole. Though the writing was good, character development changed too sharply. For me it ended up a disappointing read.
September 15, 2020
Really enjoyed this one and thought maya was a fab character. Easy 5 stars.
October 13, 2020
This book had way too much drama for me and the ending was so neat and tidy after all the mess I couldn't stand it. This book tackled a natural disaster, a missing person, murder, infertility and family relationships. ONE of those big topics could have taken center stage and made me like the characters, but with all of that going on I couldn't get a feel for any of them.
Maya and Rebecca are sisters. Their parents are murdered in front of them and they are left to be each other's family. Maya is timid and shy, while Rebecca is wild and crazy. Both become doctors. Maya meets Adam and they get married, then try to start having children. After Maya's third miscarriage it comes out that she had an abortion as a teenager. Adam and Maya are angry with each other and never quite talk about when or why she had the abortion. Rebecca works for an agency that sends in medical help after a natural disaster. There is a hurricane and she is sent there. Adam also goes as his first mission with them. He calls Maya and pleads for her to join them. When she does she's sent up in a helicopter that crashes. From there you follow her story as she's held captive by a pregnant teenager and her abusive, crazy boyfriend. At the same time the author shows us Rebecca falling in love with Adam. These feelings seem very much seated in the situation, but in the end they are together. Maya is happily on her own and the world is a wonderful place. *insert eye roll and sarcasm here*
I didn't like any of these characters. I felt they made things with Rebecca and Adam too easy. Adam's lack of grief when he thinks his wife has died just seemed unbelievable. Yes, he had been angry with her prior to her disappearance, but wouldn't that make him grieve more and not ready to bed her sister? You'd think, but no. Rebecca is also painted as one dimensional. As though she doesn't need anyone in her life, but then suddenly she's in love with her brother in law. Maybe if they met after Maya disappeared this would seem more believable, but knowing they'd been in each other's lives for years just made it seem ridiculous.
I've tried not to give too much away in this review. If you want to read it you'll still get a few surprises, but I spent most of my time just annoyed with all of the people in this book.
Maya and Rebecca are sisters. Their parents are murdered in front of them and they are left to be each other's family. Maya is timid and shy, while Rebecca is wild and crazy. Both become doctors. Maya meets Adam and they get married, then try to start having children. After Maya's third miscarriage it comes out that she had an abortion as a teenager. Adam and Maya are angry with each other and never quite talk about when or why she had the abortion. Rebecca works for an agency that sends in medical help after a natural disaster. There is a hurricane and she is sent there. Adam also goes as his first mission with them. He calls Maya and pleads for her to join them. When she does she's sent up in a helicopter that crashes. From there you follow her story as she's held captive by a pregnant teenager and her abusive, crazy boyfriend. At the same time the author shows us Rebecca falling in love with Adam. These feelings seem very much seated in the situation, but in the end they are together. Maya is happily on her own and the world is a wonderful place. *insert eye roll and sarcasm here*
I didn't like any of these characters. I felt they made things with Rebecca and Adam too easy. Adam's lack of grief when he thinks his wife has died just seemed unbelievable. Yes, he had been angry with her prior to her disappearance, but wouldn't that make him grieve more and not ready to bed her sister? You'd think, but no. Rebecca is also painted as one dimensional. As though she doesn't need anyone in her life, but then suddenly she's in love with her brother in law. Maybe if they met after Maya disappeared this would seem more believable, but knowing they'd been in each other's lives for years just made it seem ridiculous.
I've tried not to give too much away in this review. If you want to read it you'll still get a few surprises, but I spent most of my time just annoyed with all of the people in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2025
The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain has written an amazing book about love acceptance survival and loyalty. I didn’t like the ending but i predicted the ending.
June 1, 2012
After reading the blurb I was really keen to read this book. I've enjoyed all the Diane Chamberlain books I've read before, and so was confident I'd enjoy this one just as much. Initially, I did. I really liked how I was reading from Maya's point of view, and then from Rebecca's. However I felt that the story took quite a while to get going. The blurb reveals that Maya goes missing, but this didn't happen until well over 100 pages in. Whilst I enjoyed the story up until this point, I felt that the blurb suggested all this would happen sooner.
I don't want to to spoil the story for anyone, but I personally found the ending disappointing. There were definitely a few twists, and admittedly I did not see them coming. Yet the last few pages were too neat and "tied up" for me. Whilst it could be seen as a nice happy ending, it seemed completely unrealistic, and this is a shame, as I did enjoy most of the story overall.
I've awarded it three stars because, whilst I did enjoy the story and was compelled to read on for most of it, the ending was a bit of a let down, and given all that had occurred in the story up until the end, there was an opportunity for the ending to be powerful and memorable, but unfortunately I do not feel it was.
Yet I do believe it is a book worth reading if you enjoy a bit of mystery and suspense, but it is definitely not a fair representation of Chamberlain's talents as a writer.
I don't want to to spoil the story for anyone, but I personally found the ending disappointing. There were definitely a few twists, and admittedly I did not see them coming. Yet the last few pages were too neat and "tied up" for me. Whilst it could be seen as a nice happy ending, it seemed completely unrealistic, and this is a shame, as I did enjoy most of the story overall.
I've awarded it three stars because, whilst I did enjoy the story and was compelled to read on for most of it, the ending was a bit of a let down, and given all that had occurred in the story up until the end, there was an opportunity for the ending to be powerful and memorable, but unfortunately I do not feel it was.
Yet I do believe it is a book worth reading if you enjoy a bit of mystery and suspense, but it is definitely not a fair representation of Chamberlain's talents as a writer.
January 7, 2015
Once again Chamberlain immerses the reader into the lives of her wonderful characters.....full of flaws, trials, and insecurities. She creates a story that is "easy" to read. This is the story of two sisters who are bonded by a horrible incident in their past, and each is harboring guilt about their role. They are as opposite as two sisters can be...or are they really?
Another tragedy years later in which they are once again connected brings about changes in both of them, and makes them face up to the past and what their roles were and are. They and the reader find out which sister is really the strong one, and finds that perhaps they are more alike than they think.
Chamberlain must do a huge amount of research to make her stories ring true, and they do. I know people like the characters she creates which makes them and her stories so believable. This one may have had a few moments that seemed a bit far fetched....but overall still very good, with a couple twists. I did not quite feel as much passion in this in others of her I have read, but it was not any less enjoyable.This is an author that has become a "go to" writer when I want to spend time with great characters and a well done story. She delivers time well spent. 3.5 stars
Another tragedy years later in which they are once again connected brings about changes in both of them, and makes them face up to the past and what their roles were and are. They and the reader find out which sister is really the strong one, and finds that perhaps they are more alike than they think.
Chamberlain must do a huge amount of research to make her stories ring true, and they do. I know people like the characters she creates which makes them and her stories so believable. This one may have had a few moments that seemed a bit far fetched....but overall still very good, with a couple twists. I did not quite feel as much passion in this in others of her I have read, but it was not any less enjoyable.This is an author that has become a "go to" writer when I want to spend time with great characters and a well done story. She delivers time well spent. 3.5 stars
August 10, 2013
This book wasn't horrible by any means. I've heard a lot of good things about Diane Chamberlain and look forward to reading her other books. We go between sisters Maya and Rebecca's narration. They are both doctors and, different as night and day. Maya is delicate, not really into taking chances. Rebecca is a risk taker and "hedonistic" as I believe she was described in the book. I am assuming their parents being murdered when Maya was 14 and Rebecca was 18 shaped their already present personalities. Maya (who has just had a third, devastating miscarriage) and her husband Adams marriage is a little shaky. Adam (also a doctor)goes with Rebecca to help victims of a devastating storm. Rebecca works for a foundation named DIDA. They care for disaster victims all over the world. When Maya's helicopter goes down (after being guilted by Adam to come help at the site him and Rebecca are)she is in a little more danger than she thinks. Around people she doesn't know and can't trust. So it takes about 2 weeks (not 2 years or even 2 months) for Rebecca and Adam to develop feelings for each other??? Even if the love had dried up between Maya and Adam, who gets pregnant by their sisters husband while their sister is missing? And Maya is OK with all this at the end? Rebecca's character leaves little to be desired. Jealous of her sister even as she is missing. Adam is OK just a little too easy going. He also lacked depth. For the way things play out I think it could have been a little different.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2011
I have to agree with Lori, the ending just ruined this book for me. I was so mad when I was done with it, such a disappointment.
September 26, 2016
Oh I forget how delightful her writing it!! This was a super read that really captivated me until the final few chapters when the story all closed up nicely (too nicely).
May 17, 2010
The Lies We Told, is a book I stayed up to finish, it's action packed; a page turner that you don't, almost can't put down until it's over, if your anything like me, at least – I had to know what the future could be for these two beautiful and ultimately amazing woman. Though, I have to say, the ending for me was a very hard pill to swallow, I understood why it had to end the way it did...but that does not, at all, mean I wanted it to end this way.
The Lies We Told ultimately left me with a promise that even though things happen with in the confines of your life, that define who you are – you do not always have to be defined only by them, the things that happen with in our lives do help to make us who we are, but it's up to us to push past those confines and break free!
Diane Chamberlain is a new author for me, and I was pleasantly surprised by her masterful story telling ways! She captured my attention, as well as my heart, she pulled me into a world, into a life like none I have ever had the privilege of seeing before, and provided a fascinating, yet heartbreaking look at families. I saw bits and pieces of my own relationship with my sister sprinkled though out this novel, though my own sister is younger, she has always taken on the “older sister” roll, in our lives. I am more the Maya type, timid and shy – she's more like Rebecca, always willing to take on the world, always wanting to push further, for more – she never settles, and I look up to and admire that. I give The Lies We Told a 4 mushrooms and will be putting Diane Chamberlain on my radar, I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author – she's got a passionate voice, that should NOT be ignored!
To read my full review...The Lies We Told on Book Crazy.
The Lies We Told ultimately left me with a promise that even though things happen with in the confines of your life, that define who you are – you do not always have to be defined only by them, the things that happen with in our lives do help to make us who we are, but it's up to us to push past those confines and break free!
Diane Chamberlain is a new author for me, and I was pleasantly surprised by her masterful story telling ways! She captured my attention, as well as my heart, she pulled me into a world, into a life like none I have ever had the privilege of seeing before, and provided a fascinating, yet heartbreaking look at families. I saw bits and pieces of my own relationship with my sister sprinkled though out this novel, though my own sister is younger, she has always taken on the “older sister” roll, in our lives. I am more the Maya type, timid and shy – she's more like Rebecca, always willing to take on the world, always wanting to push further, for more – she never settles, and I look up to and admire that. I give The Lies We Told a 4 mushrooms and will be putting Diane Chamberlain on my radar, I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author – she's got a passionate voice, that should NOT be ignored!
To read my full review...The Lies We Told on Book Crazy.
June 26, 2024
داستان راجب ربکا و مایا دو خواهری هست که پدر و مادر خود را که مورد اصابت گلوله قرار گرفته بودند از دست دادند. و حالا بعد از سال ها زندگی اون ها رو روایت میکنه .
حقیقتا روند این کتاب طوری نبود که با اصول اخلاقی آسیایی من جور در بیاد !
حقیقتا روند این کتاب طوری نبود که با اصول اخلاقی آسیایی من جور در بیاد !
March 9, 2020
I don't think that I've encountered a Diane Chamberlain book that I haven't liked yet, and I honestly don't know that I ever will!
She so expertly tugs at your heart all while willing you to continue reading because you just have to know what happens to the characters! Her stories are unique, not your standard cookie-cutter stories, that quite frankly, after awhile, you get tired of reading. Each story has a fresh, new perspective, subject and characters so I find her books very refreshing!
What an excellent dilemma this book poses! Two sisters, one married one not. The married sister comes up missing, presumed dead. Living sister falls in love with her brother-in-law, only to find the suspected dead sister. How do you return from all of that? How do you go on? This book poses all of those questions and more! Leavings you thinking about decisions and consequences long after finishing the book!
Diane Chamberlain has put her superb writing skills out for us all to love on again and I couldn't be more happy to have read this book!
She so expertly tugs at your heart all while willing you to continue reading because you just have to know what happens to the characters! Her stories are unique, not your standard cookie-cutter stories, that quite frankly, after awhile, you get tired of reading. Each story has a fresh, new perspective, subject and characters so I find her books very refreshing!
What an excellent dilemma this book poses! Two sisters, one married one not. The married sister comes up missing, presumed dead. Living sister falls in love with her brother-in-law, only to find the suspected dead sister. How do you return from all of that? How do you go on? This book poses all of those questions and more! Leavings you thinking about decisions and consequences long after finishing the book!
Diane Chamberlain has put her superb writing skills out for us all to love on again and I couldn't be more happy to have read this book!
June 28, 2018
I really enjoyed this story! But it did have some major flaws- mostly the ending.
This is the story of 2 sisters- Rebecca and Maya. Rebecca is the older, adventurous, doctors-without-borders sister. Maya is the younger, timid, stay-within-the-lines sister. When they were teenagers, their parents were murdered in their driveway by a student of the father's. Maya was in the car with them and Rebecca was in the house. Maya reacted by spending the rest of her life walking on eggshells and afraid of everything while Rebecca reacted by becoming a little bit of a commitment-phobe who wants to stay unmarried, no kids, and be able to travel and work in disaster areas as a doctor. They both blame themselves for the murders for reasons that are revealed throughout the story..
Maya marries Adam, another doctor, and lives a safe life in the suburbs. They are struggling to conceive and she has multiple miscarriages (only one in the time period of the story). She searches for a way to blame herself with that and it further fuels her anxiety and low self-esteem. It also is putting a strain on their marriage when they are having sex for procreation and then keep enduring heartbreaking loss (the most recent one at 16 weeks).
When disaster strikes nearby, Rebecca commits to serving on the scene and then so does Adam. They get there and realize there are so many children and no pediatrician-- they need Maya. Eventually Maya jumps WAY out of her comfort zone and decides to go work there too. She gets there and its a little weird at first. There is some passive aggressive sibling rivalry and Rebecca thinks she wishes Maya would actually just leave.
One day, there are a group of patients that need to be airlifted to a different place and Maya is among the team of doctors and nurses that needs to go with them. Their plane crashes and they struggle to find bodies. Eventually the search team finds some bodies and think they know what has happened- but they haven't found Maya- dead or alive. Rebecca and Adam finally assume that she's dead and they turn to each other for comfort-- or maybe more than that...
They get closer and closer and then cross the line into romantic territory. It is shortly after that that Maya comes back!
While she was missing, Maya was living on an island with a young girl, her husband, and an older black lady named Ms. Alice. They have very connection to the outside world and live a very unique and subsistence life. The young girl is pregnant and her due date looms closer and closer as the story goes on. She and Maya bond quite a bit and the timid girl brings out a strength in Maya that is not apparent in her real life. As the end of the pregnancy draws near, Maya has to be the one to take care of her instead of being the weak and injured one. Maya is scared of the husband. He's a hunter and she's just gun-shy (literally). She finds out that Ms. Alice's son came to visit and had a boat (aka a way out) and nobody told him about her and that she needed to get off the island. She is livid and becomes distrusting of everyone, except the young girl. They assume that Ms Alice and the husband want her there for the birth of the baby since she is a doctor, but in the end you find out that it was the girl keeping her trapped there because she wanted her to take her baby when it was born. She didn't actually love her husband- he was abusive and had even murdered Ms. Alice's other son because he and the girl were in love. The baby was his (not the husband's) so she knew he would come out half black and she needed Maya to take him. When the baby was born, there's an intense runaway scene where Maya takes the baby with her, but she knows that the husband will probably kill the girl so she runs back and saves her too.
Cut back to Rebecca and Adam and this is where Maya comes back. She has the girl and the baby with her and she wants to adopt them, but Adam has always been against adoption. In the end, Maya and Adam divorce, he and Rebecca get together, Maya lives with the kids, and everyone is a happy family. I didn't like this resolution at all! Adam and Maya's relationship seemed very strong and loving, albeit with definite stressors, and you'd think after being presumed dead a love like that would be even stronger. I also can't imagine, under any circumstance, being okay with my husband of many years marrying my sister. Very hard to believe everyone would just be okay with that situation. Rebecca also all of a sudden turned into the marrying type and was even thinking she wanted kids. Huh?! Talk about a complete personality change- all for her sisters husband?
As for the murder... the guy who did it was a student of the father and ex boyfriend to Rebecca. Rebecca thinks its her fault because her parents wouldn't allow her to be with him. The plot thickens when you learn about Maya's relationship with him. Always jealous of her sister, she wanted him too until she realized he was not a good guy. He raped her and got her pregnant and she confessed everything to the dad and he took her to have an abortion. So Maya thinks its her fault because he was mad about the abortion. (Scar tissue from the abortion is also why Maya can't get pregnant with Adam- or so she learns near the end). The sisters both confess their relationships with him and move on in the end. Nobody was responsible for the murders except the murderer and he was killed in a police shoot out.
As you can see, there is A LOT going on in this book and overall I really enjoyed it. I thought some of the plot points (the husband on the island being a killer, Adam and Rebecca getting together, etc.) were cliche and predictable, and I hated how neatly the end wrapped up, but the majority of the journey was really great. I'd definitely recommend this book.
This is the story of 2 sisters- Rebecca and Maya. Rebecca is the older, adventurous, doctors-without-borders sister. Maya is the younger, timid, stay-within-the-lines sister. When they were teenagers, their parents were murdered in their driveway by a student of the father's. Maya was in the car with them and Rebecca was in the house. Maya reacted by spending the rest of her life walking on eggshells and afraid of everything while Rebecca reacted by becoming a little bit of a commitment-phobe who wants to stay unmarried, no kids, and be able to travel and work in disaster areas as a doctor. They both blame themselves for the murders for reasons that are revealed throughout the story..
Maya marries Adam, another doctor, and lives a safe life in the suburbs. They are struggling to conceive and she has multiple miscarriages (only one in the time period of the story). She searches for a way to blame herself with that and it further fuels her anxiety and low self-esteem. It also is putting a strain on their marriage when they are having sex for procreation and then keep enduring heartbreaking loss (the most recent one at 16 weeks).
When disaster strikes nearby, Rebecca commits to serving on the scene and then so does Adam. They get there and realize there are so many children and no pediatrician-- they need Maya. Eventually Maya jumps WAY out of her comfort zone and decides to go work there too. She gets there and its a little weird at first. There is some passive aggressive sibling rivalry and Rebecca thinks she wishes Maya would actually just leave.
One day, there are a group of patients that need to be airlifted to a different place and Maya is among the team of doctors and nurses that needs to go with them. Their plane crashes and they struggle to find bodies. Eventually the search team finds some bodies and think they know what has happened- but they haven't found Maya- dead or alive. Rebecca and Adam finally assume that she's dead and they turn to each other for comfort-- or maybe more than that...
They get closer and closer and then cross the line into romantic territory. It is shortly after that that Maya comes back!
While she was missing, Maya was living on an island with a young girl, her husband, and an older black lady named Ms. Alice. They have very connection to the outside world and live a very unique and subsistence life. The young girl is pregnant and her due date looms closer and closer as the story goes on. She and Maya bond quite a bit and the timid girl brings out a strength in Maya that is not apparent in her real life. As the end of the pregnancy draws near, Maya has to be the one to take care of her instead of being the weak and injured one. Maya is scared of the husband. He's a hunter and she's just gun-shy (literally). She finds out that Ms. Alice's son came to visit and had a boat (aka a way out) and nobody told him about her and that she needed to get off the island. She is livid and becomes distrusting of everyone, except the young girl. They assume that Ms Alice and the husband want her there for the birth of the baby since she is a doctor, but in the end you find out that it was the girl keeping her trapped there because she wanted her to take her baby when it was born. She didn't actually love her husband- he was abusive and had even murdered Ms. Alice's other son because he and the girl were in love. The baby was his (not the husband's) so she knew he would come out half black and she needed Maya to take him. When the baby was born, there's an intense runaway scene where Maya takes the baby with her, but she knows that the husband will probably kill the girl so she runs back and saves her too.
Cut back to Rebecca and Adam and this is where Maya comes back. She has the girl and the baby with her and she wants to adopt them, but Adam has always been against adoption. In the end, Maya and Adam divorce, he and Rebecca get together, Maya lives with the kids, and everyone is a happy family. I didn't like this resolution at all! Adam and Maya's relationship seemed very strong and loving, albeit with definite stressors, and you'd think after being presumed dead a love like that would be even stronger. I also can't imagine, under any circumstance, being okay with my husband of many years marrying my sister. Very hard to believe everyone would just be okay with that situation. Rebecca also all of a sudden turned into the marrying type and was even thinking she wanted kids. Huh?! Talk about a complete personality change- all for her sisters husband?
As for the murder... the guy who did it was a student of the father and ex boyfriend to Rebecca. Rebecca thinks its her fault because her parents wouldn't allow her to be with him. The plot thickens when you learn about Maya's relationship with him. Always jealous of her sister, she wanted him too until she realized he was not a good guy. He raped her and got her pregnant and she confessed everything to the dad and he took her to have an abortion. So Maya thinks its her fault because he was mad about the abortion. (Scar tissue from the abortion is also why Maya can't get pregnant with Adam- or so she learns near the end). The sisters both confess their relationships with him and move on in the end. Nobody was responsible for the murders except the murderer and he was killed in a police shoot out.
As you can see, there is A LOT going on in this book and overall I really enjoyed it. I thought some of the plot points (the husband on the island being a killer, Adam and Rebecca getting together, etc.) were cliche and predictable, and I hated how neatly the end wrapped up, but the majority of the journey was really great. I'd definitely recommend this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2010
I have been a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain's for quite a while now. Her writing has been compared to Jodi Picoult, but I will go a step further and say that her writing, while similar in genre, is better than Picoult's. Why, you ask? Well because I don't have the violent urge to throw the book at the wall when I come to the end. Once again, Ms. Chamberlain has written a touching story with characters that find their way into your heart.
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October 25, 2018
No, just no! Ridiculous story with asshole characters! Rebecca and Adam are disgusting and their suddenly falling in love in about two weeks while Maya was missing was ridiculous! Maya ended up alone after so much pain, while Adam and Rebecca get a baby and a happy ending, but everyone is ok with that? I don’t think so!
July 28, 2019
This was such a page Turner for me. However, I can't give it 5 stars because of a few things. When Maya has been missing for only 2 weeks, her sister and husband fall in love? Really? I get how they can become close because of the mutual love for Maya and needing someone who understands what they are going through, but even before Maya goes missing, her sister doesn't want her there to share in her world with Adam. That is just too much. Also, the ending was lacking. What exactly happened after they left the island? When they got home? It just needed a little more than a few sentences after the entire buildup to the end.
November 5, 2024
3.75 ⭐️
February 19, 2016
OH MY GOSH. This book is FANTASTIC. I was seriously going through a reading rut. I felt like I wasn't liking anything, but this book was AMAZING. This was my first Diane Chamberlain book, and I've heard she's a lot like Jodi Picoult, and I agree. Her stories are outrageous, and it's clear she's a very experienced writer. I loved how it went back and forth between the two sisters, and the book had so many twists and turns that it's not even funny. And the ending just blew me over the edge. I will deffinitley keep reading more Diane Chamberlain. I've heard this is one of her not so great books, so I'm excited what else she has out. I recommend this book to EVERYONE! Read it!
It's about two sisters: Maya and Rebecca. Rebecca is the wild one; Maya is the one who settled down and wants to have kids, unlike Rebecca. Both sisters are doctors, but Rebecca works for DIDA, a company that helps those after tragedy has struck. Like a hurricane, etc. When they need more people, Adam (Maya's husband) goes and works with Rebecca, and eventually, Rebecca convinces Maya to come help. When Maya's plane crashes, two people take her in. The story between these two people and Maya is insane. It was one of the most interesting thing I've ever read. And Maya and Adam back home are trying to get over the loss of their sister, thinking she is dead, and only getting closer to each other. Maybe too close.
It's about two sisters: Maya and Rebecca. Rebecca is the wild one; Maya is the one who settled down and wants to have kids, unlike Rebecca. Both sisters are doctors, but Rebecca works for DIDA, a company that helps those after tragedy has struck. Like a hurricane, etc. When they need more people, Adam (Maya's husband) goes and works with Rebecca, and eventually, Rebecca convinces Maya to come help. When Maya's plane crashes, two people take her in. The story between these two people and Maya is insane. It was one of the most interesting thing I've ever read. And Maya and Adam back home are trying to get over the loss of their sister, thinking she is dead, and only getting closer to each other. Maybe too close.
July 7, 2017
By FAR my least favorite of Diane Chamberlain's books. This book centers on the relationship between two sisters, Maya and Rebecca.
After Maya is prodded by husband Adam and Rebecca to help with a relief aid group, her helicopter crashes and she vanishes. Both Adam and Rebecca fear she's dead, but in reality she is stranded on a tiny island with three bizarre people living on it. In the meantime, Adam and Rebecca are drawn together and fighting their attraction for each other.
I strongly disliked both Adam and Rebecca in this novel. Both are pompous and selfish. Maya was truly likeable. Throughout the majority of this book I was hooked on the story. But the ending ruined, no destroyed, the whole book for me. Made me wish I never picked it up.
After Maya is prodded by husband Adam and Rebecca to help with a relief aid group, her helicopter crashes and she vanishes. Both Adam and Rebecca fear she's dead, but in reality she is stranded on a tiny island with three bizarre people living on it. In the meantime, Adam and Rebecca are drawn together and fighting their attraction for each other.
I strongly disliked both Adam and Rebecca in this novel. Both are pompous and selfish. Maya was truly likeable. Throughout the majority of this book I was hooked on the story. But the ending ruined, no destroyed, the whole book for me. Made me wish I never picked it up.
April 15, 2020
Review to follow
March 18, 2018
I enjoy Chamberlain’s books but this one just didn’t meet my high expectations. I disliked all the characters, became bored with the plot, and ending too tidy.
July 30, 2020
Just over the top emotionally manipulative and I didn’t like the ending. Still a quick read and I generally enjoyed it. DC has much better books out there though!!
February 6, 2022
Totally unrealistic. The character's dialogue was atrocious and seemed really fake ('Bec', 'babe', 'sis' 🤮). None of the twists were unexpected and Simmee was the only character I liked. I usually love Diane Chamberlains books but this one was far from her best. Barely two stars and only two because the story was readable and I wanted to know how it ended.
May 22, 2016
Диана Чемберлен «Муж напрокат, или откровения верной жены».
Вот город, где-то на северо-востоке США, на который обрушился сильнейших шторм. Под воду ушли целые улицы и районы, сотни и сотни испуганных и пострадавших людей прибывают в здание местного аэропорта, где не жалея сил работаю волонтеры Диды (Врачебная помощь в кризисных ситуациях). В центре сюжета три врача – Майя, Ребекка и Адам.
Майя – тихая и неуверенная в себе женщина, которая, кажется, боится всего на свете, но едет вслед за мужем - Адамом в самое пекло шторма. Муж Майи хочет детей, но несколько беременностей заканчиваются выкидышами. Майя измучена и морально и физически, но хочет спасти свой брак.
Ребекка – полная противоположность своей сестре Майе, дерзкая, уверенная в себе девица, готовая броситься в омут с головой, правая рука главы Диды, будущий руководитель всей организации. Личная жизнь у Ребекки не клеиться, одна интрижка перетекает в другую, оставляя Ребекку ни с чем. Очередной выкидыш у Маий, что-то переворачивает в душе Ребекки, девушка начинает задумываться о своей личной жизни.
Крушение вертолета, на борту которого находилась Майя, навсегда изменить жизнь всех троих.
Невероятно напряженная история, которая не оставит вас равнодушными. Трагедия, от которой сердце будет обливаться кровью. Тайны, секреты, неожиданные повороты сюжета. Но финал просто разбил мне сердце. Как? Почему? Зачем? Я чувствовала, что все шло к этому, но у меня сложилось впечатление, что автор писала роман, была на середине, когда ей сказали «Баста! В печать», и она просто написала эпилог и отдала книгу издателю. Финал истории остался не раскрыт. Хочу больше. И, кстати, совершенно ужасное русское название у книги, которое передает только 10% от содержания книги. Оценка 4 из 5.
Вот город, где-то на северо-востоке США, на который обрушился сильнейших шторм. Под воду ушли целые улицы и районы, сотни и сотни испуганных и пострадавших людей прибывают в здание местного аэропорта, где не жалея сил работаю волонтеры Диды (Врачебная помощь в кризисных ситуациях). В центре сюжета три врача – Майя, Ребекка и Адам.
Майя – тихая и неуверенная в себе женщина, которая, кажется, боится всего на свете, но едет вслед за мужем - Адамом в самое пекло шторма. Муж Майи хочет детей, но несколько беременностей заканчиваются выкидышами. Майя измучена и морально и физически, но хочет спасти свой брак.
Ребекка – полная противоположность своей сестре Майе, дерзкая, уверенная в себе девица, готовая броситься в омут с головой, правая рука главы Диды, будущий руководитель всей организации. Личная жизнь у Ребекки не клеиться, одна интрижка перетекает в другую, оставляя Ребекку ни с чем. Очередной выкидыш у Маий, что-то переворачивает в душе Ребекки, девушка начинает задумываться о своей личной жизни.
Крушение вертолета, на борту которого находилась Майя, навсегда изменить жизнь всех троих.
Невероятно напряженная история, которая не оставит вас равнодушными. Трагедия, от которой сердце будет обливаться кровью. Тайны, секреты, неожиданные повороты сюжета. Но финал просто разбил мне сердце. Как? Почему? Зачем? Я чувствовала, что все шло к этому, но у меня сложилось впечатление, что автор писала роман, была на середине, когда ей сказали «Баста! В печать», и она просто написала эпилог и отдала книгу издателю. Финал истории остался не раскрыт. Хочу больше. И, кстати, совершенно ужасное русское название у книги, которое передает только 10% от содержания книги. Оценка 4 из 5.
June 12, 2010
When Rebecca and Maya were teenagers, they witnessed their parents' murder. This horrific event has haunted them all their lives. Now that they are adults, they are finally coming to terms with secrets and lies that have compounded the horror of that awful night.
Twists and turns in the plot keep the reader from being bored and constantly wondering what will happen next. Although I can't say this is the best book I've read, the plot is certainly satisfying, the characters interesting, and Chamberlain's descriptions of the southern landscape will transport you into that world. I enjoyed it enough that I will seek out others by this author and recommend this one to my friends and family.
Twists and turns in the plot keep the reader from being bored and constantly wondering what will happen next. Although I can't say this is the best book I've read, the plot is certainly satisfying, the characters interesting, and Chamberlain's descriptions of the southern landscape will transport you into that world. I enjoyed it enough that I will seek out others by this author and recommend this one to my friends and family.
July 6, 2018
Most of the book was good and entertaining. But the ending did not do it for me at all. It was all just way too convenient. Talk about tying it all up with a nice pink bow! I have a hard time believing someone would be prefect ok with the ending from Maya point of view. And I dont think it would really happen at all, it was only two weeks.
There seemed to be a complete turnabout in the personalities of the characters. And, Rebecca, especially. How could her feelings change in the space of a week or two. It's a pity really as the beginning of the book, well, most of the books was good and engaging. I think Ms. Diane Chamberlain tried to make these characters to likable.
There seemed to be a complete turnabout in the personalities of the characters. And, Rebecca, especially. How could her feelings change in the space of a week or two. It's a pity really as the beginning of the book, well, most of the books was good and engaging. I think Ms. Diane Chamberlain tried to make these characters to likable.
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