Book Review: House of Secrets

I'm a bit behind in my book reviews, so this blog may be inundated with a bunch of reviews in the next few days.... (Just a warning.)


House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson is quite an intense book. Tracie follows a family torn apart by the death of the mother so many years before. Each family member has a different interpretation of the past. When the father demands that his three daughters meet him at their old summer cottage (the last place they saw their mother), the girls don't know what to expect. What good can come out of returning to this place they've all worked so hard to forget??

I would say that this is a extremely intense book, dealing with serious mental health issues, suicide, murder, atheism, courtship, and conversion all at the same time. The circumstances are so extreme and the conclusions so bland that I was initially tempted to write this book off as a superficial Christian novel that was far too scary to read before bed.

However, the more I consider it, I think this book does raise questions about family relationships and how family members can care for each other even in hard, confusing, or even wrong circumstances. The father is counseled not to tell his daughters anything; it will be better for them, they say. He takes that word too far though and refuses to have a relationship with them, leaving them alone often & only providing for them with material goods but neglecting to realize that they also may be grieving the loss of their mother as well & need him as emotional support.

For me, this book caused me to stop and think about how families can walk through difficult circumstances. The striking thing in all the characters is that they're doing what's best for the others; yet, in so doing, they neither address their own needs nor truly meet the needs of those they mean to help. Because of the lack of conversation and the fear of discussing the real issue at hand, everyone works hard and blindly to help. In this sense, Traci Peterson has captured the moment and the feeling of Christian families trying to cope with tragedy or difficult situations, particularly situations that "don't happen to real Christians." I would highly recommend this book to readers who want to go beyond simple Christian faith and consider the place of faith and family in trying circumstances. (Just, maybe, don't read it before bed!)

Note: I received a review copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and was not required to write a positive review.