1945, Sunderland. Ida Boulter makes the heart-wrenching decision to leave her five children behind as she escapes her husband and moves to London to start afresh with the love of her life.
1953, County Durham. Ida’s children have since built a new life in the beautiful home of Cuthford Manor – looked after by their eldest sibling Angie and her husband.
But their world is about to be rocked once again when their mother turns up out of the blue for the first time in eight years.
She has come back bearing a secret she can no longer keep from her family.
Will telling the truth cause more harm than good?
Only their love for one another will carry them through the turbulent times ahead.
What did I think?
It took me far too long to discover the books of local author Nancy Revell, but better late than never, and I have recently completed my Shipyard Girls collection after absolutely loving The Widow's Choice. A Secret in the Family is the sequel to The Widow's Choice but it can definitely be read as a standalone, so don't be afraid to jump into the series if you're just discovering it now.
Young Ida dreams of a life on the stage but, like most working class women in Sunderland, she finds herself looking after a brood of children whilst her husband Fred spends his hard-earned wages from the pit down the pub. It's no wonder that Ida's head is turned by Carl but when their affair is discovered she has a difficult choice to make: leave her children and start a new life or take the inevitable beating from Fred.
Having read The Widow's Choice, I saw Ida in a bad light as I couldn't understand how she could leave her children but there are always two sides to every story and this is Ida's. How my heart went out to her both in the past and the present and I was so pleased that she found happiness with Carl.
I really enjoyed catching up with Angie and her siblings again. Angie has suffered her own heartbreak in the past but she has been given a second chance at love with Stanislaw, however, she is still not allowing herself to be truly happy. When Ida returns, it's quite a shock for the siblings and some forgive her quicker than others. There is so much emotion in this book that I couldn't hold back my tears at the end, so I would advise have a tissue handy when you're reading it.
Emotional, heartwarming and captivating, Nancy Revell brings the past to life in her wonderful new book, A Secret in the Family. From County Durham to London, I felt like I was walking in the characters' shoes and experienced not just the sights and sounds but their emotions too. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend A Secret in the Family and I adored every single beautifully written word. An easy five stars!
I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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About the author:
Nancy Revell is the author of 12 titles in the bestselling Shipyard Girls series, which tells the story of a group of women who work in a Sunderland shipyard during WWII. Her books have sold more than half a million copies, across all editions, with the last book in the Shipyard Girl series a No.2 Sunday Times Bestseller.
Before that, she was a journalist who worked for all the national newspapers, providing them with hard- hitting news stories and in-depth features. She also wrote inspirational true-life stories for just about every woman’s magazine in the country.
Nancy was born and brought up in the North East of England and now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband, Paul.
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