The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

by Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: Mira Books
Publication Date: February 1, 2006

Twenty-eight years ago, the young, pregnant wife of the Governor of North Carolina was kidnapped. Now her remains have been found and a man charged with her murder. Only one person -- CeeCee Wilkes -- can refute the charges against him. But CeeCee disappeared years ago . . .

Eve Elliott is a successful therapist to troubled students, a loving wife, a mother deeply invested in her family. But her happiness is built on a lie. When she was a lonely, vulnerable young woman living in Chapel Hill, a single decision made in innocence led to a dark night of unimaginable consequences. Now, forced to confront her past, she faces another terrible choice: reveal to her family that she is not who she seems, or allow a man to take the blame for a crime she knows he did not commit. If the choice affected only her life, Eve is certain she would do what is right. But though inaction means condemning an innocent man, it also means protecting her family from the mistakes of her past.

Corinne Elliott has always known she was different: the only redhead in a family of brunettes, the paralyzing shyness that contrasts with her sister's vivaciousness, the many fears -- of highways, of bridges, of public spaces -- that constrict her daily life. Still, with a new job possibility and a baby on the way, she's found some measure of happiness -- until the day she turns on the television and finds her mother's image on-screen.

Now, as the past explodes into the present, Corinne must confront the secrets she has always intuited, and find answers from the one person who knows the truth of what happened two decades ago -- CeeCee Wilkes.

Diane Chamberlain is the author of sixteen novels that explore the complexities of human relationships -- between men and women, brothers and sisters, parents and children. Diane lives in Raleigh. Visit her website at www.dianechamberlain.com.

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