Having recently finished reading and reviewing a book essentially about old friendships, I was looking forward to reading another book centered on friendships. However, I didn’t quite know what to expect from Her Guilty Secret.
Her Guilty Secret
“Let’s play truth or dare, for old times’ sake…”
I reluctantly agree, silently praying none of my three oldest friends gets the chance to ask me a truth. There is so much I’ve been keeping from them. Just for this weekend, for our long-awaited college reunion, I want to put all that aside and have some fun.
But it wasn’t my secrets I should have been worried about. It was theirs.
When Ada draws truth, she can’t meet my eye. “Ivy…” she begins and then stops. Before saying something that I immediately wish she could take back.
But of course she can’t, not now.
The worst thing is no one else seems as shocked. I realise they have let me think I was to blame all these years. Perhaps I never knew my closest friends to begin with. Maybe we were never actually friends all…
A gripping, emotional drama about the complexities of friendship and what truly lies beneath the image of a perfect life. Fans of Liane Moriarty, Kerry Fisher and Sally Hepworth will be hooked from the very first page.
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My Review
Old college friends get together – one excited to host them and the other three coming to the get together with mixed emotions
One of the things about lifelong friendships is the expectations these friends have from you and also how the patterns of relating to each other are fixed. The fact is that as we grow older we change, our priorities change and it’s important that we give old friends space and reassess our patterns of relating to each other. I think Her Guilty Secret brought this out beautifully.
Each of the friends had a secret that they were struggling with apart from the one big secret that threatened to bring up the past and break the tenuous ties that they had. Old hurts and unresolved emotions between start to show as they interact with each other and also each of them is trying to pretend their life is fine. A game of truth or dare changes the dynamic of their gathering and threatens the future of their friendship. Will they continue to be friends despite all this?
I didn’t know what to expect from the book but then found it hard to put it down. The author’s style of narration is really good. The problems that the women face in their individual lives are so real and relatable as is the nature of their friendship and interaction.
I will be looking out for more books from this author.
Meet The Author
A teacher as well as a writer, Emily Cavanagh lives with her husband, two daughters, and an Australian Shepherd on Martha’s Vineyard Island. Her work has been published in Red Rock Review, Grain Magazine, Transfer, and Martha’s Vineyard Arts and Ideas. Read more about Emily’s work and life at her website.
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Thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.