Family Secrets

by Judith Henry Wall

After their father's death, sisters Vanessa, Ellie, and Georgiana are stunned to learn a well-kept family secret. A yellowed letter tucked away in a family Bible reveals that the woman who gave birth to their late father had not died when he was born, as they had always believed. Their paternal grandmother gave up her son shortly after his birth, leaving this note with instructions to never reveal her name or background to him. The letter is signed, simply, Hattie.

The sisters are each at a turning point -- Vanessa is feeling stifled in a stale marriage and career; Ellie is perpetually single but desperately wants marriage and motherhood; and baby sister Georgiana is a successful model but longs to do something more serious with her life. Seizing upon the idea of finding their long-lost grandmother, the women set out on a trip to Montana, where they hope not only to find their father's birth mother but also to rekindle their bonds of sisterhood and possibly even find their true selves.

But they have no idea of the consequences of their quest. If the sisters find Hattie and live to tell their story, everything Hattie has worked and dreamed for will be destroyed. Will she allow the sisters to uncover the family secret and escape alive?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2007

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 1 out of 5]

One and a half stars. The premise of this book about three Sister Vanessa, Ellie and Georgiana who discover a yellowed letter in the family bible sounded interesting. I’m sucker for stories about secrets and love a good mystery. Where was their paternal grandmother who they didn’t know existed till this letter was found? What made her give her baby son away? Who is Hattie? Is she still alive? The three sisters are determined to find out and I we happy to go along with them on the journey.
The first part of this story was okay and engaged my curiosity but the longer it went on the more bizarre it became. The ending is so farfetched as to be unbelievable hence the low rating. After having read a couple of excellent books prior to reading this, this one was a real let down for me.

[Micah S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book followed a strange progression down into the two-star quagmire.

Step one: Lots of background info on characters, lots of backstories highlighting unfulfilled moderately wealthy white women. Unhappy marriage, career versus settling down, finding love after death of first hubby, etc. etc. Vaguely disconnected, not much sense of a real plot, not much driving the book forward.

Step two: Introduce flashback storyline. Things get quite interesting, if also a little bizarrely written. The Hattie chapters are the strongest motivation I had to keep going, you certainly had to wonder what in the world was going on with that can of worms. (Also, "I want you to make me not a virgin anymore" has gotta be a top-ten worst pickup line finalist.

Step three: Things acquire yet more baffling qualities. Willy character completely confusing. Why would you force the sisters to sign a non-disclose and monologue out your master plan? How and why does one "raise their child from birth to be president"? Why does Myrna aspire to political power when she's already got ultimate wealth?

Step four: "Whaaaaaaa?" Plot completely jumps off the rails. In a frantic scramble to finish the book, author clumsily forces dramatic and dumb climax. Sisters medal in the Bad Instincts Olympics by DRINKING FUNNY-TASTING WINE HANDED TO THEM BY A WOMAN THEY SUSPECT MIGHT WANT THEM DEAD. Not just a sip either, like..."sip sip, hey this tastes weird, but I don't want to be rude to this possible murderer, so I'll just finish TWO GLASSES." Inside joke of the year is created due to how hilarious it is that protagonist stumbles in the dark and finds "a foot so unbelievably soft it must belong to her sister" and kisses it in joyous relief. Utterly failed attempt at creating an ambiguous ending ("Did A happen, or did B? Nobody knows!") Yeah, nobody knows because A is completely out of character for Myrna, and B makes ZERO SENSE whatsoever.

That fourth quarter is really what sealed the two-star rating, because until then it was a somewhat intriguing story once it got going. But then things just got too ridiculous to be tolerated.

Still. "Soft sister foot" means this two-star book will go down in history.

[MBenzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Ms. Wall's books, and can't remember the last time I was disappointed by one. This was an odd book for me though, cause on one hand, while learning about Hattie's past, the story seemed to get more and more wild and unbelievable. But on the other hand, I could hardly put it down cause I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. But then again, I did have a bit of a problem with the ending. It seemed rushed, and unfinished.

I won't summarize this book since it's already been done here, but despite the fact that the story of Hattie's mysterious past is such a far-fetched tale, and the events afterward are very choppy and leave the reader with some unanswered questions (i.e. who opened the mine door, and who exactly killed the person who dies at the end of the story and why??), it's still a good book. I'll admit it's not my favorite Judith Henry Wall novel, but an entertaining story nonetheless.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe this book got such good reviews on Amazon. It starts out all right, good plot premise. The main characters are likable & engaging. This is all well & good till the last chapters where it degenerates into total nonsense. Okay, with suspension of belief the reader can just barely accept the scene with the three sisters & their real biological grandmother. But A: she tells them her entire life history except one crucial point which would make all subsequent action possible; we, the reader don't know this either, & B the ending is ludicrous & never explained. Not at all. How the escape occurs is left hanging. What on earth is the point of a suspense thriller if the plot doesn't tie up in the end & the reader isn't able to understand the action & events of the story? Bad book! Bad, bad book!

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A so-so book that initially began with a good plot and it goes downhill from there; no witty dialogue, jovial comments, not a one. The only redeeming part was picturing Cloris Leachman as the diabolical "found" grandmother.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part of this novel was interesting, the second not so much. As kids we are all told not to trust strangers - why 3 smart women didn't heed that advice was beyond me. And the ending was a letdown with too many unanswered questions about the characters.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish you could do half stars b/c this was a 2.5. I didn't dislike it but didn't love it. It had great potential but sort of rushed through the end. Quick read.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly boring, I couldn't really remember anything about it right after I finished.

[Gloria Bailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read the first 1 1/2 chapters. The characters were not realistic and the story didn’t seem to be going anyplace. I have not read this author before, and am not inclined to go out and get another of her books right now.

Just to remind myself of the story,first chapter was about a woman and some kind of private investigator as far as I could tell. Second chapter where I gave up we’re about totally different people. None of the people in any chapter seemed like “nice” people. All seemed to have a personal agenda and strong interest in money and or power. Not my kind of people.

[Ingrid Self · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some reason I can't let this book go. I've had it for several years, read it several times and every time I embark on a shelf-clearing exercise, this is not allowed to leave. I must seek out some more of her books, because it holds me to the last page. I don't think it's particularly a stunning masterpiece or anything but the story touches something in my consciousness and I read it again and again. Realistic characters, good story and away we go!

[Julie Hoffpauir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I've read by Judith Henry Wall and I was really impressed by it, the characters were really easy to connect with and the story was very intriguing. It is one of those books you start to read and then have trouble putting down because you want to find out what happens. I will definitely read some more of Judith Henry Wall.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story starts out three sisters who find out after their father dies that the woman who gave birth to him never died and she is still alive. He was given up soon after he was born. The three sisters go looking for the grandmother they never knew existed. This story takes a few turns you don't expect. I was taken in from page one till the very end and enjoyed the ride.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book

[Devi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book is exciting: searching for a blood relative, particularly their grandmother, after years of believing her dead. Will it be a happy or a sad reunion? But after reading, I was flabbergasted. The promising eventually ended into a huge mess of loose ends.

(spoilers alert at this point...)

The story of the sister's search was dramatic. The story of Hattie's past (the long lost grandmother) was thrilling. Her attempt to silence her granddaughters was sinister. I told you, this book had promise. But what really disappointed me was that it ended abruptly, without even revealing anything spectacular. I felt the characters were just given the happy endings they deserve to mask the dreadful end of this book. The story was robbed off the ending it deserved.

I still gave it a rating of 2 because one, I have to give a little credit that I enjoyed a part of this book, two, I got a little nice quote from it and three, I find the story of siblings a bit touching because I came to realize how meaningful siblings can be. But other than that, this book deserves a better ending.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author. And may be my last. Very slow read, but the plot kept me interested. I found Vanessa VERY annoying. It seemed if the author hadn't spent so much time dragging out the story, she wouldn't of had to "wrap it up" so quickly in the end. Felt the last few chapters were rushed. The BIGGEST problem I had, was their ordeal inside the mine. They were there for maybe 12 hours. And yet Georgiana was admitted to the hospital for "dehydration." Really??? And Vanessa kept complaining of "extreme exhaustion". It almost felt like they had spent more time in the mine, but that part got deleted, to make the book just under 300 pages.

[Chiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wish we could rate with half stars because this would definately have been 3.5 stars. Really enjoyed the writing style and the story of sisterhood, even though at points Vanessa really got my nerves and a mystery thrown in.

I was disappointed though with the ending. Would of known if a bond was formed with Myrna's family and Matthew Wade's and more of the love that became Ellie and the surgeon instead of it tied up in a bow; also what really becomes of Vanessa does she write book.

I will say though it was a quick easy read and kept me engaged.

[Eva Ruff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family Secrets is a nice story and the characters are not flat personifications but the whole book was just a little "thin." Don't ask any questions and just keep reading. It wasn't unenjoyable and I was drawn into the story but it just didn't sit right. You know when you fall asleep while watching a movie and doze for a short time, you know you missed parts of the plot but it still kind of makes sense so there was really no harm done? That's Family Secrets.

I'm going to look up a few of Wall's other books and give her another try.

[Kimble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a fast fun read. Sometimes it's nice to read a book that the story goes in the direction of dicovering the outcomes without having you wait several chapters to find out what happened. I liked all of the female characters, found their relationships with each other convincing. Hattie's character had experienced a lot of cruelty and hardships, she didn't make the best choices, she's the one I think about.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the character development in this story. I was surprised that the grandmother would try to kill her own grand daughters. I thought that was out of character but at least it made for an unexpected twist.

I didn't mind not knowing how who opened the rusted door. We don't always get all the answers in real life - why should we get them in literature.

[Groovy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story with a family history feel and surprising ending. Like so many books I have read lately the use of the Lord's name in vane was added to make the reader feel a "punch" and I found it unnecessary to the story and aggravating. Other than th
at I really did like the story.

[Berit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreck.

[Peggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. The first I've read by Wall; I will seek out more of her work.

[Dpande · Rating 2 out of 5]

3 sisters hunt for grandmother that gave father away at birth and discover mare than they wanted

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. It was pretty intense near the end I wasn't sure how they were going to finish it in the pages left but they did and in a great way :-)

[Sandy Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Kept my interest. Ordered some of her other books.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! Great writing and turned kinda creepy!

[Amy Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Literally couldn't put it down until the end and longed for continuation. So glad I took the time to finished and check off the list! Such a good and smooth read.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick summer read. Reasonably well written and plotted although the author's romance novelist roots show through sometimes.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good. I liked the plot, although some of it seemed far-fetched.