I really enjoyed this book as the three Cooper sisters, Bailee, Greena and Piper were called by their father to meet at their vacation home in Washington state. They did not have any idea why he wanted to meet like this as he never had time for them when they were younger. Bailee was the eldest of the three girls and she had been put in charge of the other two all their lives as their mother had died and the father was not at home, so he had left them with a nanny, and Bailee really felt as through she was the parent of the other two girls. Their mother had really been strange all through their lives as she would get the girls and hide them so that something bad would not get them. She had been schizophrenic but none of the girls was supposed to know this, but Bailee had over heard some women one day and she knew but had kept a secret. Everything in this family was a secret. There was no belief in God with the father and the girls, but the mother had taken them to Church sometimes, but the good Christian folks had not let her return to church as they though she was really crazy and they just could not take the time to deal with her.

Bailee was working as an freelance editor for writers and worked for Mark Delahunt and his father's firm. Mark was really interested in Bailee but she was so afraid to have a relationdship because of her feeling as though she had to take care of her sisters even though they were both grown, one was a lawyer and the younges wanted to be a fashion designer. What they found out when they all got together at the vacation home was really amazing. Things Bailee had know or though she knew and something that as young girls they were really mistaken.

I am a Christian also and I know how I think and I know that God does not like me to be that way, so I have to just ask him for forgiveness, There are so many people that really knows nothing about Schizophrenia I though you may like this link so that you could read about it for yourself.

I want to thank Bethany House Publishers for sending me this book free to review. It really was a great read and I learned a lot about the life of someone that has schizophrenia.

I'm having the hardest time putting into words how great this book was. To be totally honest, I wasn't sure what to expect after looking at the front cover and being less than impressed. However, Tracie Peterson has always written excellent contemporary novels, and I should've never doubted that this novel would be equally as good.

This was the second time this year that I've read a Christian book that dealt with mental illness. The family in House of Secrets has lived their lives based on years and years of secrets that were all rooted in the mother's illness of paranoid schizophrenia. And truly, no one felt the weight of those secrets more than Bailee, the main character. To be told as a child that you're responsible for your two sisters, and then on the flip side, to be told that it's your fault if anything happens to them was heartbreaking to read. As a result, Bailee's childhood was so far from normal, it wasn't even funny.

The emotions were all over the place, too. Fear, hurt, regret, and anger were all portrayed so realistically that I felt like I was part of the story. Mind you, I've got enough drama in my own life that I don't need to borrow these folks', but I couldn't help but wonder how I would react if faced with a situation like this. Would I be like the church members whose reacted with disdain and judgment, or would I be more like Mark--unafraid to step in to be a rock for Bailee in her time of need?

Trying to describe this book has been so hard to do. That's why I said in the beginning that I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into words. Sometimes, books come along that are so broad and meaningful, there's really nothing left to say except it was a great book. I can't wrap up years of lies, secrets, and omissions in a nice box with a pretty little bow through a review. It's impossible. So, I'll close by saying if you're a fan of Tracie Peterson's contemporary novels, get your hands on this book. It will challenge your thinking through some difficult subjects that will make you wonder how you might respond if faced with the same situations. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read it. ( )