THE SECRETS THEY HID, WWI family drama

THE SECRETS THEY HID
ROBERTA KAGAN
Self-published (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$5.99 Kindle edition, available now

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: All's not fair in love and war.

As the Great War rages, two brothers, Leo and Alex, are ensnared in a captivating love triangle with the stunning Adelaide. While Leo is the unwavering protector, Alex, the enigmatic seducer, ultimately captures Adelaide's heart.

Their lives are further complicated by a baby girl of hidden Jewish lineage—a secret burden Leo chooses to bear alone. When the brothers are drafted to war, their world is torn apart, leaving Adelaide to navigate the treacherous waters of survival and betrayal.

As years go by and the landscape of their homeland changes with Hitler's rise, the family secrets become a ticking time bomb. Margot's true lineage, hidden in plain sight, becomes the very thing that may tear the family apart.

Dive into Roberta Kagan's heart-stopping saga of love, secrets, and the harsh price of betrayal during one of history's darkest times.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Another day, another family saga.

Secrets, lies, reprobate men, stupid women who believe them; why does this plot still appeal? Because all of us like to see the struggle of life played out in such a deeply misguided way so we can feel smug, is my guess. "I wouldn't do that," we say, without thinking of the innumerable bad decisions we've made on any number of fronts.

I myownself liked the viewpoint of an ordinary, working-class family coping with the endless horrific challenges of economic and social chaos in the wake of devastating wartime losses and privations. Not so great for this reader was the writing style, which I'll characterize as "serviceable." So the focus of my attention is squarely on the way the grim costs of war and then defeat are borne by women. The role Adelaide fulfills, provider, nurturer, support and helpmeet, is frankly superhuman. The stoic resignation of the Heroic Woman was overplayed; the longing, yearning, crying out stuff wore on me.

The second part of the book is clearly the one that the author was more interested in. The three sisters raised by Saint Adelaide the Mother are coming of age just as Hitler is rising to power by promising to Make Germany Great Again. (This line never fails to get the stupids into line behind it, does it?) Of course, we know the future they're groping towards will explode a time-bomb that Alex planted decades ago, and Saint Adelaide the Mother isn't even aware of the awfulness ahead despite knowing only a little of the story.

Kitchen-sink drama and a setting we don't see often, from a viewpoint we see even less of than the setting. The one caution I'll repeat is that the writing isn't more than okay at any point, so if the time and place don't appeal, it's not likely to thrill you.