Secrets in the Shadows by V.C. Andrews
Published: 2008
Hardback: 392 pages
Genre: Horror
Rating: 3
Inspiration: VCA 2009 Challenge
Description from publisher's site:
Everyone Says
Her Mother Was Crazy.
Is She Doomed to Repeat the Past?
Up in the attic, that's where Alice's mother used to escape to...and it's where, so Alice has been told, she plotted the murder of her own stepfather. Now, years later, with her mother locked away for life, the attic is where Alice finds comfort in her aloneness, writing poetry and painting pictures. When Alice finally finds the courage to come out of her shell, exchanging her dowdy looks for flattering clothes and makeup, her life completely opens up -- she even attends the prom with a cute, popular boy. But it's a night that turns quickly tragic -- sending her newfound happiness crashing down around her, and hurtling Alice into a shattering new life, one that leads her to a shocking reunion with the shadows she had fled.
From the imagination behind Flowers in the Attic comes a sensational new novel that spins a seductive web between fantasies and lies -- and uncovers the price for keeping secrets in the shadows.
My thoughts:
In-a-word: Hope
I found this story a bit light weight. It wasn't as horrific as Flowers in the Attic. The bad stuff happened to other people so the main character, Alice, was mostly focused on feelings of guilt that she was a source of "bad luck" due to the past. What I found different with this book is that the character was surrounded by a pretty good support group.
Secrets series reviews:
Secrets in the Attic
Secrets in the Shadows
