Public Secrets

Emma.  Beautiful, intelligent, radiantly talented, she lives in a star-studded world of wealth and privilege.  But she is about to discover that fame is no protection at all when someone wants you dead....

All she has to do is close her eyes and she remembers the day Brian McAvoy swept into her life.  A frightened toddler, she didn't know then that she was his illegitimate daughter or that he was pop music's rising new star.  All she knew was that with Brian, his bandmates, and his new wife, she felt safe.  And when her baby brother arrived, Emma thought she was the luckiest girl in the world...until the night a botched kidnapping attempt shattered all their lives...and destroyed Emma's happiness.

Yet now, even though Emma is still haunted by flashes of memory from that fateful night, she has survived.  She's carved out a thrilling career and even dared to fall rapturously in love.  But the man who will become her husband isn't all that he seems.  And Emma is about to awaken to the chilling knowledge that the darkest secret of all is the one buried in her mind--a secret that someone may kill to keep.


From the Paperback edition.

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Emma McAvoy gets whisked out of poverty and into the glamour of rock-music at the age of 3, but those early years never quite fade away from her memory. She loves and idolizes her rock-star father and also quickly loves her step-mother and her new baby brother. When he is tragically kidnapped, Emma's new world changes again, and she must live with the guilt and the uneasy sense that she knows more than she remembers, and she must force herself to remember to save her own life.

This is a wonderful, "un-put-downable" book, which I subsequently passed on to all MY friends because I liked it so much. Now that I have it back I'm looking forward to reading it again!

36 of 36 found the following review helpful:

A Musician's Daughter's LifeApr 05, 2005
By Susie Morris "Book Junkie"
At the time PUBLIC SECRETS was written, it was a very different style for Nora Roberts. It wasn't her typical romantic story, but instead dealt with more mystery and intrigue. Little did I know that she would eventually expand on her writing abilities in this area and focus the majority of her new material in the mystery genre.

Public Secrets deals with the life of Emma, a woman with a past containing one of the worst nightmares known to man. Emma's father, Brian McAvoy, is a famous musician who swept into her life at an early age. Emma's mother had gotten pregnant in an attempt to "catch" Brian so she could have the luxury and money that went with his fame. Things didn't work out that way because Brian saw her for what she was - a drug addicted manipulator who hated everyone around her. After Emma was born, her mother used her to get money from Brian but squandered it on drugs, clothes, and other addictions in her life. On a visit, Brian couldn't stand the look in his tiny daughter's eyes any longer and took her away from the rancid apartment, hateful mother, and life of hell that she had been enduring. He then showed her what life could be like. Emma felt like she was on top of the world - she had her father, her new mom, a wonderful home, and the best part was she would soon have a new baby brother.

Several months later, her new, safe world came crashing down around her when a kidnapping attempt went awry and the baby was killed. Typical with this type of story plot, mimicking real life, this event tears the family apart and each character retreats into his/her own world for a time being. The catalyst that brings them back together is when years later Emma begins to remember that fateful night and realizes that she saw the man who killed her brother. When word of this gets out, Emma's life is in danger. The killer wants to make sure his identity is never made public.

When I was reading this book, for some reason I kept picturing McAvoy's band as The Beatles. Silly, I know, but for some reason that was the mental image I had conjured. Maybe it was the wild parties that were described in detail, the bits and pieces shown of the music world including recording sessions and tours, or the English countryside. Without being able to pinpoint the exact reason, I just finally went with the mental image and enjoyed the book, while periodically reminding myself that it WASN'T about The Beatles!

The plot is fairly intricate with a few minor twists and turns. Figuring out the villain's identity was not difficult, but the various subplots were very enjoyable and unexpected. True to her style, Nora Roberts is vivid in her detail and descriptions including her characters. One of my favorite parts is when she describes the English farm where Brian McAvoy grew up and where he buried his son in the family graveyard. The detail was such that this countryside was something I craved to see firsthand.

Public Secrets isn't one of Nora Roberts' best books, but it is very good.

20 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Wow! I couldn't put it down.Jan 05, 2003
By A reader "peaseblossom67"
Nora outdid herself with this story. Public Secrets is more of a family saga than a traditional romantic suspense novel, although there is romance and there is plenty of suspense. It follows the McAvoys, through the eyes of Emma, from the time she is three years old, through childhood, the school years, marriage, and adulthood. All this against the background of the life of rock-and-roll legends. It is fascinating and compelling. I simply couldn't put it down.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:

an inside view of a rock star's childNov 26, 2006
By Shaylee "Shaylee"
This book was not what I expected at all, not your typical romantic suspense it follows the life of rockstar Brian McAvoy, his band Devastation from the 60's to present time (1990) through the eyes of Emma. At three Emma is recued from her abusive alcoholic mother and drawn into Brian's world with a step mother and a new found family in his band 'Devastation'.

However at age 6 a single botched kidnapping attempt rips the new found family apart leaving Emma a traumatised and battered and broken.

However life goes and the book follows the nightmares and the struggle of the band family and their personal lives in order living in the public eye, and the equally determined efforts of the detectives put on the case which spans 20 years.

Nora Roberts created a wonderful enrapturing surrogate family in the members of the band for Emma, colourful flawed characters with real issues came through, they all shone brightly and there was fascinating character development in all characters.

I particulary liked the story from the point of view of Emma, Nora successfully captured the essence of a maturing woman from the ages 3 to 25, her choices that paved her path through the years. A inside view of drug addicted rockstars was also pushed forward and the sacrifices that the family had to pay that came with their success.

I guessed the ending... but that's nothing new for me. It was an absolute find and I recommend everyone should read it. It was so vivid and real- I had to stop myself from actually looking it up to see if it was based on a real band. REad this book, you won't regret it.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Sex, drugs and rock and roll - 4.5 starsJul 15, 2006
By Michelle888
PUBLIC SECRETS is an intriguing look into the lives of a little girl who grows up in the world of rock and roll, a life that will shape her future.

Emma McAvoy was barely three when she met her father for the first time and her life was changed forever. Everything was perfect; she had a nice home and lots of people who truly seemed to care about her. Then everything changed when her baby brother was murdered in a botched kidnapping attempt. But after years of living with nightmares, things are finally looking up for her. She's now a successful photographer and is in love for the very first time. Yet once again, Fate deals her a huge blow when the man she marries shows his true colors. Not only is she running away from a disastrous marriage, but also being haunted once more by the memory of her brother's murder.

While this book follows the life of Emma from the time her father plucked her out of poverty, to her awkward and sheltered teenage years where she develops her first crush on Michael (the son of the detective investigating her brother's murder), to the time she carves out a career and falls in love with an abusive musician, there are also subplots featuring her father and the three band members whom Emma grew up with that add some twists and turns to the story. In some ways, it was almost like watching (in this case, reading) a soap opera unfold. Nora Roberts has done well in describing the lives of the characters, including their lifestyle and indulgences - from drugs, alcoholism, infidelity and greed. In some ways I found that the middle of the book was dragged out unnecessarily and wished that more focus were given on the romance between Emma and Michael, and less on the secondary characters. Yet at the same time, we are given such lurid details about them that I couldn't help turning the pages to see what happens next.

As for the mystery part, although it isn't hard to figure out the huge secret, the few twists and turns are enough to hold your interest. I just really would have liked to see more development on the romance between Emma and Michael. I had such high hopes from the time they first met when they were very young and their succeeding meetings really had me excited for both of them.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the others.

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