My Mother's Secret

Here's a fabulous example of how to take a simple premise and turn it on its head. How by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, your whole world can come crashing down around you and your life will change forever.

The chapters in this novel switch between Emma, Lizzie and Stella. Emma leads a rather nice and comfortable life with her husband and two daughters, until one day she spots a man and her past catches up with her. Emma has been keeping a humongous secret that is slowly revealed throughout the story and I obviously can't say any more about that because that would ruin the entire plot for you.

Personally, I thought it was rather obvious from the start what that secret was and I did feel some things were rather predictable but there is something so beautiful and absorbing in the way Sanjida Kay writes, that it didn't matter one bit to me. As in her previous books, the characters in this story are all incredibly realistic and believable and it's easy to imagine how one event can change the course of your life so dramatically. It makes you wonder what you would do. How do you choose between the life you have now and the one you could have had?

While Lizzie's circumstances are heartbreaking, to say the least, I must say the stand-out character for me was Stella and Sanjida Kay brought this hormonal teenager to life perfectly. And yes, there is a bit of a twist that I didn't see coming at all, which also made me rethink the entire story and enormously appreciate the way the plot was crafted. This is another gripping and compelling novel by this author and I look forward to more by her in future!

I am a huge fan of Sanjida Kay, having raved about Bone by Bone and The Stolen Child. So I was really excited to see that she has a new release, My Mother's Secret - a story that in some ways is fairly different to her other two but is equally as gripping!

Focusing more on a family with a mother that has a big secret, this novel addresses a whole range of issues whilst slowly revealing what Emma is hiding as the novel goes on. Bit by bit the reader starts to realise that people are linked in surprising ways, and I loved the slow reveal of clues and information.

This isn't a fast-paced, all-action novel; rather it's a steady but completely absorbing story which I raced through in no time at all. The characters are all so well crafted and convincing (as, I feel, is always the case in Sanjida Kay's novels) and there were some truly heartbreaking decisions for characters in this novel. I don't want to say much more, as I don't want to spoil anything, but to me the ending was surprising but just right and it really makes you think about how you'd react in the same situation. I hugely enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it!