Valerie S. (VolunteerVal) - reviewed on 4/10/2025 + 693 more book reviews

I've wanted to read The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott for years so I was excited when my library book club chose it for March. I recalled it was a historical fiction about secretaries serving as spies which intrigued me since I was a "secretary" for the first 15 years of my career.

Imagine my surprise when the book focused on the classic novel Doctor Zhivago and the CIA's plan to use it as propaganda in Soviet Russia during the Cold War. This is no spoiler - it's clearly stated in the synopsis, but because I didn't read it, I was caught unaware and was annoyed when the plot shifted away from the two characters who left the clerical pool to work undercover as spies.

This isn't a bad book - it's just not what I was expecting. Often I'm pleasantly surprised by avoiding plot summaries, but not this time.

I listened to the audiobook with a full cast narration while occasionally following along in a print copy. I really liked the audio but appreciated the clever way the print book helped me track the evolving roles of the spy characters.

This was Lara Prescott's debut in 2019 and she's published no other novels. Her connection to Doctor Zhivago is lifelong as she was named for one of the primary characters of the novel (her mother was a huge fan of the film adaptation). Perhaps she had this one story she felt called to tell and doesn't intend to write more novels - time will tell.

I enjoyed our book club conversation and gained more appreciation for this book from my fellow readers.

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