Secrecy (book)

Secrecy

Author	Belva Plain
Language	English
Genre	Romance novel
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	April 6, 1998
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	432
ISBN	978-0-440-22511-9
Preceded by	Promises
Followed by	Homecoming

Secrecy is a 1998 novel and New York Times bestseller by Belva Plain. It tells the story of Charlotte, a little girl from the Dawes family whose adolescence life was shatterded after she was raped by Ted, her uncle's stepson.

Plot summary

Charlotte, a precocious and reticent young girl fell in love with her uncle's stepson, Ted, a charming and irresistible eighteen-year-old after a first encounter with him at her uncle's wedding. Meanwhile Ted's mother Claudia was Charlotte's role model and confidant being that Charlotte's wasn't close to her mother who was epicurean and had a strained relationship with her father, Bill that was unable to meet up with her mother's lifestyle after the great depression that shook the family financially. On a fateful evening, Charlotte was invited by Ted and was raped. This incident left Charlotte traumatic and in a bid to overcome it, she took up courses as an architect to build a new future aided by her career.

Reception

Critical reception for Secrecy was mixed, with Publishers Weekly praising the book. Kirkus Reviews criticized the book's "clammy subplot", calling the overall book "Plain Plain..., but nonetheless name- anointed for success". The Kentucky Daily News wrote that Secrecy was "ultimately a story of redemption, the kind that grows when one person dares to tell the truth".