Secrets She Left Behind By: Diane Chamberlain

Score: 4 ½ out of 5

Prior to about two weeks ago I had never heard of Diane Chamberlain. How is this possible? I have no idea!

Anyway, while browsing at my local library I stumbled upon a Diane Chamberlain novel. Immediately upon glimpsing the cover, I knew I had to read this book. The main reason is there was a quote on the front that said, “Diane Chamberlain is the Southern Jodi Picoult.” Right there, was all the encouragement I needed. I absolutely love Jodi Picoult. She is one of my favorite authors and anyone who is compared to her is worthy of my attention.

Now, this review has gone terribly off course. I did intend to solely write about “Secrets She Left Behind” and here I am going off on a tangent!

The main questions are as follows: did I agree that Diane Chamberlain is a Southern Jodi Picoult?, did I enjoy the book?, and is she worth reading? Yes to all three.

I saw similarities in her writings to Picoult’s. She allowed each character to tell their own story, which Picoult is famous for doing. Chamberlain’s characters were almost real, full of life and one of the best traits, flawed, extremely flawed.

“Secret She Left Behind” began on the day nineteen year old Maggie was being released from a year long prison sentence for arson. The book tells the tale of all the characters continuing to deal with the aftermath of the arson especially now that Maggie is home. We have seventeen year old Kevin who was severely burned in the fire, Maggie’s fifteen year old brother who also witnessed the fire. But most importantly, we have Sara, Kevin’s mother whose disappearance on the day of Maggie’s release complicates and intensifies the plot. Adding in many smaller characters, who we also get to know well, this book is one of those you want to rush through. But, on the same hand, you want to savor it.

One bit of advice I would give anyone considering reading this book is read “Before the Storm” first. Although, both books can be considered stand alone novels, Before the Storm is the story of what happened before the fire and is more the story of Maggie's brother Andy.

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