Janine W. (alibrian) reviewed on 2/26/2006 + 249 more book reviews

"Beneath his careful and controlled demeanor, attorney John O'Rourke is a man whose life is in turmoil. Since the death of his wife, he has been juggling the rigors of a controversial capital murder case and the demands of raising two children. Eleven-year-old Maggie's crooked bangs and rumpled clothes eloquently reproach John's earnest but haphazard attempts at mothering. Teddy, John's stalwart fourteen-year-old, has quietly assumed responsibilities far too weighty for his young shoulders, as he longs for the way things used to be and tries to ignore the hostility that swirled around his family since his father took on the defense of a killer whose crimes have rocked Connecticut.
A brick through the window one autumn morning signals a dangerous new level of hatred. A woman arrives on the O'Rourke doorstep to find a household on the brink of chaos but brimming with love--and, she hopes, answers. Kate Harris is searching for the key to her own mystery. Six months ago her younger sister flees far from their beloved home following a devastating confrontation, After mailing a single postcard from the New England shore, Willa Harris vanished. With only a postmark to go on, Kate takes a leave of absence from her joob as a marine biologist to come to the seaside Willa adored--and discovers the one man who may be able to help her."
Compelling and evocative, at once suspenseful, hearbreaking, and triumphant, 'The Secret Hour' is an unforgettable novel that explores the power of sisterly love, the gift of second chance--and the way magic can sometimes be the most real thing in the whole world.

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