The Secret We Lost

From the talented author of Among the Branded comes a family drama about three generations and a secret that threatens to tear them apart.

It’s 1993 in Washington, DC, and Elsa Kartchner isn’t getting any younger. But the passage of time is the last thing on her mind. Instead, she’s focused on her free-spirited daughter, Laura, who’s about to leave for a year-long trip to Russia.

To cope, Elsa devours Laura’s letters from St. Petersburg and indulges in chocolate she keeps in her nightstand. But her stash of sweets isn’t the only thing she’s hiding. That’s because Elsa and her mother Millie have a complicated past. A buried secret haunts them both, and Elsa must decide whether to tell Laura. Fearing that Laura may discover the secret when she returns, Elsa wants to confess. She travels to Russia hoping for acceptance, but while there, gets a surprise of her own.

In THE SECRET WE LOST, love and redemption vie for attention against an intercontinental backdrop, as Elsa struggles with the truth. This moving family saga is the second novel by Linda Smolkin, whose debut AMONG THE BRANDED was called a “fascinating novel that will keep readers hooked” by San Francisco Book Review.