The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley

Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Bantam

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Everyone has a secret. Some are darker than others. Eve Lattimore rarely gave any thought to how well she knew her children. They were her life - especially after her son was diagnosed with a rare disease. Each day was a battle between keeping him alive and allowing him to live a normal life.

Then everything changed. A young girl, one of her son's only friends, went missing. As the search for her continued, secrets began working their way to the surface. It became apparent that the idyllic life everyone knew wasn't very idyllic after all. Will Eve be able to protect her children from the fallout? Will anyone's life be the same?

Review:
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. In the beginning the reader was given the layout of the neighborhood, showing who lived in which house and some of the residents quirks were offered. The novel largely revolved around the Lattimore family, Eve and David as well as their two children, Melissa and Tyler, and the way they dealt with Tyler's disease. He was diagnosed with XP, or Xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare disease where the person has a severe sensitivity to ultraviolet light.

Besides the Lattimore, several neighbors were introduced as the story progressed. Many were long time residents of the little cul-de-sac and everyone felt they knew the other quite well. This assumption became the basis for a whole host of problems and kept me turning the pages. Because the neighbors interacted with one another so closely, the story had more depth and layers than I anticipated. While I expected some dreadful revelations, there were a bunch of moments when I was really didn't want to turn the page. I didn't want to know if my guesses were correct or not, but I felt compelled to know the entire story.

I found the beginning of the story a little slow, but it picked up within a few chapters. I should say sub-chapters as the book was divided into days, noting the sunrise, sunset and other astrological information, and then into chapters denoting which character was the main focus of the pages that follow. Once the devastating events began, tough decisions and irrational fears came crawling out of the woodwork. With so many possible perpetrators to so many crimes, large and small, it's hard to see the world in black and white terms of right and wrong.

Overall, this story captivated me and really left me wondering what I would have done in each of the scenarios presented. It was easy to slip into any of the characters and see their point-of-view because the author was able to make them realistic and empathizing with them was easy. Heart-breaking as much of the story was, I still enjoyed how well the author explored the darkest secrets that a neighbor, a wife or husband, a brother or sister, or a stranger held and how it affected the bigger picture. If you're looking for a completely engrossing and soul-grabbing type of story, this is the one I would recommend. You will have trouble putting it down once you start.

The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley is now available at many retailers including those online. It can be purchased in harcover, Kindle and audio-book. Click the link below to get a copy from Amazon.
The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley