Book Review ~ A Secret in the Family by Nancy Revell

Penguin
30 January 2025

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

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.

My review..

Last year I read The Widow's Choice which featured Angie Foxton-Clarke and her move to Cuthford Manor. In this next story we meet again with Angie and her new husband Stanislaw as they celebrate their first wedding anniversary. All is going well with the party until the untimely arrival of Angie’s mother, Ida, who had abandoned her children some eight years ago. This unexpected arrival causes a lot of unease especially when Ida reveals a secret which she has carried within her for a long time.

This is an emotional family drama which is high on both tension and heartbreak. Ida’s somewhat fractured relationship with her children forms the basis of the story and I enjoyed observing how she attempted to break down the barriers which had been placed there by her leaving them to fend for themselves. The story focuses not just on Ida’s poignant story but also that of all of her children, especially sixteen year old Marlene, who has some uncomfortable growing up to do, and Angie who has had to support her siblings after her mother had abandoned them.

Beautifully written, and with an authenticity which brings the 1950s to life in a realistic way, the story flows well, all the characters are really interesting and catching a small glimpse of some of the people from The Shipyard Girls series was an extra special bonus. I’ve really enjoyed learning about the secret in this delightful family in a story which is both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure.

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.before that, she was a journalist who worked for all the national newspapers, providing them with hard hitting 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.

Twitter @arevellwalton #ASecretInTheFamily

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