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MWSA Review Travel blogger and local North Carolina botanical garden owner Kate Tyler is one of a set of triplets born to an unwed teenage mother, Jenny Howard, who gave them up for adoption as babies. Kate and her sister, Becky, were adopted by Clarence and Maggie Tyler. Their brother Billie was adopted by Calvin and Mimi Zink.
Kate is in her thirties at the time of this story. Her sister had already died in an accident soon after purchasing Howards’ Walk, an estate owned by the parents of their birth mother, Jenny. Tending to the property Kate inherited from Becky, Kate found birth certificates in a trunk. They revealed she was one of a set of triplets. She did not think her sister knew about their brother Billie, and his existence was a surprise to her, also. What struck her like a hard blow was the blank line on the birth certificates where their father’s name should have been. It smacked of “I do not want you.”
As she brings the brother she never knew into her life, Kate realizes he has some developmental and physical problems. On very good terms with Billie’s adoptive mother Mimi, Kate, her boyfriend Ben, and Billie build a warm and loving relationship together. When Kate is informed Billie may need a kidney transplant, she is determined to learn more about her biological parents, who may need to consider being a donor in the future, should Billie need a new kidney.
The “I do not want you” theme runs through Nancy Wakeley’s Secrets at Deep Lake as Kate tries to unravel the mystery of who her birth father is, if he is alive, and if he wants any relationship with her and Billie. Her research takes her to upstate New York. Under the guise of writing her travel blog, she locates the wealthy Wingate Family and attends the annual wine festival at their popular vineyard, curious as to what relationship she may have to them, if any.
As revelations emerge and secrets are exposed about the Wingate family as well as her birth mother, Kate must confront her fear of being rejected again. With Ben supporting her throughout her journey of discovery, Kate slowly emerges as a more tolerant person who understands the decisions made when she was only an infant. Will she find the closure she so desperately needs not only for Billie, but also for herself?
Secrets at Deep Lake will resonate with anyone who has yearned to find a birth parent, as well as the reader who enjoys a good mystery.
Review by Pat Walkow (March 2024)
Author's Synopsis
When Kate Tyler learns that her brother may need a kidney transplant, she has no choice but to unravel the mystery of her biological parents' health history. Given only her birth mother's name to start her search, she begins untangling the threads of her past despite her own desire to leave it all alone. Undeterred by the risk of a second betrayal, she follows the leads to the Wingate family, a well-off presence in the New York State wine scene.
Using her travel blog as a cover, Kate inserts herself into the Wingate family's wine festival, hoping to quietly confirm her suspicions of her father's identity. But as the Wingates close ranks to protect their own, painful secrets come to light with devastating consequences. Only the truth can lead these broken families to forgiveness and healing.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction
Number of Pages: 258
Word Count: 76,000