The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

By: Diane Chamberlain

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart

Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

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. CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make: tell the truth, and destroy her family, or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies....

©2006 CeeCee Wilkes (P)2013 Tantor

More! More! More!

Great story! I love getting sucked into a good book that keeps me engrossed and that is hard to put down! Books like that feel like a treat.

It was a true page-turner, I was gripped and anxious to know “what would happen next” throughout the entire thing. There were no “gimme a break, this is over the top” moments, and the plot felt believable because the characters were all so sympathetic.

If all of Diane Chamberlain’s books are this good, my 2014 reading list it set!

Just glad it's over

I want to preface this review with the fact that I just finished Necessary Lies (my first Diane Chamberlain book) and I enjoyed that one very much.
This book, however, was draining, and full of unlikable characters. Although it was fairly well narrated, and the story line was an interesting concept, I found myself checking the time left, and just wanting it to end.

✫✫ 3.5 Stars ✫✫

This is not my favorite by this author but It was still a good book. I felt like that characters really were't very likable (except her husband). The main character CeeCee really was ridiculous when she was young. I felt like if she was so smart to be graduated at 16 then she should have been smart enough to see the writing on the wall or at least have a feeling something wasn't right. I spent a good part of this book rolling my eyes at her.

Even though I didn't love this story, I still really enjoy this authors writing style. The way she takes us back and forth from the past to the present is seamless and really pulls me into her books.
The narration was good too.

My Favorite

If you could sum up The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes in three words, what would they be?

Best Book EVER!

Any additional comments?

This is truly my favorite book of all time! I loved this book and every twist and turn.

WOW!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved everything about it. Just WOW!!! This was a very absorbing, emotinal page turner. I could not stop listening. Now off to see if Diane Chamberlain has come even close with her other works.

Wow great read!!!

Enjoyed the way the book is written. The letters from the mom were so fabulous to hear. The performance was done very well. At first I thought Holy Smokes 74 chapters and I had no road trip to go on! But it was a book I couldn't stop listening to. Thank you for writing this book!!!!

Captivating!

I love this narrator- her voice really matched the characters in my head.
The story was great! I cried a couple of times and just wanted to keep listening.

Could have been good

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I really want to like this book but the narrater just killed it for me. She was just over the top and used weird accents/voices for characters.The story itself was actually pretty interesting with twists and secrets but probably best to just read this book than listen.

Lots of turns and twists

Start reading one story and it
Turns into another . I love the way she builds the characters . Real extraordinary things that could happen.

A Story About Consequences

Any additional comments?

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes is one of two books that I’ve read recently that explores the theme of consequences. The other was The Witness by Nora Roberts. In both books, a sixteen-year-old girl makes decisions that have life altering consequences. Both girls need to change their identities and go into hiding for the rest of their lives. In The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, CeeCee makes a decision to participate in a crime. This decision molds her character and her life. It also affects the lives of her future family. Diane Chamberlain wrote a compelling story about the loss of innocence and the consequences of mistakes made by a naïve young adult. The book made me think of mistakes that I made at sixteen and their consequences. Chris Dukehart did a great job of narrating the Audible version. The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes is definitely a good listen.