House of Secrets Book Review

In House of Secrets Bailee Cooper and her sisters, Geena and Piper, go back to the summer house in Bremerton, Washington to reunite with their father, who has something to tell them. They haven't been there since their mother died, and the three sisters piece together their memories about their mother and her death, and have a lot of questions about it for their father. They decide it is time to let go of the secrets and plan to confront their father. Each of the family members learns something new in the process, causing chaos and confusion in the family.

Mark Delahunt is interested in Bailee and arrives in the middle of the turmoil to help her through it. He is not willing to have a relationship with her, however, if she does not believe in God. In order to let Mark in her life, Bailee has to deal with her abandonment issues, and learn to trust him and God.

Bailee has been offered a promotion that would require her to move to New York. She needs to make a decision about whether to accept the promotion, whether to accept Mark in her life, and resolve the issues she has about God.

This contemporary fiction book deals with a great deal of emotion and a lot of heavy issues - love, loss, betrayal, mental illness, pain, forgiveness, dysfunction, romance, abandonment, responsibility, redemption, trust, and a host of other issues.

It was very realistic in its portrayal of the church members who were unwilling to help their mother as she dealt with her schizophrenia, and the way the family members treated each other as they learned new things about each other.

Bailee has a lot of questions about God and why he would have abandoned them when she and her sisters were under their schizophrenic mother's care.

The characters are well developed. It is a well written book with an intriguing plot and deep issues.

Tracie Peterson, the author of House of Secrets, is a best selling, award-winning author of more than eighty five novels. She writes Christian fiction. Some of her novels stand alone, while some of them, particularly the historical fiction ones, are written as a series. She continues to write more novels, and her website shows that there are five books that will be released in 2012.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book, House of Secrets, free from the publisher Bethany House for purposes of writing a book review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”