The Forgotten Secret is an engaging dual time-line story which follows the fascinating lives of two women living a century apart, which mesmerised and thrilled me throughout.

In the present, we have middle-aged Clare, a somewhat downtrodden wife and mother, who seizes the chance of escape from her humdrum life which has suddenly been provided by a surprise inheritance, a rather dilapidated farmhouse in Meath Ireland. She is married to an utter stinker of a husband and personally, I find it virtually impossible to believe anyone would have stayed with him the length of time she has. Having brought up 2 delightful sons now adults, has been one of her greatest achievements and one result of the marriage she doesn’t regret.

This made me view her as a total doormat to begin with but she actually grew on me a lot and as she grows the strength to stand up for herself, I began to understand why she didn’t want to rock the boat until she was handed a lifeline. It also made me think how many women today must remain stuck in a pretty dire marriage, just because they really haven’t had the chance to break free and they fear being unable to cope alone.

Anyway, Clare moves to Ireland and into the run down old building, alone, with the plans to begin to renovate it, little by little and as she gradually begins to blossom and make new friends she also makes a discovery of some old hidden documents which make her wonder about past occupants of the farm and begins to do a little research.

Meantime we have a charming parallel story running. 100 years earlier, also in County Meath, lives Ellen. She too gets a chance to break free from her humdrum existence with her grumpy and unappreciative Dad, as she takes a job in service in the Big house. But this is 1919 in Ireland and the country is divided, trouble is brewing and Ellen, young and in love, falls foul of the conflict and finds her life changed beyond recognition.

The two stories are both superb in their own right. The young woman and the somewhat older one both wormed their way into my heart as I read late into the night finding the book so captivating I couldn’t bear to put it down. It flows effortlessly in an appealing style to intrigue readers of all ages. A completely engrossing drama that had me in its clutch throughout with a heartbreaking core and a little twist about how the two womens stories are linked which surprized and delighted me.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This book is set in the present day and the past. I read this quite quickly and quite enjoyed it but easily moved on to something else hence only 3 stars

Another great read by Kathleen McGurl set in Ireland. It switches between early 20th century to now and focuses on the lives of two women nearly 100 years apart.
It concerns the Irish fight for independence in the early 1900 and a woman escaping an abusive relationship in the present day. It switches smoothly between the two.great for fans of Rachel Hore and Judith Lennox.

This book was better than I expected it to be, once you get past the book cover which in no way represents anything about the story itself.

The dual stories of Clare and Ellen span almost 100 years and are set in the same farmhouse, in a small Irish village. Both women are on the cusp of major changes that will shape their future.

I enjoyed this book and especially loved Clare's story. The support of both her children in her decision to move to Ireland was the complete opposite to Ellen's decision, and the parallels - although with different ages and stages of life are completely different - can be seen.

Not being very familiar with Irish history, I appreciated the notes at the beginning of the book.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Set in dual timelines, present day Clare stumbles upon a long hidden secret when she inherits her families old farm house.

A fairly quick read, I never deeply attached to either timeline and found current day Clare unrealistic and older timeline Ellen to be extremely naive and immature.


3.25 stars

This book centres around two different woman from two different eras.

Clare is living in our modern age and is about to turn 50 and living London , she inherits her uncle Padraigs farmstead in Ireland. When she first visits a seed is sown and she imagines a new life in Ireland away from her increasingly controlling husband.

Ellen lives in Ireland around 1919..She is 18 and has just started her first job as an upstairs maid in a big house. Her childhood friend has returned from school and they discover first love.

Irish history is woven throughout this book and as I live Ireland I found this very interesting.

The two woman’s lives are very different but nevertheless full of events which shape them into the people they become.

This story reminded me of how lucky I am to live in the present age. Our ancestors did not have the freedom or choices we have today.

Many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this memorable book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ms. McGurl has written an absolutely beautiful, emotional and heart-breaking story about the Irish fight for independence. The story tells of two very different women. Mary-Ellen in 1919 and Clare who a hundred years later inherits an old farmhouse where most of Ellen's story happened. Everything was going well for Ellen, she found a coin, she found a job and she was in love. With war on the horizon Ellen and Jimmy find their lives in danger. Deception, misunderstandings, and a different time-period contribute to Ellen being sent away from home by her father because she is unmarried and pregnant.

Clare decides to leave her emotionally abusive husband of twenty-five years and move from England to Ireland to live in the farmhouse that she inherited. There she starts to uncover the secrets of the past. With the help of her sons and some new Irish friends she starts to build a great new life for herself.

An absolutely brilliant book, I read in one sitting. I wish there were more than 5 stars for this one!!

“You can research ancestry all you like, but how people actually felt and what they thought is lost in the mists of time.”

This quote from The Forgotten Secret is why I enjoy reading historical fiction. Fictional stories let us part the curtain to the past, to a past that is more than dates and monuments, to show us a time filled with real people trying to live their real lives. Author Kathleen McGurl succeeds in giving us two different women, living at two different touchpoint times in their lives.

Clare is our modern-day guide. She is about to turn fifty and hopes that “being 50 will be the start of a wonderful new phase in my life.” When she inherits her Uncle Padraig’s dilapidated farmstead in Ireland, a desire awakens in her to live in the place in Ireland. Her adult son encourages her to leave her home in England. He quotes W.B. Yeats to her, “I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there.”

Arise and go now becomes Clare’s mantra. And she has good reason to leave- her husband of twenty-five hears has become increasingly controlling. Many changes await Clare as she begins her new life, but the most interesting is that she finds a hidden secret in an old chair by the fireplace of her farm in Ireland.

And that is how we meet Ellen O’Brien, from the Ireland of about 1919. Ellen’s story is told in the third-person, and alternates chapters with Clare’s first-person accounts. Ellen has also reached an age milestone- she has recently turned eighteen. Changes await her as well, as she begins a new job as an upstairs maid and as she learns about love with her childhood friend, Jimmy. The Author uses Ellen and Jimmy to bring to life the struggles of the Irish Republicans.




Both women have fascinating stories and the author writes in an engaging and readable style, with a few twists along the way. There are helpful historical notes about the history of Ireland in a preface to the book, which helped me, as I didn’t know the details of Ireland’s history. I enjoyed this book, and if anything, I wish it had been longer, as Clare and Ellen both have complex stories, that would have been richer with a slower unfolding.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.

I absolutely adored this novel! The author is brilliant at setting a scene, and masterful at creating a plot that sets the imagination on fire. I so loved the characters, who are human, raw, flawed and wonderful. I was absolutely heart-invested in their lives as I devoured each chapter. Just ridiculously good. A definite recommend.

Dear Kathleen McGurl,

I need everything you've ever written!

Love,

Stacie

I picked this book because I love historical fiction, my father-in-law is (directly) from Ireland, and the description seemed intriguing. In the end, the book paid me back with intrigue and an interesting story, but it took a while to get there.

One of my pet peeves when reading is when the prose *tells* rather than *shows* and I'm sorry to say that was a frequent distraction in my mind while reading this book. It had a compelling enough story, but the characters felt flat until about halfway through the book. Rather than seeing that as character development, I felt like I just wasn't privy to the personalities of the characters. They were too busy *telling* me things about themselves and their lives.

*small spoilers here*
I did learn a lesson in this book (one I've had to learn multiple times over in my lifetime): you don't know someone else's situation, so hold back your judgments. The modern day main character, Clare, seemed to very quickly decide to leave her husband when the opportunity arose, though she didn't seem to have the backbone prior to this to even stand up to him. I was so bothered by the fact that she wouldn't pursue marital counseling that I sat frustrated with her through most of the pages. By the end chapters, the character had slowly revealed countless anecdotes of life with her controlling, emotionally abusive husband. No, I never ever liked him. He was quite the villain. I learned my lesson that I was spending so much time judging her that I might have missed parts of her personality.

The book carries with it the common millennial psalm/proverb for women to become independent and separate yourself from men so you can "find yourself." As a joyful Catholic, I find that a little shallow, but I recognize its place in our culture. Also as a joyful Catholic, I'm disgusted by a renewed understanding of those laundries, as embodied in the novel. Awful, unchristian practices. Heart-breaking.

Overall, the fact that I felt I was being told so much instead of being able to uncover emotions, motivations, and metaphors on my own was frustrating enough to overtake the intrigue of the story. I did cry in pain at times and finally connected with both characters in the last 25% of the book, so that's lovely.

Thank you to the author and to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Set in Ireland and moving between 1919 and the present day, this story is a fascinating window on a difficult period in Ireland's politics and history. There is a helpful introduction that gives a brief overview of the history of this period for those of us not educated in Ireland.It
encompasses nationalism, the Magdalene Laundries and an escape from a controlling marriage with some interesting twists and turns of plot
along the way. A satisfying read.

This was a very nice story set in Ireland. It jumped between present day Clare, and 1919-1920 Ellen. The narration was straightforward and easy to keep track of which I really appreciated. I really liked the first 3/4 of this book, but felt it got a little bit long towards the second half. I don't want to reveal too much because there are lots of twists and things to be revealed in both Clare and Ellen's lives. Although I felt that it got a little long towards the end, I never felt as though finishing this book was a chore and I did like it.
I was particularly interested in the Irish history woven throughout the entire story. I didn't know anything except a passing knowledge of what the IRA was and this book personalized that history and made it more tangible. I recommend this book to those who like stories set in Ireland, those who enjoy historical fiction and women's fiction and those who are looking for a nice story without any startling or shocking events.
I received an early edition of this book through NetGalley and my opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. It had some great historical info on the Irish rebellion, and my mum grew up in Wolfe Tone Square in Bray, Ireland. I never knew it was named after an Irish revolutionary.
The story itself was written well, and I read the novel reasonably quickly, it was quite engaging. A couple of goof twists and turns. I liked the two stories and the connections between the past and the present, although a little cliched after times.

Overall, an enjoyableread, would recommend.

The Forgotten Secret is another fantastic dual timeline story that is not easy to put down nor is it easily forgotten. It’s a gripping, haunting story about two women with related stories, one in the 1900’s and the other in the present time. The extraordinary story line is extremely captivating and beautifully written. I enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this book in exchange for an honest review.

In present day, a woman who is not happy in her 25 year marriage in London, inherits a farmhouse in Ireland. This triggers her to leave her controlling husband to start anew in Ireland. While inspecting an uncomfortable chair in the farmhouse, she finds a communion medal wrapped in a birth certificate from 1920. She investigates this as she is setting up her new life.
Meanwhile, in 1920, a young couple in love make love before he leaves on a mission as a freedom fighter in Ireland. The young woman finds herself pregnant and cannot reach the young man. Her father ships her off to a home for unwed mothers, where she is worked hard, and gives birth to a son. She leaves the home to find her father and the young man. When she returns for her baby, she is told that he has died. She leaves the home in tears.

I absolutely loved this book and read it in two days. it is the first time I have ready anything byKathleen McGurl and I was booked from the first chapters. The book moves beautifully between Ireland in the early 1900’s during the Easter rising and Ireland’s fight for freedom then to the present day telling the story of two women who have to remain strong and gain their independence back in the face of adversity. The storyline i beautifully written and I thoroughly njoyed it. If you are a fan of Kate Morton or Leon Uris then this book is for you. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of it being published.

Clare Farrel has inherited a derelict old farmhouse and grounds in Ireland and exploring it, and her family’s past, seems the perfect chance for her to escape her failing marriage. In the house she uncovers the secrets of Ellen O’Brien, a young woman in love with the wrong man in 1919 as the clouds of war overtake the world

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review, so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
Can she unlock the mysteries of the past?
A country at war
It’s the summer of 1919 and Ellen O’Brien has her whole life ahead of her. Young, in love and leaving home for her first job, the future seems full of shining possibility. But war is brewing and before long, Ellen and everyone around her are swept up by it. As Ireland is torn apart by the turmoil, Ellen finds herself facing the ultimate test of love and loyalty.

A long-buried secret
A hundred years later and Clare Farrell has inherited a dilapidated old farmhouse in County Meath. Seizing the chance to escape her unhappy marriage she strikes out on her own for the first time, hoping the old building might also provide clues to her family’s shadowy history. As she sets out to put the place – and herself – back to rights, she stumbles across a long-forgotten hiding place, with a clue to a secret that has lain buried for decades.

The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book.
This is my first book by this author. It was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3.5 star rating!