When discovering one secret turns your world upside down.

Synopsis

What would you do to protect the ones you love?

1861. George’s life changes forever the day he meets Lucy. She’s beautiful and charming, and he sees a future with her that his position as the second son in a wealthy family has never offered him. But when Lucy dies in a suspected poisoning days after rejecting George, he finds himself swept up into a murder investigation. George loved Lucy; he would never have harmed her. So who did?

Now. On the surface Cassie is happy with her life: a secure job, good friends, and a loving family. When a mysterious gift in a long-forgotten will leads her to a dark secret in her family’s history she’s desperate to learn more. But the secrets in Cassie’s family aren’t all hidden in the past, and her research will soon lead her to a revelation much closer to home – and which will turn everything she knows on its head…

Discover a family’s darkest secrets today. Perfect for fans of The Girl in the Letter, The Beekeeper’s Promise and The Forgotten Village!

My review

Cassie is a young woman who seemingly has it all. She adores her parents, has a nice job and good friends.
But when one day she receives letter, secrets of her past come out and she has to face her past choices.
And because of her research of the family’s past there are more secrets to be exposed. And they are not all happy ones…

In 1861 George falls in love for the first time. The young woman he lost his heart to, is Lucy. But when Lucy dies and it becomes apparent it was not just a case of bad luck, but murder, George is suddenly prime suspect.
But kind George could never hurt the woman he loved, right?

My oh my, the author managed to pull me in a story and I couldn’t take a rest before I knew every detail!

I loved the dual timelines and switching between the past and the present. I don’t want to give too much away, but both George’s and Cassie’s story were equally beautiful as terrible.
No worries about the ‘terrible’ part, I will come to it in a bit.

George his story started as a really sweet one. Not receiving a lot of love from his parents, he falls in love with Lucy, who works as a maid at the house.
I found it so sweet to see how George does his utterly best to get closer to Lucy. He already imagines their future together, when tragedy strikes.
And trust me, it’s not only Lucy’s death that is devastating George…

And that is what is terrible to his story…
I felt so much sympathy towards George. If I could, I would give him all the joy and happiness of the world. But he gets betrayed in the worst way, several times. And he just does not deserve that.
Silver lining is that he finds a friend at the most impossible place, and he can count on his older brother.

And Cassie… my first impression was that she was a young woman having her life on track. Yet it becomes obvious that there is a secret she is keeping from us readers as for her friends. But when her past catches up, she has no other choice but coming clean.

Again, without giving anything away, the secret is well accepted, if not a total success.
But when another secret from her parents’ past is unveiled, her whole world falls apart.

George and Cassie are both facing events that are hard to digest. And even if George cannot rely on his parents’ love and support (absolutely terrible and not understandable!), he learns that true friendship can give you all the love you need.
And Cassie learns that the meaning of family does not only mean sharing the same DNA.

I found this story intriguing, capturing, beautiful and bittersweet.
For both characters I did not know what was going to happen to them, forcing me to continue reading.
This story shows that secrets are always bound to come out, and that the truth can be devastating. But it’s up to us to put it behind us, look forward to what the future brings, and design your own path to happiness!