Secret Keepers Audiobook, by Mindy Friddle Play Audiobook Sample

Secret Keepers Audiobook

Secret Keepers Audiobook, by Mindy Friddle Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Cynthia Darlow Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc. Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 6.67 hours at 1.5x Speed 5.00 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: April 2010 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781440790461

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

22

Longest Chapter Length:

45:57 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

11:47 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

27:09 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

2

Other Audiobooks Written by Mindy Friddle: > View All...

Publisher Description

With her second novel, Mindy Friddle expertly takes the conventions of a typical Southern dynasty story and transforms them into something wholly original. When her husband dies on the eve of their impending European vacation, housewife Emma Hanley watches her dreams of world travel vanish even as she becomes more immersed in the lives of her two living children. "Friddle's beguiling second novel is a poignant and reassuring tale of regret and redemption."-Booklist

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"First off I have to say how much I love this cover! I love anything vintage and having to do with gardening, not that I am a great gardener. This book begs to be read on a front porch or in a garden gazebo while drinking a glass of sweet tea. It is a quiet southern fiction book about a family coming to terms with changes in their lives. We meet Emma Hanley who at age 72, is getting ready to take of on a trip of a lifetime with her husband, Harold and mentally ill son, Bobby. Her husband has an accident that takes his life and changes Emma's life. Her daughter, Dora and her husband, Donny have very different plans for Harold's funeral but Emma has her mind set and does things the way she sees fit. Of course this starts a family battle. Donny and Dora belong to a very zealous church set up in a mall built on property once belonging to Emma's grandfather. I can't say how many times I found myself laughing at the shenanigans that go on in this mall where all the stores are involved around the church. When Jake, Dora's high school sweetheart decides to open up his own landscaping business in town things get very interesting. Soon he realizes he needs help and hires an unlikely bunch of characters; Gordon, a homeless veteran, Kyle, Emma's rebellious grandson who hates his parents and Bobby. Soon secret, magical plants and lifetime secrets are revealed. If you enjoy southern fiction and dysfunctional quirky families then I think you will enjoy this book. There is a nice balance between the story and a hint of magic that is not overdone."

— Beth (4 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • “With fluid prose and telling details, Friddle deftly captures the downward pull of the past and the Southern penchant for mythmaking; transcending the easy stereotypes of Southern dysfunctional family sagas, Friddle’s clan is a genuinely quirky lot with its own unlikely ideas of happiness.”

    — Publishers Weekly
  • “Beguiling…A poignant and reassuring tale of regret and redemption.” 

    — Booklist

Secret Keepers Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 3.22727272727273 out of 53.22727272727273 out of 53.22727272727273 out of 53.22727272727273 out of 53.22727272727273 out of 5 (3.23)
5 Stars: 4
4 Stars: 3
3 Stars: 11
2 Stars: 2
1 Stars: 2
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Picked it up on a whim, liked it. Sweet and well written. "

    — Shay, 2/20/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Slow at the beginning, but the characters really gripped me at the end. "

    — Karenzielinski, 2/8/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Entertaining. Pure drama. "

    — Laura, 2/1/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Liked her previous novel, The Garden Angel, much better, but this was nice. Some of the characters were larger than life stereotypes (the daughter's husband, for example) which kind of annoyed me. But, again, a good, easy read. "

    — Jeannine, 1/29/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I loved The Garden Angel and I really enjoyed this book, too. I could sure identify with Emma Hanley in Palmetto, GA and all the town's character. Kind of mystical, like Alice Hoffman. "

    — Fran, 1/18/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " An enjoyable easy read with flawed but likeable characters. I think it will make my list for summer reading. "

    — Ptaylor, 12/29/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " This took probably 50 pages for me to get into, but it was an excellent, unpredictable story. "

    — -r-, 12/5/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I found this love story interesting in the fact that it shows that wild crazy side of our teenage years and how people and we ourselves try to change and fit our surroundings as we get older. This does not always work out as we planned. I enjoyed this bookQ "

    — Denise, 11/27/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Pretty good book. It's an ebook from Net Library and it was interesting enough to want to keep listening. "

    — Karen, 11/22/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Emma is waiting for a trip she has been planning for years, then unexpected events cancel her trip.......this was an ok story lots of strange things happen. I was hoping to enjoy this book more than I did but still glad I read it. "

    — Claudia, 10/22/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " This was a great book! Lots of drama. I really enjoyed the plot. "

    — Lauren, 9/25/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Emma Hanley plans to escape her small town, Palmetto, South Carolina. But life gets in the way; daugther Dora, grandson Kyle, Sons Will and Bobby. "

    — Diane, 8/25/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Even though you don't really identify with any character in a novel, you can identify with certain characteristics during the stages of their lives. We live lives shaped by expectations, not necessarily our own. Emma sheds the burden of expectation and really begins to live a happy life. "

    — Mary, 8/19/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " A quick easy read. A day at the beach kind of book. "

    — Mechele, 8/18/2012
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Not a great book but not terrible either. This story was just kind of blah for me. "

    — Shannon, 5/24/2012
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " A rare treat. A beautifully written page-turner. I loved this novel. "

    — Karen, 4/23/2012
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " I don't even think I got past page 100. the writing was awful. I wanted to read something "nice" after finishing two books in a row about the Holocaust. The author seemed to ramble from one thing and one character to another. "

    — Luz, 2/9/2012
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I loved this book! It has a wonderful storyline and all of us can relate to the characters. It is all about taking a different path and how we can not always change other people's life choices but we can change ours! Great read. I am definitely reading her other book, The Garden Angel! "

    — Kathleen, 12/23/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Emma Hanley is the main character in this book, however, gardener Jake & his crazy bunch of helpers steal the story. "

    — Garryvivianne, 10/30/2011
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " I don't even think I got past page 100. the writing was awful. I wanted to read something "nice" after finishing two books in a row about the Holocaust. The author seemed to ramble from one thing and one character to another. "

    — Luz, 12/14/2010
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Emma is waiting for a trip she has been planning for years, then unexpected events cancel her trip.......this was an ok story lots of strange things happen. I was hoping to enjoy this book more than I did but still glad I read it. "

    — Claudia, 6/23/2010
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Not a great book but not terrible either. This story was just kind of blah for me. "

    — Shannon, 4/8/2010

About Mindy Friddle

Mindy Friddle is author of The Garden Angel and Secret Keepers. She writes, reads, gardens, and works in Greenville, South Carolina, where she lives with her family.

About Cynthia Darlow

Cynthia Darlow’s unusual voice makes her devotion to the spoken arts a natural fit. As a narrator and veteran of Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theater, film, and television, her characterizations and facility with dialects are unforgettable. Her audiobook narrations have earned her seven AudioFile Earphones Awards. She is a member of The Actors Company Theatre (TACT), whose mission it is to present concert performances of long-neglected, language-driven plays.