Review: The Rhythm of Secrets

Sheila Franklin is the quiet, dutiful wife of prominent pastor, Edward Franklin, but she’s never really felt fully accepted by his congregation or even her husband who has encouraged her to keep buried her dark, mysterious past, as well as the soul-soothing jazz music from her New Orleans roots.

Sheila’s life has been a parade of mysterious secrets from the truth about her father’s livelihood and her mother’s roots to the events that led her from New Orleans to Chicago.  The past and the secrets have remained well-hidden until a shattering phone call from the one voice from her past that Sheila has never heard, but still can’t quite forget – the son she was forced to give up for adoption twenty years ago.

Now, Sheila must make a decision – keep the secrets and lose the son for whom she’s always longed or embrace her son and risk destroying her husband’s ambitions.  Through is all, will she finally discover God’s grace in this tale inspired by a true story?

Author, Patti Lacy, has created a page-turning tale of lies, betrayal, hope, and forgiveness in The Rhythm of Secrets.  At first, the wording and dialogue seemed a bit stilted to me, but I think that may be because I am a reader who enjoys reading my favorite books over and over and those favorites are usually by a handful of favorite authors.  So, I think the awkwardness may have just been a case of unfamiliarity with a new voice.  Once I got into the story, it definitely held my interest and kept me up late reading several nights.

Although I was left with a few unanswered questions – those of the “why didn’t she just…” variety – I was pleased with the outcome of the story and found The Rhythm of Secrets to be an enjoyable read.  Because I tend to read general fiction, rather than specifically Christian books, it was a nice change of pace to enjoy a book with no profanity whose tale was told in a God-honoring way.

I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it.  I received no other compensation for this review.  The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions.  Your experience may vary.

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