I was a devoted follower of Oprah's book club back when she picked a book nearly every month. Many of those authors have continued to publish books, and I am always happy to see this, since overall I enjoyed reading Oprah's selections. Today I finished up The Last Secret by Mary McGarry Morris, who rose to fame with Oprah's selection of her book, Songs in Ordinary Time. I haven't read all of Morris' books, but have enjoyed those I have read. The Last Secret was another enjoyable read that was hard to put down.
Nora is a married mother of two teenagers, the wife of Ken, one of two brothers in an established family in town. While she appears to others to have a picture perfect life, there are many small cracks that begin to form when she is confronted with a secret from her past. As a teenager, Nora had run off with a man, Eddie Hacket, for a few days. Their relationship ended abruptly when Eddie had tried to stage a scam with Nora's help and then tried to injure the man he was trying to scam. Nora fled the scene, never knowing what happened to Eddie or the man he attacked. She returned home and now twenty six years later, Eddie shows up after seeing her picture in a magazine and recognizing her. Nora is so ashamed of this part of her past that she will go to some extreme measures to make sure things remain a secret. Interestingly enough, her husband, Ken, has a secret of his own, that once revealed ends up changing their lives forever.
Morris continues to write the kind of women's fiction I am always eager to read. So thank you, Oprah, for introducing me to Morris and her books.