Mar 19, 2014

Book Review: The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley


Title: The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley
Published February 4, 2014; Bantam
Genre: fiction
Objective review: 5/5

About the book: The secrets in a neighborhood, large and small, create problems for the individuals as well as for their small community and reveal the conflicts and tragedies they can create.

Young Tyler has a rare disease that makes him super sensitive to sunlight and even light from halogen bulbs. His neighbors cooperate by using regular light bulbs in their houses and backyards. Tyler can only come out of his house after the sun goes down - between sunset and dawn. Unknown to his very protective mother, Eve, he goes out at night with his camera and takes pictures of people in their homes, people he cannot see during the daytime unless they visit his boarded up and curtained rooms at home.

Tyler finds out the secrets of some of his neighbors, but the most damaging secret of all, that of his own mother Eve, he doesn't know about. Her secret will bring the neighbors into conflict with each other and eat at the heart of this mother who only wants to protect her invalid son.

My comments: The plot and the characters pull you in completely and the story as it unfolds is not at all predictable. Excellent characterizations. An intense look at our human hearts and the decisions that people sometimes are forced to make between family and friendship, morality and loyalty.  I gave this a five and highly recommend this book.

Carla Buckley lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband, an environmental scientist, and their three children. She is the author of The Deepest Secret, Invisible, and The Things That Keep Us Here, which was nominated for a Thriller Award as a Best First novel and the Ohioana Book Award for fiction. She is at work on her next novel. Visit Carla’s website or Facebook for more information

Visit TLC Book Tours for more reviews and the tour schedule for
The Deepest Secret

I received a complimentary ARC of this book for review. 

8 comments:

  1. Harvee, I'm glad you enjoyed this novel so much. I like the idea of great characters and unpredictability. Excellent review!

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  2. I almost read this a while back but you know how it is...so many books. I'm glad you liked it, and since you gave it such a high rating, I'm adding it to my tbr list.

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  3. I plan to read this one as well --sounds like a good one.

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  4. This has a very intriguing plot. The everyday secrets of common people can sometimes be the most interesting. It is really neat how the author has set up such a plot device to expose them.

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  5. To echo Brian's comment, the plot does sound intriguing. I enjoy family dramas.

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  6. This sounds very interesting. I'm glad you enjoyed The Deepest Secret.

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  7. I read this book also, and feel the same way. It was a quick, interesting read for me. I like the claustrophobic setting because it intensified the suspense; about 99% of the story takes place in/out of a few houses on that one street where the family lives. Good review, thanks!

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  8. I'm glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks for being a part of the tour.

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I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

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