The Secrets He Kept by Jackie Walsh
Published by Hera Books
Publication Date: 6th November 2019
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Book Description:
You know everything about your husband. Don’t you?
He loves you. He loves your children. He’d never put his family in danger.
One of these is a lie.
It started like any other day at the hairdressers where Sally works as a stylist… until her first client innocently shows her a family photograph; a photograph that causes Sally to collapse in shock.
In one moment, Sally discovers that Tom has been hiding an explosive secret – one that could tear apart the life they’ve built together. Faced with an impossible dilemma - search for the truth, or keep her contented life? – Sally is about to discover that even those closest to us have secrets… and that sometimes the truth is the last thing we want to hear.
My Review:
Sally Cooper thought her husband had dropped the biggest possible bombshell on their marriage when he admitted to her that he had blown all her savings on an investment opportunity which failed quite spectacularly, scuppering her dream of owning her own hairdressing salon, forcing her to work all the hours she could in someone else's salon. It is whilst working in there that a customer shows her a photograph which puts her financial issues in their place and completely rocks the foundation of her marriage to Tom. A photograph which suggests her husband has a teenage son and a secret life which he has told Sally nothing about.
After much deliberation Sal confronts Tom about the possibility of the existence of the child in the photograph, but his reaction does little to calm her fears or explain anything. Tom's behaviour changes in that instant as does the whole pace of Sal's life. Yes, things were hectic before as she worked crazy hours to try to keep a roof over their heads and the bills paid - not to mention keeping up with their daughter's demands for the latest fashion and make up trends - but throw in a lack of sleep and an overactive imagination due to the fact that Sal knows her husband is keeping things from her and Sal is struggling to cope. Then a local woman is found murdered in a street not too far away from theirs, leading to the police on their doorstep.
I could totally understand Sal's torment in this book: she wants to believe her husband but the way he is acting and the facts the police are giving her are saying something different completely. Why would he lie now about the existence of the boy in the photograph? Does anyone else know? And why are the police knocking on their door in particular? She's a strong character and I admired the way she handled herself in some really tricky situations along the way but there's a limit to every person's tolerance.
I particularly liked the character of Sally & Tom's daughter, Amber; typical of many teenagers she has plenty of sarcastic lines in the book, temper tantrums and sulks, but you can see that underneath it all she's a good kid. As is often the case Amber channels most of her anger and angst towards her mum as it's she who has the "bad cop" role when it comes to parenting. While the adults have clearly tried to keep a lot of their "grown up" issues away from her she's far more astute than they realise. Dad Tom I could quite happily have strangled myself on more than one occasion and by the end of the book it appeared that maybe the boy in the photograph is more like his dad than anyone realised. After all, it's not just adults who can keep a secret is it?
After much deliberation Sal confronts Tom about the possibility of the existence of the child in the photograph, but his reaction does little to calm her fears or explain anything. Tom's behaviour changes in that instant as does the whole pace of Sal's life. Yes, things were hectic before as she worked crazy hours to try to keep a roof over their heads and the bills paid - not to mention keeping up with their daughter's demands for the latest fashion and make up trends - but throw in a lack of sleep and an overactive imagination due to the fact that Sal knows her husband is keeping things from her and Sal is struggling to cope. Then a local woman is found murdered in a street not too far away from theirs, leading to the police on their doorstep.
I could totally understand Sal's torment in this book: she wants to believe her husband but the way he is acting and the facts the police are giving her are saying something different completely. Why would he lie now about the existence of the boy in the photograph? Does anyone else know? And why are the police knocking on their door in particular? She's a strong character and I admired the way she handled herself in some really tricky situations along the way but there's a limit to every person's tolerance.
I particularly liked the character of Sally & Tom's daughter, Amber; typical of many teenagers she has plenty of sarcastic lines in the book, temper tantrums and sulks, but you can see that underneath it all she's a good kid. As is often the case Amber channels most of her anger and angst towards her mum as it's she who has the "bad cop" role when it comes to parenting. While the adults have clearly tried to keep a lot of their "grown up" issues away from her she's far more astute than they realise. Dad Tom I could quite happily have strangled myself on more than one occasion and by the end of the book it appeared that maybe the boy in the photograph is more like his dad than anyone realised. After all, it's not just adults who can keep a secret is it?
About the Author:
Jackie Walsh lives in Dublin with her husband Paul. Her interest in
writing developed with the spare time that followed the success of her
business. She’s a member of the Irish Writers Centre, The Irish Crime writers
group, and loves to travel to writing festivals including Harrogate and
Bristol.
Follow Jackie on Twitter @JackieWalsh_ie
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