REVIEW: Secrets at the Irish Adoption House by Michelle Vernal

Secrets at the Irish Adoption House (The Irish Adoption House #2) by Michelle Vernal

Genre: Historical fiction, Dual timeline

Read: 7th October 2025

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 3rd November 2025

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Ireland, 1920. Tears fill my eyes as I hear the whispers of the other girls in the dark of the night. But I won’t let them see me cry. I won’t let my secrets out. The family I’m hiding from could find me, and take my baby away…

To the other girls at St Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home, Cecelia is just another fallen woman. But they don’t know her father is a penniless lord with an English title… And Cecelia is determined that they never will. She came here alone, in secret: if her family knew she was pregnant, the life of her baby could be on the line.

Despite herself, the kind act of stolen bread being pressed into her hands when she’s in most need sees her confiding in the other women. Then the worst happens: Cecelia’s family find her and take her precious newborn. Was she betrayed by another girl in the home?

She’s determined to find her child… but with all her family’s connections, she can’t do it by herself. She hears whispers of a network of women working to unite mothers and babies. But with the baby’s father dangerously caught up in the unrest brewing across Ireland, will Cecelia or her darling daughter ever see him again?

This tear-jerking and unforgettable historical novel, full of family secrets, betrayal and friendship in the darkest times, is perfect for fans of Jean Grainger, Lisa Wingate and Sandy Taylor.

MY THOUGHTS:

Ireland 1920: Young and idealistic Cecelia thought she was in love. Dark and mysterious Finian Fahy offered her a world she could only dream of - freedom for Ireland. Not to mention, freedom from the life her family have already mapped out for her. 

With her family's estate falling into ruins around them and nothing but a title to keep their heads held high in respectable society, the plan is to send Cecelia off to London with her lady's maid Lizzie and her mother in tow, to make her debut in society and to hopefully land a husband who will save the family from ruin. A suitor in her mother's sights, Cecelia carries with her another secret; one that will shame her and her family. She confides in Lizzie and together they hatch a plan to return to Ireland where Cecelia will find herself at the mercy of the nuns at St Patrick's Mother and Baby Home which they nickname the Irish Adoption House. 

She's no sooner moved in that she regrets it at once. The nuns are harsh and unfriendly; the mother superior just as bad. Only one nun, Sister Louise, who is a kind and gently soul wanting only to help the women who have fallen through no fault of their own than the life they had been born into. Cecelia keeps to herself and follows the strict rules so as to make her time there as uneventful as she can.

Cecelia's not here to make friends so when Nessa tries to befriend her, she shuns her thus coming across as aloof as if they were below her. Even after she has given birth to a baby girl she refuses to name or get close to, Cecelia stays at the home growing closer to her child she dare not love for fear of losing her. But Nessa, Maudie and Molly soon worm their way into her heart. She soon finds herself confiding in them her story. Maudie knew her from the village she came from though she had never let on. Then when Nessa goes into labour and disappears one night, never to return, Cecelia vows to take the other two under her wing. And in their friend's honour, she names her unnamed daughter Vanessa, Nessa for short.

Soon Maudie has gone, in search of her daughter who disappeared one night, and then Molly, leaving only Cecelia and baby Nessa...and the comings and goings of girls like her. Until one morning, Cecelia's mother sweeps into the home and takes Nessa, promising her a life a plenty - and that Cecelia will never see her child again. How did her mother know where to find her? Did someone betray her?

Determined to be reunited with her child, Cecelia makes a plan with an unlikely source as she cannot do it alone. With all the unrest in Ireland brewing and her family's connections, can Cecelia reclaim her daughter and make it to safety before it's too late?

This is a wonderful sequel to "The Irish Adoption House" which told of Maudie's tale but this one was so much better. When reading the first book, you just know there is a story to be told about Cecelia so I was thrilled to discover at the end of the first one, that Cecelia's story was to come. And what a tale it was! It is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once, filled with secrets, deception, betrayal and the bond of friendship spanning the decades from 1919 to 1985. And with it, brings a beautiful conclusion to the two stories which remain connected throughout time.

Ireland was awash with mother and baby homes run by nuns who showed no ounce of Christ's love and compassion they claim to live by. It is a sad part of the country's history that those in authority weren't ideally equipped to care for these girls and instead they punished them. Most people would judge them for their horrible and harsh treatment which was barbaric to say the least but they didn't know any better and were only equipped with what had been drummed into them. And most of them certainly had no lived experience that these girls had and honestly would have been better placed to take care of them, knowing all too well the fear, guilt and shame that they too experienced. But it was another time and Ireland was under pressure with unrest brewing in the fight for independence. 

Still, this was a wonderful tale I read in one sitting and enjoyed meeting up with Maudie once again.

I would like to thank #MichelleVernal, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #SecretsAtTheIrishAdoptionHouse in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Storyteller. Cheese scone connoisseur. Occasional yogi.

Michelle Vernal never set out to become a writer—at least not until she joined a creative writing class while on maternity leave with her first son. Fast forward a few years (and more than a few cheese scones), and she’s now the author of over thirty feel-good, funny, and emotionally rich novels that have captured readers’ hearts around the world.

Her stories, often described as “laugh-out-loud,” “utterly heartwarming,” and “the kind of book you read with a smile,” include the bestselling Little Irish Village series, the much-loved Irish Guesthouse on the Green, and the time-slip favourite, The Dressmaker series.

Michelle lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, with her husband, two sons, and a pair of particularly spoiled tabby cats, Humphrey and Savannah. 

Her latest book, The Irish Adoption House is available for Kindle pre-order now and will be released in all other formats on August 7, 2025.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | BookBub | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Irish Adoption House by Michelle Vernal

The Irish Adoption House (The Irish Adoption House #1) by Michelle Vernal

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 5th August 2025

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 7th August 2025

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Ireland, 1920. ‘Please. Don’t take her from me. Have some mercy, Sister. Just a moment longer.’ She clutched the bundle to her chest even tighter. But she couldn’t stop them. Hearing her baby’s cries echo in the hallway, she swore that one day they would be together again…

When the man she thought she’d marry suddenly disappears Maudie O’Connor is heartbroken. Then she finds out she’s pregnant. Refusing her pleas to keep the baby, her family send her to St Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home in disgrace.

Lying in bed after a harrowing birth, it’s all worth it as she cradles her precious little girl. But the nuns tear the newborn from her grasp. Maudie’s only solace is that she is able to spend a few minutes a day feeding her. Then, one morning, her baby is nowhere to be seen.

Determined to find out what happened to her daughter, Maudie sneaks out after curfew, past the nuns guarding the record room. And when she finds her entry, her breath catches. Not only has her little girl been given up for adoption, she’s been sent several thousand miles to Savannah, Georgia, USA.

With her family disowning her, and not a penny to her name, how will Maudie even start the vast and lonely journey across the ocean? With no one to help her and so little information to go on, how can she hope to find the family who adopted her precious baby? And even if she does – will her little girl ever be given back to Maudie, where she truly belongs?

Have the tissues ready for this emotional and page-turning historical novel set in Ireland, perfect for fans of Jean Grainger, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe.

MY THOUGHTS:

A baby torn from her mother...will they be reunited...?

Life in the 1920s was very different to life as we know it now in the 2020s. But life in 1920s Ireland was a whole different concept that few of us could ever bear imagining. It's not just a case of "how much people got away with" as to it being more how they themselves were raised - that being, it's all they had known. It's hard for us to wrap our heads around that concept today but life was different then - especially if you were a Catholic in Ireland. There is nothing like Catholic guilt to shame one into submission. Added to that was all the unrest that Ireland itself was awash with in their fight for independence from the United Kingdom.

From rural Ireland to Savannah, Georgia, crossing the Atlantic from the 1920s to 1985, we meet Maudie O'Connor in the midst of Ireland's unrest. Her sweetheart Ronan Quinn who along with his family are fighting hard for their country's independence from the British, and if the Black and Tans were anything to go by it's no wonder! Maudie has been in love with Ronan for as long as she could remember - ever since he rescued her from JP Hennessey's cruel teasing of her fiery red hair. But her family have forbidden her from seeing him, though that hasn't stopped her from sneaking out to see him.

When whispers reach her ears of a possible raid, Maudie knows she must warn Ronan at once. But to her own peril and dire consequences. Bruised, battered and muddied, Maudie stumbles into her mam's kitchen before collapsing to the floor. For three days she was awash with fever that kept her in bed. When she recovered, her older sister discovered she was pregnant. But Catholic guilt shamed her when she told her mam who organised for her to be sent to St Patrick's Mother and Baby Home in Dublin, her parents having washed their hands of her completely. She had brought shame to their name.

Life in the Mother and Baby Home was dire. It was cruel and harsh and the only thing that kept Maudie going was the belief that she and Ronan would be reunited to bring their child up together. The nuns in the Home were mostly harsh but one, Sister Louise who at least showed some compassion. But the moment Maudie gave birth, her baby was whisked from her arms. She was allowed to see her and feed her each morning but no more. All babies were bottle fed throughout the day and night. 

Then one morning, Maudie arrived at the nursery to nurse baby Emer, as she had named her, to discover her daughter gone. No matter how much she pleaded or cried, the nuns would not disclose where her child had disappeared to. Emer was gone.

But Maudie vowed to do everything in her power to find her baby and be reunited with her, even if it meant scouring the country for her. She creeps downstairs in the middle of the night and locks herself in the Reverend Mother's office, searching her files for any mention of her and her baby. And she finds it. Emer was adopted by an American couple and was now in Savannah, Georgia.

Her own family having disowned her, Maudie decided then and there that she will find her child and she will be reunited with her. Scrambling out the window and without a penny to her name, Maudie makes her way back to the only person she knows and trusts will help her - her older sister Nora. And with Nora's help, she makes her way to America. Her sights set on Savannah and being reunited with her baby.

With all the odds against her, Maudie arrives in Savannah where her new life awaits her. But will she find her baby in this big bustling town? And if she does, will her little girl ever be given back to Maudie?

This was a heartwarming, though often heartbreaking, dual timeline tale spanning the years and continents. I must admit I found the beginning drag a little with so much focus on the RIC, the IRA and Ireland's fight for independence. It was a bloodthirsty time and one I don't particularly relish in reliving in print but it did give background to Maudie's story. The story got more interesting when she was shipped off to the Mother and Baby Home and then her journey to America. It was hard to sympathise with Maudie's family but then that is how it's been penned. Our sympathies lie with Maudie and her predicament for which we see no blame with her but that is not how life was seen in those days particularly those of Irish Catholics, whose roots were buried deep in misguided belief.

Without spoiling anything, this is a heartwarming story with a beautiful ending. I particularly liked the epilogue and the nod to the Carolina wren at the very end. Readers will understand its significance and I thought it was a lovely touch.

And while many may have wished for more about Cecilia, I am pleased to see that Cecilia's story will be told in the second book coming in November this year. I certainly look forward to it.

I would like to thank #MichelleVernal, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheIrishAdoptionHouse in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Storyteller. Cheese scone connoisseur. Occasional yogi.

Michelle Vernal never set out to become a writer—at least not until she joined a creative writing class while on maternity leave with her first son. Fast forward a few years (and more than a few cheese scones), and she’s now the author of over thirty feel-good, funny, and emotionally rich novels that have captured readers’ hearts around the world.

Her stories, often described as “laugh-out-loud,” “utterly heartwarming,” and “the kind of book you read with a smile,” include the bestselling Little Irish Village series, the much-loved Irish Guesthouse on the Green, and the time-slip favourite, The Dressmaker series.

Michelle lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, with her husband, two sons, and a pair of particularly spoiled tabby cats, Humphrey and Savannah. 

Her latest book, The Irish Adoption House is available for Kindle pre-order now and will be released in all other formats on August 7, 2025.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | BookBub | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Survivors by Caroline Mitchell

The Survivors by Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 27th April 2025

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 1st December 2024

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

My grip on the steering wheel tightens, my knuckles turning white as I navigate each dangerous curve of the dark Irish road. The cliff edge looms ahead and my baby’s cries suddenly pierces the silence, sharp and relentless. I reach back to her, taking my eye off the road for just a moment. There is a terrifying crash of tearing metal before everything goes black.

I’m so looking forward to meeting Aunt Maura, my mother’s twin sister who lives on the rugged west coast of Ireland. With my own mother dying so suddenly, and my sweet baby daughter arriving, I need family around me. But instead of arriving at Maura’s house safe and sound, I wake up in hospital, badly injured. Then I remember the crash. Where is my baby?

Maura hands my little girl to me, and I hold her tight. I look closely at my baby’s precious face and something has changed, but Maura reassures me I just need time to recover. I’m so grateful to Maura for looking after us, but am I losing my mind? Have I made a terrible mistake coming here?

And every day, I’m remembering a little more about the night of the accident. I remember Maura’s face, even though my aunt swears she wasn’t there. Why is Maura lying to me, what’s wrong with my baby?

What really happened that night?

MY THOUGHTS:

Only one person saw...only she knows the truth...

This is a dark, chilling and atmospheric tale set on the coast of Ireland and despite it's ambiguous context, the story is pretty predictable. I'm not entirely sure what I expected when I began the journey on the windy mist-filled road on Misery Hill and despite the unlikeable characters, I found I had to keep turning the pages until the end.

It's hard to feel any sympathy for Maura, who is her own worst enemy. She has grown up in the cottage on Misery Hill which was home to both her and her twin sister Daisy, their parents and their formidable grandmother, Maura's namesake. But with only Maura left in the dank dark cottage on the lonely hill above Doolin, rumours soon began to circulate about the strange young woman who turned into a bitter old one.

Decades have passed since a family shared that cottage so when Maura receives a letter from her niece Finn in England, informing her of her mother Daisy's death and that she would like to visit with her newborn daughter Saoirse to delve into her roots. Maura is looking forward to the visit and the house once again being filled with laughter. She has lived a lonely existence since Daisy left for England and never returned.

Finn is eager to uncover the secrets surrounding her mother's roots and why she never returned to Ireland or brought her here to visit. But as she approaches the cottage with the windy roads are treacherous on a dark and misty night, she is involved in a collision with a car coming from the opposite direction. The other driver is Kathryn Toibin, daughter of Dublin kingpin Danny Toibin, with her baby daughter Keira. The accident results in the death of the one of the babies.

Finn awakes from her unconscious state four weeks after the accident with the vision of her mother by her side until she realises it's her mother's twin Maura. She asks after her baby Saoirse and is assured she is fine and in the care of family friend Geraldine. Kathryn also awakes from her nightmare to her furious parents, her father informing her that her baby didn't survive having been flung from the vehicle. Both women must now come to terms with the accident and the injuries they sustained as a result.

Maura has settled Saoirse in the little cottage when she brings Finn home to recover. A lonely woman, she is eager to keep her there and fusses over her daily, caring to her every need. But then little cracks begin to appear in their cosy little life on Misery Hill and Finn finds herself questioning the wisdom of her situation. Meanwhile, Kathryn has questions of her own and thus takes on a mission to uncover the truth - no matter the cost.

There are so many layers to this story - both past and present - with some shocking secrets to uncover. There is plenty of atmosphere in this tale with the chilly eerieness shrouded in the mists that descend over the hill upon which the cottage rests. It has a claustrophobic feel that is filled with secrets, lies and deception throughout, keeping you rooted in the locked room. I felt no sympathy for Maura throughout. She showed little remorse for anything she did and she was most definitely difficult to like. I sympathised with Finn but I felt like this was more Maura's story so couldn't get a huge read on her. Kathryn was her father's daughter so she had little sympathy also.

This was a strange read. I'm not even sure I liked it much. I guessed most of the twists that were revealed along the way, with the exception of one. But that never ruins the enjoyment of a good read. I just still don't know how I feel about this book though it oozes eerieness and atmosphere which is perfect for a thriller.

I would like to thank #CarolineMitchell, #Netgalley and #AmazonPublishing for an ARC of #TheSurvivors in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

An international #1 and New York Times, USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author, Caroline originates from Ireland and now lives with her family on the coast of Essex. A former police detective, Caroline has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time, with over a million books sold.

As well as her crime series, Caroline also writes stand-alone psychological thrillers. The most recent, Silent Victim reached the Amazon number 1 spot in the UK, US and Australia and won first place as best psychological thriller in the US Reader’s Favourite Awards. Her previous thriller, Witness, was shortlisted for the International Thriller Awards in New York. She has also been shortlisted for ‘Best Procedural’ in the Killer Nashville awards. Her crime thriller, Truth And Lies recently became a No.1 New York Times best seller and has been optioned for TV. Her works have been translated worldwide and her book, The Silent Twin, has been converted as an interactive app in the Chapters Interactive game.

Set in Shoreditch, London, her DS Ruby Preston trilogy is described as terrifying, addictive serial killer thrillers. Of her psychological thrillers, the most recent, Silent Victim, has been described as 'brilliantly gripping and deliciously creepy'. Her thrilling new DI Amy Winter series is published by Thomas & Mercer.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Vanishing Triangle by Claire McGowan

The Vanishing Triangle by Claire McGowan

Genre: True Crime

Read: 21st December 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 1st May 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

From the bestselling author of What You Did comes a true-crime investigation that cast a dark shadow over the Ireland of her childhood.

Ireland in the 1990s seemed a safe place for women. With the news dominated by the Troubles, it was easy to ignore non-political murders and sexual violence, to trust that you weren’t going to be dragged into the shadows and killed. But beneath the surface, a far darker reality had taken hold.

Through questioning the society and circumstances that allowed eight young women to vanish without a trace―no conclusion or conviction, no resolution for their loved ones―bestselling crime novelist Claire McGowan delivers a candid investigation into the culture of secrecy, victim-blaming and shame that left these women’s bodies unfound, their fates unknown, their assailants unpunished.

McGowan reveals an Ireland not of leprechauns and craic but of outdated social and sexual mores, where women and their bodies were of secondary importance to perceived propriety and misguided politics—a place of well-buttoned lips and stony silence, inadequate police and paramilitary threat.

Was an unknown serial killer at large or was there something even more insidious at work? In this insightful, sensitively drawn account, McGowan exposes a system that failed these eight women—and continues to fail women to this day.

MY THOUGHTS:

The frustrating thing about reading these kinds of books is there is no real ending, no closure. Because while it is based on evidence at the time, it ends with no real facts or answers as to what really happened. The "investigation", such as it was by the author, is merely supposition. Theories on what she supposes "might have" have happened to these women, therefore ending in no real evidentiary fact.

It was an interesting look into a time in Ireland's history that largely seemed to be ignored or swept under the carpet, as it were, as the powers that be seemed to do on a regular basis with many issues that did not bare facing. Society today might look at Ireland and this sad piece of history (and those that were largely prevalent at the time) and think how archaic the country was, how steeped in antiquated laws they were. But as Ms McGowan tells it, that's what Ireland was like. Some of it until only recently.

Religion and politics aside, though that does play a huge part in Ireland's history, this read is compelling though also disturbing that these women went missing in a time when someone somewhere should have noticed something. CCTV, ANPR and forensics were in their infancy in the early 90s though by the end of the decade they were much more widespread. But sadly, not in Ireland it seems. For these women to have vanished without a trace is both sad and disturbing. Can a killer still be out there? Has he gotten away with murder for more than three decades?

How can 8 young women have disappeared without anyone noticing anything? Without a trace? The lack of thorough investigation at the time of their disappearance is equally disturbing.

I'm not even going to touch the religious or political aspect that was prevalent at the time with the social upheavel of unrest against abortion, divorce, homosexuals, contraception and the Catholic church. While that painted a bleak backdrop for the disappearance of these women, it also took the focus away from them.

Ms McGowan analyses the similarities and differences between the disappearances and other crimes and murders which were buried beneath the social unrest in the country at the time. She speculated and gave us her thoughts and while it was cleverly done, it still left me feeling frustrated at having no real answers. These women deserve answers. They deserve closure. Their families certainly do.

I would like to thank #ClaireMcGowan, #Netgalley and #AmazonPublishing for an ARC of #TheVanishingTriangle in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Claire McGowan was born in Northern Ireland in 1981. She grew up in a village where the most exciting thing that ever happened was a herd of cows getting loose in the road. She now lives in slightly more exciting London.

Her first novel, The Fall, was published by Headline in 2012.  She has also written a series of novels about the forensic psychologist Paual Maguire, which currently consists of The Lost (2013), The Dead Ground (2014), The Silent Dead (2015) and the novella Controlled Explosions (2015). There are three more novels to follow in the series. This crime series has been optioned by BBC Drama.

Claire has been described as ‘a knock-out new talent’ (Lee Child) and ‘Ireland’s answer to Ruth Rendell’ (Ken Bruen). Her short story ‘Archaeology’ was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2015 and her story ‘Rosie Grant’s Finger’ appeared in the anthology Belfast Noir, as well as ‘The Last Resort’ in the CWA anthology Deadly Pleasures. She is now also writing romance as Eva Woods, and The Thirty List was published in 2015 and The Ex Factor in 2016. Her first stageplay, Backseat Drivers, was produced in London in 2015.

For two years Claire ran the Crime Writers’ Association, and is now a Senior Lecturer in Crime Writing at City University London. She also enjoys teaching workshops for other festivals and organisations. Her journalism has appeared in Glamour, You magazine, Stylist, and other publications. 

Social media links:

Wesbite | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Family Trip by Daniel Hurst

 

The Family Trip by Daniel Hurst

Genre: Domestic thriller, Psychological thriller

Read: 1st June 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 31st May 2024

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

I planned the perfect vacation. But now my son is missing…

Everyone believes my husband Donovan and I have it all – a loving marriage, two adorable children and the dream house. But beneath the surface of our enviable American lifestyle lies a secret that binds us tighter than our vows.

I thought we could keep the truth buried forever, but I was wrong. To protect the secrets of my past, we have to go to Ireland to find the woman who has the power to shatter my perfect family. And I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to stop her…

Except my plan for revenge has gone horribly wrong. And now my eight-year-old son Barnaby is missing.

My body trembles as I scan the sunny spot where I last saw him. But there’s no sign of Barnaby’s blue t-shirt and sandy blonde hair.

Who has taken my son? I thought I was in control but now I fear this whole vacation was a trap… Can I save my family, or will our lives be destroyed forever?

From the number one bestselling author of The Doctor’s Wife, this completely addictive psychological thriller will have you glued to the pages until the very last twist! Perfect for fans of T.M. Logan, Freida McFadden and John Marrs.

MY THOUGHTS:

Another twisty psychological thriller from the master himself, Daniel Hurst. This time we meet Shannon, a young woman who works as a tour guide in Ireland and is subsquently hired by wealthy American couple Donavon and Rosalind Conway to give them a tour of Ireland's rich and remote sights and a holiday to remember. 

It will certainly be that...for everyone involved.

Shannon is a struggling single woman trying to make ends meet after a disastrous relationship that left her both bereft and broke, after her boyfriend took everything she had. She works for a thankless employer doing (thankfully) what she loves - showing tourists the sights of her beloved Ireland. Although she would much rather show them the hidden gems rather than the usual trope people just come to tick off their bucket list.

And then she receives an email from Rosalind Conway, asking her to give them a personalised bespoke tour of the places Shannon has longed to show tourists - Ireland's hidden gems. It seems to be an easy ideal way to build her coffers again when Rosalind offers her an eye watering $20,000 for the privilege. All she needs to do is take a leave of absence from her current employer, telling no one and offer them the sights unseen by others who flock to Ireland's shores. Easy, right? 

However this is Daniel Hurst and nothing is ever what it seems. Least of all, everyone involved. As usual, the cast of characters is but a handful and each of them are hiding secrets - some known to the reader, others not. But like all Hurst thrillers, he has but one more twist to throw in...after another and another.

As usual, a pleasure to read. I love Daniel Hurst and soak up everything he offers. Prolific as he is, though, I can't keep up...lol But I enjoy the journey nonetheless and this one is no different.

I would like to thank #DanielHurst, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFamilyTrip in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Daniel Hurst was born in the northwest of England, a part of the world famous for its comedians, pasties and terrible weather.

He has been employed in several glamorous roles in his lifetime, including bartending, shelf stacking and procurement administration, all while based in some of the most exotic places on the planet, like Bolton, Preston and South London.

Daniel writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.

Since following his lifelong passion for writing in 2020, he has amassed a loyal and devoted set of readers, and regularly has several books in the top 100 of the Psychological Thriller Charts on Amazon. His title The Passenger became the #1 selling psychological thriller in the UK in October 2021. The Doctor's Wife is his first publication with Bookouture.

A prolific writer, Daniel likes to keep readers on their toes by self publishing even more books in between those released through his publisher.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: Return to the Irish Boarding House by Sandy Taylor

Return to the Irish Boarding House (The Irish Boarding House #2) by Sandy Taylor

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 4th May 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 13th May 2024

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Mary Kate takes a deep breath as she stands outside 24 Merrion Square with its red front door and pretty rose garden. Grieving from her recent heartbreak, will returning to the Irish boarding house be the second chance she so desperately needs?

Dublin, 1956. When Mary Kate Ryan loses the love of her life, she’s not sure how she can keep going. Feeling completely lost, she allows her friend Moira Kent to persuade her to re-open the Boarding House for Single Ladies where she made so many memories and created a safe place for women who needed it. Now it’s Mary Kate who needs to start over…

As Mary Kate sits by the large bay window, with her little dog Guinness by her feet, she watches the residents of the house coming and going and realises there are others who need her help. Can Mary Kate and Moira uncover the mystery surrounding their new guest? And can they provide a home for two orphan sisters with nowhere to go?

Soon Mary Kate breathes new life into the boarding house and learns that family can be formed in all sorts of ways. Clever, kind Moira is like the sister she never had and Moira’s sweet, adopted ten-year-old daughter Abby means the world to both of them. And being back in Merrion Square brings Mary Kate the kind of laughter and joy that she never dreamed she’d experience again.

But when a devastating secret about Abby’s birth mother begins to unravel, it threatens to destroy the happiness of her patchwork family. Mary Kate must gather her strength to protect the future of the boarding house – and to stop darling Abby being taken from them.

Can Mary Kate keep the friends who have become her family safe? Or will her new-found happiness be torn apart?

An emotional, page-turning story of learning to live with grief, second chances, and the power of friendship. Perfect for fans of Jean Grainger, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe.

MY THOUGHTS:

Dublin, 1956

After two years of married bliss closely followed by heartbreak, Mary Kate leaves her little cottage in the Wicklow Hills and returns to 24 Merrion Square. Her little boarding house with it's bright red door painted so to remind her of her red letter days, as her grandfather had always told her. Kind, compassionate and generous to a fault, Mary Kate and her best friend Moira re-open the doors of the old boarding house, taking in the waifs and strays...and those who need a little help, a little love and a little kindness.

Mrs Lamb returns to her kitchens bringing with her Eliza, a child-like young woman, who runs the halls with young Abby, Moira's adopted daughter once a babe left on the doorstep one frozen morning. Together, they welcome all those that enter the bright red door. The first being "Banana", as Eliza took to calling her, a young woman searching for something or someone. Then came Emma, who was searching for her younger sister Nell who the sisters had shipped off to the Magdelene Laundries. Then came Cathy, a young woman hiding a secret she dare not tell and then Megan, a young Welsh woman on the run from something or someone. And then finally came Isobel, who stayed only for a short time but made wonderful friends and gained lifelong skills before moving into the house she inherited. And then of course there is Guinness who has been there from the beginning, found as a stray as the dilapidated old Georgian building was being renovated into the boarding house it became.

All of these women make he boarding house a home. Their love, their kindness, their laughter. Each of them brings something to the house unique to them. Just like those who have come and gone before them, but are never far away.

I loved this book as much as the first one and aside from the Epilogue at the end, I felt this could have continued as a series because I think the heartfelt warmth of this book and the first one would have made a wonderful series. But The Epilogue kind of ties everything up and life comes full circle by its end.

I laughed and cried along with everyone in these pages but none moreso than with the passing of dear Guinness, my own staffy statue named as such after reading of him in the first book. His passing is reflected on with sensitivity and love, and mentioned only  with the passing of time and with them dear Guinness. Naturally, I was balwing as I always am at the passing of a beloved dog. He was much loved and a very dear addition to the boarding house. I miss him already.

A delightful read that I devoured in one sitting. I shall miss everyone from Merrion Square.

I would like to thank #SandyTaylor, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #ReturnToTheIrishBoardingHouse in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sandy Taylor grew up on a council estate near Brighton. There were no books in the house, so Sandy’s love of the written word was nurtured in the little local library. Leaving school at fifteen, Sandy worked in a series of factories before landing a job at Butlins in Minehead. This career change led her to becoming a singer, a stand up comic and eventually a playwright and novelist.

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REVIEW: The Irish Key by Daisy O'Shea

The Irish Key (Emerald Isles #1) by Daisy O'Shea

Genre: Contemporary ficiton, Dual timeline

Read: 27th April 2024

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Published; 24th April 2024

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

‘Take the key, my pet. I can’t ever go back. The last letter I had from Ireland was clear about that. But one day you may need a safe haven, and it’s the one thing I can give you. Ireland is in your blood, it will keep you safe.’

When Grace arrives tired, tearful and rain-soaked in Roone Bay, the little Irish village where her grandmother Caitlin grew up, she is overwhelmed with longing for Caitlin’s safe, warm arms. The crumbling wreck of Caitlin’s once-beautiful childhood cottage – whose key Grace was given on her wedding day as a secret refuge if she ever needed it – is not the fresh start she’d hoped for. But with her young daughter Olivia to look after and a painful past to hide from, Grace has to stay strong.

Plucking up the courage to ask for help from her kind new neighbours – including quietly rugged carpenter Sean Murphy – Grace gets to work making the house habitable. Soon the view of the deep emerald sea has her captivated, Olivia is blossoming, and Sean makes her laugh in a way she’d forgotten she could…

As she learns more about her family history, with Sean by her side, Grace’s curiosity unearths only further mystery. What drove Caitlin away from Ireland, never to return? But when Grace uncovers a long-lost letter to Caitlin that reveals the heartbreaking truth, she is suddenly threatened by her own devastating secrets.

Grace may have finally found a home for her little family. But when faced with everything she ran from, will the past tear her apart once more? Or will Grace find the strength to stand up for her daughter, her love for Sean, and her new life in Ireland?

This utterly heartbreaking, completely life-affirming story of a family secret that echoes down the generations is perfect for fans of Susanne O’Leary and Tricia O’Malley.

MY THOUGHTS:

Her grandmother's key will unlock more than she'd ever imagined...

Contemporary women's fiction can be a bit hit or miss for me but I loved the sound of this tale in this little piece of Ireland. It's charming with a easy pace and a host of secrets.

On Grace's wedding day, her grandmother Caitlin gave her a big old iron key tied with a blue ribbon in a nod to the age old adage of something old and something blue. Puzzled by the gift, her grandmother whispered "just in case" she was ever in need of an escape one day. Swept up in the romance of her wedding day, Grace never expected or thought she would ever need it. Her husband Graham thought it a dirty old thing and told her to throw it away. But Grace held on to it. For this key held the secrets to the past and you never know...she may just wish to visit the place of her grandmother's birth one day.

Seven years later with her six year old daughter Olivia in tow, Grace is running from the stifling oppression of her unhappy marriage to a manipulative and controlling man who wanted nothing but a pliable obedient and decorative wife who did as she was told. But it was his blatant disregard for her wishes and the future he held in store for their daughter that was the final nail in the coffin of their already dead marriage. Making it seem like an adventure, Grace promised Olivia a visit to the seaside...a more permanent one than Olivia (in her childlike innocence) envisaged.

It took three long days, several trains, a ferry and a couple of buses for them to reach their destination. And when they did, she was disappointed. The beautiful quaint little cottage on the west coast of Cork in her grandparents' photograph resembled nothing of the draughty cold old pile of rubble standing before her now. Forget the key her grandmother gave her - this cottage no longer has a door! Tendrils of ivy and brambles grow up the walls and through the chimney, broken glass panes and a battered old door that lay on the ground. How can they live here? It's not fit for rodents, let alone people.

But time and tide is on her side it seems in the form of a kindly young man named Sean Murphy, who happens to be a builder and with her meagre savings which she had intended to live off for a while will have to be spent in renovating this sad old cottage. And restore it to its former glory. In the meantime, Grace and Olivia need a place to stay - at first with Mrs O'Hara's bed and breakfast for a few weeks until her paying guests come to stay. Then Grace gets herself a job typing up the memoirs of Rooney Bay's wealthy resident, returned from the Americas with his fortunes. At once, Noel O'Donovan invites them to stay in his big house while their cottage is being renovated. And it seems Noel has a few secrets of his own and he won't share them until he has gotten the measure of Grace and what exactly she's running from.

And despite being settled in Rooney House, Grace can't help but look over her shoulder, afraid that Graham will come looking for them and drag them back to England...and his way of life. But Grace has no idea what is in store for her in this quaint little Irish village...or where her heart will eventually lay.

I found this tale a little slow in places but then I am probably too used to the fast pace of thrillers that keep you turning the pages at the rate of knots. This is a more gentle read with a slower pace. But that's not to say it's boring or uneventful. It is intriguing it its own way with long held secrets buried for half a century. It was fairly easy to navigate and predict where the story was going, and that's OK. I found myself endeared to Sean and Noel as the loveable Irish rogues.

I guess my only real complaint is the timeline. When I began the story, I naturally assumed it was set in the present day but when the timeline shifts back to 1930 I thought that could not be possible. It would make the said character well over a hundred years old! Throughout the story, I came to estimate the present day timeline was set around the early 1980s although it is never stated. But given that they refer to it being fifty years I then assumed so. The other telling point being the introduction of a computer as if it were a foreign object. Today they are used everywhere but Grace had no knowledge or experience on one and its description was very basic to say the least. The fact that her husband owned a company that dealt in technology again lead me to believe the era was later. It was very confusing and I don't like confusion when reading. I like things to be stated clearly to avoid confusion and I don't recall anywhere in the story stating in what timeline the present day was set.

Again, that has to be my only complaint because the story was a delightful read that I really enjoyed. I note there is a second book to this series "The Irish Child" to be published in July. I look forward to rejoining Roone Bay once again and seeing how the first tale ties in with this second one.

I would like to thank #DaisyOShea, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheIrishKey in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sue Lewando (Daisy O'Shea)was a teacher for several years before migrating to the office environment, where she was PA to the Treasurer of Clarks Shoes, a multi-national company, then, briefly, PA to Susan George, the actress best known for Straw Dogs. 

Sue had many genre books published (M&B and Virgin), under pseudonyms, and self-publishes her crime thrillers. She was on the committee of the Romantic Novelists’ Association in England, for whom she assessed typescripts. She has been a fiction tutor for the London School of Journalism for twenty years. 

Sue has two grown-up children, a happy second marriage, and a bundle of cats and dogs. She moved to West Cork with her husband to undertake a farmhouse refurbishment project, foster their joint passion for playing Irish traditional music, and to invest time in their individual academic projects. 

She recently completed a Masters in Creative Writing at UCC, taking the opportunity to explore diverse writing genres. She works with the Jeremy Murphy Literary Consultancy in the capacity of typescript analyst, ghostwriter, editor, and online publishing advisor. She loves good commercial fiction, and is a devotee of the Oxford comma.

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REVIEW: The Altar Girls by Patricia Gibney

The Altar Girls (Detective Lottie Parker #13) by Patricia Gibney

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Mystery, Police procedural

Read: 27th November 2023

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Published: 9th November 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The little girl looked like an angel in her thin white robe, her long black hair spread around her head like a dark halo on the snow. Her hands rested on her chest, fingers interlaced as if she had fallen asleep while praying. But she would never wake up again…

When Detective Lottie Parker receives news that a child’s body has been found in the frozen grounds of the cathedral, a shiver runs down her spine. She’s terrified it will be eight-year-old Willow Devine, reported missing that morning.

But when she arrives at the cathedral, holding a photo of Willow with her blonde ponytail and gap-toothed smile, she gets a terrible shock. The body is a young girl, wrapped in a white shroud, a rosary clutched in her frozen fingers. But her hair is dark, not fair. This girl isn’t Willow but another eight-year-old, Naomi.

Desperate to find a connection between the two girls and to find Willow before it is too late, Lottie speaks to the girls’ families and discovers that both girls were altar servers at the cathedral. The charismatic priest Father Maguire has a watertight alibi for the time the girls went missing, but Lottie suspects the confused old lady traumatised by the discovery of Naomi’s body is hiding something…

A day later, Willow’s little body is found wrapped in a white robe in the snowy grounds of a church across town. Lottie is devastated, convinced now that she can’t trust anyone, least of all the girls’ parents. Why did Willow’s mother claim the girls didn’t know each other? And why are there no photos of Naomi in her mother’s shabby house?

But when a little boy from the choir goes missing too, Lottie realises she must spread her net wider. Can she stop this twisted killer before another precious life is stolen?

A completely compelling page-turner from bestselling author Patricia Gibney. If you like Rachel Caine, Kendra Elliott and Robert Dugoni, The Altar Girls will have you hooked.

MY THOUGHTS:

The thirteenth installment of the Lottie Parker series, I'm beginning to wonder if Lottie and Boyd are ever getting married. They've been engaged forever. But then again, life hasn't gotten easier either. 

Last book Boyd had brought his 8 year old son Sergio to England to live with him...until Boyd's ex-wife Jackie returned and snatched him back, thus scarpering and living in hiding for the past three months. Boyd has spent the past three months searching for them to no no avail. Jackie and Sergio had vanished.

As for Lottie, her mum's dementia is progressing and this time I am finding that part of the storyline a little confronting as my own dad suffers from dementia and we have just put him in a care facility kicking and screaming, so it was just a little too close to home for him this time round. Of course, I don't see why her children don't help out a little more. They are all living at home and are better placed to do so rather than Lottie who works 20 hour days, especially when on an investigation.

This time the case at hand are two little girls found within hours of each other in the midst of a snowtstorm in the cathedral ground, clasping a hymn sheet in their hands. Why would someone kill two 8 year old girls? They were both in the choir there and from single parent families struggling to make ends meet. Is this a coincidence? The more Lottie digs, the answers keep coming back to Father Keith Macguire and the cathedral. Is he as innocent as he claims?

A parallel story is one of a car crash in Ballina in the north of the country with the body of an unidentified woman inside. No one knows who she is. There was no handbag, no identification, nothing to indicate who she might be. What has she to do with the case in Ragmullin?

This is one of the longer tales Gibney has spun at over 500 pages but it didn't feel as such with the short snappy chapters that kept the pace moving steadily along. But every time I pick up a book in this series it always seems to be snowing and is perpetually freezing. I know they have a totally different climate to me but it can't always be that cold ALL THE TIME. hahaha. I have friends from Northern Ireland and it rains...a lot...but they do get blue skies and the occasional nice day. Every book in this series seems to be shrouded in snow.

Anyway, it is another exciting addition to the series and wrapped up nicely by the end. I do have to wonder will Boyd and Lottie ever get married? They very nearly made it twice but now life just seems to get in the way. Ms Gibney, please give them their happy ending.

Overall, another compelling and enjoyable addition to the series.

I would like to thank #PatriciaGibney, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheAltarGirls in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Patricia Gibney is an Irish author of crime fiction who sold 100,000 copies of her first crime thriller as an e-book, and had total sales exceeding 500,000 copies in 2018. By 2019, total book sales had passed one million.

Patricia is from Mullingar, County Westmeath and has lived there all her life. She spent 30 years working with Westmeath County Council.

When her husband died in 2009, aged 49, three months after a diagnosis of cancer, Patricia turned to art and writing, self-publishing a children's book entitled 'Spring Sprong Sally'. She then started writing crime fiction and created her first novel in that genre featuring DI Lottie Parker with 'The Missing Ones'. She worked with the Irish Writers Centre to improve her writing. Eventually she began a second novel 'The Stolen Girls' and through that acquired an agent and a publishing contract with Bookouture.

Patricia currently has 11 DI Lottie Parker novels to date, with the eleventh 'The Guilty Girl' to be published in June 2021, and is set in the fictional Irish town of Ragmullin, which is an anagram of the real-life town of Mullingar, where Patricia lives.

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REVIEW: Be Careful What You Wish For by Lorraine Murphy

Be Careful What You Wish For by Lorraine Murphy

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 26th August 2023

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Published: 20th August 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

A mother determined to hide the truth. A sister about to expose it.

When Tara Ryan gets the results of a DNA test one rainy afternoon, all her dreams come true. She discovers she’s not an only child, she has a long-lost sister, Cassie.

What she doesn’t know is that Cassie is homeless, strung out, and praying for a break.

As socially awkward Tara lets street-wise Cassie into her life, shocking secrets come to the surface – a dark web of illegal adoptions, betrayal and death. All rooted in a horrifying children's home scandal which occurred many years before.

Has Tara's mother been deceiving her for her entire life, or is Tara looking to the wrong person for the truth?

Someone is lying - and they must pay the ultimate price.

Be Careful What You Wish For is a gripping tale of lies and deceit that will astound and enthrall until the very last page.

MY THOUGHTS:

Having read Lorraine Murphy's fantastic debut "Into the Woods" I was excited by the prospect of her second offering. The concept is something of a complex tale, sad even, and definitely intriguing. It begins as a slow burn which remains steady throughout and yet there was still something compelling me to keep reading. It's a quick read which I easily unravelled in a few short hours in one sitting.

Tara is an only child with an elderly mother, Mary, whom she now cares for solely since a car accident which claimed the life of her father and confined her mother to a wheelchair some twenty years ago. Her life is but a small one. She has no friends, no significant other, with her whole life devoted to caring for her ailing mother. But when a DNA test reveals a "full match" - meaning parent, sibling or child - through a family website, Tara unexpectedly finds she has a sister she knew nothing about and her ordered world suddenly falls into chaos. She contacts the woman, Cassie, and agrees to meet her. But the two women couldn't be more different.

Cassie finds herself homeless after a drinking binge sees her in hospital and out of the refuge where she had been living. But upon receiving the news of a DNA match with a woman, Cassie sobers herself up and arranges to meet her long lost little sister in Dublin. But their first meeting doesn't go as planned, leaving both women feeling dissatisfied and disappointed. However, Tara has always wanted a sister and seeing how lucky she has been in life compared to the hand Cassie had been dealt, she takes her under her wing...albeit maybe a little too naively.

Amidst the goings on is the news that is currently sweeping Ireland of the children's home scandal, which was rife in Ireland up to the 1980s, that saw children wrenched from their biological mothers and sold to the highest bidder with non-disclosure agreements preventing either party from revealing the details of the adoption...or even that there had been an adoption. I would have liked to see this play more of a part in the story than it actually did. It was dangled in the background and offered something of an explanation without really explaining anything.

And then there is Mary. Ailing, frail and elderly Mary. Widowed and talking fondly of her her husband Frank RIP - what in the hell was that? She referred to him as Frank RIP and Tara referred to him as Daddy RIP. Sure, he died and it was tragic but they branded the RIP on the end like it was a medal of honour. It was tacky and senseless. And Mary, who wears her ailments like a garment she cloaks herself with each morning was exhausting to read. The woman beat Tara down at every turn, gave her panic attacks, allergies and then demanded she not take a promotion offered to her. Why? What did she hope to gain from it? Of course the promotion meant Tara had a week's training in London which Mary simply would not hear of, nor would Tara leave her. Until Cassie stepped in and offered to care for her in Tara's absence. Oh no, that just would not do. But why?

Honestly, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive...as quoted by Shakespeare but Tara cites it as someone called Scott. Whoever first quoted it, no truer words were spoken. These three women weave a tangled web between the lot of them. And I liked none of them. Tara was weak and spineless and at her age could not stand up for herself in any way. She dressed dowdy and had no self esteem. Of course, this was down to the environment in which she had grown up, and Mary's devious ploy to keep her close. Cassie was secretive and had her own ulterior motives. I could feel no sympathy for any of them.

This is a tough book to review and rate because of this. And because I felt it had so much more potential. So much more could have been done with the children's home scandal, of which were rife in Ireland and there would be no shortage of stories there. I remember watching a documentary of a Catholic children's home in which there revealed to be a mass grave of children's bodies secretly buried there as well as many illegal adoptions that took place from there. Now that could be the basis of a brilliant thriller I would love to read.

Overall, this was still a good quick read that could easily be devoured in a few short hours. It was compelling, that's for sure. I just kept wanting to turn the page and find out that little bit more and what secrets bubbled beneath the surface.

I would like to thank #LorraineMurphy, #Netgalley, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lorraine Murphy loves to take everyday situations and twist them into terrifying tales. Although she has published many flash fiction stories, "Into the Woods" is her first novel.

A software engineer by profession, Lorraine as had many jobs including slimming club leader, adult educator, charity co-founder, chairperson, activist and entrepreneur. Oh, and mother and carer. As a teenager, she adored Stephen King and later found herself on the jury of Ireland’s longest Murder Trial.

When she's not writing, she's always into something, whether it be competing in/ for her Toastmasters club or jumping out of a fully functional airplane.

Lorraine lives in Westmeath, Ireland with her husband Brendan and three taller children.

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