The Montana prairie had always held a fascination for Blinny Platt. She’d worked almost her whole life on her father’s ranch, as the farm was part of her soul. After buying land several miles away in 1982 Blinny began building her own home, where she soon found herself engrossed in memories that had taken place in 1935 when she was 8 years old. At that time her baby brother was killed in a house fire, causing her mother to die of grief. Shortly thereafter, her father sent her and her 3-year-old sister Odette away to live with uncles she’d never met.

After 5 years he remarried and sent for them, but their relationship had suffered irreparable harm. Over the ensuing years Blinny blamed him for her mother’s death, and herself for causing the fire, wondering why he wasn’t there when she needed him. As Odette got older, she turned spiteful and rebellious, blaming Blinny for all of her issues. As the sisters try to piece together their pasts they find that hidden secrets, though painful, will finally set them free.

Told through flashbacks and the present time, this tragic story of loss and betrayal will leave readers aching. Secrets revealed threaten to crush, but the sisters prove to be survivors. Though Blinny’s memories seem to be awkwardly added into the narrative as she builds her new home, the story she tells helps readers forgive the occasional stiffness of the author’s transitions.

Recommended for Adults.

Book review link: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2017/08/11/harbored-secrets-a-psycholog... ( )

So many authors struggle to provide a smooth transition from past memories to present-day settings in their work, but Marie F. Martin does it with such skill! Blinny (Blanche) sounds like a wonderful person who has been through the fire and has come out of it, with some life-lasting scars. She adored her mother, loved her father, but I think too much was expected of her at such young ages. And being sent away certainly didn't help her deal with the immeasurable amount of guilt she carried. As for her sister, Odette, I shifted between moments of pity for her and moments of complete annoyance. Losing a mother at approximately age 3 is, no doubt, traumatic, and definitely impacted her mental state. BUT i think there were quite a number of occasions where Odette came across as manipulative and downright ugly towards Blanche. Alice was a character that was difficult for me to like in the beginning. But as the story went on, she didn't appear to be so bad. And now, we get to Didier: I grew to dislike him more and more. He just didn't measure up in the daddy department.

This book is definitely a psychological mystery/thriller. Things are not always what they seem, and childhood memories don't always provide the complete picture. Good work, Ms. Martin!
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75 of 75 for 2015. Set in the rolling prairie land of north central Montana, this is the story of relationships, good, bad, indifferent, that come to surround us as we live our lives. Blinny has moved back to the ranch land where she was born, and is intent on building her own home, rather than sharing her father's home with his second wife. As we move through the story, we learn a lot about these two women, and the history that both ties them together and separates them. I love most books set in Montana, and this one filled the bill, moving from the north central prairies, to the city of Kalispell just south of Glacier Park, then back to the prairies, with very real characters that all of us have known in our lives. Heartily recommended. ( )

I didn't hate it, but I'm still wondering why I read the entire book. The author's descriptions of land and prairie were plentiful and very descriptive. The characters had great potential. The story builds and builds, and then 38 years go by in a matter of pages. Thirty-eight years in which, as far as I can tell, people lived with spite, hate, pride, lonliness and guilt and didn't do a darn thing about it. The story stopped, but it didn't feel like an ending. I have yet to figure out why the characters behaved as they did, for as long as they did. There were plenty of reasons and justifications and back-story, but I never felt like those things explained the lives and time that was wasted. It feels like the outline for the story was a great idea, but the details failed to round the story out. A day later, and I'm still upset that I spent what little time I have on this book. ( )