When Elizabeth Gunnar accepts a teaching position at the preparatory school she attended as a girl, she is returning to more than a place to memories, mysteries, and an old love. Once there she meets unexpected challenges, and challenging new people. She revisits ghosts of the past and old self-doubts. And through it all, God somehow takes four broken people and forms a new, complete family.

Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy Award-winning novel All the Way Home. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association "Book of the Year" in fiction for both All the Way Home and I'll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her "one of Christian fiction's better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories." Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.

Buried thoughts are resurrected in Anne Tatlock’s Every Secret Thing. The novel tells the story of Elizabeth “Beth” Gunnar, a high school English teacher haunted by unsolved mysteries and unsettled questions that resurface while teaching at her alma mater. Satchel Queen, a troubled student, begins telling Beth about secret things in her own life. While Beth struggles to make sense of her personal memories, she tries to help Satchel deal with hers.

Every Secret Thing is a first-person narrative peppered with dialogue and candid excerpts from Satchel’s essays. The first half contains flashbacks to Beth’s school days, while the second half revolves around an unraveling mystery and Beth’s newly rekindled relationship with her high school sweetheart.

Beth is a woman obsessed with solving the mysteries of her past. Despite her friends’ admonitions, she can’t quiet her curiosity. She longs for closure in everything, whether past problems or present uncertainties. When Satchel runs away from home, a friend tells Beth he thinks he knows where the girl is, saying, “And if she’s where I think she is, she’s quite safe.” However, Beth wants more assurance despite her friend’s warning that Satchel will be safer if no one knows her location.

Beth is a believable character, whose life is comparable to the lives of many readers. She struggles with universal issues: fear, insecurity, and trust. Tatlock clearly describes the emotional journey of the protagonist, but Beth’s maturity grows only a little. Except for her obsession with her unresolved past, she seemed to be a mature character from the beginning. This makes me wonder why her journey was so important. Nevertheless, many readers will be able to recognize their own experience of faith in Beth’s. Her internal struggles do not disappear just because she has faith in God. Rather, her experience of God is episodic. Beth wishes she were aware of God’s continuous presence, but instead feels connected to God only in her “moments of being”—times when she has not been actively seeking God, but when God has made Himself known to her.

The real struggle in Every Secret Thing is much more subtle than a typical mystery novel—but perhaps that’s what makes it worth reading. Life isn’t always an epic journey, but like Beth’s, it’s sometimes the secret things that impact us most. – Robin Snyder, Christian Book Previews.com

Average Rating:

7 of 7 Reviews Showing:

Reviewed by Mary Spiller (Yale, MI), March 03, 2010

Ann Tatlock is (in my opinion) one of the 'best of the best' of Christian literature. This book is not my favorite of her works but enjoyable nonetheless, with well developed characters; definitely worth the read. But don't stop at this book. Be sure to read her others. I'll Watch the Moon is my particular favorite. Acquaint yourself with Ann Tatlock. You won't be disappointed.

Reviewed by Cindy Thomas (Denton, TX), April 07, 2009

I enjoyed the interaction that Beth had with all the people she came in contact with. She had good relationships with all. She cared about each one. I loved the ending!!! God does work all things for good.

Reviewed by Sharon A Lavy (New Carlisle, OH), November 07, 2008

I first met Ann Tatlock at the Ridgecrest writers conference in the spring of 2008. She was one of the instructors. I met her again when I went back for the Novel Writers Retreat. I'd heard she was a literary writer and had not planned to buy her book. But when I saw it in the bookstore the cover intrigued me and I bought. From the very first page, with the character's description of Delaware (The state where she lived.) I knew I wanted to know more about her. Excerpt: When I was a child, a Bible passage I heard in Sunday school always made me think of Delaware. It was the story in the Gospel of John where Phillip goes and finds Nathaniel to tell him they've found the Messiah, the one Moses and the prophets wrote about. This should be good news for a couple of Jewish fellows, right? But oddly enough, the man is Jesus of Nazareth, that haven for the Roman army, persecutors of the Jews. And so Nathaniel cries out, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Those words stuck with me until my impish mind tweaked the question, turning it around to become, Can anything at all come out of Delaware?" With those words the author had me hooked and I could not put the book down. I'll gladly read another novel by Ann Tatlock. I recommend this book for your reading pleasure.

Reviewed by Cheri (Clay), December 07, 2007

In this awesome tale writer Ann Tatlock captures your heart and even your mind from the very first page. An unmistakable page turner you’ll wonder why too just why did Mr. Dutton commit suicide and why is Satchel so unhappy? You’ll find yourself drawn into and relating to Beth especially if you feel invisible, a loner just as she does. See how God brings closure, happiness, and forgiveness in this timeless mystery suspense love story. Also included are reader discussions questions, which helps make this book perfect for book groups. A perfect read for teens and adults alike. Ann Tatlock is a remarkable writer! Don’t just take this reviewer’s word on it even “Publisher’s Weekly “, named her as “one of Christian fiction’s better wordsmiths”. So if you want to curl up with a good book I highly recommend “Every Secret Thing”.

Reviewed by L M Caldwell (Lake Stevens, WA), November 21, 2007

This is the first book I have read by this author. Based on this novel I probably would not purchase any others by her. The storyline intrigued me, because it seemed to pertain to "every man", feelings, situations that happen to everyone, and the reviews on the inside indicated that the storyline was memorable, encouraging, and had a captivating mystery - mostly I found it written in a boring style - rather slow - not really mysterious - and somewhat encouraging. Not my cup of tea!

Reviewed by Betty Anderson (Maine), November 02, 2007

Every Secret Thing is a novel that lingers in the reader's mind well after setting the book down. Themes of whether or not it is worthwhile to live in spite of pain and finding one's place in the world are skillfully woven throughout the book. The reader stops, and breathes, and appreciates the state of being alive, and being loved. I've read many of Ann Tatlock's books. She's a talented writer who weaves plot, characters, and themes into an intricate tapestry not soon forgotten.

Reviewed by Ane Mulligan (Atlanta, GA), October 18, 2007

Ann Tatlock has a distinctive almost lyrical style to her writing. Reading her work is like listening to a symphony. As you are introduced to her characters, you catch a nuance of stringed instruments, and as the plot unfolds, you feel an underlying mystery in the base notes, enhanced by the woodwinds of Tatlock’s descriptions. In a sonata of past and present, Every Secret Thing will leave its melody in your heart long after you turn the final page. This is the first of Ann Tatlock’s books that I’ve read, but I can assure you it won’t be the last. This reviewer gives Every Secret Thing a high recommendation.

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