Telling Secrets, by Deborah Partington

“Partington is particularly able to navigate the journey. She writes beautifully, lyrically… Characters appear and disappear in her stories, like a braid, or a knit fabric. Artfully, deliciously, she offers touchstones…”

— Pat Schneider, Founder of Amherst Writers and Artists

In the winding streets of Paris, Gabrielle Smith tends to lost souls. Between the bookshop where she works and the Tarot readings she gives, she becomes a quiet anchor for those searching for truth—whether they are ready for it or not.

Among them is Persephone, a troubled young woman unraveling the mystery of her father’s identity while struggling with addiction and self-doubt. Her mother, Natalie, carries secrets of her own, woven into the choices she makes and the past she refuses to confront. In London, Lucia faces a new reality as her vision fades, while her husband, Byron, remains haunted by the tragedy of his first wife’s suicide. Writers, artists, and lovers drift between cities, their lives entangled in letters, emails, and long-buried memories.

As the Tarot cards reveal the unseen, Telling Secrets unfolds a poignant tale of love and loss, betrayal and redemption—where the past refuses to stay hidden, and the future waits for those brave enough to face it.

Telling Secrets completes the trilogy that includes Telling Stories and Telling Shadows.