Secrets of Our House: A Novel

Rea Frey

Feb 2022 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Samantha Desz

About this audiobook

A thrilling domestic drama set against the power of the wilderness, Rea Frey's Secrets of Our House is a deeply-felt novel of long-held secrets and the strength of family.

Desi is the mastermind behind her dream getaway house. Nestled high into the mountains of North Carolina, it is a sleek place, a luxurious place, a dark place.

A place full of secrets.

Secrets about the man she longs for, a man who is not her husband. Secrets about the roots of her family that must never, ever, see the light of day. When Desi and her family arrive from Chicago to spend the summer in the mountains, the seeds for the tumultuous months to follow are planted—her marriage on the rocks, not knowing which way they’ll go. Her seventeen year-old daughter Jules, falling in love for the first time with a local boy—and forging a new path that will take her to uncharted places. And Carter—a man Desi knew long ago, before she expunged him from her life for good.

All hurtling toward events none of them can undo.

Engaging, propulsive, and with a dramatic, heart-pounding final act, Secrets of Our House is a dazzling audiobook, richly-drawn, that shows no matter how hard outside forces may shake you, the bonds of family are stronger than the harshest winds.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Griffin.

Ratings and reviews

This book was so sad in so many ways. A dysfunctional family in every way. A domineering mother, a distant father, a daughter giving up her dreams for those of her mother. Desi and Peter's marriage is in trouble and they both know it. Desi has a successful career in Chicago. She designs a dream house in the mountains of North Carolina. Along with their daughter Jules go on vacation in North Carolina. This is a new start for Desi and Peter in hopes that it will restart their marriage and somehow save it. Desi, however, is still in love with someone else. Someone she knew when Peter was in the Service. When he came home, she chose to stay with Peter but she is not in love with him. Jules falls in love with a local boy and does not want to go to college as she had planned to do. She goes because her mother intervenes and speaks to her boyfriend and he talks Jules into going. When Christmas vacation comes they go to the house in the mountains of North Carolina. A huge snowstorm and an event which causes them all to re-evaluate their lives and find out what they really want in life. What they have been and the mistakes they have made. The narrator did a wonderful job on the narration of the audio book. I really enjoyed the book and I loved the sad ending which had me holding my breath. I would definitely recommend this book. It will make you think re-evaluate your life and your interactions with your family. Thanks to Rea Frey for writing a great story, to Samantha Desz for the great narration, to MacMillan Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

About the author

Rea Frey (she/her) is an award-winning author of several nonfiction books and the novels Not Her Daughter, Because You’re Mine, Until I Find You, and Secrets of Our House. She is also the founder and CEO of Writeway, which teaches writers about the business of publishing—not just the craft. She lives in Nashville with her husband and daughter.