Secrets and Lies by Jaishree Misra
| Secrets and Lies by Jaishree Misra | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: An interesting if slightly slow and predictable story, but with endearing characters and some mystery. Reasonable holiday reading. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 408 | Date: June 2009 |
| Publisher: Avon | |
| ISBN: 978-1847561688 | |
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Four girls became friendly at school in Delhi. Fifteen years later three of them are in London, but Zeba is still in India. She was a promising actress (on and off the stage) at school but in 2008 she's the reigning queen of Bollywood. Let no one say that she hasn't earned her position; some of those producers can be quite demanding – on and off the stage. Back in London Bubbles is the wife of a millionaire Indian businessman. It was an arranged marriage and although it's never been close Bubbles isn't too unhappy. Sam is the trophy wife and her marriage seems to have ground to a halt, whilst Anita, always the brainiest of the group, seems to have difficulty in keeping a relationship going. There was another girl who had an influence on the girls, but they hated Lily D'Souza – and then she died.
The girls are well-to-do and beautiful, but despite that I quite liked them. There are secrets in their past as well as insecurities and the odd bit of comfort eating. If you're on a diet – don't read this book – some of the food is to get fat for and there were occasions when my mouth was watering. Delhi comes through strongly too – I loved some of the descriptions and the way that the city was captured at different times of the year.
It's not great literature, but it's a good story with a strong emphasis on the value of friendship and family even above love affairs. The friendship endures, but relationships don't always stand the test of time. There's mystery about what happened to Lily D'Souza – and why – but the chances are that you'll have worked most of it out in the course of the book. There is, however, one twist in the tail that I definitely wasn't expecting!
The story switches between Mumbai in 1993 and London in 2008 and Misra handles this well. The pace of the book is a little slow in places – descriptions of food, or Delhi appeal, but I'm afraid that clothes don't float my boat to the same extent. But if you're looking for an undemanding holiday read you could do a lot worse.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If this type of book appeals to you then we think that you might also like Sins by Penny Jordan although Secrets and Lies is the better book. You could also enjoy Crazy in Love by Chris Manby.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Secrets and Lies by Jaishree Misra at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Secrets and Lies by Jaishree Misra at Amazon.com.
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