I’ve always been fascinated by family secrets. Obviously, any secret is delicious, but family secrets are a whole other type of puzzle, because there are complicated layers of who knows what. Who knows hints of the truth, and who knows the whole thing? Who knows all the players and the whys and hows of it? More important, who knows nothing and is being kept in the dark—because someone in the family always is. Often it’s the next generation. We can all recall walking into a room of adults only to hear them fall silent when they realize a child has entered. “Little pitchers have big ears,” was a common way to shush people in my family.
I was the youngest of my siblings, and even with minor age differences there are layers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve yelled “I didn’t know that!” during a family story while an older sister shrugs and says, “I guess you were too young to remember.”
I’m tuned in to other people’s secrets because my family was a web of complicated connections and incriminating details brushed under the rug. I was the only child of my mother’s brief second marriage and I never met my father, so I was always different from everyone I loved. I was the only sister with no father, the only sister with a different last name. My siblings had a brother I’d never lived with. Uncles and aunts and cousins I’d never met. They went away to visit them for birthdays and holidays. Those people were a mystery to me.
I spent my summers alone with my grandparents in the country, in a house that creaked and settled at night, amid whispers of dead relatives and scandalous pasts.I spent my summers alone with my grandparents in the country, in a house that creaked and settled at night, amid whispers of dead relatives and scandalous pasts. I heard snippets of stories about my missing father and a new family, and stories of my missing grandfather and the missing grandfather before that. The men in my family often died in tragedy, but women are the usual keepers of family secrets, after all, so I tried to be nearby when they were speaking, hoping to soak up all the words I wasn’t supposed to hear.
Of course, like most readers my age, I also grew up with the forbidden family saga books that were huge hits when I was a kid. Thorn Birds? Yes, of course. The Flowers in the Attic series? Oh my gosh, has there ever been a family tale more sordid than that? So when I meet new people or watch idyllic families in the park, I always wonder: what are they hiding? What do they know? These wild imaginings are often the basis for my new story ideas. What new secrets are those people creating right now and hiding from their neighbors and all those eager followers on social media? Because I promise that the photos you see on Instagram and Facebook aren’t the whole story.
That was the idea I really wanted to explore in my latest book False Step. What might be going on in that beautiful family whose pictures you “Like” online and envy in secret? Are they posting things to celebrate or just to cover up? Unsurprisingly, family secrets are also one of my favorite plots to read in thrillers and suspense. The story of the deep, dark underbelly of our lives that we keep from the public and maybe even from each other…I can’t get enough.
Do you share my love of deep, dark family lore? If so, here are my favorite recent reads:
Gretchen by Shannon Kirk
If you want a twisted, tangled tale of piles upon piles of family secrets, this is the book for you. Bizarre, creepy, and wonderfully wild, this story will make your jaw drop as you careen from one theory to another about where this ride will end.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
This novel set in Lagos is a wonderful, tight read about the compromises a woman makes as she contorts herself to protect her little sister and the terrible secrets they share. Quick and fascinating.
Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar
This utterly delightful story starts light and gossipy before winding and winding up with an unnamed tension. A mother wants to help her daughter find a husband, but sometimes family secrets manifest themselves in strange ways… I especially recommend the audiobook for this one!
Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King
A complex true-crime story set in rural Florida during the Jim Crow era, this book tells a brutal tale of racism, rape, murder, and a sheriff famous for his cruel stranglehold on a small town. For some families, justice isn’t nearly as important as keeping their secrets close.
Every Single Secret by Emily Carpenter
Most people spend the early months of a relationship revealing their secrets to each other, but this couple would rather stay quiet and keep their stories close. Too close. When their secrets begin to take a toll, a therapeutic retreat promises relief but instead becomes a dark pool of deeper and deeper lies.
A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole
If you prefer your thrills mixed with more than a dash of romance, this compelling and tense story set during the Civil War is a wonderful tale of espionage, family secrets, and the dangerous ties of love.
Any Old Diamonds by K. J. Charles
And if you like your summer reads even steamier, try this historical that’s packed full of forbidden family secrets, hidden plans, jewel thieves, dangerous rogues, heartbreaking murder, and a dark and delicious romance.
Thin Air by Lisa Gray
You don’t get a family story more complicated than a woman who one day realizes that the face of a toddler kidnapped decades ago is her face. The man she knew as her father is no longer alive to help her sift through the ashes of a life that doesn’t seem to belong to her, and she has no idea who to trust as she digs up old secrets and lies.
