Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 85 novels.

She received her first book contract in November, 1992 and saw A Place To Belong published in February 1993 with Barbour Publishings’ Heartsong Presents. She wrote exclusively with Heartsong for the next two years, receiving their readership’s vote for Favorite Author of the Year for three years in a row.

In December, 1995 she signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers to co-write a series with author Judith Pella. Tracie now writes exclusively for Bethany House Publishers.

She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.

Tracie was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for 2007 Inspirational Fiction and her books have won numerous awards for favorite books in a variety of contests.

Making her home in Montana, this Kansas native enjoys spending time with family–especially her three grandchildren–Rainy, Fox and Max. She’s active in her church as the Director of Women’s Ministries, coordinates a yearly writer’s retreat for published authors, and travels, as time permits, to research her books.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When her father orchestrates a surprise trip to the summer house of her childhood, Bailee Cooper is unprepared for what follows. What is intended to be a happy reunion for Bailee and her sisters, Geena and Piper, quickly becomes shrouded by memories from the past.

Together again, the three sisters sift through their recollections of fifteen years ago…of an ill mother, and of their father making a desperate choice. They vowed, as children, to be silent–but one sister believes the truth must now be revealed. Yet can they trust their memories?

Mark Delahunt arrives in the wake of this emotional turmoil. Determined to win Bailee’s affection, Mark becomes the strong fortress for her in this time of confusion, and what was once a tentative promise begins to take root and grow. Caught between the past and an uncertain future, can Bailee let God guide her to heal the past and ultimately to embrace love?

If you would like to read the first chapter of House of Secrets, go HERE.
Learn more about Tracie and her books on her Website.

MY REVIEW:

Although Tracie Peterson is probably best known for her excellent historical fiction, House of Secrets is proof that her talent is multifaceted. In this contemporary novel, Bailee Cooper and her two younger sisters still wrestle with childhood family secrets that have immobilized their lives in many ways. Bailee in particular suffers frequent nightmares as well as an unnatural sense of responsibility for her sisters and has never allowed herself to develop friendships let alone contemplate a romantic relationship. Nevertheless, each of the sisters has managed to squelch the memories and to keep up appearances of normalcy – that is until their father arranges for them all to return for the first time to the house where their mother died.

House of Secrets tells a vivid story of the crippling effects of mental illness on the Cooper family. Not only do the memories haunt them, particularly Bailee, but each of them deal with different levels of anger, fear, depression, and other dysfunctional traits. When their return to the vacation home brings all the memories and secrets back to the surface, they must decide whether to meet them head-on and overcome the past or to forever remain trapped there. House of Secrets is an emotional tale that ultimately illustrates principles of true forgiveness and the decision to rely on God.