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Unspoken Words
Author: Linda Joyce
Publication date: April 22nd 2025
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction
What happens when the truth you’ve hidden becomes the key to your greatest fear—and your greatest hope?
For years, Jane Landry has carried a secret that could break hearts and heal them all at once. Her son, Christopher Marcus, is the light of her life—but he’s also the boy no one knows about. Not his father, her ex-husband Mark, nor his wife Maggie, or his sister Suzanne, Jane’s best friends from childhood. Now, with a cancer diagnosis threatening her future, Jane must summon the courage to confess her secret. She prays they’ll embrace Christopher as family before time runs out.
But just as Jane takes the first step, tragedy strikes—Mark is killed in an accident after learning he has a son. The devastating loss leaves Jane grappling with how to face Maggie and Suzanne, the two women she’s avoided for years but now desperately needs. Her truth risks alienating them, yet the stakes are higher than ever. Christopher needs a home. Jane needs to know her boy will be loved when she’s no longer there to protect him.
As Jane uncovers the secrets Maggie and Suzanne have been hiding, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying the weight of the past. Old wounds, unexpected betrayals, and the search for forgiveness weave together in a story about love, loss, and the lengths we’ll go to for family.
Set against the vivid backdrop of New Orleans, Unspoken Words explores the messy, beautiful journey of redemption and the bonds that hold us together—even when stretched to their breaking point.
Discover a story that will break your heart, heal your soul, and stay with you long after the final page.
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an excerpt
“So what were the two of you doing?” Suzanne parked on the end of the bench next to me, sandwiching me between her and Maggie like a prisoner with a security detail.
“Praying,” Maggie snipped. “You might try it sometime.”
“Praying for Mark is a waste of time. We all know he was a saint.” Suzanne’s gaze lifted upward. “And Maggie, don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”
“I took a moment of silence.” I had started to pray… Fact was, I gave up on God when Momma died. But it looked like I needed to renew His acquaintance. The indisputable data proved I needed my friends way more than they needed me, and His assistance might come in handy now.
“Mark wouldn’t want all this maudlin crap. You know how he hated cemeteries. He’d want us to celebrate. Gather a second line band, wave our hankies, and parade through the Quarter. You know, Mark always blamed himself for… I hate to say ‘our break-up,’ but that fits.”
“Mark would want us to celebrate.” Maggie’s eyes flickered, and I recognized Catholic good-girl guilt.
“I’m feelin’ the need for a beer. Cold. Longneck bottle. It’s not every day this woman gets to gossip with her two oldest, bestest friends.” Suzanne chuckled.
Dizziness pulled me under. Emotionally drunk, I blinked, searching for my focus. I checked my watch. I could manage one drink.
Fate had brought us together again. That had to be a positive sign, yeah?
“I don’t know about a beer because I haven’t eaten.” They didn’t know it would be my first real meal in days. My traitorous stomach rumbled loudly. “I’d love to have a po’boy at Brunnings.”
“Oh, darlin’, that’d be nice, but PK, it closed.” Suzanne’s tone was that of an old book being snapped shut.
“PK?”
“Everything with her is either BK or PK. I don’t mean Burger King or Preacher’s Kid. It’s before Katrina or post Katrina.” Maggie sighed and stood. “Let’s go.”
“I hear a brew calling my name.” Suzanne moonwalked out to the hallway. Her performance would make Michael Jackson proud. Her fingers motioned “follow me.”
I grabbed my purse and trailed after Suzanne in Pied-Piper mode. Maggie brought up the rear.
The door chimed as we left the building. Pulling sunglasses from my purse, I dropped the letter. Bending to scoop it up, Maggie got there at the same time as me, and we bumped heads.
“My goodness, you’re hardheaded.” Maggie rubbed the injured spot.
I snatched the paper from Maggie’s grasp and quickly leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Sorry. As for hardheaded, you don’t know the half of it.”
Linda Joyce believes stories are as integral to her life as breathing. She shares the joys and agonies of characters and often wishes their stories would continue far beyond “The End.” She lives metro-Atlanta with her very patient husband and their three fur babies—Jake, Maxence, and Sugar. Linda’s addicted to Cajun food and Japanese food. She’s a fan of smooth jazz. She will deny traditional jazz music hurts her ears—that could get her banished from her hometown, New Orleans. Her current life’s adventure includes learning enough Kanji to be able to read a Japanese newspaper.
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