Public Secrets isn't one of Nora Roberts most popular books. It's not one that gets mentioned much and I know a lot of her readers don't particularly care for it. But there's something about this book that thoroughly captures me. It's one of my all-time favorite books. I think I've read it about 6 times now.It's a rather atypical romance novel (semi-romantic suspense) because the romance doesn't really come into play seriously until the last 150 pages. This book is more about the heroine, Emma, and her life. It's one of NR's "time progression" stories (like Honest Illusions, River's End and Blue Smoke) where the book starts out when Emma is almost 3 years old, living with her neglectful, abusive mother and then rescued by her rising-star father, Brian McAvoy, lead singer for the band Devastation. It moves through periods of her life - adjusting to her new family, a little brother she adored, her brother's death when she was 6, the destruction that followed, growing up in the spotlight, being exposed to the rock and roll lifestyle, an abusive marriage, and finally love. The story goes through it all, the good, the bad, and the in between. And scattered throughout she has several encounters with Michael Kesselring, the son of the detective who investigated her brother's death. But it isn't until she's 26 that they finally have a chance.So this book is rather different. It's not one to read if you're looking for pure romance. This is a story about people and triumph and tragedy, and then finally about love and peace. A lot of the book deals with how Emma's life is affected by being the daughter of a hugely popular rock band - the things she saw, the isolation, the media, the excesses. And it's about how those experiences shaped her and the needs that led her into an abusive marriage.It's fascinating to read. Whenever I read it, I'm always completely sucked into the story. The characters are so real. I loved how Roberts wrote all the relationships between the characters. They're so fitting to the story.And the romance is fantastic. Even though it's a relatively small part of the story, I absolutely loved it. Emma and Michael have a hit and miss relationship, first meeting when she was 6, he 11. Then again when she was 12, he 17, where the first seeds of romance are planted. They have several more encounters, but fate keeps them apart. Then finally they get to be together. It's touching to read. And when I finished the book, I felt completely satisfied and like they were in it for the long haul.I've read some comments about this book that it's cliched and reliant on rockstar stereotypes and that its a copy of other rockstar fiction. Which is true, to a certain extent. But I think several things should be taken into consideration when thinking that.For one, it's not like the situations in the book were exaggerations or anything. That's what things were often like with bands - the parties, the drugs, the sex and all that. If Roberts had written a wholesome band, people would have been complaining that the book was completely unrealistic. I just don't see any other way she could have written the band.Two - the book was published in 1990. Written before then, before a lot of the big movies, biopics, tv specials, true confessions, etc. If you read it in 2008 for the first time, it does seem like a lot of what's already out there. But back in 1990, that storyline wasn't nearly as played out.And lastly, the book isn't really about the band and all they did, exactly. It's about a little girl dropped into the bands lifestyle and how it affected her life. Which is a very valid and interesting storyline.It's that part that sucks me into the story. Half the time Emma comes across as this really strong woman who is in control of her life, and the other half the time, she's the scared little girl, afraid of the monsters in the dark and blaming herself for not protecting her little brother. The way Roberts wrote the storyline - how Emma's past continually affected her life - was really well done. She drags every emotion out of you at some point during the book - happiness, anger, despair, pity. I got a little teary-eyed a couple of times.Whatever it is about this book, it's one that I just really, really enjoyed. It's a story that stuck with me. But like I said, it's not really for someone who wants all romance because it's a long time coming in this book. If you like to read a good dramatic story, though, with a solid dose of romance, then I highly recommend this one.
This book reminded me why I like Nora Roberts. I'll admit, I haven't been impressed with her lately (and by lately I'm pretty sure any book she's written in the last decade because it felt like too many of the same re-tellings to me), but this one, I really enjoyed and in fact stayed up late last night because I was halfway through and didn't want to stop. I love that this story took place over about a span of thirty years or so. I love that it was about rockers and stardom and drugs and family and love and hate etc etc. It felt real and it was long enough that by the end, I was just as invested in it all these fictional characters (Emma, my darling, I love you) when they were close to figuring out who killed the toddler (for the record, I was half right and half wrong). No, it's not really a romance story per say, not until the last 100 pages or so with Emma and Michael but I'm a sucker for childhood acquaintances to more story lines (which is done VERY well here) and I loved seeing all the other loves show (Bev and Brian!) throughout but most of all, just seeing how the group as a family have always been there for each other through the years. Through drugs and rehab and dead children and divorces and flings etc, this group has managed to still hold onto what makes them them and I love that. I love books that write about things that I think are important -friends and family. Sometimes you are lucky enough that they are both, as shown here.Would rec this to other NR fans looking for something really well written of hers.
What do You think about Public Secrets (2012)?
This is an oldie but a goodie. I first read Public Secrets over 15 years ago and since then I continually pick it back up for a reread. I just finished rereading the story after a good 7 or 8 year break and I am so happy to say that it's still as compelling, intriguing, and delightful as it was the first time I read it. This story in particular is a favorite of mine as it follow the story of not just the main character Emma, but an entire cast of characters that you love to love and love to hate. This story takes you through 30 years worth of character development and growth not to mention 30 years worth of history. The story starts in the 1960s and Nora paints a vivid picture of the time then. I wasn't alive at that time but her portrayal was so alive and real that I feel almost like I had lived it. The new wave of music, the British Invasion, sex, drugs, the changing shape of society and youth - it's all there. You grow up with Emma and at the same time you grow with her family. Learning to love them as she loves them, despair over them, root for them. They become your family too. For me, it's impossible not become invested in them. The other component I love about this story, is that Emma's love interest is introduced to you from the very beginning - when he's a pre-teen. You see how their relationship develops, the mistakes they make and in the end its beautiful when they finally come together. Nora tackles some heavy topics in this book too - sex, drugs, rape, AIDS, abuse, addiction, love, despair - and she does it with aplomb, grace, wit, and honesty. I feel that out of the entire Nora Robert's collection this book blows the other stand alone mystery/romance stories out of the water. By far the most complex and developed story line; fully engaging and relatable characters- Public Secrets has it all. I cannot recommend this book enough to others.
—Bridget
The characterization and settings are superb. based solely on this, it would have been a 5. but after a while the detail is too much. For about an hour's worth of crime drama, you need to span 20 years. There were scenes where the person has traveled hours to ask one life-or-death question. Rather than ask, they draw it out for a page saying "I'm going to ask a question," or neglect to share a vital piece of information entirely. I found myself wanting to edit several times. Whole chapters, such as Stevie's rehab horrors, could have been tossed as irrelevant. By contrast in the four or so pivotal scenes, we come down to split-second timing. These repeated moments not only strained credibility, but the action was rushed, suffering from vagueness and confusion. Finally, I found myself shouting at the heroine several times, beginning with her first rape. I felt subjecting us to multiple rapes and several types of abuse was punishment, losing the tight bond I felt with her up till then. When some tries to kill her for the third or fourth time, I had stopped bothering to tell her there was someone metaphorically crouching behind the door because she wasn't going to do anything to stop it.These problems could have been solved with some polishing, making this epic shine like the jewel it should be.
—Scott Rhine
Wow, this is... intense. I want to say it reminds me of Coming Home, a little bit, because they've both got this - atmosphere, I guess - that conveys such a sense of reality. As if the story is already known and is simply being transcribed. Not the sort of work where you think about plot and pacing, just about the inexorable march of time. The almost inevitability of the ending, something hard-won after years of work put into making it from day to day. The courage of everyday living.I wish there'd been more of Emma and Michael, but this isn't that type of story. This isn't shiny escapism. It's sensationalist at the surface, but ultimately it's gritty and difficult and real.
—Beth
