The Hidden Side

Heidi Chiavaroli is a writer, runner, and grace clinger who could spend hours exploring Boston's Freedom Trail.  She writes women's fiction and won the 2014 ACFW Genesis contest in the historical category.  She makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and Howie, her standard poodle.

Visit her online at heidichiavaroli.com.

Two women from different centuries become trapped in the depths of their secrets...

New York 2016

Every day Natalie Abbott offers sage advice to hurting listeners on her popular radio program. But away from the comfort of the studio, she struggles to connect with her family; with an out-of-control daughter and an uncommunicative and isolated son, Natalie takes solace in the daily woes of others, turning a blind eye to the pressing issues mounting at her doorstep. Her carefully constructed world implodes when a member of the family commits an unspeakable act. Known as the woman with all the answers, for the first time Natalie questions her way forward.

New York 1776

Mercy Howard watches in abject horror as the man she loves, her fiancé Nathan Hale, is arrested and hanged as a spy. When asked to join the revolutionary spy ring in Manhattan, Mercy sees an opportunity to avenge Nathan’s death. But keeping her true loyalties hidden grows increasingly challenging as the charming Major John Andre of the King’s Army becomes more to her than a target for intelligence.   

Mercy’s journals offer comfort to Natalie from across the centuries as both women struggle with their own secrets and well-kept shame—and wonder how deep God’s mercy truly extends. 

My Thoughts:

Occasionally a book comes along that completely undoes me emotionally and one that I can't forget for long past the turning of the final page.  Chiavaroli's The Hidden Side was one of those books. Weaving past and present, Chiavaroli tells the story of two women rife with emotion, heartache, and pain like no other.

Chiavaroli's present-day story touches on the school shooting issue but she addresses it from such a tender place...the heart of the parent and family including siblings.  Multilayered with such depth, Chiavaroli tells both past and present story in The Hidden Side from various characters' point of view.  

Grab a box of tissues and brace yourself for a story that delves into the depths of the human heart and will leave you thinking differently about life and the ones you love.

*I was provided a complimentary copy of the book by the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Happy Reading,

Jennifer