Eight years ago, Duncan McKenna and his three daughters won a punishing around-the-world-sailboat race. Though Kate, Ashley and Caroline McKenna are haunted by the journey's aftermath, they support their beloved father in keeping its ugly truths hidden. Then reporter Tyler Jamison arrives on idyllic Castleton Island, claiming he wants to write a story about the race. Tyler is actually bent on learning which of the McKenna girls gave birth to a child during it-a child illegally adopted by his brother, who may lose a custody battle if the identity of the birth mother isn't discovered. While Kate and Tyler circle each other in mingled suspicion and sexual attraction, her sisters struggle with Duncan's alcoholism and their own demons. Events reach crisis point during a sudden summer storm that forces the family to confront their fears and lies. Some improbable plot contrivances mar the novel's realistic texture, and the girls' support of their father's destructive dreams often seems disturbing rather than devoted. Despite these lapses, Freethy's (Love Will Find a Way, etc.) zesty storytelling will keep readers hooked, and the sisters' loving but prickly interactions will make anyone with a sibling smile. (May) Forecast: NAL is calling Summer Secrets Freethy's "breakout book," and it very well may be. The book's brilliant blue cover catches the eye, as do blurbs from Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Luanne Rice and Susan Wiggs. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Reporter Tyler Jamison knows that the once-famous McKenna family is hiding something but doesn't know that it could devastate Tyler and his brother. Eight years earlier, Duncan McKenna and his three teenage daughters, Kate, Ashley, and Caroline, won the Winston Around the World Challenge with their sailboat, Moon Dancer. But instead of feeling jubilant after the hard-earned victory, each of them falls into a personal hell, Duncan's fueled by alcohol. They've stuck together and kept their secret, and now, out of the blue, a reporter is trying to pry it out of them. Then Kate begins to develop an attachment to Tyler, feeling guilty because of the lies she has told him to protect her family. Tyler wants to start a relationship with her, too, but he has also told lies, even though they're lies of omission. He knows that when he reveals who he really is, the hatred will be so great that any chance at love will be permanently destroyed. What really happened during the race? Freethy skillfully keeps the reader on the hook, and her tantalizing and believable tale has it all--romance, adventure, and mystery. Shelley Mosley

Eight years ago, the McKenna sisters and their father sailed the Moon Dancer around the world, defying the odds-and a deadly storm-to win the prestigious Winston Challenge. But that race has left a bitter legacy of secrets and suspicions, and on the eve of another race, the family's relative peace is shattered by the arrival of an old nemesis bent on revenge and a relentless reporter determined to uncover the truth. Graced with sympathetic, well-defined characters and an intriguing, multithreaded plot, this is an emotionally involving story of a family rendered dysfunctional by past events but ultimately healed by truth, forgiveness, and love. It is sure to please Freethy's growing fan base and, like Kristin Hannah's novels, neatly bridges the gap between romance and traditional women's fiction. Freethy (Love Will Find a Way) is a RITA Award-winning writer and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.