Amber, divorced and still single, working in her gift shop is still grieving for the child she lost ten years previously. Her child is now her work and she can think of nothing else.
That is until a girl wanders onto the beach by Amber’s gift shop with no recollection of who she is, where she is, why she is there or even her name and age.
Amber senses a story with this girl and the girl only seems to trust Amber. But can Amber help this lost soul when she is in fact still lost herself.
Gwyneth is a famous wildlife documentary maker. She is never at home always on the way to or coming from the latest project. Gwyneth finds herself lost in the wilds of Scotland, by a frozen loch and decides to cross it to get some help. It turns out she will need the help.
That help comes from Dylan McCluskey at home for Christmas.
Two storylines, twenty years apart and with very different tales to tell. Both could have been seperate stories and Tracy Buchanan has created them so well that you had to keep reading because you knew at some point these stories were going to cross, to connect to unearth the secrets that had been kept for many years.
Not only are we given excellent characters with flaws to relate to, with guilt and secrets to hide but the author has put it all in some rather bleak settings, the winter at the beach, the snow of Scotland even transporting us to Iceland where the light is not always so bright. All of the landscapes and places bring another layer to the story and add to the whole atmosphere of the story.
This is a great read and one that you will get hooked by, I had to keep reading to find out the truth, the secrets and who exactly the mysterious girl without a memory was.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The Family Secret is out now.
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