The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

1965/Present – Tennessee

Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons–but she’ll certainly never reveal the real one.

1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she’s pregnant with her deceased fiancé’s baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.

This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.

2 Comments

This story was fun to read, and quite interesting. I was first attracted by the cover, it got my attention, and spoke of nostalgia, of gentler times.
The characters, Rosemary, Glory Ann, Clarence, and Sarah were well-developed and their stories developed well, and I was interested in
what they were going to do next. The plot was structured very well, clean and well-developed. I liked the gradual meeting of the two
timelines, and the steady build up. From old radio days to the 1980’s and beyond.
One thing that puzzled me was, this is a Christian fiction book, but neither God nor Jesus was central
to the theme. I don’t understand why not, there were plenty of opportunities during each character’s storyline for the author to talk about
the bible, Jesus Christ, and God, but she refrained, which was a let-down. I hope in the future, Amanda Cox intertwines the glory and strength
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into all of her novels. Since Christianity wasn’t central to the theme of this story, I will hesitate before buying any of
her future books.
The story was easy to become immersed in, I did like it’s “addictiveness” so to speak. I enjoyed the book when I was reading it, and did look
forward to picking up where I’d left off. Amanda Cox is very, very good at keeping the reader engaged, by adding little packets
of goodies, like some new development in the life of one of the characters, some new event being uncovered, it was really well done.
Usually by the time I’m 3/4ths of the way through a book, I can’t wait for it to end! But she piques interest throughout.
I can recommend this book as a light read, with a strong, broadly based moral to each of the character’s stories.

Such a heartfelt story that had me in tears at times.
Three generations of stubborn southern women that are holding secrets they don’t want to let go of for fear of hurting the ones they love. But true healing comes from bringing the secrets from darkness into the light. We long to find someone who sees us as we really are and accept us and love us. Why is it so hard to accept help from our loved ones? “Happiness doesn’t come from ‘big whatevers’. It comes from the everyday choice to embrace the beauty in the little things.”
I fell in love with the setting of this book, the focal point being The Old Depot Grocery. The squeaky, uneven floors brought back long ago memories of a similar store in my father’s hometown and a general store across the street from me when I lived in rural, northern Wisconsin. I could picture the old relic that Nan and Sarah wanted to preserve.
The faith element underpinned the story, shown in the lives of selfless Clarence and steady Clay as well as the background of the other characters. The rest of the family depicted is so believable they could have been my friends and neighbors.
Many lessons to ponder in this wonderful novel. Lessons on love , forgiveness, redemption and hope amidst tragedy. “Time doesn’t magically heal wounds all by itself. Sometimes hurt leaves a gaping place, and the only thing for it is to stitch it back together and learn to live with the scars.”
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell on behalf of the author. I was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.*

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The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox