Being an only child, books that feature siblings and the relationships between them has always fascinated me. Which was one of the reasons I picked this book up. The other was that I have read a few Moriarty novels before and I knew I was getting a good read.
In the case of The Secrets Sisters Keep I was right. Meet:
Julie – a mother to boy triplets who create a whirlwind wherever they go and a small adorable son, who wants to be like his big brothers. She has it all and more since inheriting money, but it seems that it is not what she wants and maybe looking at the past is better than the present.
Louise – is organised, can cope with anything. But not if anyone criticises her daughter. No one knows her better than she does or knows exactly how to parent her….do they? Would they risk broaching the subject?
Sophie – is getting older, but just don’t tell her as she does not want to acknowledge it, coupled with having it all and losing it, including a husband. She has yet to realise what she really wants to do.
Of course all this female temperament has to be counteracted by some male temperament and that comes in the form of these three sisters baby brother – Gavin.
Gavin goes to work naked. He seems to have no staying power when it comes to jobs (or women) and he is of course their mothers favourite. In fact all of them have a soft spot for Gavin. Even me!
The story is written from each of the sisters points of view and we get to see how these three women deal with many life issues and problems. Of course at the centre of the story is the relationship between these sisters and as an only child that is something the fascinates me.
The Irish humour which I knew would be present in this book having read previous ones was apparent and there were some lovely laugh out loud moments, but also some moments when a tear springs to your eye. This book certainly is not one which is light and fluffy, it deals with so much, divorce, single parenting, public schools, cosmetic surgery, autism, but all wrapped up in showing the strength and love of family.
A great book which shows off the author’s talent as a writer well.
Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this novel.
As I was reading I was getting the sense I had missed something in this novel, I should have had some prior knowledge. But something was ringing a bell.
After having read the book, I discovered this was in fact the second featuring these characters and that I actually had the first novel Me and My Sisters on my shelf waiting to be read (and gathering dust). Now a dilemma, do I read the first book – when actually I knew what happened it. The second book was good enough to give you a fair idea of back story without simply repeating.
I made a decision, send the book on its way and don’t read it. I have more than enough books to be getting on with. I bet we all do?
The message I give to anyone picking up Me and My Sisters is read it and then read The Secrets Sisters Keep. If you pick up the latter first then you will still get much enjoyment from it, but it probably will not be necessary to go back.
The Book Jotter 