SECRET KEEPERS

Fans of sprawling Southern novels about dysfunctional families will enjoy Mindy Frindle’s latest story. Emma Hanley is looking forward to finally being able to travel when her husband suddenly dies on the eve of their departure. Reconciling her dreams to her new reality, she deals with her born-again daughter, her mentally ill son, and the ghost of her first-born son, who was killed in Vietnam. Long-buried secrets begin to present themselves like the tangled vines overrunning her garden. Cynthia Darlow’s narration is fast paced but inexplicably slowed down by overlong pauses between chapters. She uses her voice to good effect, especially in the voices of Bobby, the genius son lost in a mental fog, and Kyle, her frustrated grandson who is trying to find his own path. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2010]