Why? Why do I do it to myself? Why do I, once a book finds its way onto my bookshelf, feel a personal responsibility to usher it safely, chapter-by-chapter, to Read-dom and its ultimate resting place (be that the 'favourites' bookshelf or the charity shop)?The cover even warned me: "For fans of Jodi Picoult this is a must read". I've had my fill and then some of JP and her creative writing class assignments.But somehow I'm still labouring under the misapprehension that, if only I could just get

Set in the state of North Carolina, The Lost Daughter tells the story of a vulnerable and naive sixteen-year-old orphan, CeeCee Wilkes, whose mother passed away when she was just twelve-years-old. CeeCee never knew who her father was, and after spending the past four years of her life in various foster homes, CeeCee finds herself working as a waitress in order to save money to eventually go to college. Due to her mother's death and her years in foster care, CeeCee is starving for love and affect...

For an audible listen, this passed the time pleasantly enough, without being too taxing. The story line was interesting, and raised some questions about the complicated web of lies that can change our entire lives. Once that first line is drawn, the others must follow in order to keep the illusions going. But at what cost? To ourselves and those around us...I was able to stay interested enough to continue listening, but I was having some difficulty swallowing some of the basic realities of the s...

First, the title is completely wrong; it is not the secret life of CeeCee, it is the secret life of Eve. Second, everything in the novel is contrived, overdone, melodramatic, and soap operatic. For example, CeeCee is so gullible as to agree to the whole kidnapping shenangins (despite being supposedly so intelligent) without once looking up Andie's case in microfiche at the local library. Then, Tim and Marty are surprised the Genevieve is pregnant (despite having stalked her to plan for the kidna...

A solid gripping story, heartfelt and beautifully written and good physcholical thriller that kept me turning the pagesThis is also know as The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes.Every now and then I enjoy a Diane chamberlain novel and this one really did hold my interest. There are quite a few novels on the market in the last couple of years where with the premise of missing childre and while this seems to be a popular topic for authors not all of them are well done, but I think the Lost Daughter by

Wow, I could not put this book down! This book would make a great movie. I can't wait to read others by Diane Chamberlain!

Gripped gripped gripped. could not put it down. Think this is my favourite Diane Chamberlain so far

Overall, a really great book. Despite the gumption she often showed as a teenager, with all of her big plans, I really believed that CeeCee was still naieve enough to succumb to Tim's charms. My one criticism is in the character development of Cory during the last quarter of the novel. CeeCee/Eve was incredibly fleshed-out as a character, but I found Cory a bit lacking. First, the transition of her from a girl too scared to stay in college at Chapel Hill alone to one that cuts off her family com...

What a twisted web of lies that was spun... slowly loosing control, and finally letting it catch up to you...CeeCee Wilkes met a handsome man while waitressing at a diner. Tim Gleason was 12 years older than her and quickly had CeeCee wrapped around his finger. She was sixteen, and made a decision that would haunt the rest of her life. A scheme to kidnap the Governor's wife goes horribly wrong and CeeCee makes a decision that will impact everyone's future. Twenty years pass, and just when she th...

I have read more than 100 pages and to be honest I think the story line is making no sense what so ever. Totally unrealistic. So stupid.Can't say more without spoilers, so I will shut up. For now!. Not sure if I can finish this book with so many idiots in it.Update May 17 2012: Well, I nearly quit reading this book after what I wrote above.Glad I sticked with it, only because there were so many raving reviews.What I do not like: The story is crazy, very unrealistic: Especially the kidnapping. It...

3.5 stars for me. This was a pretty good "what if" book. A young girl who has not had a proper bringing up, is duped into doing something for love that changes many lives. It's hard to pick a side of right or wrong in this one and it's hard not to say too much without revealing the plot. Good writing and good narrative.

WHEW! 500 pages of non-stop reading enjoyment with lots of suspense to boot! The letters of love and advice from CeeCee's mom throughout the book really added to my reading experience. I look forward to reading more books by Diane Chamberlain, The Midwife's Confession next.

What makes a mother? Genes? Childbirth? Love? And once a mother bonds with her child, is there anything that can break that bond? Diane Chamberlain’s novel “The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes” gives us the story of a teenage mother and her child. But there’s a lot more to it than just that and one small review can’t possibly describe the incredible and fascinating twists and turns the story takes.CeeCee’s mother died when she was just twelve. But she left her daughter a legacy of letters. Each let...

The worst sort of crossover novel--the only reason I am glad I read it as an ebook is that some trees were spared. It is to literature what Cheez Whiz in a can is to a triple cream brie. This is not a book for reading; this is a book for avoiding.That's right, I didn't like it.What is it that makes this book so painful to read? Is it the utter unbelievability of the plot? The flatness of the characters? The awkward and embarrassing writing and the gratuitous and entirely off-putting "romance?" C...

This was my July Pick-For-Me book for Goodreads’ Bibliophile Beauties Group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...). I get really nervous when someone picks a book for me because on my to-read list I have a lot of popular reads and they always select one that is extremely popular, just like this book. Most of the time I end up being disappointed because the hype doesn’t actually match the quality of the book. BUT this book’s hype did! This was an extremely good book! 4.5 stars!! I rounded up

I loved this book. It was so hard to put down. If I had not needed sleep, I would have read it in one sitting.

This is my 5th book by Diane Chamberlain and once again, I love another one of her books. She drew me in from the very first page to the very last page and I could not put it down! 5 stars!!

WOW! Talk about an emotional read. It was fantastic. OK, you have to suspend the disbelief a bit but, it's fiction. In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child. I have never read anything by this author but I will definitely be checking out more of her books.It was a real page-turner and towards the end my emotions were all over the place. She felt h...

I reluctantly abandoned this book at about 60% as it’d become a chore rather than a pleasure to read. It felt very long – like I’d been reading it for months and, apart from events at the beginning of the book which had been pretty much flagged up in the blurb, nothing much seemed to happen. I guess it’s a story about relationships but, aside from the letters from the mother to her child(which I enjoyed) I found the relationships pretty dull. And the bits about SCAPE seemed far-fetched. It just