Secret Keeping for Beginners

Is it ever better to tell? Even the closest families have secrets … it’s when they are shared that things begin to change. The lives of three very different sisters collide in this witty new novel from bestseller Maggie Alderson.

Recently divorced Rachel is juggling her new dream job in interior design PR with the demands of two young daughters. She’s full of creative ideas but – even with a colourful childminder or two – some days she can’t make it into the office on time and in matching shoes. Her life is balanced more precariously than she cares to admit.

Tessa, a talented muralist, is feeling flat. Her kids are growing up and she’s feeling upstaged by her husband’s new-found celebrity as the host of a reality TV fireplace restoration show. But everything turns on its head when she gets a surprise from her past.

Youngest sister Natasha leads a glamorous jetsetting life – she’s one of Vogue’s favourite make-up artists who regularly creates the looks for the biggest shows in Paris and Milan. Single and childless, she’s been focused on her career – but when the lie she’s concealed for years threatens to come to light, the truth will make her question everything.

Meanwhile their mother, Joy, a hippy vegetarian caterer, is carefully ignoring the letters that keep arriving at her door.

Into the mix comes Simon, Rachel’s urbane boss, hiding secrets of his own. And everything lurking beneath the surface of this seemingly happy family is about to come out …