A letter from her Aunt Beryl throws Joanna’s live in turmoil. First she is at a crossroads with her job. Does she try and buy the company she works for or does she go back to Willow Bay and patch things up with her best friend Rosalyn who she hasn’t seen in over 25 years.
Joanna goes back to Willow Bay to see her aunt . Little did she know that her aunt had a letter for her. As Aunt Beryl makes plans to visit Joanna’s mother her sister Joanna stays in the house she so loved as aypung girl. While Joanna is rediscovering the area a memory of a horrific night comes back to haunt her. The night that she lost the man of her dreams and her friendship with Roslyn. Wreckage from a yacht that Joanna was on over twenty years ago has been turning up. Memories from that night are coming back to Joanna. What is she to do. Especially now that Rosalyn is trying to get back into Joanna’s life. Can Joanna forgive Rosalyn from what she did to her all those years ago? Can she forgive Lucas the man of her dreams for being part of that horrible night? So many questions need to be answered especially when Joanna finds out that she still has dreams of working with Rosalyn and come back to the place she loves .
This is a story of love, friendship and trying to find out answers% Joanna is so determined in finding the answers she needs so she can move on. Yet is someone else out there that wants to prevent Joanna from finding out the truth. Is her life in danger.? Read this book I highly recommend it. It has a good story good characters and it’s a quick read.
Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC, I truly enjoyed this book

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I have enjoyed all the books by Phillipa Nefri Clark that I've read and this is no exception. Joanna returns to Rivers End where she grew up after receiving a letter from her ex-best friend. The letter reawakened memories from the past that she'd tried to bury. After a surprise announcement by her boss, she decides to take time out and return to her old hometown.
The story is a an excellent read looking at old friendships and why they went wrong. Who's at fault? Who's kept quiet, when questions should be asked? Can secrets be unearthed.? The story is told in the present as a memory. This doesn't affect the flow of the story.. As the truth comes to light, who comes out better or worse off.
Family, friendships, relationships, shared memories are all important to this story

Joanna Johnson left her hometown of Rivers End, leaving behind her dear friends and a dark secret. Twenty-five years later, she received a mysterious letter, and suddenly, she had to return to face everything she had hoped to leave behind her.
As she once again walked its streets, her memories of life in the beautiful coastal town were clouded by a stormy night at sea that changed her life forever. As pieces of a shipwreck began to wash ashore, her memories of the things she desperately needed to forget began to return. When she runs into her long-lost love in town, Lucas, she hopes she can rely on him to help her face her past and the truth surrounding her sudden escape from town years before. Or will she have to run once again, putting aside her dreams of remaining in the town she loved to start a new life?

Really enjoyed this book, it’s the 4th book of the Temple River series and is about friendship, misunderstanding, finding and a little bit of mystery thrown in. The story is about Joanna and her friendship with Roslyn. Joanna has been away from Willow Bay for years when she receives a letter that draws her back there where she begins to try and solve the mystery that made her leave, she meets her first love again and comes face to face with her friend Roslyn who was also the other part of the reason she left. Will the mystery be solved ? And can lost friendship and love be reunited ?
Lovely read and as always my thanks to NetGalley and publisher Storm Publishing

The book weaves the past from 20 years ago with the present in an absolutely beautiful way. Two best friends and a summer that went terribly wrong and somehow the future ran away from a whole group of people.. there is a mystery at the heart of this book and whilst Joanna central to what is happening now and also to what happened then, the book is more about friendship and betrayal than a disappearance or murder. The details of life by the sea is well described and the salty as well as the damp sand becomes almost real.. A book to read in one go it is that good.

The Secrets of Willow Bay is an interesting book one that’s full of intriguing details of someone’s life journey. I loved that the opening scene is about how a young woman escapes and moves forward believing she destroyed a life, lost a man who could have been her beloved and her very best friend all in one night. I can understand Joanne’s flight with getting her heart broken in many ways and needed time to recover and reflect. Twenty five years later everything comes frightening back to her.

I’ve really enjoyed this entire series. I thought this was a good addition to it. The story moves kinda slow but really ends with a bang. Some old secrets come out and the mystery will keep you guessing.

Another excellent read from Phillipa Nefri Clark. Joanna left Rivers End 25 years ago after a series of events that she felt left her no choice but to leave. In the present, she receives a note via her Aunt, from her ex-best friend, begging Joanna to return. She does return, only to be faced with all the secrets, lies and misunderstandings that caused her to leave in the first place. But, as is often the case, getting to the bottom of all those issues from 25 years ago leads to better friendships and a stronger, better way forward. A fantastic story!
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and Phillipa Nefri Clark for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

The fourth of a series by one of my favorite authors. (This book can be read out of sequence).. A womean returns to her home town in Australia to face a mystery that has haunted her for years. What happened to an encounter with a person who boat pieces wash up on shore years later? What happened to him? Was she responsible? Also, a misunderstanding between she and her best friend has led to years of estrangement between the two. Misunderstandings and reunions all lead to quick satisfying read, I look forward to reading more from this author..

Another wonderful read from Phillipa. A real page turner about friendship, trust and love which can last through all sorts of turmoil The story about the shipwreck was a real page turner. It was a heartwarming story and at times heartbreaking. Great characters each with a story to tell.

THE SECRETS OF WILLOW BAY is the fourth novel in the Temple River series by PHILLIPA NEFRI CLARK. I have not read the first three books, and this one can easily stand alone. The story is exciting and suspenseful, with murder, mystery, and even some romance in the mix. It takes place in Australia, which is interesting.
When Joanna Johnson is called back to Rivers End by her ex best friend, Roslyn, who literally stole her future and her boyfriend twenty five years ago, she is afraid she is going to have to face the music about itinerant surfer Trent’s disappearance, when wreckage of his yacht are washed up. Was she the last person to see him alive, and did she push him too hard?…….
The characters are interesting and their emotions are well portrayed. It is altogether an enjoyable read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Storm Publishing. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

From page one of the prologue Phillipa Nefri Clark had me on the edge of my seat with the suspense in The Secrets of Willow Bay. The suspense did not let up until the end. What was Joanna running from? What had she seen? Would he come after her?

What had happened in the 20 plus years since she had moved away? And why did her former friend send for her.... something important about 'that night'?

Wonderful characters, resolutions, and forgiveness plus a side of romance.

Releases Jan. 21st. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have enjoyed the Temple River series and book four is no exception. The Secrets of Willow Bay by Phillipa Nefri Clark is a captivating mystery well executed that kept me turning the pages. It is a story that focuses on friendship, forgiveness, love and second chances but it is also about misunderstanding, naivety, fear and trauma.

The novel’s Prologue set in the past, is gripping as it begins on an ominous note. It clearly depicts the fear and distress experienced by the main character. You can almost feel the ‘shock of cold water,’ hit your body. The desperate attempt to escape a dark and shadowy danger. A sky streaked with lightning, gasps for oxygen, in the murky depths. Then the pounding heartbeat of one racing to safety in a struggle for survival. All caused by the sudden realisation and exposure of a secret.

Joanna Johnson is a troubled woman who flees her hometown in River’s End in a hurry after she is traumatised by an unexpected event. On top of this, she is heartbroken by betrayal. She loses her two favourite people: her boyfriend and best friend through something she sees. But is everything as it appears? Not only has she lost her greatest friendship with Roslyn but also their plans of working together after taking a fashion design degree. The two young women had big dreams and loved designing and sewing clothes and wanted to start their own brand. Full of smiles and hopes they were heading into a happy direction but then everything changes. When Joanna’s world comes crashing down, she runs away to the Gold Coast to a new job and life—leaving her old world behind. For twenty-five years she is separated from her past until one day she gets a letter from Roslyn, telling her about a yacht that has surfaced. ‘Parts of an old boat washed up on the beach…an investigation…certain it is Trent’s yacht…you need to come home.’ Her old friend pleads with her to return and see for herself. She is hesitant, of course, to go back. But the pull is strong and so she does…Then the whole story behind this letter starts to unfold. We are taken back and forth in timelines of 2000 and Now where the truth is unveiled…

There are a number of twists and turns in the plot that give the reader plenty of surprises. The mystery of a wreck that turns up after twenty five years has the town hopping trying to put clues together. As valuable items of evidence wash up on the beach and are found, the pieces of the puzzle slowly come together. But this mystery turns out to be far more than anyone expected and it has Joanna in a state of panic for she wonders if she has unintentionally played a part in the boat and owner’s demise.

Joanna must face many aspects of her past: her old friendship, her past love, her home-setting: the people and coast she loved and lost. And to discover what is real and imagined. The author delivers the truth carefully and cleverly at an excellent pace. There’s lots of danger and pulse racing moments!

I truly enjoyed the full journey with each of the characters and was very happy with the ending that offers wise choices, restoration and justice. It’s another winner in the Temple River series that I certainly recommend. And I love that gorgeous atmospheric cover! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the arc
Twenty-five years ago, Joanna Johnson fled her hometown of Rivers End, leaving behind her best friend, her first love, and a dark secret. When a mysterious letter arrives, she’s forced to confront the past she’s tried so hard to forget…
This book had a bit of everything as we switch from her past and the present, discovering snippets of what forced her to leave the Bay.
It's a mid paced book packed with wonderful bay vibes and small town. The author captures the life so well you feel like you're there with JoJo as she's called locally.
I enjoyed the second chance romance element and that it was coupled with a vein of thriller with something she discovered and how it came up in her current life.
A book of long lost, strong friendship, family bonds and romance a thoroughly enjoyable book.
Kerry Kennedy Author

Temple River Series Book #4. Joanna Johnson left her home in Rivers End twenty=five years ago, leaving behind her best friend, her first love and a secret that she had never shared with anyone. Living her life as a designer in her home on a canal on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Joanna receives a letter from her previous best friend practically demanding Joanna return to Rivers End. After a storm, pieces of a wreck turn up on the beach. So Joanna takes a well earned break from her job to go back to Rivers End to face her past.

Once Joanna has returned to her much loved home on the limestone coast, she is drawn back to the memories of her childhood friend Roslyn and how they had planned to open their own boutique in the town, designing and making the clothes and the lives they both dreamed about. After her friend had betrayed her, Joanna fled her home also leaving behind her first love Lucas. As pieces of the wrecked yacht drift on to the beach, Joanna remembers the other betrayal which caused her to flee for her life. And it appears that not all secrets are hidden as Joanna once again finds herself in danger.

Her friend Roslyn is no longer the vibrant person Joanna knew. Lucas, now a single Dad, has become very much a part of Rivers End. Will the mystery of the wreck be solved and will Joanna be able to survive all the secrets in her life at that time?

I loved this story, Book #4 in the series. Though set in an area of Australia that I don't know and have never visited, the pictures and descriptions Phillipa gives us in her prose, brings to life a vibrant township and area.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story prior to the book release.

The most darling place, characters, and storyline! I could not put this book down. It was just precious. Such a great book. Highly recommend!