When we first meet Susie, she's actually going by the name Rita and staying in a mother and child home. She's married but has turned up pregnant with another man's child and is trying to keep it all under the rug so she gives this baby up for adoption. for the next 40+ years we see the effect that had on her and her family until one day her secret is revealed and no one knows how to handle the bombshell.

This book will pull at your heartstrings until finally just yanking them out at the end. I loved this book. At first I wasn't a fan cause I'm judgemental and didn't appreciate a married woman having another man's baby and we don't quite get answers to how that happened until about midway through. I'm beyond pleased that I stuck with this story though. The characters and the stories were so beautifully written. I really enjoyed how right in the middle of the book the point of view changes and we go from getting Susies story to now getting her youngest daughters, Grace, point of view.

This book will not disappoint and goes to show just how strong the bond is between mother and baby.

This book was good....although I did find it a bit of a downer almost the while way through. The end redeemed itself.

I have tears streaming down my face, the house is a wreck, I could not put this book down all day long.

From the first sentence to the last, I am so fully satisfied by "The Secret Child" in a way I haven't been, by a book, in awhile.

What a layered, beautiful, poignant, deep, beautiful story.
I could feel so much emotion in the story, as each of the characters at several points! I related to both Susie and Grace as characters,mothers, women, and loves the depth of which I felt I knew each character as stories unfolded.
Simply wonderful writing. I am a new fan of Kerry Fisher!!

Thank you Netgalley for the e-galley book in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Child was heartfelt and emotional from the start. My heart broke for Susie over the secret that she kept through the story. It tugged on my heart-strings and caused me to shed a few tears or maybe it made me ugly cry. I felt it was diverse and beautifully written. It was everything I love in a book. I haven't read any Kerry Fisher books before but will be adding her to my list the next time I am out book shopping if her other books are similar to this. I highly suggest pre-ordering it or adding it to your TBR lists.

This is the second book I have read by Kerry Fisher and her writing goes from strength to strength.

The story begins in the sixties when young mother Susie becomes pregnant while her husband Danny is overseas with the Navy. Due to her circumstances she feels the best thing for her family is to put the baby up for adoption. Every year on her son’s birthday she writes a card and hides it in a box in the attic.

Over the years Susie and Danny have another baby but Susie cannot forget the baby that she gave away. The baby has remained a secret for 50 years and the secret only comes to light when Susie falls ill and wants to see her child.

The story is told in two parts, firstly by Susie who is telling how she feels without her son in her life, she is racked with guilt about giving him away and the ramifications of her decision and the impact on her family. The second part is told from her daughter Grace’s point of view, how her and her sister Louise’s upbringing was tainted by their mother’s secret and the adverse effect it had on their lives.

This is a very well written and compelling story, a heartbreaking tale of love, loss and lies which keeps you involved from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Brilliant book. Spanning decades it perfectly catches the mood and morals of each time. Having had to give up her baby to protect both her marriage and her daughter Susie never forgets and it casts a shadow over her life. Then the unthinkable happens and the real test of love comes

When I requested this book I really wasn't sure whether it might not be my kind of book. How could I have got it so wrong??? I wanted to know how the story ended but it was so good that I wanted to keep reading.
The tale is set in the south of England in the late 1960s and the story covers half a century of life within the Duarte family. Dad Danny is a sailor in the navy and mum Susie is a stay at home mum to toddler Louise. Susie loves to sing and one night a week goes to the dance hall where she takes to the stage with a local band. Life reaches a crossroads after a talent scout arrives in town making offers of recording deals and Susie realises that she can never be part of that scene with a family in tow but finds herself with bigger decisions to make. The dilemma she faces is one of the biggest ones any woman can face and we follow her life afterwards as she copes with the consequences and secrets. The emotional effects of her decision are written brilliantly and I felt like I was taking every step of her journey with her. The second part of the story is told from Susie's daughter Grace's perspective which demonstrates the effects Susie's decision had on her family without them knowing the reasons why she treated life and people the way she did. As a reader we have that insight and I felt this added depth to the storyline. The conclusion to the story I found satisfying and made me love Danny and Grace even more. The only character I didn't warm to was Louise but I feel that this was deliberate on the author's part as it reflects the whole dynamic of the relationship between her and her mother.
Kerry Fisher has presented us with a very believable story which will pull on your heartstrings from every direction possible. A sure fire bestseller.
This review will be published on my blog at www.sandiesbookshelves.blogspot.co.uk nearer to its release date.

I adore Kerry Fisher's writing. Her stories are hard hitting and emotional and stay with me for a long time. I save her books as treats, knowing they will always entertain and take me right into the characters' lives and their dilemmas so for a few days I am lost, completely and utterly at the mercy of this author and the spell she weaves with her wonderful stories. And this book... WOW! From the very first, emotional chapter, I was hooked. And the story just kept getting better and better, more and more addictive until I gave up all pretence of trying to do other things and gave myself over to the persistent demands of the characters to be heard. A beautiful, poignant tale covering a very sensitive topic and doing justice to all the characters involved. Loved them all. Lived their lives and their dilemmas, cried with them. What more can you ask for in a book? I'm still thinking of them and will do so for a long time. Brilliant author! Fabulous book! Very highly recommended.

My first book by this Author and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. A young, married mother, whose husband is away in the Navy, is raped and bears a child that is put up for adoption. The woman carries this secret (at great expense to herself) for 50 years and it is only when she is seriously ill says the son's name out loud. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Many families have secrets, some more damaging than others, but The Secret Child is definitely one of the more heartbreaking secrets that a wife and mother is forced to keep. The story is evocative of the period when a child born outside of marriage was a scandal. What makes The Secret Child more heartbreaking is the circumstance in which young mum, Susie, falls pregnant while her husband Danny is overseas with the Navy.

Her mother forces her to give baby Edward up for adoption and is the only one to know of the baby boy's existence apart from Jeanie, who Susie met at the mother and baby home. Every year on the anniversary of Edward's birth Susie writes a card and puts it in a box in her attic together with the one photograph taken of him before she gave him away.

The story is about the guilt Susie feels, firstly for agreeing to give her baby away and secondly for lying throughout their marriage to Danny, who is a kind and thoughtful man devoted to both her and their daughters. Susie remains an insecure and difficult woman for many years until she becomes dangerously ill and utters Edward's name to the puzzlement of her family. Will her marriage and her family survive her secret?

Kerry Fisher's writing goes from strength to strength. This is a very moving tale and although it made me teary I enjoyed reading The Secret Child. Kerry's many fans will not be disappointed and I'm sure she will gain many new ones. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review the book.

Louise is keeping a secret from her family, a HUGE secret. While her husband, Danny, was on leave, Louise would drop her little girl off to her mother, once a week & would go to the dance hall & sing with the band she wished she could join. Loneliness leads Louise to be put in a position she could not control. She ends up pregnant, & gives her baby up for adoption. The only one who knows her secret is her mother & some of the others at the girls home where she went to hide her shame. Giving this baby up is the biggest regret of Louise's life, but shes forges on. Louise can't help but change once she is back home & trying to pretend nothing ever happened. Her family must deal with all her issues & insecurities without even knowing what caused this change in Louise. When tragedy strikes, everything changes & secrets are revealed.

This was such an emotional & well written novel. I will definitely look for more Kerry Fisher books from here on out!!