The Secret Keeper by Genevieve Graham

Airplanes, Morse code, spy school, family tragedy, sisterhood, and true love — this book really does have it all … The Secret Keeper is about chasing your dreams, finding your confidence, and having faith in those that care about you.

Airplanes, Morse code, spy school, family tragedy, sisterhood, and true love — this book really does have it all. Genevieve Graham’s new action-packed novel The Secret Keeper takes us back to the onset of World War II when women bravely answered the call to support the war effort. This story explores the lives of two courageous women who dared to break down the gender barriers of their time.

Twin sisters Dash and Dot are nothing alike. Dot is the quiet, puzzle solving genius with her nose always stuck in a book while Dash is the daring mechanic who dreams of flying airplanes. When war breaks out and their dear friend Gus enlists in the army, both girls know they must find some way to support the war effort. With Dash working as a mechanic and Dot as a typist for the Wrens, the sisters barely see each other. When a family tragedy occurs, secrets threaten to push the two further apart. Trying to forget their anger and sadness, the girls continue to follow their dreams with Dot training as a codebreaker and Dash training as a pilot. When Dash gets into trouble, Dot must find a way to help her without revealing the many secrets she swore to keep.

What I love most about Graham’s writing is that I always learn something new. After reading The Secret Keeper I went on a mission to learn everything I could about Camp-X, Canada’s spy school during WWII. I bet you didn’t know Canada had a spy school! Learning about the Attagirls and Elsie MacGill, the Queen of the Hurricanes, was also fascinating and empowering since these were some of the women who worked in male dominated careers during the war. I’m sure they had no idea at the time how pivotal their determination and hard work would be in inspiring generations of young women.

The characters in The Secret Keeper were written extremely well. Having twins of my own, I know how different they can be from each other, and Graham did a wonderful job of describing the twin dynamic. Most of the first half of the novel was spent getting to know Dash and Dot. While it was a bit slow at times, it was nice to get deep into their personalities so that later in the story, relating to their pain, fear and sadness was incredibly easy and heartfelt. Even the supporting characters throughout the novel were colourful and genuine and the relationships between characters were authentic and moving.

To see Dash and Dot’s dreams unfold was thrilling and inspiring. All women should read this novel to remind them that they can do anything they put their minds to. The Secret Keeper is about chasing your dreams, finding your confidence, and having faith in those that care about you. With many lessons to teach and a great deal of information about our country’s past, The Secret Keeper is a must read.

Genevieve Graham is the USA TODAY and #1 bestselling author of eleven novels, including The Forgotten Home Child, which has been optioned for TV, Letters Across the Sea, and Bluebird. She is passionate about breathing life back into history through tales of love and adventure. She lives in Alberta. Visit her at GenevieveGraham.com or on Twitter and Instagram @GenGrahamAuthor.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 2, 2024)
Paperback 9″ x 6″ | 448 pages
ISBN: 9781982196981

Laura Patterson

Laura Patterson is a Registered Acupuncturist and a QA Lab Technician from rural New Brunswick where she lives with her husband and twin boys. She has a BSc in Biology and a Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. When she's not working in the lab or in her clinic, she enjoys camping and adventuring with her family, reading many books, and writing book reviews.