Showing results for "A Mother's Secret" in Literature & Fiction

Winnie Berry had been the landlady for the Battersea Tavern for over 25 years and loved every minute of it. Her husband Brian preferred the quiet of the upstairs, but Winnie liked to be in the thick of it: the atmosphere and the company. While her son has taken after his father in more ways than one, she can't help but love him - David might not be able to hold down a job, but she would do anything to keep him safe. After all, once upon a time she'd made a mistake - something she'd do anything to put right.

Leaving Liverpool behind, Libby Andrews embarks on a transformative journey to London with her newfound friend Suzy. Amidst the bustling city streets, they find Libby's parents' cherished stall on Petticoat Lane has been taken over and run into the ground by Libby's conniving uncle. Libby is determined to reclaim what rightfully belongs to her and with Suzy's support, she is able to bring the stall back to the way it used to be. But when they unravel a long-held family secret, unearthing the truth about her mother's past, will it shatter the bright future that lies ahead for Libby?

When 17-year-old Belinda Phillips falls in love with a handsome Anglo-Indian officer, she knows that he is a man she can never hope to marry. When he is reported missing, believed killed in action, Belinda discovers that she is pregnant. Facing disgrace and ruin, she has no option other than to accept an arranged marriage with a middle-aged widower, knowing she must keep the secret of her child's birth for ever. Reluctantly she sends her beloved daughter to a foster mother in Cripplegate, little realising she has entrusted Cassy's care to Biddy Henchard, a woman who runs a notorious baby farm in an area full of poverty and disease.

"Are you my mummy?" Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children. Not anymore. She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there. After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own. Tessa isn’t sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realises?

In one split second, Aidan Whelan’s perfect world is changed forever when his wife, Rowan, and three-year-old daughter Milly are involved in tragic accident. Helena O’Herlihy and her husband, James, have been struggling in their marriage, but a knock on the door telling her that James has been involved in a car crash has Helena rushing to his side. When Aidan and Helena bump into each other at Dublin City Hospital, they soon begin to wonder if it’s more than just coincidence that brought them there.

When pregnant Jaya loses her mother, then her baby son, Arun, in a tragic cot death, her world crashes down. Overcome by grief and guilt, she begins to look for answers. Looking through her mother’s belongings, she finds two diaries and old photographs, carrying the smoky aroma of fire. A young boy smiles out at Jaya from every photograph - and in one, a family stand proudly in front of a sprawling mansion. Who is this child? And why did her mother treasure this memento of a regal family lost to the past?

Sisters Georgie and Kate have always been close. Brought up by their mum Jan after the death of their father, this family of women have always been able to rely on each other. Jan loves her daughters with all her heart. She knows some people think she’s an over-protective mother, but they didn’t know what she knows. She has always kept her girls close but now she can feel them slipping away. Secrets have a nasty habit of refusing to stay hidden, and now Georgie and Kate are about to discover that while lies can cause pain, the truth could destroy them all.

Kate and her husband are expecting their first child. Even though it was a surprise, Kate is thrilled and so is her mother, Helen. Kate just needs Helen’s anxieties to ease and for Dan to be on board. Dan is struggling – he loves Kate, but he is not ready to be a father. With relations between them feeling hostile, the attractive lead singer in Dan’s band offers him a tantalizing escape.

From the number-one best-selling author of Bad Behaviour and If You Were Me comes an engaging, warm and thought-provoking new novel about a secret that can't be kept under wraps any longer - whatever the consequences. Not to be missed by readers of Jane Green, Lisa Jewell, and Marian Keyes. A romantic holiday in sunny Rome. A happy marriage strong enough to last 40 years.

When the call finally comes, my life as I know it is over—my job as a teacher, my marriage, my family are all gone. In a heartbeat, I’ve lost everything that ever mattered to me. All because of one secret and what someone thinks she saw....

For many years Colette has avoided returning to her homeland - the magical island of Belle-Île-en-Mer in Southern Brittany - afraid to confront the painful memories she left behind. She is living on the Cornish coast when she hears about her mother Thea's failing health and realises that the time has come for her to go home. But can Colette ever forgive Thea for what she has done?

Thirty-one-year-old Carolyn Lapp has never been married - but she's been a mother for 15 years. In a community with strict standards and a long memory, Carolyn knows she might never find a man who will have her and her son, Benjamin. Carolyn's family tries to marry her off to a widower with a daughter who needs a mother. A marriage of convenience doesn't sound so bad, yet despite her loneliness, Carolyn knows what she really wants: a traditional Amish family and a marriage for love.

This family secret means the end of everything they've ever known. But could it also be the chance for a new beginning? Verity seems to have it all. A beautiful home, two grown-up sons and a husband who has always been her rock. But one day, the doorbell rings. And it changes Verity's life forever. Saskia has nowhere else to go. Before she died, her mother left her with her father's name and nothing else. The only way for Saskia to take care of herself – and her unborn baby – is to find the father she never knew. And the family that didn't know she existed.

When she was a child, Danni would lie awake at night wondering what she had done to make her mother so cold. Now, she is determined to put the past behind them and make Diana as happy as she can in the time they have left. But as some of Diana’s memories are slipping away, others are forcing their way to the surface. One night Diana breaks down in tears and reveals her heartbreaking secret. Years before Danni was born, there was another baby who never got to see the world. Now there is one last thing Danni can do for her mother.

When I begin to receive threatening messages, one thing becomes clear: Cassandra wants me out of her son’s life, and she will do anything to get what she wants. Including destroying me. But that’s okay. No matter what she does, I’m confident that Miles and I will be forever. Because I know Cassandra’s darkest secret. The one she’ll do absolutely anything to keep. I have a plan, while she has no idea who she’s dealing with. And by the time my darling mother-in-law realizes, it will be far too late for her to run…

England, 1918. Armistice Day should bring peace into Leonora's life. Rather than secretly making cosmetics in her father's chemist shop to sell to army nurses such as Joan, her adventurous Australian friend, Leo hopes to now display her wares openly. Instead, Spanish flu arrives in the village, claiming her father's life. Determined to start over, she boards a ship to New York City. On the way she meets debonair department store heir Everett Forsyth....

Lizzie Bradshaw. A student from the Lake District, forced to work away from home, who witnesses a terrible crime. But who will ultimately pay the price? Emma Taylor. A mother, a wife, and a woman with a dangerous secret. Can she keep her beloved family safely together? Stella Taylor. A disaffected teenager, determined to discover what her mother is hiding. But how far will she go to uncover the truth? And one man, powerful, manipulative and cunning, who controls all their destinies.

It’s 1969, and free-spirited artist Elin Morgan has left Wales for a sun-drenched Greek island. As she makes new friends and enjoys the laidback lifestyle, she writes all about it in her diary. But Elin’s carefree summer of love doesn’t last long, and her island experience ultimately leaves her with a shocking secret.... Twenty-two years later, Elin’s daughter, Alexandra, has inherited the diary and is reeling from its revelations. The discovery compels Alexandra to make her own journey to the same island, following in her mother’s footsteps.

Lettie Hargreaves is young, pretty and she wants more than her simple, uncomplicated life with her grandmother can provide. Lettie longs for excitement and love and she's determined to make something of herself. Ivy knows that Lettie can never find out the real reason why Lettie's mother left so she has done her best to shield her from the truth over the years. So when Lettie suggests going into service for the ailing Lady Laughton, Ivy knows that she must do something to stop it.

Sophia Moon had always been reticent about her life in Russia, and when she dies, suspiciously, on a wintry New York evening, Isobelle despairs that her mother's secrets have died with her. But while renovating the apartment they shared, Isobelle discovers something among her mother's effects - a stunning silver tiara, stripped of its jewels.