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A review by katkinney
Secrets of Our House by Rea Frey
5.0
I always enjoy Rea Frey’s women’s fiction for its well-drawn characters and dark, twisty situations.
The players:
Desi designs houses and has just moved from Chicago with her husband Peter and teenaged daughter Jules to the small town of River Falls. Peter is ex-military and now is into the survivalist life. His marriage with Desi is strained. Jules is dating Will, whose mother is sick with end stage cancer. Jules had been planning to attend college in New York, but now wants to forego school in order to stay in River Falls and be close to Will. Desi’s estranged brother Tommy shows up in town. Like Peter, he’s ex-military. Carter is Desi’s ex. He also served with Peter and Tommy in the Marines and has been trying to contact Desi.
The action of this book takes place over the course of a year. Many people in the book are under stress because of big life events. Will Jules and Will be parted when Jules goes to Columbia in the fall? Will and Ava’s mother continues to grow sicker as her cancer advances. Some characters are keeping secrets and have been for years. The marriage between Peter and Desi made me shudder to read at times. I wouldn’t really call either of them particularly likeable characters. Peter was cold and controlling and Desi was meddling and manipulative, but from a drama standpoint, watching their marriage self-destruct made for terribly interesting reading. Several huge medical events happen in the book and they were very well written with nail biting action and excellent pacing. My favorite thing about this book was the description of the setting.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for review purposes.
The players:
Desi designs houses and has just moved from Chicago with her husband Peter and teenaged daughter Jules to the small town of River Falls. Peter is ex-military and now is into the survivalist life. His marriage with Desi is strained. Jules is dating Will, whose mother is sick with end stage cancer. Jules had been planning to attend college in New York, but now wants to forego school in order to stay in River Falls and be close to Will. Desi’s estranged brother Tommy shows up in town. Like Peter, he’s ex-military. Carter is Desi’s ex. He also served with Peter and Tommy in the Marines and has been trying to contact Desi.
The action of this book takes place over the course of a year. Many people in the book are under stress because of big life events. Will Jules and Will be parted when Jules goes to Columbia in the fall? Will and Ava’s mother continues to grow sicker as her cancer advances. Some characters are keeping secrets and have been for years. The marriage between Peter and Desi made me shudder to read at times. I wouldn’t really call either of them particularly likeable characters. Peter was cold and controlling and Desi was meddling and manipulative, but from a drama standpoint, watching their marriage self-destruct made for terribly interesting reading. Several huge medical events happen in the book and they were very well written with nail biting action and excellent pacing. My favorite thing about this book was the description of the setting.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for review purposes.