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The Fifth Secret
A desperate call for help leads a woman on a search into the fate of four other people whom she knew as a child, when they shared a game of murderous secrets
247 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 3, 2018
Another great read and I had not intended to another psych-thriller so soon, but I'm glad that I did. I absolutely devoured it and had trouble putting it down each night.
Told in the first person by Jane, who in her young teens, enjoyed several memorable summers with her brother Lucien, at the cottage of Esme's parents on the grounds of their home, Martin's Court. Two other boys are part of their group. Owen, whose mother comes to the estate to help Esme's mother who has just had twins and Rob, an Australian boy who has become Lucien's closest friend at their English boarding school.
Jane and Owen are now married with two young children when the events of the story take place. They are both rather unhappy as the marriage is floundering partly due to their precarious finances. They own a young nursery business whose main customer has gone bankrupt. It has led to strange arguments, with Jane making vindictive remarks and Owen refusing to be drawn into a shouting match. Their neighbour Dinah shows Jane a magazine with an article mentioning Rob and his current life and it turns out he has been living with Esme for about 6 months. Jane and Owen haven't heard from Rob since the death of Lucien about 10 years ago, shortly before Jane and Owen married.
The following day, Jane hears from her mother that Esme has been attacked by someone unknown and is in hospital in a coma, and that Rob seems to have disappeared. That night Jane gets a strange call from Rob insisting on secrecy and calling in a favour on the strength of their childhood friendship. He uses a special code which Lucien had insisted they all remember and says that he is hiding near the cottage where they used to spend their holidays.
Jane's feeling of estrangement from Owen makes her decide that she will go, and she sets off the next day telling Owen she is going away for a while but she won't say where. When she gets to Rob she asks Esme's father if she can stay in the cottage for a day or two and smuggles Rob in after dark.
The mystery deepens and Jane starts to wonder who she can trust. Why has Rob not stayed at his home? Doesn't he realize that it makes him seem guilty? Why has he avoided her since Lucien's death after falling from a cliff? What does he know about that death and is Jane at risk from Rob too? When he asks her to get into the main house to find Esme's hidden journal, why does he ask her not to read it before she gives it to him? Jane puzzles about these things and yet she agrees to continue helping him, partly because they had been a couple for a while before Lucien died.
As the action continues the reader becomes drawn in to these mysteries and worries that Jane may be getting beyond her depth. She is also putting her own marriage at risk and the tension builds.
The ending provides answers to many of these questions and also some reasons why Jane has the prickly personality which causes her such pain. There are also some which the reader is left to wonder about. I even enjoy endings like this as they make me remember the book when I speculate on how they will turn out.
Told in the first person by Jane, who in her young teens, enjoyed several memorable summers with her brother Lucien, at the cottage of Esme's parents on the grounds of their home, Martin's Court. Two other boys are part of their group. Owen, whose mother comes to the estate to help Esme's mother who has just had twins and Rob, an Australian boy who has become Lucien's closest friend at their English boarding school.
Jane and Owen are now married with two young children when the events of the story take place. They are both rather unhappy as the marriage is floundering partly due to their precarious finances. They own a young nursery business whose main customer has gone bankrupt. It has led to strange arguments, with Jane making vindictive remarks and Owen refusing to be drawn into a shouting match. Their neighbour Dinah shows Jane a magazine with an article mentioning Rob and his current life and it turns out he has been living with Esme for about 6 months. Jane and Owen haven't heard from Rob since the death of Lucien about 10 years ago, shortly before Jane and Owen married.
The following day, Jane hears from her mother that Esme has been attacked by someone unknown and is in hospital in a coma, and that Rob seems to have disappeared. That night Jane gets a strange call from Rob insisting on secrecy and calling in a favour on the strength of their childhood friendship. He uses a special code which Lucien had insisted they all remember and says that he is hiding near the cottage where they used to spend their holidays.
Jane's feeling of estrangement from Owen makes her decide that she will go, and she sets off the next day telling Owen she is going away for a while but she won't say where. When she gets to Rob she asks Esme's father if she can stay in the cottage for a day or two and smuggles Rob in after dark.
The mystery deepens and Jane starts to wonder who she can trust. Why has Rob not stayed at his home? Doesn't he realize that it makes him seem guilty? Why has he avoided her since Lucien's death after falling from a cliff? What does he know about that death and is Jane at risk from Rob too? When he asks her to get into the main house to find Esme's hidden journal, why does he ask her not to read it before she gives it to him? Jane puzzles about these things and yet she agrees to continue helping him, partly because they had been a couple for a while before Lucien died.
As the action continues the reader becomes drawn in to these mysteries and worries that Jane may be getting beyond her depth. She is also putting her own marriage at risk and the tension builds.
The ending provides answers to many of these questions and also some reasons why Jane has the prickly personality which causes her such pain. There are also some which the reader is left to wonder about. I even enjoy endings like this as they make me remember the book when I speculate on how they will turn out.
October 31, 2024
I wouldn't call this a good book. I also wouldn't call it, necessarily, a bad book. Just an uninspired book, in plot and prose. Even in the last few pages I had to struggle to remember who all these characters were, because I just didn't care.
Written lasciviously, not quite a romance, not quite an adventure, not quite a mystery. Wholly unlikable characters with personal arcs that hold up to no scrutiny whatsoever.
The book's saving grace is that there actually are solid foundations to these characters. All the problems they have - well, apart from the not ever just talking to each other - are explained. All their dysfunctions have a cause. That's what kept me reading.
I don't recommend this novel, but you can read it if you like, you're not going to hate me for not warning you off.
Written lasciviously, not quite a romance, not quite an adventure, not quite a mystery. Wholly unlikable characters with personal arcs that hold up to no scrutiny whatsoever.
The book's saving grace is that there actually are solid foundations to these characters. All the problems they have - well, apart from the not ever just talking to each other - are explained. All their dysfunctions have a cause. That's what kept me reading.
I don't recommend this novel, but you can read it if you like, you're not going to hate me for not warning you off.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews