Introduction

An unsolved murder. A missing child. A lifetime of deception. In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child. CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make. Tell the truth, and destroy her family. Or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies...

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Corinne

Raleigh, North Carolina

She couldn't concentrate on making love. No matter how tenderly or passionately or intimately Ken touched her, her mind was miles away. It was a little after five on Tuesday afternoon, the time they protected from meetings or dinner with friends or anything else that might interfere with their getting together, and usually Corinne relished the love-making with her fiancé. Today, though, she wanted to fast forward to the pillow talk. She had so much to say. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1 - CeeCee made a terrible mistake as a teenager, yet that mistake gave her a beloved daughter in Corinne. Did you do anything in your younger years that you deeply regret? (You don’t need to reveal what it was!) Did anything good come from it, and if so, how does that impact your feeling of regret?

2 - CeeCee was smart and level headed. What elements conspired to allow her to help Tim in his plot to kidnap Genevieve Russell? Was there any point in your life when you might have been similarly seduced?

3 - Did you feel sympathy toward CeeCee as a teenager? What other emotions did you feel toward her and why?

4 - How did you feel about CeeCee’s mother leaving the letters for her?

5 - Discuss CeeCee’s (and young Eve’s) self-esteem issues. What do you think created them and how do they play into her actions?

6 - How would you describe Eve as a mother of the infant Cory? Of the adult Cory?

7 - How do you feel about Jack as a husband and father? What did you like about him? Dislike?

8 - Corinne had many fears and phobias. What do you think was the genesis of those fears?

9 - Why do you think Eve made the choice she did when she learned of Tim’s conviction? Would you have made the same choice? Why or why not?

10 - How would you have felt in Corinne’s place when she learned of her mother’s deception?

11 - How do you feel about family secrets? Would the big secrets in this family–Eve’s actual identity and Corinne’s kidnaping–have been better left alone?

Weblinks

»	Author Web Site

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 16 of 17 members.

Member Reviews

Rate this book