The Secret Keeping
by Francine Saint Marie
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Book Summary Information
Author: Francine Saint MarieEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09
ISBN: 188352377X
Number of pages: 310
Publisher: Spinsters Ink Books
Book Reviews of The Secret Keeping
Book Review: An intricate novel
Summary: 5 Stars
The Secret Keeping is not a book for the casual reader. It challenges your attention and requires patience as the story develops, but the wait is worth it.
Dr. Helaine Kristenson, AKA The Love Doctor, feels she is somewhat of a hypocrite. Through her best-selling book and her practice, she helps other people solve problems in their relationships, but she can't solve her own. She is trapped in a loveless long term affair with the internationally famous model Sharon Chambers, who ignores Helaine while she has numerous liaisons around the world, but who Helaine can't seem to get out of her system. Lydia Beaumont is an extremely successful investment strategist with a high powered firm on Wall Street. Although she is skilled in the bedroom, she has found her various affairs to be unsatisfying, so she has devoted herself to long hours in the office and focusing herself on her career. One of her few distractions is to meet with her friends at a bar/restaurant not far from the office and there she becomes intrigued by the woman she sees every time she is there who sits alone at a window table reading books. Eventually, Helaine and Lydia are drawn together, in great part due to the helpful machinations of a friendly waiter, and then the trouble starts. Sharon Chambers is not the kind of woman to let a lover walk away from her and she sets out to prove it. The book moves through palimony suits, corporate intrigue and the harassment of a "free press." The question finally is if two women who are basically very private can survive very public exposure and what are they willing to pay to make it happen.
The Secret Keeping can be a difficult book to grasp when you first start it. The first third tells the story from Lydia's point of view and is written in a style verging on stream of consciousness. Sometimes scenes aren't understood until you get to the end of them or even until the next scene. When Helaine's story picks up as the second third of the book, the pattern switches to long, fast paced conversations with other characters that require the reader to be paying close attention to who is talking. If you're used to quickly reading through a book, this one will force you to change your habits. The first few chapters can be very trying, but it's worth the effort. The reader will suddenly realize at some point though that a story that seemed difficult to follow has turned into a fascinating story that can't be put down. You will have to focus on this book right until the last pages to grasp all of its complexities. You may find it confusing at first, but stick it out until the end. You'll be glad you did.
Summary of The Secret Keeping
A LAMBDA Notable Book, Goldie Award finalist for best dramatic fiction, semi-finalist for the Independent Publishers Award, and an IPPY Award Bronze medalist. First Edition by Spinsters Ink; Second Edition by BookSurge/Amazon; Discount Edition by Fair Trade Productions and BD Books (ASIN 1438206313). SYNOPSIS: Dr. Helaine Kristenson is the leading authority in the field of psychosexual relations and the best-selling author of the how-to bible, Keeping Mr. Right. Professionally, the esteemed doctor deals with secrets of the heart everyday. Privately, she even has a few of her own to keep her busy. What's so Top Secret? Her seven-year relationship with notorious supermodel, Sharon Chambers, a once very hot union that, of late, leaves much to be desired. Wandering unwittingly into the middle of their tangled web is disillusioned investment strategist, Lydia Beaumont, a sleeping beauty who's just about to wake up. Add a dozen lawyers to the resulting fray, a handful of corporate executives, and a gaggle of overzealous reporters and you've got one highly public love triangle. And the more private a woman is, the more exposed she becomes... The Secret Keeping, the acclaimed debut novel by Francine Saint Marie. (Mother was wrong, money can indeed buy you love--if it's invested wisely!)Lesbian Books
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