Secret Keepers

This was a great book full of wonderfully flawed but likeable characters - so much so that I found myself thinking about them during the day when I wasn't reading, and even now even though I have finished the book. That, to me, is the mark of a good story teller. While I didn't love Secret Keepers as much as Ms Friddle's first book, The Garden Angel, I did thoroughly enjoy it. It was a little slow at times, but it is well worth the time to read. If you love Southern tales and the Southern way of life, you can't help but enjoy this and all of Mindy Friddle's tomes.

Emma Hanley is about to go on a trip of a lifetime. She's waited her whole life to see the world. And then the unexpected happens. As a result, Emma starts to make decisions on her own and refuses to back down. This impacts Emma's family and they are not pleased. One day a man from the past knocks on Emma's door. Jake was her daughter Nora's first boyfriend and now he'd like to tend Emma's yard. Jake runs a lawn service that employs people who seem to be down on their luck. Eventually he hires Emma's son and grandson. Bobby (son) is a bit of a savant but also struggles with schizophrenia that seemed to grow worse after the death of his brother in Viet Nam. Kyle (grandson) is fourteen and is feeling frustrated living under his parents' careful watch. In a small way, working for Jake opens up a new world to them. Jake soon finds his lawn service in demand all around the small town of Palmetto. One of his workers starts to plant an amazing flower in all the gardens they work on. People are thrilled with the resulting blooms and the effect they have when smelled. A specialist is called upon to explain the what and why about this magical flower. He turns out to be a man that can teach Emma about more than just the flower. He can help her discover secrets about herself she hadn't faced in the past thereby allowing her to find a wonderful future. There is so much more to this quiet novel. I really liked the atmospheric story of people who thought life may have passed them by. It's a hopeful story that would be a good book club selection. Discussion questions are provided.

Mindy Friddle has truly created a beautifully-written, engaging novel that is rich with drama, humor and whimsy. This charming tale begins with elderly Emma Hanley postponing her dream, a European cruise, following the untimely death of her husband. She quickly finds herself entangled in the problems of her adult children. A town native returns and starts his own landscape/yard maintenance business. He assembles a crew of misfits and they begin planting a mysterious, magical flower all over town. In the end, not only does the gardener save the Hanleys' yard and garden, but he is able to save the Hanleys themselves. Ms. Friddle is an extraordinary storyteller! She has brilliantly created a delectable cast of amusing, endearing characters, who thoroughly entertained me from start to finish. The added touch of magic embellished the story nicely. I absolutely loved this page-turner and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you grab a copy and get reading!!

I love Mindy Friddle's writing. I was hooked after The Garden Angel, another great read. She employs touches of magical realism -- reminiscent of Alice Hoffman -- and consistently delivers endearing or eccentric characters that keep the pages turning. In this one, I love how she also pokes a little fun at Christian fundamentalism, while showing how controlling parents can do more harm than good. Anyone who loves gardens will appreciate Friddle's careful attention to botanical details, too. Atmospheric and entertaining -- perfect for summer.

A great balance of well-written prose (you keep your brain cells active!) and engrossing characters (you can't help but turn the pages). I found myself looking forward to my nightly read to learn more about what would happen next to Emma Hanley, her adult children, and her grandchildren. (The book narrates a summer's events from many of their perspectives.) The writing had a great comic touch and was particularly strong in all matters gardening. What I liked most about this book (and I found the same was true of Mindy Friddle's first book, The Garden Angel) were the characters: endearing, quirky, yet all too human, each with their own foibles. During my morning walk not long after finishing the book, I found myself ruminating over Jake, Dora, and Bobby, some of the main characters in the story, as though they were real friends or neighbors. A great summertime read!

In Palmetto, South Carolina, septuagenarian Emma Hanley plans to see the world. However, she has to put on hold her tour when her spouse Harold suddenly dies while having coffee with his female admirers. Emma has no time to consider her loss as her adult children need her and make demands on her. She is the sole caretaker of Bobby whose illness left him mentally incapable of caring for himself. Dora has turned to religion, compulsive shopping and a martinet spouse. Even Will, who died decades ago in Vietnam, seems to haunt his mom. Dora's former lover from her hippie days Jake Cary comes home to mend a broken heart and fix gardens like that on the neglected estate of Emma's late grandfather Amaranth and indirectly people too so they flourish. On the surface, SECRET KEEPERS seems like the zillionth southern dynasty saga, but is actually much more as Mindy Friddle looks at how the present turns the past into a family mythos in which facts are irrelevant. Each of the key players in the hamlet extended family including the late patriarch, grandfather and Will seem like real persons with each one possessing a personalized definition of what heaven on earth would be to them; however that denotation is always out of reach. Filled with pathos and eccentricity, readers will enjoy the misadventures of the SECRET KEEPERS. Harriet Klausner