The story of Lucy Murphy in Our Secrets and Lies by Sinéad Moriarty, is engrossing and draws you in from the very first page.
Her cast of characters is believable, funny and all too human. Her ear for dialogue, particularly Dublin humour, is remarkable. But it is the slow build up to catastrophe that shows Moriarty’s real skill as a writer.
The central character, Lucy, makes one "mistake" in her life. A brilliant and ambitious law student, she finds herself pregnant aged 21. She plans on becoming a lawyer in one of Dublin’s top legal firms and pregnancy cannot be allowed to derail her future. However, things do not turn out as planned.
Skip forward 17 years and Lucy is the proud mother of twins – maybe too proud. Helped by her extended family, she has poured all her energies into raising her children, Dylan and Kelly. Her happiness knows no bounds when they obtain a scholarship to Dublin’s most exclusive school. The children now have the chance to achieve what she never could – unless, of course, something goes wrong.
Plenty can go wrong, it seems. Lucy confuses her thwarted ambitions with those of her children. When tragedy strikes, the reality hammers home - her kids have dreams of their own. Is there a price to pay?
Sinéad Moriarty has dedicated her novel to mothers because, she says, they are the centre of our world. "Mothers try to be the best they can be but they are only human: they make mistakes and do the wrong things sometimes, " she writes. "But they are only ever trying their best for their children." There are morals between the covers concerning motherly guilt, teenage pressures and the importance of family and friends.
Our Secrets and Lies is an intelligent, well-written novel about being a mother, daughter and friend in the 21st century. I highly recommend it.
Una O'Hagan
