The Art of Keeping Secrets: A Novel

Written by Patti Callahan Henry

Narrated by Janet Metzger and Shannon McManus

New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry transports readers to the Lowcountry of South Carolina, where a tragedy unites two women—and forces them to face the dark secrets of their past...

Since a solo plane crash killed her husband two years ago, Annabelle Murphy has found solace in raising her two children. Just when she thinks the grief is behind her, she receives the news that the wreckage of the plane has been discovered—and that her husband did not die alone. He was with another woman. Suddenly Annabelle is forced to question everything she once held true.

Sofie Milstead knows the woman who was on that plane. A dolphin researcher who has lived a quiet life, Sofie has never let anyone get too close. But when Annabelle shows up on Sofie's doorstep full of painful questions, both women must confront their intertwining pasts—and find the courage they need to face the truth...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Nov 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781441862204

Patti Callahan Henry

PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY is a full-time writer, wife and mother and the New York Times bestselling author whose novels include Between the Tides, Driftwood Summer and The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story. She lives with her husband and three children in Mountain Brook, Alabama, where she is working on her next novel.

Reviews for The Art of Keeping Secrets

[ellengryphon · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

An indulgence to my infatuation with stories about widows. Breezy read with mildly suspenseful plot...widow discovers things about her dead spouse that cause her to question their entire relationship (naughty corpse!); everything is tidily put in place by the end. No surprises. A shallow diversion.

[nyiper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was totally caught up in reading this book and wondering just where it was going to wind up---it really does sort of keep you going right to the end as to what can possibly be "the secret." I particularly appreciated the author's comments at the end of the book. Her explanations for why and how some things happened in the book were interesting and helpful in understanding what she was trying to accomplish with the characters.

[bookczuk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(There is a moderate spoiler after the 3rd paragraph. Not enough to hide the whole review, but enough, that if you are serious about reading the book, you might not want to know ahead of time, though I will try and be vague as possible.)I feel really bad that I just don't like this author's premises that much, but obviously it doesn't keep me from trying again when a book of hers comes my way. She loves the low country. I love the low country. We have that meeting ground. But honestly, I think we sometimes inhabit two different worlds.I understand all the angst and drama that surfaced for Belle who lost her beloved husband in a small plane crash two years before this story starts. What I can't understand is the immediate conclusion that this man who shared her heart and life was unfaithful since, when the plane was found, there was also found the body of a woman passenger. I could construct a number of other reasons that would have been plausible. My sympathy while reading the novel was for Knox, and for him to be vindicated. But Knox was dead, and I had to deal with his wife and two kids, and Sophie, the daughter of the dead woman in the plane. I must say that I think PCH's writing is getting stronger, better defined and more evocative. I'm just not so crazy about some of the characters/stories she creates. I also don't think the occasional secret regarding the past is necessarily a bad thing. It's not everyone's style, but for some people, it's probably better not to let the nightmares out of the closet, or the stuff out of the box. Not all boxes are like Pandora's, with hope at the bottom. spoiler alert: Do not read beyond this if you don't want a moderate spoiler.Stop! Spoiler ahead!I really disliked the treatment of Hurricane Hugo in Sophie's telling of her mom's tale. I lived through that storm, and remember the gratitude that a storm that big was not the killer it could have been here in Charleston. To throw away a life, even fictitiously as an escape from an abusive marriage really irked me.

[caroren_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Spellbinding look at how no one really ever knows all there is to know about another person.