Mary McGarry Morris has been hailed by the New York Times as "one of the most skillful writers at work in America today." In The Last Secret, she tells the riveting story of Nora Hammond, a woman blessed with the perfect life: a charming husband, two bright teenage children, a successful career in the family's newspaper business, and an esteemed role in the charity work of her New England town. But Nora's comfortable existence threatens to unravel when she learns of her husband's longtime affair---and when the specter of a sordid incident from her youth returns with terrifying force.
Confronted by shame and betrayal, Nora suddenly feels dangerously alone. With no one to turn to, she becomes easy prey to a ghost from her past---the cunning, relentless Eddie Hawkins.
A tautly told tale of psychological tension and chilling moral complexity, The Last Secret accelerates to a shattering conclusion as it explores the irreparable consequences of one family's crimes of the heart. The Last Secret burnishes Morris's reputation as one of our most prodigiously gifted writers.
Nora discovers that her husband has been involved with her best friend for over four years. Her rage, her betrayal, and her vindictive behavior are handled with remarkable honesty by narrator Renée Raudman. Nora could have become shrill as she is tormented by grief, but Raudman maintains tonal control without losing Nora's anguish. As Nora attempts to cope with her disintegrating marriage, her psychotic ex-boyfriend reappears, and she must confront her own long-buried past. Much more than the age-old story of a wife who's the last to know of her husband's deception, this is also a cautionary tale about dangerous secrets left to fester and the damage they inevitably cause. Raudman's dynamic performance and Morris's emotionally wrenching storytelling make this one listeners won't want to miss. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
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