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Lost...But Not Forgotten #1
Open Secret: Lost... But Not Forgotten
Carrie St. John: Wealthy, privileged and...adopted?
The idea would be preposterous, except...Carrie has never truly felt she belonged. Now she has a sister who wants to meet her and a brother no one can find. Not to mention adoptive parents she doesn't seem to know anymore. With all the changes going on, it seems the only stable presence in her life is the P.I. who tracked her down.
Mark Kinkaid has become a trusted confidant and counselor, a good friend. Could it be love she's feeling for him -- or just need? Will she discard him once she's sorted things out? That's what he'd like to know.
The idea would be preposterous, except...Carrie has never truly felt she belonged. Now she has a sister who wants to meet her and a brother no one can find. Not to mention adoptive parents she doesn't seem to know anymore. With all the changes going on, it seems the only stable presence in her life is the P.I. who tracked her down.
Mark Kinkaid has become a trusted confidant and counselor, a good friend. Could it be love she's feeling for him -- or just need? Will she discard him once she's sorted things out? That's what he'd like to know.
- GenresContemporaryRomance
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Janice Kay Johnson
291 books191 followersJanice Kay Johnson is the author of over a hundred books for children and adults. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 24, 2015
Carrie has loving parents, but she's always felt a little out of place. Yet when she's approached by a private investigator who tells her that she was adopted and her sister is looking for her, she's shattered. How could her parents have lied to her?
Mark is a PI, specialising in reuniting adopted kids with their birth families. When he encounters people like Carrie, who are so crushed by the whole situation, he sometimes wonders if he's doing the right thing. But as he helps Carrie and her long-lost sister Suzanne to meet and build a relationship, he comes to realise that his job may be messy and painful, but it's very necessary. And as he spends more time with Carrie, becoming her friend and confidant, the relationship that had such a difficult start begins to blossom into more.
When I first picked up this book on this read-round, I didn't like it. (I know I read it once, but didn't remember it, and it was in a bag that I never got round to donating.) About a third of the way through I started to warm to it, but it didn't really grab me the way a couple of Janice Kay Johnson's previous books have. Carrie is the complete opposite of me: she's messy, mercurial, passionate (some might say melodramatic), flighty, and has a totally different set of values to me. That made her hard for this reader to understand and empathise with. YMMV, of course. Mark seems like a nice man, but I didn't get to know him well enough to fall for him, though I liked his relationship with his son, and appreciated his kindness to Carrie and Suzanne.
The book is really less about the romance, and more about the family dynamics: between Carrie and Suzanne (and estranged brother Lucien / Gary, who only briefly appears and wants nothing to do with his sisters), between Carrie and her adoptive parents, and for a short time between Carrie and Suzanne and their aunt and uncle. It's Carrie's book, not Carrie and Mark's, and while that isn't necessarily a fault per se - many good books focus on one main character - it isn't what I look for in a romance. 3 stars.
Mark is a PI, specialising in reuniting adopted kids with their birth families. When he encounters people like Carrie, who are so crushed by the whole situation, he sometimes wonders if he's doing the right thing. But as he helps Carrie and her long-lost sister Suzanne to meet and build a relationship, he comes to realise that his job may be messy and painful, but it's very necessary. And as he spends more time with Carrie, becoming her friend and confidant, the relationship that had such a difficult start begins to blossom into more.
When I first picked up this book on this read-round, I didn't like it. (I know I read it once, but didn't remember it, and it was in a bag that I never got round to donating.) About a third of the way through I started to warm to it, but it didn't really grab me the way a couple of Janice Kay Johnson's previous books have. Carrie is the complete opposite of me: she's messy, mercurial, passionate (some might say melodramatic), flighty, and has a totally different set of values to me. That made her hard for this reader to understand and empathise with. YMMV, of course. Mark seems like a nice man, but I didn't get to know him well enough to fall for him, though I liked his relationship with his son, and appreciated his kindness to Carrie and Suzanne.
The book is really less about the romance, and more about the family dynamics: between Carrie and Suzanne (and estranged brother Lucien / Gary, who only briefly appears and wants nothing to do with his sisters), between Carrie and her adoptive parents, and for a short time between Carrie and Suzanne and their aunt and uncle. It's Carrie's book, not Carrie and Mark's, and while that isn't necessarily a fault per se - many good books focus on one main character - it isn't what I look for in a romance. 3 stars.
July 7, 2014
This review was originally posted on Once Upon a ChapterFirst Sentence:
Super Brief Review:
A sweet story about adoption and how it affects the adopted even as adults.
Favorite Quotes:
Every time she walked in front of him, his gaze went right to the delicate line of her neck and back, her skin smooth and tinted with gold. A back shouldn't be so provocative, but hers was.
Slightly longer review:
Open Secret is a sweet read. Mark Kinkaid is a private investigator hired by a woman to track down the two siblings that she lost as a young child. Mark specializes in reuniting adopted children with their biological families and is Suzanne's last hope.
Mark finds Suzanne's sister Linette, now known as Carrie St. John. Carrie knew nothing of her adoption before Mark stepped in. Our heroine is given a lot to handle early on in the book. Most of the book is spent on the drama of Carrie's adoptive family, how Carrie feels and is dealing with the new discovery and her new sister. Very little time is actually spent on the development of the Mark and Carrie's relationship. I could have easily handled the way that the author decided to handle this except for the ending. It felt a little too rushed. In the last 10 pages the entire conflict and relationship is resolved and ushered into an entire new level.
Overall, Open Secret is a sweet, intriguing read that will pass away an afternoon.
Super Brief Review:
A sweet story about adoption and how it affects the adopted even as adults.
Favorite Quotes:
Every time she walked in front of him, his gaze went right to the delicate line of her neck and back, her skin smooth and tinted with gold. A back shouldn't be so provocative, but hers was.
Slightly longer review:
Open Secret is a sweet read. Mark Kinkaid is a private investigator hired by a woman to track down the two siblings that she lost as a young child. Mark specializes in reuniting adopted children with their biological families and is Suzanne's last hope.
Mark finds Suzanne's sister Linette, now known as Carrie St. John. Carrie knew nothing of her adoption before Mark stepped in. Our heroine is given a lot to handle early on in the book. Most of the book is spent on the drama of Carrie's adoptive family, how Carrie feels and is dealing with the new discovery and her new sister. Very little time is actually spent on the development of the Mark and Carrie's relationship. I could have easily handled the way that the author decided to handle this except for the ending. It felt a little too rushed. In the last 10 pages the entire conflict and relationship is resolved and ushered into an entire new level.
Overall, Open Secret is a sweet, intriguing read that will pass away an afternoon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2010
This book is about three children (ages 6, 3, and 9 months)that were separated when their parents were killed in a car accident. Fast forward 20 + years and the oldest now in her 30s hires a private detective to find her brother and sister. She had been kept by her aunt and uncle, the two younger kids were adopted by different families. This book tells the story of what happens when she finds her brother and sister.
I was adopted as an infant and I searched for and found my family when I was in my mid-twenties. This book is very well written and accurate in how it portrays the dynamics of adults meeting that are siblings that weren't raised together.
I was adopted as an infant and I searched for and found my family when I was in my mid-twenties. This book is very well written and accurate in how it portrays the dynamics of adults meeting that are siblings that weren't raised together.
October 6, 2008
Two people in the search for romance. Their relationship should be healthy and endure longer than they have other relationships in their past. Far too much in common that they sometimes overlook their personal obligations not only in a relationship, which starts a kind of rock the boat. But the unusual story of their coming together will be triumphant inspiration for many readers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews