Join BookBrowse today and get access to free books, our twice monthly digital magazine, and more.

What readers think of The Last Secret, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Beyond the book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Last Secret

A Novel

by Mary McGarry Morris

The Last Secret by Mary McGarry Morris X
The Last Secret by Mary McGarry Morris
  • Critics' Opinion:

    Readers' Opinion:

  • First Published:
    Apr 2009, 288 pages

    Paperback:
    Apr 2010, 288 pages

    Genres

  • Rate this book


Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers
Buy This Book

About this Book

Reviews

Page 2 of 2
There are currently 15 reader reviews for The Last Secret
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

Julie

A page turner
In this compelling novel, past and present collide for a woman dealing with her husband's affair. Morris presents real characters faced with believable problems, and the ending feels almost as inevitable as it is shocking.
Jenny

The last Secret Mary McGarry Morris
After reading the prologue of this book I was unsure whether I even wanted to read it. However, once I got into it I was hooked. It's a very suspenseful tale all about the secrets that people keep and the damage that secrets can do.

Unrevealed past history leads to a terrible, disturbing conclusion in this novel, affecting 2 different families in many ways. The original secret is Nora's: she doesn't share with her husband of many years her escapades as a young woman. She has what seems to be a perfect life; job, home family and philanthropic causes when a chance reading of a magazine brings someone back into her lives. The stranger from the past infiltrates her life, her children's and her friends and in doing so, causes more secrets to be revealed. The conclusion is unexpected and horrific. The last chapter seems like an afterthought to tie everything up and I would have preferred to see it omitted or fleshed out a little more. I found the depictions of relationships between Nora and her children very well drawn and they rang with authenticity for me. I would recommend this book for book groups, suspense readers and any one who enjoys reading about relationships.
Chrisanne

....breathe deep ,the gathering gloom....
This novel is a masterpiece of dialogue ... At this point in time I was loathe to read anything that would remind me of the turbulent times of modern day American society but Ms. Morris's intricate use of inter-character banter and her way of giving voice to the innermost thoughts of all her important players was, in my opinion, mesmerizing. I found myself not wondering what was going to happen next but what was going to be said .... they say to only write about what you know and it seems Ms. Morris has done just that.
Terrie

The Last Secret
Read this book on an airplane to FL and finished it there. Kept my interest. Some of characters seemed a little weak but was an enjoyable vacation read. Left it for my daughter-in-law in Fl and she is enjoying it.
Irene

The Last Secret
This is a very good book. It is certainly a novel of relationships.

Faced with a man's indiscretion, his family and friends must try to cope with the consequences of his action. They are, at last, irreparable. I liked following the feelings of the main characters as their comfortable world falls apart.

The 'last secret' that is revealed tops off the moral dilemma.

I enjoyed this novel very much and look forward to Morris's next effort.
Liz

Last Secret
Morris delivers a razor sharp portrayal of Nora, a middle aged woman whose life is turned upside down by the revelation of her husband’s affair and the reappearance of a very creepy old boyfriend. Her descriptions of Nora and the emotional fallout she and her children suffer as their family breaks up are painfully real. While the character of Nora is three dimensional and fully realized, I felt the secondary characters were less well drawn. I didn’t find the plot particularly engaging, and the chain of events that transpired over the course of the novel didn’t really surprise me. Morris artfully weaves the theme of secrets and the consequences of keeping them throughout the novel.
Shirley

The Last Secret
This book was average at best. The "secret" did not ring true to me and the main character was way too accepting of her husband's behavior. She claims she never even considered divorce. Really! I like my female leads to have a lot more passion than that. I've read other work by this author. This is not her best.
  • Page
  • 1
  • 2

Support BookBrowse

Join our inner reading circle, go ad-free and get way more!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Table for Two
    Table for Two
    by Amor Towles
    Amor Towles's short story collection Table for Two reads as something of a dream compilation for...
  • Book Jacket: Bitter Crop
    Bitter Crop
    by Paul Alexander
    In 1958, Billie Holiday began work on an ambitious album called Lady in Satin. Accompanied by a full...
  • Book Jacket: Under This Red Rock
    Under This Red Rock
    by Mindy McGinnis
    Since she was a child, Neely has suffered from auditory hallucinations, hearing voices that demand ...
  • Book Jacket: Clear
    Clear
    by Carys Davies
    John Ferguson is a principled man. But when, in 1843, those principles drive him to break from the ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
A Great Country
by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
A novel exploring the ties and fractures of a close-knit Indian-American family in the aftermath of a violent encounter with the police.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Flower Sisters
    by Michelle Collins Anderson

    From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.

  • Book Jacket

    The House on Biscayne Bay
    by Chanel Cleeton

    As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.

Win This Book
Win The Funeral Cryer

The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu

Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

M as A H

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.