Kate and Georgie had an unusual and restrictive childhood. Georgie’s mother has always dissuaded her from travelling abroad or even marrying so when Georgie unsuccessfully tries to find her own birth certificate in order to apply for a passport, she starts to wonder, and then investigate, who she is and who her mother really is. I enjoyed the main part of the story, told from Georgie’s point of view, but found hearing the tale from different points of view, towards the end, a bit too repetitive. I would have preferred to have had the different stories interspersed throughout the book. Overall, an enjoyable read.

A good read about families and secrets long kept. It had me turning the pages and interested till the end. Would like to read more by this author, its the kind of book I enjoy.

This book was a big let down I really thought this book would have been better.

In some places I really enjoyed the book and then there was other parts that were rushed.

The book needs some more details and to be slowed down.

This is my first book by this author and one of my earliest books in this genre of reads.
It is quite obvious is one to sit and wait to see what the secret entails but it just didn't feel like the energy was there and felt a little rushed in some parts.
There's two sisters who love each dearly but the mother has treated them so differently but never given a reason why... georgie is looking for her birth certificate and right up to this point it's the edge we're waiting for like at a movie what happens.. and a massive secret is opened up..
It will change her relationship with her mother and sister.
It was a good read but once the certificate was found it felt rushed and sometimes the same discussion is read by different authors. A good book but not a fabulous read.

Wow this book was amazing and I loved every bit of it. I couldn’t put it down and it had me hooked from the first page. I would highly recommend this book and will definitely be looking for more by this author

The story started well, Georgie looks for her birth certificate and while looking in her mothers loft she stumbles across some information which changes everything about her life. From here I struggled a little. Georgie is extremely unlikable, some of the story is totally unbelievable and I found it to be rushed at times. There were some really tough parts within, which played with my emotions, especially her Mum's dementia. It was not the read that i anticipated and I was disapointed

When Georgie searches for her birth certificate and can't find it she realises that everything she knows might not be the truth. Why is there no birth certificate in her mums house? What secrets is her mum hiding? This book is a a good read. I expected more from it. I thought that there would have been more detail to the story and the ending was too smooth.

I thought this was a really interesting premise for a novel and enjoyed it right up until the last section. I did not feel that the mother's story line really contributed to the novel in this case. I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to.

I’d kind of guessed what the outcome would be quite early into this book, but this was a very enjoyable read that I read within a day. Its a plot similar to one I’ve read before, but I still thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend.

Gripping book of family secrets not shying away from the fact that sometimes we cannot tie up all the loose ends and also how the past can come back to bite you in an unexpected form.

This was an enjoyable read but it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it was going to be. It sometimes felt a bit drawn out in places and others times there wasn’t enough detail and it felt sort of rushed.

This story is told through the eyes of three very different women, with three very different problems stemming from the same underlying cause, and I must say, I think it is handled remarkably well. The author isn't afraid to dive straight into some very emotional issues indeed and writes about them with aplomb.


I found this book to be quite heart-wrenching, and with each revelation, I found myself becoming ever deeper invested in the story. Not an easy read, but a heartfelt one.

A jaw dropping book which kept me hooked from page one.

Really enjoyed this book, had not heard of the author before but will definitely be looking out for future books.

2.5 stars. An intriguing premise, but quite disappointing in the end. Hunting for her birth certificate, Georgies stumbles upon a family secret that threatens to rip her family apart, especially her relationship with a sister she is very close to. Meanwhile, their mother's failing health and her creeping dementia adds and extra layer of complexity.
I felt that this could have been a tight and suspenseful story had it been structured differently. As it stands, the "mystery" is solved very early on and the narration is rather flat. The same incidents being repeated from different people's perspectives doesn't add to reading enjoyment either.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers for this review copy, given in exchange for an honest review.

My first Clare Swatman book. The blurb on this one sounded a bit confusing, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. We meet sisters Kate and Georgie. They are both grown up now, but their mother, Jan, has always treated them differently. Kate has been allowed to go off and do what she wants, Georgie has been kept back at home to not be allowed out of her mother’s sight. Neither of them ever realised that this happened until one day when Georgie goes searching for her birth certificate. Looking through her mother’s things she finds a hospital tag and birth certificate for Kate, but nothing for herself. As her mother suffers from early onset dementia, she’s not able to get the answers for all the questions she has. Georgie decides to look up her birth certificate herself, but finds no record of her ever being born. She does though find a newspaper article of a baby girl being taken from the hospital on the day she was born. Is she that baby taken all those years ago?

This was a great book! I have finished this in less than a day – I just couldn’t put it down. The story gripped me from the beginning and didn’t let up until the end of the book. It was mainly set in 2016, but it does switch to 1975 for Jan’s story during the book. It was not just a story of lies and deceit, but also of love and family.

The story got me hooked from page one. The story of Georgie and Kate was heart-wrenching, but it goes to show that blood isn’t necessarily thicker than water. I’m not sure if how Georgie treated Jan felt very comfortable, but I suppose you can understand why she felt it difficult to have anything to do with her. I liked the way that, whilst Georgie and Kate both had partners/husband/children, the story wasn’t dominated with them and their feelings, but it was all focused on Georgie and Kate. It was sad to see how ill Jan was in the present day and it was also heart-breaking to read her story back in 1975, but I suppose it was a little disappointing by the end to not have more detail as to what actually happened with Jan. It was also sad that she was not able answer any of the questions that her daughters had, yet she was obviously still reliving the past.

All in all, I loved the storyline and I loved the twist, if you call it that, at the end. Definitely read to the very last page, it felt rather sad and poignant that it was all connected.

Excellent read, highly recommended. Five stars!

The Mother's Secret by Clare Swatman is a story about secrets and Lies. Georgie is looking for her birth certificate so that she can apply for a passport. This leads her to a shocking discovery that alters her life and causes shock to those around her. I liked this book and the character of Georgie and felt great sympathy for her. I would like to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Excellent storyline and great main characters. I would recommend this book.

After reading the blurb I was so excited to be accepted to read The Mothers Secret, straight away from the first chapter, I was hooked, the storyline was hard to put down, a fantastic read and would definitely recommend.

Kate and Georgie have always been quite reserved and protected. Their Mother, Jan, was reluctant to let them out to parties or even out to play as young children. Kate is married & has seen the world whilst Georgie was content to live with her boyfriend and not stray further than a chilly British beach on holiday. Times are changing, however, and Georgie wants to spread her wings. She needs her birth certificate in order to get a passport.
I warn you now that there are going to be spoilers in this review.
Georgie goes to the Norwich library to search through the birth records but she can't find herself. Initially she had delved around in her Mother's loft without telling permission and when that failed headed off to Norwich library. She wasn't born when and where she thought she was. She doesn't seem to exist in the records.
My first problem is that records are not usually there for people to look through themselves. They are usually kept at the registry office where you fill in a form to request a birth certificate. Okay so we will allow some licence. However, if you can't find ther record for yourself what do you think? Maybe I wasn't born where my parents said, maybe the date got fuddled for some reason, maybe there was an error with the registration. The next logical step is to ask the registrar, make some enquiries, perhaps search online. Georgie didn't think or do any of this. When she couldn't find her birth registration she searches the local papers for the days around that date - okay not so way out. However, once she finds a story about a snatched baby she immediately decides it must be her. Really? Her first thought is that her Mother was a child kidnapper? What exactly happened in her past to allow this to be in the forefront of her mind. Still without any proof she struggles to even look at her Mother and barely talks to her. The feelings for her Mother have been switched off the instant she read this newspaper report without even knowing if it is true.
Georgie becomes a really unpleasant person. She walks out on her sister who needed her support due to her Mother's deteriorating health. This is still without any proof. Georgie then storms into the lives of her supposed birth family. This is the first time that she really has any proof but even then it is tenuous. Has no one heard of DNA testing?
I couldn't like Georgie no matter how hard I tried to sympathise. Yes, she has been hard done by and ripped away from her birth family & had an uncertain childhood. However, she is never interested in the reasons and is so quick to damn and desert her family. She also gives no consideration to her birth family just expecting to walk right in and be welcomed with open arms. I have to say that the author did approach this well and the family's difficulties in accepting her were very believeable.
There is much about this book that could have been good. Unfortunately the rather nasty and strange behaviour of Georgie made me feel very unsympathetic towards. Her actions just didn't ring true and spoiled the book for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.