Thorns of Truth
The Sequel to Garden of Lies
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Nearly five decades after they were swapped at birth, two women change each other’s lives
Sylvie Rosenthal is dying, and one great mistake still weighs on her soul. In 1943, as a new mother in a Bronx maternity ward, she feared for her life. What would happen when her husband saw their new daughter, whose dark hair and black eyes proved she wasn’t his own? Sylvie couldn’t bear to find out, and during a terrifying hospital fire fled the building with another woman’s child in her arms. Decades later, she told her real daughter the truth, but asked Rose to keep her secret, lest it destroy Rachel, the girl Sylvie raised as her own. Then, after years of silence, the two women’s lives, intertwined in more ways than one, are once more turned upside down. In this sequel to the blockbuster Garden of Lies, Rose and Rachel, bound forever by a secret that only one of them understands, must both find the courage to face the truth. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Eileen Goudge including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two middle-aged women battle for family, career and love in this melodramatic continuation of the switched-at-birth saga that Goudge began in Garden of Lies (1989). Forty-six years after Sylvie Rosenthal abandoned Rose as a dark-haired newborn and stole blonde, blue-eyed baby Rachel to take her place, their lives are still intertwined, and Rachel still doesn't know the truth. Now Rose has problems of her own: her husband's death a year ago has left her with a law firm to manage; her stepdaughter is a drunk; and her eldest son, Drew, is planning to marry Rachel's mentally unstable daughter, Iris, against his mother's wishes. Rachel's life is starting to fray at the edges, too. Her job running a women's health clinic has caused a rift in her marriage to Brian, and, even medicated, Iris remains a constant worry. Goudge's moral in all this is that even the best-hidden secrets and lies undermine happiness. A corollary: once the truth outs, love and forgiveness ensue. While Goudge's narrative bogs down in overwrought description and an unmanageable cast, fans of the first installment will not be disappointed with this feel-good sequel. Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild featured alternates.
