What do you think?
Rate this book
Every Secret Thing
“A moving and compelling story . . . the debut of an utterly original voice.�
–Carol Goodman, author of The Ghost Orchid
I only got one birthday present, and as it turned out, it was a gift of such importance, opening it should have sent psychic shivers through me. But I merely thought it a curiosity, vaguely creepy but nothing threatening. Not a portent.
Gina Paletta should have been used to upheaval. From her childhood in a small southern town to her career in Manhattan’s glamorous modeling world to sudden, unplanned motherhood, Gina has forever struggled to keep her life under control. Now, at thirty-three–her “year of waking up”–she has moved with her young sons to upstate New York and reinvented herself as a college professor. At last she can nurse the fragile hope of safety, the hope of security.
But Gina learns that security is an illusion when a pair of police detectives arrive at her doorstep. Two of Gina’s students have posted salacious photographs of her on a website. Even more troubling, these young men are suspects in a local murder. Beneath the campus elms, amid the ivied masonry of the collegiate buildings, and in the libraries where she secrets herself from the world, Gina Paletta must now contend with a new terror.
As the tension rises, Gina turns to her family and friends, only to discover lies and violence beneath placid surfaces. Fearful for her safety and that of her children, determined to guard the new life she has built, Gina comes to rely on the company and protection of one of the detectives assigned to her case. Yet even as their relationship grows more complicated, the danger around them mounts–and Gina finds herself marshaling reserves of strength and resolve she never dreamed existed.
Riveting and hypnotic, lyrical and tense, Every Secret Thing is a remarkable a provocative psychological drama about love, guilt, fear, and every secret thing that binds us together.
–Carol Goodman, author of The Ghost Orchid
I only got one birthday present, and as it turned out, it was a gift of such importance, opening it should have sent psychic shivers through me. But I merely thought it a curiosity, vaguely creepy but nothing threatening. Not a portent.
Gina Paletta should have been used to upheaval. From her childhood in a small southern town to her career in Manhattan’s glamorous modeling world to sudden, unplanned motherhood, Gina has forever struggled to keep her life under control. Now, at thirty-three–her “year of waking up”–she has moved with her young sons to upstate New York and reinvented herself as a college professor. At last she can nurse the fragile hope of safety, the hope of security.
But Gina learns that security is an illusion when a pair of police detectives arrive at her doorstep. Two of Gina’s students have posted salacious photographs of her on a website. Even more troubling, these young men are suspects in a local murder. Beneath the campus elms, amid the ivied masonry of the collegiate buildings, and in the libraries where she secrets herself from the world, Gina Paletta must now contend with a new terror.
As the tension rises, Gina turns to her family and friends, only to discover lies and violence beneath placid surfaces. Fearful for her safety and that of her children, determined to guard the new life she has built, Gina comes to rely on the company and protection of one of the detectives assigned to her case. Yet even as their relationship grows more complicated, the danger around them mounts–and Gina finds herself marshaling reserves of strength and resolve she never dreamed existed.
Riveting and hypnotic, lyrical and tense, Every Secret Thing is a remarkable a provocative psychological drama about love, guilt, fear, and every secret thing that binds us together.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Lila Shaara
2books3followersLila Shaara was born in Tallahassee, Florida, the daughter of a Italian-American writer and a German-American social worker. She attended a number of colleges before finishing her BA in religious studies at Duke University, then received a masters degree in archeology and a PhD in cultural anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. Shaara has had many jobs, including (in no particular order) disc jockey (jazz, classical and ‘beautiful music�), talk show producer, secretary, bartender, waitress, ‘crew member� at a fast food chain, university professor, high school teacher and in her lowest moment, a job handing out free cigarettes to homeless people on street corners. She has also sung and played guitar in various alternative rock bands, including the first all-female punk band in North Carolina. She currently resides in western Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, and numerous cats.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 13, 2009
I don't know what feels worse: slagging this book or admitting that I read it. This was a plodding mystery/romance centered around an unlikeable character who no one in their right mind would relate to. Gina is a former lingerie model turned PhD, single mother of twin boys, and spends 70 percent of this story whining about how beautiful she is and how annoying it can be when every man who sets eyes on her falls in love. I feel like a total chump for reading this book. This is the author's first book and I hope she stops there. Mean, but true.
June 3, 2018
There were a lot of characters introduced quickly, so it was hard to remember who was whom. There were a few story lines going on at once and almost felt like this would have been better as a series.
February 6, 2011
What a terrific surprise! I'd not read anything by this author before and borrowed it on a whim from the library. I spent the next two days (which happened to be snow days) immersed in the story, feeling a low-grade nervousness about being home alone and trying to read faster and faster until Gina found a return to safety. I'm not easily scared as a reader and frequently pick up suspense/mystery novels, but there was something about her situation - vulnerable without wanting to be - that really pulled at me. Shaara manages to make Gina, a former model-turned-professor, likable and strong in the midst of various characters' attempts to bring her down. The love story was exceptionally tender - again, a rare feat - and it sharpened the anxious tone with a delicate balance. Shaara is a talented writer whom I'd like to read again. This is a book I didn't expect to stay with me, but I was glad it did.
February 19, 2012
It was a good story but too long to get to the point. Gina Paletta is a professor at a small college near NY City and a single mom of twin boys. But is that all she is. A student becomes obcessed with her and then the other life she led comes out. All the twists and turns are good but it just takes toooooooooo long. And I got a little sick of her wishy washy attitude about her own life. Putting your kids first is great but mom's need to take care of themselves too.
October 10, 2019
Hands down worst book I’ve ever read. So badly written I laughed out loud. What was so bad? The supermodel/religious studies professor main character was so beautiful that men asked her out several times a day and didn’t give up even after being rejected over and over. The plot was uneventful and boring and dragged on so long I forgot what the book was about. Reviewers who said it was suspenseful and had twists must’ve read the other books with this title (this was my mistake) because there wasn’t even a hint of a mystery to this one. But the biggest problem was the writing itself. It was totally contradictory and just bad. Gina says that she wants to be left alone and then she calls the college and gives an interview to the school paper then that night calls and gives an interview to the local paper and then gives an interview to the tv station the next day. She meets Tommy and dislikes him but has a dream about him and wakes up to find that she’s madly in love with him. She gets mad at Tommy and storms out of the restaurant and then after the 3 pm funeral of her friend (which she explains is because super models don’t do anything early in the day) she calls him and asks him to be her date at the wake. When they finally get together ( which you no longer care about) they go on two dates and he asks her to marry him. And then he gets shot at and while in the hospital she realizes her love is cold as dry ice so she breaks up with him. She calls herself a hippie mom and is always making organic whole wheat crap yet when she goes to the city for the funeral she brings a well stocked bag of makeup and more than once thought of how to give makeover advice to the poor women in her company. I could go on and on. But the writing itself is horrible. I don’t know if it got published without being edited because her father was a successful author or because she is a college professor but it really needs editing. The words horror and terror were overused and not appropriate to the situation. Maybe she thought it would make it seem more suspenseful. Phrases like “terrified relief� “relieved horror� “I kept the conversation frighteningly light� ”hopeful terror� “I looked at him in horror to see that his face was flushed� “scream of lovesick horror� “I collapsed into a sort of terrified jelly� I continued to read to find these gems: “I was smitten with sadness� “I was physically cold� “I wasn’t particularly excited to be making that particular decision� “her words hung over me like a stinking halo� “I could feel the stones starting to melt� “I had a gooey feeling in my stomach� “she smelled of dust and lemons� “he was a neutral shaped male� When Tommy said they couldn’t talk in the precinct, she looked at him befuddled. Then he said to meet at a Chinese restaurant due east. Due East? In New York City? She should’ve been befuddled then.
If you want a laugh I recommend.
If you want a laugh I recommend.
August 28, 2019
I struggled with this one. The story starts so abruptly and the author doesn't give much time at the beginning for character development and so I wasn't bought in on the characters as it started out. The characters do develop extensively throughout the novel but I found myself just really not liking many of the characters (except Tommy) and so I just struggled. The story itself, while in theory is good, is really drawn out. There are a lot of twists to the book but some of them were never really resolved and others just fell flat for me. I know every story appeals to someone but this one just didn't appeal to me.
January 21, 2018
I gave up on this book around page 100. Too much rehashing of information, too many characters for the story line, too much whining!
May 21, 2011
This first novel by Lila Shaara is not so much a mystery as two relatively unrelated, “psychological� stories, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A one-time successful lingerie model, Gina Paletta, has settled in a sleepy town just outside the Big Apple with her 7 year-old twin sons. Besides being a doting single mom (the boys� father died when they were three), she’s a sociology professor at a local college. But wouldn’t you know it—her modeling career catches up with her in the form of two
student stalker types who’ve posted spicy photos of Gina on their website. The creepy duo is also implicated in the disappearance of a fellow student. This incident brings the police into her home, literally, as there’s a very real possibility that the young men might harm Gina or her sons. A mutual yet unexpressed attraction develops between Tommy, one of the live-in cops, and our heroine even though Gina has traded in her bras and baby dolls for sweatpants and flannel nightgowns.
Part Two ties up the loose ends left over from Part One but is mostly concerned with delving into some rather nasty family secrets. It’s hard to fathom that part of this town’s appeal for Gina was to be near these moronic schmucks. I chalked it up to her unresolved issues. And lest we blame Gina’s paternal side for all her emotional problems, Gina’s mother’s self absorption is only surpassed by her cold and uncaring attitude toward Gina and the twins.
At times throughout the novel, it seemed like I was reading the same scenarios over and over; at 450+ pages, the book begged for some ruthless editing. However, the book has much in its favor. I got a real sense of who Gina was and what made her tick, some of Gina and Tommy’s interactions were quite sweet and there was an imaginative and unexpected twist concerning one of the characters. All in all, a worthy first effort.
student stalker types who’ve posted spicy photos of Gina on their website. The creepy duo is also implicated in the disappearance of a fellow student. This incident brings the police into her home, literally, as there’s a very real possibility that the young men might harm Gina or her sons. A mutual yet unexpressed attraction develops between Tommy, one of the live-in cops, and our heroine even though Gina has traded in her bras and baby dolls for sweatpants and flannel nightgowns.
Part Two ties up the loose ends left over from Part One but is mostly concerned with delving into some rather nasty family secrets. It’s hard to fathom that part of this town’s appeal for Gina was to be near these moronic schmucks. I chalked it up to her unresolved issues. And lest we blame Gina’s paternal side for all her emotional problems, Gina’s mother’s self absorption is only surpassed by her cold and uncaring attitude toward Gina and the twins.
At times throughout the novel, it seemed like I was reading the same scenarios over and over; at 450+ pages, the book begged for some ruthless editing. However, the book has much in its favor. I got a real sense of who Gina was and what made her tick, some of Gina and Tommy’s interactions were quite sweet and there was an imaginative and unexpected twist concerning one of the characters. All in all, a worthy first effort.
February 13, 2014
I didn't particularly like this book. The storyline was, in my opinion, mildly entertaining.
I'm not quite sure if Shaara was trying to aim for full-on fluff or pseudo-crime novel. Don't get me wrong, I read it the entire book however many times I had to put it down and go back to it. I liked the suspense angle, but it was getting to be a bit much that Gina was gaining the amount of attention she did from everyone.
You've got a fashion model turned college professor (with the PhD, to boot....of course) being stalked by not only her wealthy male student, mob boss uncle, and sexually harrassed by one of the hunky cops hired to watch over her. And to top matters off....she becomes unwittingly involved with the other of the two cops.
Not to mention, Tommy and Russell, the two cops, finding all that time to focus on Gina's case alone. Then....there's everyone else fs lling all over her in the meantime making her character appear more significant than most rock stars.
Seriously...I was on my to getting a toothache halfway into the story.
I mean, I know we read books to get away from everyday life but things were a bit overdone in this book.
I gave it two stars....if you're a fan of "all that glitters is gold" meets James Patterson then this book is for you.
I'm not quite sure if Shaara was trying to aim for full-on fluff or pseudo-crime novel. Don't get me wrong, I read it the entire book however many times I had to put it down and go back to it. I liked the suspense angle, but it was getting to be a bit much that Gina was gaining the amount of attention she did from everyone.
You've got a fashion model turned college professor (with the PhD, to boot....of course) being stalked by not only her wealthy male student, mob boss uncle, and sexually harrassed by one of the hunky cops hired to watch over her. And to top matters off....she becomes unwittingly involved with the other of the two cops.
Not to mention, Tommy and Russell, the two cops, finding all that time to focus on Gina's case alone. Then....there's everyone else fs lling all over her in the meantime making her character appear more significant than most rock stars.
Seriously...I was on my to getting a toothache halfway into the story.
I mean, I know we read books to get away from everyday life but things were a bit overdone in this book.
I gave it two stars....if you're a fan of "all that glitters is gold" meets James Patterson then this book is for you.
August 27, 2011
So far this book is okay. I'm hanging in there because I'm interested enough to want to know the ending. BUT..too much description, too much introspection. I like mostly like the main character/narrator but sometimes I just want her to get on with it. I'm 5 discs into the 16 disc audio book and I'm seriously considering just checking out the book from the library so I can skim over much of the dialogue and get to the meat of the story.
I gave up and went and got the text version of this book so I could finish it. I gave it 2 stars because I did hang in until the end but really it is a 1 star. The contrived plot and sub plots end up just being annoying. I didn't really like any of the characters and I didn't believe much of the dialogue. I admit I did skim through to see the conclusion but even that left me cold.
I gave up and went and got the text version of this book so I could finish it. I gave it 2 stars because I did hang in until the end but really it is a 1 star. The contrived plot and sub plots end up just being annoying. I didn't really like any of the characters and I didn't believe much of the dialogue. I admit I did skim through to see the conclusion but even that left me cold.
February 25, 2008
I've been listening to this on my comute to/from school as I've discovered that I get really motion sick on the new busses in the city. I'm not sure if I really liked this one, it was kinda eh, when it ended. Though I'm not sure if my reaction was more along those lines because I felt like shaking the main character through the first 2/3rds of the book for being so clueless...
I really wanted to like this book, was looking forwards to starting it, as I've heard such great things about this debut book. I just wish I had ended up likeing it more than I did. Somehow I feel like I'm being disloyal, even though it's a new to me author if that makes any sense.
See where this book travels next, at:
I really wanted to like this book, was looking forwards to starting it, as I've heard such great things about this debut book. I just wish I had ended up likeing it more than I did. Somehow I feel like I'm being disloyal, even though it's a new to me author if that makes any sense.
See where this book travels next, at:
March 9, 2009
This book held my interest. It isn't deep. That's ok. Does everything have to be? There's a bit of mystery, and a bit of romance. A gorgeous ex-lingerie model turned professor and single mom of twins has her life turned upside down when some students plaster her old modeling shots on a website with some pornographic pictures, suggesting she is the subject. The boys are suspected of murder and the police believe this woman may be in danger. Enter hunky detective. Oh the difficulties of being so gorgeous . . yeah right! But I liked it.
November 11, 2013
Once I got into this book I couldn't put it down. Unfortunately it took me a while to really get hooked.
There are a lot of characters in the book, and they bounce in and out of the story pretty erratically. If you don't learn who is who you're guaranteed to get lost and forced to go back and figure out who is who. There's as many plot twists and turns as there is characters, it makes for an interesting read. Some of the story lines *coughtheadoptedbabycough* I could have done without however.
Overall a good read that keeps going and going and going and going.
There are a lot of characters in the book, and they bounce in and out of the story pretty erratically. If you don't learn who is who you're guaranteed to get lost and forced to go back and figure out who is who. There's as many plot twists and turns as there is characters, it makes for an interesting read. Some of the story lines *coughtheadoptedbabycough* I could have done without however.
Overall a good read that keeps going and going and going and going.
March 4, 2011
I thought this was really good chick lit. It is the story of a widow and her young sons - the story begins on her 33rd birthday. She receives a gift in the mail that is unsigned. This is where the story begins. Frightening things begin to happen to Gina - she is a professor at a small university but her past begins to catch up with her. She did live a fast life as a Victoria Secrets type model in her teens and twenties - but gave it up to persue her phd.
March 9, 2007
I only got to the second chapter in this book. Normally I give books a chance to grab me but I was just too bored with this one and moved on to a more interesting one. Perhaps one day I'll give it a chance again.
February 20, 2008
A very absorbing story. I don't read much contemporary fiction, but did enjoy this. The main character is a mother of two sons who has created a simple, safe life for herself until events unfold that push her to look at her past and change her present.
June 25, 2007
This was just something I picked up randomly, but I really liked it--an engrossing story.
July 28, 2007
A fascinating insight into the world of modeling.
February 16, 2008
Riveting.......full of twists
May 20, 2009
Well, maybe I should give this a 3 because I did read the whole thing. I didn't quit. But it wasn't really very deep. It was a rambling romance.... Can't really recommend it.
August 18, 2013
Couldn't get into this one.
March 7, 2010
This had the potential to be a really good book. Some really good sections. It needed some pretty severe editing in never received before it was published.
November 4, 2010
I thought it was a somewhat slow read at the beginning, but then it really picks up. I stayed up late reading the last 100 pages!
May 27, 2011
I loved this ... really hoped she'd write a follow-up.
August 13, 2012
This is not a memorable book. Fine for a beach read.
January 22, 2013
Intelligent "chick-lit". A good summer beach read. I can handle a book like this, maybe, once a year.
January 26, 2013
This book can't seem to decide what the main point is and it takes along time to not get there. I finished it hoping it would eventually get where it's going. It did, sort of.
January 28, 2013
Brainy supermodel meets cop hunk and turns quasi-stalker mystery into romance novel. Very lifetime movie but not over in an hour and a half.
October 26, 2012
loved it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.