The Language of Secrets

The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon

Summary from Goodreads

Justin Fisher has a successful career as the manager of a luxury hotel, a lovely wife, and a charming young son. While all signs point to a bright future, Justin can no longer ignore the hole in his life left by his estranged family. When he finally gathers the courage to reconnect with his troubled past, Justin is devastated to learn that his parents have passed away. And a visit to the cemetery brings the greatest shock of all—next to the graves of his father and mother sits a smaller tombstone for a three-year-old boy: a boy named Thomas Justin Fisher.

What follows is an extraordinary journey as Justin struggles with issues of his own identity and pieces together the complex and heartbreaking truth about his family. With great skill and care, Dianne Dixon explores the toll that misunderstandings, blame, and resentment can take on a family. But it is the intimate details of family life—a mother's lullaby for her son, a father's tragic error in judgment—that make this novel so exceptional and an absolute must for reading groups everywhere.

The Language of Secrets is the story of an unspeakable loss born of human frailty and an ultimate redemption born of human courage.

My Thoughts

Wow, this is a book that packs a punch! Imagine going to see your family, you find your parents deceased and you see your own headstone that says you died as a young child. The story goes back and forth from the present back to the past to tell how such a thing could happen. The family secrets that are revealed as Justin tries to learn who he is and where he came from are quite shocking! As Justin unveiled secrets to his past I felt very sorry for him. His story was heartbreaking. I found myself questioning how far a mother would go to protect her family. I thought I knew exactly where the story was going until the very last page where the ending caught me totally off guard! Loved it! Dianne Dixon weaves a web of lies, deception and betrayals that is so suspenseful you will be up reading into the wee hours of the morning.

There is a reader's guide in the back of the book with questions for discussion. I think this would make an excellent book for a book club discussion. Much to discuss with this book! If you pick this one up make sure you have plenty of time to read it because you won't want to put it down!

I received this book for review as part of Librarything Early Reviewers.