Every Woman Knows a Secret

by Rosie Thomas

A gripping, moving and uplifting novel from this bestselling writer of women's fiction. What happens when you fall in love with the one person you shouldn't? The one person who the rest of your family hate unreservedly - for very good reason. Jess Arrowsmith finds out when she begins a passionate love affair with her son's best friend. 'Honest and absorbing, Rosie Thomas mixes the bitter and the hopeful with the knowledge that the human heart is far more complicated than any rule suggests' MAIL ON SUNDAY.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Novels, Modern

490 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Janey King, née Morris was born on 1947 in Denbigh, Wales, and also grew up in North Wales. She read English at Oxford, and after a spell in journalism and publishing began writing fiction after the birth of her first child. Published since 1982 as Rosie Thomas, she has written fourteen best-selling novels, deal with the common themes of love and loss. She is one of only a few authors to have won twice the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association, in 1985 with Sunrise, and in 2007 with Iris and Ruby.

Janey is an adventurer and once she was established as a writer and her children were grown, she discovered a love of travelling and mountaineering. She has climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, competed in the Peking to Paris car rally, spent time on a tiny Bulgarian research station in Antarctica and travelled the silk road through Asia. She currently lives in London.

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a start, I couldn't decide (and still can't make my mind up) if Rosie Thomas's elaborate and colourfull descriptions of everything were a bit overdone and unnecessary - in fact I think they were. The flowery descriptions in the end got on my nerves.
Then, there's the unbelieveable sequence of events that made up the storyline, it turned into a bit of a panto in the end. Did someone really describe it as an 'intelligent read' (as it says on the cover)? - Did they actually read the book!!??
I didn't think the characters were very well described either, I found it hard to warm to them.
Someone else, in their review said "The main character, Jess, is undescribed and comes across as a dreary, boring, sexless person. When she begins an affair with Danny's older friend, Rob, I felt it hard to sustain my belief in the situation." I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

Give it a miss. Not well written and a poor story line. Sorry Rosie Thomas!

[Bette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this book was to me kinda of mixed up. Finished it.

[Susan Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very moved by this book and thought it was a very interesting examination of how people deal with grief and trauma in their lives.
Jess loses her son Danny in a car accident when Rob, who is drunk, crashes into a bridge. Rob who is in his twenties, and Jess, who must be in her forties become very close as they share this immense sense of grief and loss. They become lovers, much to the astonishment and anger of Jess's family and we gradually learn that factors in their past lives contribute to their attraction to one another.
The magnetic attraction between them is well described and the sense of loss is sensitively dealt with.
Some of the storyline towards the end is a little far fetched but overall I was entralled in this story.

[Sanyukta Thakare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the longest I have ever taken to read a book, but tbh it wasn't the books fault completely.

I loved it and hated it, it made me feel and love and laugh but Ever Woman Knows a Secret was written a long time ago and I guess it the kinda of writing does appeal to me anymore.

None the less I did enjoy it and I think if someone still loves reading old books, the detailed and slow paced writing, this is for you!

Maybe it was because I took forever to read but there are parts of the book I didn't see coming like there were no hints and some I saw chapters before it happened!

The characters are lovely flawed and willing to change that's what makes them so good to read!

[Angela Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jess loses her son but are her actions acceptable, I think not. She is not alone in this world and it is hard to sympathise further. The more I read - albeit well put down on the page - the more I dislike the woman, other than her mastery of gardening.
Would have had a 'three' but the writing is worth more than the stories within this book.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m honestly at a loss as to how this is 490 pages long? It had a strong start but the plot really lost its way midway through and the end seemed incredibly rushed in comparison to the pace of the rest of the book

[Wilko · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most awkward and excruciating description of sex, like the author was too embarrassed to write about it - “oo, ah, yes, just there” pur-lease! Just don’t bother.
No depth to the characters or story, skim read the last quarter. The back cover will tell you the first 3 quarters of what happens.

[Amber J · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not even going to lie, I skimmed through the majority of the last half of this book because I just did not care and wanted it to be over with.

[Sheilina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my usual genre, but I actually enjoyed it. Some of the vocabulary choices were unusual, and it laboured here and there - but a good read nevertheless.

[Jean St.Amand · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt very much like a Joanna Trollope book. The characters seemed very real. Very sad at times, and believable.

[Cecile Paddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

How a single mother deals with the death of her 19 year old son, and the repercussions of this. Some wise observations on human nature.
It's a paper book, anyone want it?

[Tracey Keir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have come to expect a lot from a Rosie Thomas book. All the others I have read by her have been amazing, this one not so much.

[Deydralinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good easy read but it was kind of one of those books you read once and tend to forget about

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable exploration of something I'm sure many people have thought about; how would my life have been if I'd taken different paths, I'd made the other choice.

[Katie Grainger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the beginning part of this book quite emotional but felt that in the middle and towards the end the story really slowed. I felt that there was a little too much going on in places, I was far more interested in the relationship between Jess and Rob. As I mentioned though the beginning was very well written and highly emotional. Good heart felt story but lost pace half way through and never picked up again.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my least favourite Rosie Thomas book - it was too predictable right from the start. I didn't like any of the characters, not that this would always put me off a book but normally I like the characters that RT writes about or am at least intrigued by them.

[Cecille · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has raw emotions and too much realities that anyone who expects a fun read would not appreciate it. this was certainly not fun, but it wasn't not good either. i like honesty in books, this one gave it.

[Sadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting read...there was certainly a lot of depth and honesty...the relationship between rob and jess was told very honestly nothing was glamorized..and i like that in a book..

the end was kinda wierd & surreal but it didn't feel like something jess would do...

still enjoyed it

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first time reading one of Rosie Thomas' books but I now think I am converted :-) This was a really good book that was filled with many different mized emotions-loss, unconditional love and hope. I also really liked the fact that it had a happy ending because I love books like this :-)

[Angela Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosie Thomas has a talent for dealing with family crisises. The book deals with the aftermath of a family tragedy which takes an unexpected turn.

[JenniferB]

Well written but sad overall.