Historical Fiction Book Review: All My Secrets
About the Book
Title: All My Secrets
Author: Lynn Austin
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Release Date: February 6, 2024
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Publisher's Book Description
“Bestselling author Lynn Austin returns with a luminous work of historical fiction set amid the opulence of Gilded Age New York, where three generations of women in one family must reckon with the choices they have made and their hopes for the future.
New York, 1898. The only thing more shocking than Arthur Stanhope III’s unexpected death is the revelation that his will bestows his company―and most of the vast fortune that goes with it―to the nearest male heir, leaving his mother, wife, and daughter nearly impoverished. His widow, Sylvia, quickly realizes she must set aside her grief to ensure their daughter, Adelaide, is launched into society as soon as the appropriate mourning period passes. If Sylvia can find a wealthy husband for Addy before anyone realizes they’re practically destitute, there will be little disruption to the lifestyle they’re accustomed to.
Sylvia’s mother-in-law, Junietta, believes their life could use a little disruption. She has watched Sylvia play her role as a society wife, as Junietta once did, despite what it cost them both. Junietta vows to give her granddaughter the power to choose a path beyond what society expects.
But for Addy to have that chance, both mother and grandmother must first confront painful truths about their own choices. Only in bringing their secrets to light can they hope to reshape their family inheritance into a legacy more fulfilling than they ever dared dream.”
My Review
All My Secrets, by Lynn Austin, is a truly remarkable work of historical fiction. Sweeping across several decades in nineteen century New York, this epic novel is engrossing and thoroughly moving as it tells the unforgettable stories of three women bonded together through family, love, and loss. This book is skillfully written and filled with heart, hope, and redemption. From the compelling storylines, to the extraordinary characters, to the relevant themes, this thoughtful novel is truly surprising, enriching, and ultimately uplifting.
Ms. Austin is an incredibly talented author with a real gift for meaningful story-telling. Mingling elements of history, mystery, and romance, this story inspires while it entertains. Filled with faith, friendship, family, and new beginnings, All My Secrets also features a thematic emphasis on compassion, forgiveness, love, and redemption.
In addition to thought-provoking themes, All My Secrets contains well-developed characters who are simply captivating and abound with authenticity and credibility. Their questions, their insecurities, their fears, their needs, and their desires are wholly believable, heart-wrenching, and inspiring. As they struggle through much loss and uncertainty, they grapple with their faith and God’s specific purposes for their lives. The opportunities, the choices, and the trials that the characters endure are intricately developed, and from them there unfolds a story that is stunningly unique, richly nuanced, and deeply touching.
Within this novel, the well-researched details and descriptions ensure that every moment spent reading this book is a thoughtful experience to be savored. Page after page, it delights the imagination and easily holds the reader’s attention making it the type of book to ponder and enjoy. All My Secrets is quite special and memorable. I recommend it wholeheartedly to all readers who enjoy wonderful historical fiction.
*I was given a copy of this book by the publisher/author and NetGalley. A review was not required. The review I have written is voluntary and contains opinions that are entirely my own.
About the Author: Lynn Austin
“I’m often asked if I’ve always wanted to be a writer. The short answer is, “No.” I was never the type of kid who always had her nose in a book or who wrote stories in her journal every night by lamplight. I was too busy living in my imagination all day like the little boy with the stuffed tiger in the cartoon “Calvin and Hobbes.” I would imagine wild, dramatic stories wherever I went.
After attending Hope College in Holland, Michigan for three years, I married my husband Ken, and completed my degree in psychology at Southern Connecticut State University. Then we set off on a real-life adventure, living in Bogota, Colombia for two years where I taught 4th grade in a Colombian school and Ken performed in the symphony orchestra. With no TV and plenty of time to read, I became an avid reader for the first time in my life. That’s when I began to dream of writing the kind of books I loved—books that made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think.
The demands of our growing family postponed my writing career until Ken’s work took us to Thunder Bay, Ontario, and later to Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was during those long Canadian winters at home with my children that I finally started carving out a few hours of writing time each day while they napped. The moment I started writing, I discovered how much fun it was to use my imagination again and create wonderful characters and stories. I was hooked! As my children grew, I returned to teaching and learned to squeeze in writing time amid the busyness of family life. For eleven years, I studied how to craft good fiction, and endured all the ups and downs of trying to get published. My first novel was finally published in 1995—and it was the same book I had started writing during naptime: Gods and Kings. It evolved into a five-book series, Chronicles of the Kings.
While researching this series, I had a chance to pursue one of my “bucket list” dreams, volunteering on an archaeological dig. My son Joshua and I traveled to Israel during the summer of 1989 to take part in a month-long dig at the ancient city of Timnah. This experience not only provided background information for the Chronicles, it also inspired my novel Wings of Refuge.
In 1992 I decided it was time to resign from teaching to write full-time. Since then I’ve published twenty-three novels and one non-fiction book, Pilgrimage: My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land Where Jesus Walked. Eight of my novels have won Christy Awards for excellence in Christian Fiction, and I was honored to be named to the Christy Award Hall of Fame in 2013. Fire by Night was one of only five inspirational novels chosen by Library Journal for their top picks of 2003, and All She Ever Wanted was chosen as one of the five inspirational top picks of 2005. My novel Hidden Places has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel, starring actress Shirley Jones. She received a 2006 Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Batty in the film.
Our children are now grown and I’m experiencing the joy of grandchildren. Ken and I live in Western Michigan where the woods and beaches of Lake Michigan inspire me every day.” --Biography from Lynn Austin’s About Page on lynnaustin.org.
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