Michael Robotham takes a break from his Joe O'Loughlin series with The Secrets She Keeps, about two expectant mothers who strike up a friendship over their similar due dates. But the similarities end there.
Agatha works at a supermarket and her baby's father is away on assignment for the Royal Navy. Though she's tried to reach him numerous times, he hasn't responded, and she isn't certain how he'll react when he finds out about the pregnancy.
Meanwhile Meghan, who shops at the market where Agatha works, has a dreamy TV announcer husband, two cute kids and a beautiful home. Agatha idolizes Meghan for her seemingly perfect life--and will go to great lengths to claim one for herself.
Robotham's series fans might wish the good psychologist Professor O'Loughlin were in this standalone to help poor Agatha, a highly disturbed woman. The author doesn't judge her harshly, though; he pulls readers into her acute loneliness and feelings of inadequacy. After she and Meghan are caught in a downpour, Agatha observes: "Meg looks like a fair-haired Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral. I look like Janet Leigh in Psycho before the knife starts shredding the shower curtain."
The first part of this thriller is a slow burn as readers get to know the two women and their contrasting lives. The pacing picks up about halfway through, when the story takes a sinister turn. The plot twists aren't completely surprising, but it's less about the secrets than the reasons Agatha and Meghan must keep them hidden. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, blogger at Pop Culture Nerd