Sheryl Browne wrote a twisted, quite a familiar tale, which was enjoyable purely on the basis of the author’s words. I was sure she was one of the authors who had dark synaptic brain waves when she sat down to write.

Claire had a somewhat loving husband, a daughter with hemophilia minor trait, and an unknown sister who contacted her via Facebook (the mention of that social media raised my antenna, and I knew the story line). Without thorough investigation, she started trusting her until things became intolerable. Husband’s infidelity and father’s slow decline of mental facilities led her to make poor decisions. But was Claire really so naive and was the sister so perfect?

Having read many of the books by this author, I was eager to get my claws…err hands into this one. And the winding roads that the characters took made me realize I was the most sane amongst them… The book kept me flipping sides at all times. Were the characters innocent or guilty? Were they guilty of the expected or the unexpected?

The ending line twisted the plot and made me shake my head at the antics of the human psyche… I meant the author’s, not her characters’. After all, it was she who wrote about that twisted lot. Barring the child, they were all weird, their reactions went into a hyperbole at all times… At one point, I had to tell them to stop reacting and start thinking… But nah they never listened to me. I was sure they didn’t listen to the author, just went about their merry ways, doing irrational stuff.

The writing kept me on the edge as I didn’t know how the author would turn the plot… Characters were unlikable, not really sure if any of them were intelligent. None of them went to work… (how did they manage their bills?) The story was entertaining purely because the author kept me guessing if she would twist the plot where I expected her to.

I have read other books by this author and loved them but this one not so much. I kept wanting to scream at Clarie because she kept jumping to conclusions about everything without any proof of any wrongdoing. The plot was also predictable by at least halfway through who took away from the fun for me. I am just going to wait for her next novel and hope it is more like her previous ones. I would still recommend this book because it is a good read.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

This book was really good and had me guessing right to the end. I could not wait to see what happened next! I did feel sorry for a character though!

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Family Secret’ by Sheryl Browne in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Although Claire wants to personally take care of her father who has dementia, she decides that for the good of the family, Luke and four-year-old Ella, it would be better for him to be in a home where he can be cared for by experts. Claire thinks Luke’s having an affair and insists he moves out and when she receives a message from someone called Sophie saying that she’s her half-sister, Claire contacts her and soon Sophie’s moved into her home and is infiltrating herself into their lives. Then Ella disappears in the middle of the night and Claire starts to wonder who Sophie actually is and whether she’s been too trusting of her half-sister.

‘The Family Secret’ is a well-written and totally addictive psychological thriller that becomes more tense as it gains momentum. Though disturbing, the story is compulsive reading with intrigue, drama and a complex plot, and I’ve been unable to put it down until I’ve reached the end. It has interesting and believable characterisations, unexpected twists and turns on every page, and the conclusion is so surprising that I’ve had to read it twice. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this novel, it’s worthy of five stars and I and can thoroughly recommend it.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning until the surprising end. Claire and Luke are married and have a 4-year-old daughter, Ella. Claire's widowed father Bernard, who has dementia/Alzheimer, lives with them and she is his caregiver. Luke is out to the bar with his friends one night and meets Anna and the trouble begins. Claire receives a text from a woman named Sophie who claims to be her half-sister. This books takes on a lot of twists and turns and is told from different POVs. I did enjoy this book but I found the characters to be all very unlikeable. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting book in exchange for an honest review.

A fast-paced psychological thriller. This is not a slow burn start - it opens quickly with the main characters facing problems and showing cracks appearing in their worlds. The story gathers momentum as the cracks widen and I found I wanted to read on to find out what was coming next. New characters appear & being of suspicious mind, I was doubting everybody and looking for unexpected twists and turns, which came aplenty.
The scenes were set effectively and I had clear pictures of all the settings as they were brought into the story, so they must have been described well, I was involved so didn’t pause to think about it.
There were a few moments when I wanted to shake both Claire & Luke to make them see sense and connect the dots, I was obviously involved in the story. There are definitely some tense moments and twists as you would expect in this genre, an enjoyable read.

This book was next level. It was action packed and full of drama. This is the ideal book to cuddle up with on a rainy day and it's a book you binge. The writing was fantastic and never felt like the book was in a lull. I can't wait for people to read this!

This book is hard for me to review because I have torn opinions about it. I wanted to give it a higher star rating but after giving it some thought I will give it 3 1/2. The author does a good job at plot and character development, but I did feel like the ending was lacking. I also guesses a lot of the plot twists/secrets and while that is ok sometimes I want to be surprised, at least a little bit.

The Family Secret is about just that. A family secret. Claire is absolutely exhausted at this point in her life. She has to take care of her elderly father, Bernard, who has reached the violent stage of vascular dementia, as well as be the perfect wife and mother to her husband, Luke, and their daughter, Ella. After a particularly trying day she gets a message from Sophie, a woman claiming to be her illegitimate half-sister, Bernard's daughter. At first, Claire is skeptical but with her family life getting even more chaotic, she finds herself drawing closer to Sophie, even trusting her with Ella. However, she soon realizes that things may not be what they seem and she begins to worry for Ella's wellbeing around Sophie.

I could not stand the characters in this book. Luke was, quite frankly, being a bit of an idiot. I could not understand the logic behind most of his decisions and found myself wanting to throttle him. I found myself wondering what kind of relationship Claire and Luke had for her to suddenly believe the things that were being said about Luke without even giving him a chance to explain. And Sophie was blatantly obvious about what she was doing throughout the whole book.

I guessed most of the surprise very early in the book, which probably added to my irritation even more. I was not even part of the story but I could see what should have been so clear to Claire and Luke. I was not too sure about the ending though because other than what I had already guessed, the rest was a bit confusing. If anybody could understand it better than me, I would love an explanation.

To me, there were a lot of very odd occurrences during the book. The call Claire got at 4:30am was decidedly very odd to me. Without going into too much detail, I felt like that call should have happened at a different hour of the day but that is just my opinion.

Honestly, the plot was good and the part of the surprise I guessed was a nice little twist. However, the plot holes and the muddled ending threw me off quite a bit. Like I said, maybe other people will understand the ending and explain to me but I did not get it at all.

Violence: Moderate
Sexual Content: Mild. Some mention of sexual practices but not too much detail
Profanity: A few instances of proganity
Religious Themes: None
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: One of the characters drank a lot of wine. A few scenes with drunk characters

Thank you Netgally for the advanced copy!

I am 40% into the book and I just can’t......I can’t finish. I am not enjoying any of the characters and Claire...I find her annoying which as one of the main characters I actually should feel empathy towards. This is a DNF for me unfortunately.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Sheryl Browne for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fast paced read! Once I got into it I found it to hard to put down.
Lots of twists and turns and surprises!
My first read by this Author and won't be my last.

Claire has a lot on her plate. Mostly caring for her ailing father who is struggling with the cruel disease of dementia. She has moved her husband, daughter and herself in with her Father and tries to care for him as best she can. But incidents make his care extremely difficult plus the mounting tensions between her and her husband over their new living situation is making life harder. Not to mention that their 4 year old daughter is a hemophiliac who also requires vigilant watching as one cut or fall could prove fatal.

When Claire’s husband Luke goes out to the pubs to help a friend choose a venue for the friend’s stag night, he has just had another argument with Claire. Heavy drinking leads to an encounter with a woman he thinks he’s protecting from a violent ex. But “Abby” has other ideas. A kiss between the two is captured on film by one of Claire’s friends even though Luke breaks off the kiss and tells the woman he can’t he’s married. Acting her best as distraught, she has him walk her home and he comes in briefly to see if she is going to be all right. That’s when accusations begin to fly and Abby has rung the police to say that Luke has attacked her. Now the police are on to him and Claire just can’t believe that her husband would move on and cheat so quickly after a disagreement. With photo evidence Claire feels she has no other choice but to kick him out.
But things at home are progressively getting worse with Claire’s father. When broken wine glasses are found in her child’s bed and on the stairs, Claire feels she has no choice but to have him put in a home where he can get round the clock care that he requires. When Claire is contacted by someone named Sophie claiming to be her half sister and that they both share the same father Claire can’t ignore the flashbacks she remembers of her childhood and what her mother said right before a horrible accident claimed her life.

Having no one to turn to she eventually meets up with Sophie and soon forms a close bond that helps to stave off the loneliness and all that Claire is going through. But things aren’t adding up. Inconsistencies can’t be explained and her husband’s legal woes are mounting. What on earth is going to happen next?

As you can see there is a lot going on in this book and while it was easy enough to follow, things moved at a rapid pace making me question at times some of the story’s credibility.

But all in all, I was very entertained by the novel and was never bored. A satisfying read and a big thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for my ARC of another good novel by Sheryl Browne.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

This is a fast paced domestic thriller which has kept me on the edge of my seat. I haven’t wanted to put this one down and have raced to the end in a matter of hours.
There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing throughout this book. This is my first read by this author but it definitely will not be the last. I have really enjoyed reading this book and it has definitely captivated my attention and kept me hooked.
This is most definitely a page turner, if you’re a fan of psychological thrillers I’d definitely recommend this book.

One secret, one lie, one vague memory and one chance meeting all adds up to a page turner.

That one secret spirals out of control and what a mess you have !!

Claire is looking after her father who has Alzheimers , she doesnt trust or believe in her husband Luke anymore and to top it off she meets her half sister.

Everyone has their own truth; who can you believe?

Twists and turns will keep the lights on.

Dont want to give anything away, pick up this book for a great read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a page turning read.

Lost interest in this book after the first 50 pages
I couldn’t get into this story and struggled to even make it through the first 50 pages. I will try again and maybe I need a light read. I’ll update my review if I finish.

Claire thinks she got the sister she always wanted, but did she? Social media can find people, and it can help people find you. Allowing strangers into your home is dangerous, especially when you don’t really know them. This book was mind blowing, page turner from start to finish. With an ending you never see coming!

Family Secrets is a must read for suspense lovers. I was hooked by the end of the prologue. This one definitely kept me guessing right up until the end. Even with the split POV it felt smooth. I didn’t have a favorite character per se. But I really felt for Bernard through the whole story, and I loved the ending for Claire. There were a few parts that dragged on a tiny bit and could have maybe been cut out, but overall I loved this book.

'Claire always wished for a sister. But should you be careful what you wish for?'

What would you do if you got a text message out of the blue saying 'you don't know me, but I'm your sister'? Claire always wished for a sister, and with her father increasingly unwell with dementia and her husband having an affair, the appearance of a half-sister, Sophie, comes at just the right time. But what will happen as Claire allows Sophie into her life more and more, can you really trust who people say they are? With dark twists and turns, The Family Secret really is as gripping as they come.

I absolutely adored this book, domestic thrillers have fast become my favourite genre and this certainly didn't disappoint. Very cleverly written, I was left guessing until the end. Each chapter was told from a different perspective; mainly that of Claire or her husband Luke, but also we saw insights from Sophie and Claire's father, Bernard. I felt this added to the suspense, and further added to the many strands of the unfolding secret without giving anything away.

I found Claire to be frustrating at times, she was incredibly quick to disregard her husband and believe someone she'd never met. It seemed funny how she went from being so overprotective of her young daughter around her own father, to trusting her completely with a woman she only just met. But having reflected on it, I suspect that it is intentional to encourage the reader to turn on certain characters and be as trusting as Claire.

Overall I found The Family Secret to be a gripping read, and I will certainly be reading more of Sheryl Browne's novels in future.


This review will feature on emilyclairewrites.com from 15th January

Claires life is falling apart. Her marriage is suddenly broken, leaving her to look after their 4 year old daughter, whilst her ill father requires her attention 24/7. So when she recieves a message from a stranger claiming to be her half-sister, Claire thinks this may be just what she needs.

This book had me on the edge of my seat from the start. It opens with a dramatic couple of chapters then jumps forward 27 years, leaving us with unanswered questions and wanting more.

I admit, I am rubbish at predicting the outcome of books! So when the big twist came, I was shocked! I love a book that keeps me guessing.

This is an addictive book for any fans of psychological thrillers. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Sheryl!