The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox: Book Review

About the book:

Title: The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery

Author: Amanda Cox

Genre: Dual Timeline/Romance

Release Date: September 7, 2021

Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons–but she’ll certainly never reveal the real one.

1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she’s pregnant with her deceased fiancé’s baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.

This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.

Book Review:

It’s hard to understand sometimes how deep a secret can hurt someone. You might think you’re doing what’s best. You might be keeping a secret because it’s best for you and not them. This novel takes that idea and shows the spiderweb of pain that secrets create over time. Glory Ann and Rosemary are mother and daughter, and though they’ve spent their lives side by side at Old Depot, they don’t really know each other. When Sarah comes home, all of Rosemary’s fears come barreling back with her daughter, and the secrets that all three women would rather bury claw their way to the light. Somehow, they will have to learn to deal with the pain of the past and the betrayal of each other if they want to come together as a family once more. With exceptional prose and characters you will love from the first page, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery will keep you turning pages. I became invested in this book with a deep need to see the characters overcome their secrets and find a way to move forward. If you enjoy books about family, you should pick this one up. I received a copy of this book from RevellReads. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.