The Deepest Secret
Pages: 448
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
From the outside it appears as if Eve Lattimore is your typical suburban mother. She and her husband live in a quiet cul-de-sac with their two children, Melissa and Tyler. While the Lattimore's appear to be the perfect little family, the reality is that the family's life, their actions, their movements, their everything revolves around Tyler and his rare disease,
xeroderma pigmentosum. Which means that Tyler is fatally allergic to UV rays. Their house has become a fortress against the deadly sun and their every action is to ensure Tyler's safety. Eve always knew that she would do anything for her kids to ensure their safety, but even she did not realize how far she would go to ensure that Tyler has her there to look after him. When a tragic accident happens Eve becomes a woman she does not recognize and puts her friendships, her marriage, her freedom, everything at risk in order to ensure that she will be there to look after Tyler.
The Deepest Secret was one of those books that sucked me in almost immediately. Almost from the first page you realize that Eve Lattimore is a total control freak. Of course, I can understand why, I mean when the sun can kill your child you have to be. There was more than once that her level of control annoyed me, especially when she was talking to her husband. Not to mention the way she basically overlooked everything about her daughter. I wanted to sit her down with a glass of wine and say "chill". When the big "thing" happened I was really appalled about the way she handled it. I know Tyler is at great risk, but at the age of 14 he is old enough to take some responsibility for his safety, and he exhibits some degree of that, even when he is sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night. The end of the book is still with me, I am not entirely sure I like the way it ended, but if it is still on my mind, then the author certainly did something right.
Bottom line, Carla Buckley is an author who knows how to tell a good story. In
The Deepest Secret she challenges her readers to blur the lines between right and wrong and as a reader it can be uncomfortable. But I could stop reading.
The Deepest Secret is one of those books sure to make you think and will definitely generate discussion at your next book club. Give it a chance.
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