Set on two-time lines this follows the stories of two women, one in 1989 and the other in 2009.
When Amber and her mum are out walking on a bitterly cold day, they find a teenager wandering on the beach without coat or shoes and no memory of who she is. She is taken to a local hospital where Amber’s ex-husband is a doctor. Amber feels a moment of guilt about leaving the young women there on her own and decides that the quickest way for her to regain her memories is by more radical methods.
Back in 1989 Gwyneth has to be rescued from a frozen Loch she has fallen into by nothing short of a Prince Charming, Dylan, who is the son the local Scottish land owner. The whole family is so welcoming with a tradition of not turning strangers away and welcoming them to stay and eat. Chemistry isn’t long before it works between the pair.
Amber has many problems from her own past but the pull to help this young women is impossible for her not to listen to. What begins as a mission to help this young girl affects so many lives from the past to present day, including her own. The main characters in the story are so easy to like and get behind and will on to find out who the unknown girl is. Then the back drop story and love story made for the perfect balance.
It is very much a story where the more you find out the more questions it opens up. I loved the setting, a lot of which was in Scotland, that at times felt like it was further back in time than it was. It really is a story of discovery, far more than I ever thought it would be.

In the present day, Amber is doing her best. She lost her child ten years ago, her marriage broke down, she is trying to run a seasonal business under the watchful eye of her Mother & Auntie. Amber is trying to live, When a young girl, who has suffered some kind of trauma, appears on the beach near her shop. The girl has no idea who she is or where she has come from.  Amber takes it upon herself to help her which leads her on a journey of her own. We go back to the nineties with Gwyneth. She is a well-travelled wildlife documentary maker. When she has an accident in the Scottish Highlands at Christmas, she is rescued by Dylan McClusky. The McClusky family welcome her into their home and she becomes part of their lives. Will she ever learn of the family secret that bubbles under the seemingly happy surface within the McClusky family. This book is full of twists and turns, heartache and adventure. I didn't see the outcome coming at all. I loved it.

I've read a number of books by this author, and this was no disappointment. The story moves at a good pace, the characters are developed and the mystery engaging.

This is the first book of Tracey Buchanan's which I have read and I enjoyed it so much that I will certainly be reading all of her previous books too.

Well written this is a mixture of mystery, romance, adventure, intrigue, loss, love and redemption with plenty of twists and turns anlong the way. I loved the settings of the book which are all so beautifully written and evocative - it is mainly set in southern England, Scotland and Iceland. The book has such a strong start - I was drawn in straight away and found it difficult to put down. A truly satisfying ending. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Here's an author I just love - Her books are always beautifully written and they need to come with a warning!
Make sure you have a box of tissues by your side!
So "The Family Secret" by Tracy Buchanan was Just a wonderful easy read and had me gripped from the very first few pages. It was an enjoyable read, great for a holiday's.
You will be hooked from start page to the finish!
I loved all the characters and they were a pleasure to meet.

If you are fans of Susan Lewis and Amanda Prowse this is an author for you! Just a Brilliant read.

Can not wait to read more from Tracy Buchanan.

Amber runs a shop on the beach and when in the middle of winter she sees girl walking along the beach with no coat or shoes she realises something is wrong and goes to help. The girl it's suffering from amnesia and doesn't even know her name, so Amber decides to help her. Twenty years earlier Gwyneth is rescued by Dylan in Scotland and taken in by his family......... but what is the connection between these two women?

Another great book by this author, the story keeps you intrigued from the beginning and there are a lot of twists and turns before you realise the connections.

How far would you go to find the truth?

Since Amber lost her child ten years ago, her sole focus has been keeping her small business afloat. Her life seems to be on hold, until the morning she finds a girl on the beach outside her gift shop. A girl who has no shoes, no name, and no idea where she came from.

As a wildlife documentary maker, Gwyneth’s work has taken her all over the world. But when she has a terrible accident in the remote Scottish Highlands, she is saved by the McClusky family and taken into their home. However, there is more to this family than meets the eye, and a long-held secret is threatening to tear them apart…

Amber and Gwyenth are at the beginning of a journey that will change each of their lives forever in this twisting, emotional new novel.

I enjoyed this book, but I did get a bit confused towards the end. I will need to read this book again to make everything clear; so for that reason I give this 3.5* instead of the 4.5 it would have got if everything had been clear.

My first book by Tracy Buchanan and I'm sure it won't be my last! I really enjoyed the story and look forward to reading from the author in the future,

This is an absolutely heartbreaking story.

I loved how it all pieces together in the end. There are so many little twists that, as a reader, you are not ready for.

I loved how Tracy bounces between Amber and Gwenyth, alternating between both stories no how they tie up neatly at the end.

I was so sad to hear the secret that was kept, and how it hurt them all so much.

This was such an amazing story, I loved it!!

Told over two time periods - 1989 and 2009 - this is essentially the story of two women, Amber and Gwyneth. When Amber finds a young lady on the beach with no memory of who she is and where she is from, together they embarks on a journey to help her find her identity and her family. Twenty years previously, Gwyneth is rescued by a mysterious man when she falls through a frozen lake, taken in by his family who seem to be harbouring a secret.

I literally couldn't put this book down. An enthralling and emotional rollercoaster of a book, I found myself drawn in and eager to know what was coming next. The stories of both past and present, love and loss are well written and intriguing, with twists and turns that will keep you guessing right until the very end.

Tracy Buchanan’s The Family Secret grabbed me at the prologue and didn’t let go – who and why is the woman in the lake? This is a fantastic wintery read, as the story revolves around a lodge set in a remote part of the snowy Scottish highlands. It’s a dual timeline that follows Amber, in the present day, still grieving for the child she lost a decade ago, and Gwyneth, in 1989, roaming the globe as a wildlife photographer. What links these women to a teenager named Lumin (love that name) and the enigmatic McClusky clan? A gripping mix of emotional family drama and psychological thriller. One for fans of Susan Lewis and Dorothy Koomson.

I really enjoyed this book. Its full of drama and secrets . I would love to read more of Tracys books.

This book was written in a gripping and moving way and had me hooked from the first page. It will absorb you into the story and and will keep you enthralled with all the twists and turns that the actor uses.
Amber lost her child many years ago and she is getting on with life until the day she finds a girl on the beach outside her shop. The girl is surrounded by mystery with no name and no clues as the where she came from.

i would not hesitate in telling you to purchase and read this book.
excellent !!!!

I was initially drawn to this book by its cover but the premise is what got me to request it on Netgalley. Dual narratives? A mystery? Europe?

While there were predictable moments with this story, I was hooked from the beginning. This was my first book by this author and it won’t be the last. Dual narratives can make it hard to invest in the lives of the characters. But from the first page, I was fully invested in the lives of these women. I wanted to fight for the women and I wanted all the answers to the mysteries. If I’m honest, I thought certain parts of the story were going to be darker than they were. I was able to connect a few dots throughout the story but the ending did surprise me. After the reveal I realized the author had given plenty of hits to its reveal but none of them were obvious unless you knew what to look for. I really appreciated that I was left surprised even when I was able to guess so many of the twists to begin with.

Towards the end, the pacing became a little too quick from the rest of the book. I think the author should have taken her time with that reveal as she had done with all of the previous ones. I did appreciate that the final thoughts of one of the characters left a more hopeful ending for the characters instead of a happily ever after. That ambiguity of the ending worked really well in connection with the rest of the book.

I've enjoyed all of this author's books but not too sure about this one. I was a bit mixed up at the beginning about when things were happening and who they were happening too. I don't think reading on kindle helps these things as its too annoying to flick back and forwards as I would in a book if I felt confused. I thought the outcome was too much of a coincidence even for a book. Not one of her best ones.

I’ve tried a few times to read The family Secret, but my mind seems to wander when reading. Not sure if it’s a book that’s just not for me. I find it very slow paced. If you enjoy a slower paced read this one is likely to be for you.

THE FAMILY SECRET by Tracy Buchanan
This book reveals an intriguing trail of secrets set within a dysfunctional family. The dual timeline, following two different characters, helps to build the tension.
Although the untimely demise of one of my favourite characters almost made me stop reading, the author tackled the scene with skill and made it believable.
Ultimately a story of resourcefulness and tenacity, it gives the reader many surprising, shocking and sad moments before it reaches a satisfying conclusion. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for supplying a review copy.

I loved The Family Secret. The two main characters Amber and Gwyneth tell their stories alongside each other, switching between them both. Great twists, I just couldn’t put it down.

This book was good. It started off kinda slow but then it got interesting. The storyline was good, but some of the characters lacked.

I have always had a bittersweet relationship with Tracy Buchanan's books. I have liked her books, but the relationship never reached love. But this broke the bindings of the old myth of a relationship. I LOVED THE BOOK!! Well, most of it... Read on...

2 stories, 2 POV, 20 years apart, one was Gwyneth in 1989 and the other Amber in 2009. Amber rescues a girl walking along the beach with no coat and shoes and no memory. In trying to help the amnesiac girl, Amber travels to Scotland with her. Gwyneth has her own tale to narrate. She is a cinematographer for a wildlife documentary. During one such shoot, post falling and nearly drowning in a frozen loch, she is rescued by Dylan, and her love story starts...

Tracy has done a fabulous job in weaving the stories in such a way that both run simultaneously without any confusion, each with a vivid visual which captures their life. Her words in this book have an unusual haunting vibe that made me close my eyes and imagine the snow-filled mountains, the frozen waterfall, the loch with ice slabs, and the snowflakes. Each was spellbinding.

Her characters have something so genuine in them that I could not stop my midnight reading. The women are strong, each have been knocked down by life and have gotten up, sometimes stumbling, sometimes stopping, yet the sheer verve and determination is visible in their core. I loved the narrations, the descriptions, the scenes, the dialogs, the suspense, the mystery, the past, and the present. The only niggle that arose was certain explanations felt a bit stretched in the end.. Just a tiny bit...

I loved the book, and the book captured me completely and loved me back.