I found this book very confusing at the start. As the story unfolded things become more clearer. Lots of twists that are totally unexpected. Left me feeling very uncomfortable in certain parts. Even though I enjoyed the book I won't be looking for the following book.

Thank goodness for holidays, which allowed me to read until the early hours, compelled to unwrap the secrets within this deliciously dark story.
At the start we meet Joely, who is facing the heartbreak that accompanies marriage problems, but also immediately hints at some deeper mystery underlying. As the story progresses we meet the inimitable recluse Freda, an elderly lady who hides many secrets in her past.

The characters within this story develop carefully, each with their own personalities and traits clearly embedding them in my mind. Holly, the 15 year old daughter, with all her ‘teenage wisdom’ and angst added well to this family saga.

Each time a new character was introduced, their uniqueness and identifiable traits made the story flow well and the mounting problems and questions that arise kept me glued to the story, desperate to make sense of the growing complexities.
I empathised with the characters hugely and felt ‘part of the family’
The story is cleverly plotted to give you plenty of twists that keep your brain involved, working out possible developments, but never as foreseeable as you expect.
The ending wraps up the story well whilst leaving a final gasp of ‘What?’

What a fantastic page turner this book was!! The story centres round Freda a reclusive lady living in Devon, who wants to write a memoir and in doing so hopes to put her past to rest once and for all.

She enlists the help of a ghostwriter Joely who is happy to escape her own life in London for a while, to write and take her mind off her own problems. Her marriage is in tatters and her relationship with her teenage daughter is in the balance. Will her stay in Devon help clear her mind or will it put more obstacles in her turbulent life?

Fredas memoir starts with a schoolgirl falling in love with her teacher and as Joely gets more immersed in the story she begins to unravel secrets and lies which have been hidden for years.:

The dual timeline of present day and the events in the memoir of 1968 was fantastic. The vivid descriptions and popular songs of 1968 transported me beautifully to the time.

What started out as a forbidden love affair quickly turns into something completely different. The twists and turns just kept coming in this book, and the saying there are two sides to every story definitely sprung to my mind.

This powerful book explored issues such as deception, betrayal, forbidden love, misconceptions but most importantly the power of love, forgiveness and family ties. My first book by Susan Lewis will definitely not be my last

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this unforgettable book .

I am sorry but this book was not at all what I expected it to be.
From the blurb, I thought it was going to be a completely different story and it actually left me very disappointed. The characters are unbelievable, especially Freda. A lot of her actions make no sense, and neither does some of the twists in the book.
2 Stars, I would not recommend this.

Joley’s husband Calum has left her for her best friend, so when she is offered a ghostwriting job in Devon she accepts without hesitation. F.M. Donahue wants Joley to write her memoir for her insisting that the truth finally be told.
Freda’s memoir begins with a fifteen year old girl falling madly in love with her music teacher and then it ends in a way that Joley could never have imagined.
As the story starts to unravel, Joley suddenly finds herself in a world full of secrets and lies. As she delves further into Freda’s past she is certain that she can uncover the truth.

I usually really enjoy books written by this author. However, I felt disconnected with this one, I found the characters hard to relate to in any way. The first 30% I found I read quickly but then after that I felt that it was long and drawn out.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great premise, I enjoyed the twisty turns in this novel which I really didn’t see coming. This alone made it a worthwhile read.

However, the first third (ish) was a bit slow and the responses to the ‘big reveal’ I found a bit incredulous and the final few chapters were probably superfluous. But that middle - boom!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Very unusual story from Susan Lewis. Joely decides to ghost write a book for Freda, who is a reclusive old lady in Devon.
Lots of twists and turns in the book.Thanks to Netgalley for an Arc.

Joely accepts an assignment in Devon to ghost write a memoir for the famous reclusive author she knows as Freda . After the death of her father and the breakdown of her marriage to Callum coupled with an awkward relationship with her teenage daughter , Joely is keen to escape London for a while. Freda is keen to right a wrong that happened forty years ago and has haunted her ever since. Cleverly written, using two timelines of present day and the events in the memoir of 1968 ,this is a gripping emotional dark read that will stay with you long after the twisty turner conclusion.

I have read a Susan Lewis book before and was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately I did not engage with this book as I have done with others. Although the writing is excellent I found the plot line to be quite slow in places and found myself skipping parts.

I found this quite interesting at first but it soon became repetitive and not very believable. The main character Joely is self-centered and totally oblivious to why Callum has left her, Freda is a total nut job - the only pleasant character is Holly. The author tries to create a sense of period by giving lists of music listened to, which I just found annoying and unsubtle. The happy family ending is too saccharine and the fact that Joely's story seems that it will continue into a sequel (or heaven forbid, a series), is irritating.

A very intelligent story. I read liked This author style of writing and will definitely read more. A great twisty story. I loved the past and present tense xx

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, so I can’t compare it with previous stories. I found it quite slow in parts and found myself skimming some chapters, hoping that the pace would pick up.

It had some clever twists, but I found some of the characters not particularly credible and at times, too far fetched.

Well written and descriptive, but just not for me.

At first, I didn't think I could get on with this book, but my faith in Susan Lewis made me hang on in there and I'm very glad I did. what a cracking book.

Reeling from the death of her father and her husband's affair with her ex-best friend Joely leaps at the chance to take a job in Devon., she doesn't know what she is walking into?

We revert back to the 1960s when she was just a teenager at boarding school. making this a fascinatingly good read with an excellent plot and a few twists and turns to keep us on the edge of our seats this is a thoroughly good book.
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity. xx

Thank you for opportunity to read this book.I have read all of Susan's books over the years and am a ferocious reader.I enjoyed reading this book and all the twists and turns.Although it was a good read it wouldn't be my favourite of Susan's books.I look forward to her next book.

Being a ghost writer meant Joely never really knew who or what she would be writing about next. Still reeling from the death of her father and her husband's affair with her ex-best friend she leaps at the chance to take a job in Devon even if it's cloaked in secrecy and she isn't meant to tell anyone where she's going. Meeting with her strange, almost reclusive, client, Joely finds herself intrigued but concerned by the woman's story of her childhood and why she's kept it secret for decades. As more details are revealed Joely finds herself drawn into a past she is writing about while wondering if it can ever have a happy ending.

This is the third book by Susan Lewis I have read but unfortunately didn't find it as engaging or thought provoking as the previous two. Whilst this was, as previously, obviously written by a very talented author the storyline didn't grab me in the way I had expected. I felt it was over long and in places the obvious had been disregarded to keep the storyline alive. Maybe it's because I read a lot of psychological thrillers but the way the wronged characters responded, made them seem either too naive or too good to be true which was a surprise considering the previous sucessful characterisation I've enjoyed from this writer.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and although I enjoyed it, it didn't quite reach the heights of previous books.

This was one of those books that made me stay up way too late reading, I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and included sections of the memoir the protagonist was helping to write.

I did feel the need to suspend believe at one point, firstly when a 15 year old was left behind and secondly because of the house guest left home alone during the same period, but the whole point of fiction is to escape to another situation and the tension that added was worth it.

I like the way there are many different stories running through this book. I have added more books by this author to my wish list already!

I always look forward to a Susan Lewis book, but I didn't enjoy this one as much as some of her other work. It lost my attention at around the half-way point. I was bored and just wanted Freda to get on with her story, and so I skipped many passages. I didn't like Freda at all - she was too weird. I wasn't too keen on Joely either in the end. She should have communicated more to her husband. I felt for Callum. I don't condone what he did, but she played her part even if she was grieving. To leave it open also to the fact that she may or may not fight her attraction to Edward . . . I didn't like that. I suppose the twists were clever, but I felt there were too many. The pace picked up later in the book and held my attention. A good read all in all, just not my favourite Susan Lewis book.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great book with fabulous characters. I’ve loved every Susan Lewis book I’ve read & this was no exception. Would recommend to anyone.

Having loved every one of Susan' Lewis's books I couldn't wait to get started on this, her latest novel,. and what a wonderful experience it turned out to be (as is always the case with Susan's books). The story set in the mid 60's and present day was brilliantly plotted. I especially enjoyed the connection to the 60's period and the music and general 'feel' for that era brought back many happy memories as I would have been the same age as the lead character at that time. The illicit affair of a 15 year old schoolgirl and her teacher was the main focus of the book the effects of which changed the lives of so many other people over the years. Joely, a ghost writer employed by Freda, an eccentric old lady, to write her memoirs was newly separated from her cheating husband and moved into Freda's rambling old house to transcribe her story.. The strange mystique of the house, the forbidding and eccentric attitude of Freda, the fact that there was no phone signal nor WiFi all added to a feeling of unease and later, a heart pounding experience involving Joely. The novel had so many twists, turns and surprises which I never saw coming and which had me gripped and often on the edge of my seat as I furiously turned pages and read long into the night to find out how it all concluded. The book did have a very satisfactory conclusion and my perceptions of certain characters were completely altered by the end. I highly recommend this fabulous book to anyone who enjoys a really riveting story of deceit, secrets, mystery, love and forgiveness. However, I do recommend that you set aside plenty of time as you won't want to put it down once you start. My thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for pre-release copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Wow. An amazing book from a brilliant author. So many twists on each page that keep you on the edge of your seat.