In 1960 three naive, but very different, Appley Green schoolgirls pledge to stick together for ever, but when one of them gets pregnant, this pushes their promise to the edge. A young girl in need of love is vulnerable to the charms of a much older man with heart-breaking consequences. This is Great Britain’s Sixties, gathering pace then in full swing as social change sweeps aside past attitudes, laws, fashion and culture. Youth is finding a voice as parents struggle to adjust. Miriam Wakerly’s Appley Green village stories all standalone and can be read in any order, but they are connected. This one can serve as a prequel to all three, especially Shades of Appley Green. Secrets in Appley Green is a novel that works because of the sharpness of its observations and the scope of its reach. It has an epic quality …
… the hard-nosed flip side to the ‘swinging sixties’ narrative. Surrey Life Magazine, taken from review by television presenter, Juliette Foster, January 2016