A compelling story that packs an emotional punch!

I never need to read the blurb for a Jane Corry book as she is a go-to author for me. I love her work and respect her for the wonderful writer that she is! Some people write a book and some people tell a story. In my eyes, Jane is a master at storytelling!

After making a terrible mistake at work Emily decides to get away from London and head home to her father Harold who still resides in her childhood home on the Cornish coast. Hoping to focus on caring for her elderly father and forget what happened in London, Emily is shocked to arrive and find somebody else has moved in as her father’s carer!

Francoise is young, beautiful and alluring. Why would this French beauty want to care for Emily’s father? Pretty sure that she is a gold digger Emily is determined to find out what Francoise is up to and get her out of the house!

Emily, Francoise and Harold are all harbouring secrets that will surface as the story is told. The chapters alternate between the two women with intermittent chapters taking us back to Harold’s past in 1945. I did not know who to trust throughout this book, both women gave enough reasons for me to doubt them and I even began to wonder if we could blame the dementia for the way Harold blows so hot and cold or if he was just being clever!

In true Jane style, I was drawn into the story from the start and intrigued throughout. I have to say I did start to wonder at one point where it was going and how things would play out, but I needn’t have worried as it all comes together at the end, and what a perfect ending it is. I loved it!

What I love about Jane’s stories is how they are written with so much feeling. We still get the twists and the suspense that we love but we also get drawn in emotionally. This is yet another of her books where I’ve had a tear in my eye come the end. After not being sure about Emily and Francoise for part of the story, I felt a real connection with them both by the end.

I would describe this as a drama rather than a thriller yet it still has a psychological aspect to it. I feel Jane has created her own genre, I really enjoy reading her books and look forward to reading more.

Thank you to Jane Corry, Penguin and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

We All Have Our Secrets
Emily returns from London to her family home in Cornwall to see her elderly father, Harold, only to find he has taken it upon himself to hire a carer - Francois, and Emily does not trust her one bit. Both Emily and Francois have their secrets - and so does Harold. I really liked how this book wasn’t ‘edge of your seat’ stuff, but it still kept me intrigued and guessing. The fact that as the reader you are aware of each character having a secret, but aren’t privy to it made it really interesting as I was guessing about so many different things (wrongly I might add). I found myself liking both Emily and Francois despite their dislike of each other. A really good read.

Another brilliant, addictive read by the amazing Jane Corry. A well written story that pulls on your heart strings, great characters and a believable storyline.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy

Emily makes a mistake at work so goes home to Dad but finds a woman there, looking after him. Emily instantly dislikes her. Her father is getting worse but is there a more sinister reason for it. And Emily has her own secrets.

I'm a fan of Jane Corry but I have to say this wasn’t my favourite. The plot wascgood but many of the twists I predicted or didn't enjoy as much. Its a slow build story with a satisfying conclusion. The writing is her usual style. You're kept in the dark as to what Emily did until the end. I did enjoy the flashbacks to the war, giving a little more depth to the father. The ending tied it off well and I liked the conclusion between Emily and Françoise. A good story.

The latest thriller from Jane Corry We All Have Our Secrets began on a very high note…thrilling scenario of a young woman playing the role of a carer for a geriatric man, and the daughter suspecting something amiss had all the hallmarks of a gripping story. Being Jane Corry, I had expected the emotional journey along with the thrill ride. Even though the premise is quite intriguing, the story failed to live up to my expectations, and truth be told, the expectation is way up there which could be the reason why I felt excited reading this but did not suffer any bungee-jumping adrenaline rush.

Told majorly thru POVs of the daughter Emily and the carer Francoise, there are also chapters that take the reader to the past of Emily’s father Harold Gentle. The family dynamics were efficiently drawn, one can see Emily’s intense need to be the sole concerned member for her father, and having a young woman who all of sudden becomes more important than Emily herself tilts her axis upside down. Emily, Francoise, and Harold are all hiding secrets and this is what drives the story forward when misgivings and doubts raise their head.

We All Have Our Secrets has the trademark entanglements between family members that make it hard for the reader to sympathize with one character or another and all of them are humans with shades of grey and everything in between. The author is exceptional in creating situations that make you feel the uneasy and disturbing atmosphere and once the unexpected death occurs, the reader waits to know how the drama would unfold and the twists keep coming even in the final epilogue chapter.

The past story which captures the horror endured by Harold during World War II strikes a chord and as the author points out thru Nick in the story, it is easy for us to be blissfully unaware of the sacrifices made by so many of them and enjoy the freedom that we are granted.

Touching in many ways and a story that proves that blood needn't be shared to form a familial bond, We All Have Our Secrets engages the reader thoroughly.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Penguin Random House UK, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published on my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Book Bub, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

We All Have Our Secrets by Jane Corry
Publishers: Penguin Random House
Publication Date 23/6/22

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
No Spoilers

I love a book with alternating versions of events. And this is a cracker. I really couldn’t decide which story I believed and kept switching my allegiance. It all, finally came together in a very satisfying conclusion. I’ve read several of Jane Corry's books now and enjoyed them all. She has really cornered the market in tense family drama and suspense.
Satisfying and original.

Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Emily needs her Dad after problems at work but when she returns the door is opened by an unknown French woman. Who is she, why is she here and what is her Dad not telling her?

Fast paced novel with all the characters having secrets, past and present.

Jane has brought us another great book and I could not stop reading so hope you enjoy too.

I really enjoyed this book, it wasn't too intense but still very engaging and page turning.
I liked the character development and I changed my opinion about Emily a few times. We also hear from other characters and it adds extra layers to the overall story about relationships, trauma and how they deal with issues differently but ultimately want the best for the family.

Emily is distracted at work and makes a mistake. Trouble is, she's a midwife so mistakes are a little more serious than most. She is suspended, pending investigation, so she ups sticks and escapes to Devon, to her father. As she is travelling she laments that he is starting to fade, to need more help, help that she really should be involved with. But she can make up with this visit, can't she?
She is therefore surprised when, on knocking at the door, she is met by, not her father, but a young woman, Francoise. Who, on later investigation, turns out to be her father's carer.
And so begins a tale of secrets lies and duplicitous behaviour. Of relationships and friendships and of preparing for the end. For doing the right thing, even if it seems wrong at the time...
This was a book of two halves. We start very strong. The setting up, Emily making her mistake and moving to Devon, meeting Francoise. And then it gets a bit slower as we switch perspective and learn more about the strange French woman now sharing Emily's father's life. Not a bad thing, just felt a wee bit disjointed at the time. But, when we do get to the end, when the whole truth (such as it appears) becomes evident, the pace change is justified and actually very much fits with the story being told.
Emily is a bit of a funny fish at times. Quite understandably she is a bit all over the place after what happened and she is also a bit isolated so she has no one to talk to. I empathise with that totally and connected with her straight away. Francoise is complicated for all the reasons I can't divulge here, and the father, well, he's not a nice person at times, again spoilers prevent me from qualifying.
The story is well told and engaging, holding my attention nicely throughout. Pacing could be a bit better, it's a bit disjointed but mostly fits the narrative. The ending, well, it's a tad on the emotional side, and it might divide opinion, but I think it's most fitting.
All in all, another winner from one of my go to authors. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I'm a mood reader and this story came at the right moment for my cravings for suspenseful stories.

Intriguing from the beginning, the characters are not likeable at all, in my opinion.

I felt like Emily deserved more my sympathy for caring more than she let out for her father and his well-being, even if she had to stay away for a longer time.

My first impression of Francoise was that this is one is up to no good. And that's probably the way the author wanted us to believe as well.

Rounding up, none of them are trustworthy and while their secrets and interaction are reliable enough, that long expected twist at the end felt really flat for me, unfortunately.

An intriguing story with unlikeable characters that kept me invested enough to read it in one sitting.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

I’ve very much enjoyed Jane Corry’s previous novels and We All Have Our Secrets is equally accomplished. However, it seems to be billed as a thriller and I would say that it is more of a domestic drama.
Emily, a midwife, returns to her family home in Cornwall. She has been involved in an nasty incident at work and consequently had a fall, she looking for somewhere to hide out and lick her wounds. However, to her surprise, her elderly father has hired a young French woman as a carer. Her name is Françoise and she seems to be making herself very comfortable indeed.
The novel switches between Emily and Francoise which heightens the sense of their mutual mistrust, and diary entries from Emily’s father Harold’s time in the war.
The characters are well drawn and as things become clearer, their relationship develops in a believable way. I liked the way that Harold’s real character was revealed, it was clever and quite subtle.
All in all, a very enjoyable story though definitely not a thriller!
Thank you to #netgalley and #penguinukbooks for allowing me to review this ARC

I have enjoyed Jane Corry's books before but found that this one was not quite up to the same standard as previous ones. Having said that I loved how the characters were so real and the emotions were easily relatable to. It started off so positive on delivering the baby and then went a little on the slow side before I discovered that I could not put the book down. All the way through the secrets kept coming and at no time was I clear who was lying and more importantly why they would lie. I loved the sections where Harold tells of his war experiences as these helped to shape what he was in his old age.
I would give it a 4.5 stars as I thought that it was a tad below her other work but I still feel that it warrants the 5.

After a good opening half, I found the second half of this book much slower and seemed to drag making it a bit of a slog to the end.

I read We All Have Our Secrets over a couple of days. It’s billed as a suspenseful, darkly emotive thriller. It’s a story of secrets and lies and whilst I initially enjoyed the book, I found the second half seemed to drag somewhat. I would rate this 2.5 stars but have rounded up to three. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin and the author for the chance to review.

Two women, one man. A cliché except here one is Emily, the daughter of the man and the other is his carer, whose existence is the first secret. Emily’s father, Harold, a widowed, ninety-three-year-old, retired lawyer, had advertised for a live-in carer without telling her. Emily, 34, is a midwife in London and never seems to have the time or interest to keep in close touch, but has returned to the family home in Cornwall, because she is suspended under investigation due to a clinical error. But that’s a secret. Or does she have other reasons, secret reasons, things that happened in her youth? Françoise, 21, had come in response to the advert, with French references. Or is that her real reason for turning up, and are the references genuine? There are secrets in her past too. Not to be left out, Harold has many secrets, and many of them stem from his time in France as part of the D-day invasion force. He was only fifteen but lied about his age. As the conflict between the women sways back and forth, Harold appears to be both the cunning and manipulative figure around which they spin and a bed-ridden, terminally ill, old man possibly with dementia.
The author continues her record of one book a year since 2016. The story is told from their three points of view, Emily and Françoise providing their own backstories and their two sides of contemporary events, Harold by way of his diary about the war. The book isn’t easy to categorise, because there isn’t really a crime, there isn’t much of a mystery, it isn’t psychological and there are no real thrills. It is, however, well written with believable characters, and rather tighter than her last book, so not overly written.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Told from the point of view of Emily, Harold's daughter, and Francoise (Harold's carer) for the most part this is a story full of suspicion, secrets and lies. Harold is suffering from cancer and dementia and his mood swings are quite extreme which adds another dimension to the aggravation between the two young women.
Not the strongest of Jane Corry's books, quite well written but some unnecessary repetition.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Jane Corry/Penguin General UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

📚BOOK REVIEW 📚.

We All Have Our Secrets By Jane Corry. 🗓 Publication Date - 23rd June 2022

Emma is a midwife and has taken some time off work - under a cloud I may add.
She goes home to the comfort of her father and family home. Some young girl, who she does not know, answers the door “can I help you?”.

Safe to say there is a turbulent relationship between them and also with Emily’s father!

I wasn’t sure when I started this book - I’m being honest. BUT the more I got into it and discovered the different characters and relationships, I found myself wondering what was coming next!! Definitely kept ME guessing that’s for sure.

I just reviewed We All Have Our Secrets by Jane Corry. thanks Netgalley #WeAllHaveOurSecrets #janecorry #NetGalley

Another great book from Jane Corry.
Everyone in this book had some kind of secret and each secret starts to unravel as we turn the pages.
The main two characters Emily and Francoise get to tell the story from their own perspective, this is also interspersed by Harold's telling of his time when he was young in France during WWII.
Clever and compelling read.
Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin General UK and the author for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The title says it all, everyone is keeping secrets and gradually these are revealed as the book progresses.
The narrative switches between Emily and Francoise and even though we are seeing things from their point of view the reader is still unsure who to believe as the secrets and twists keep coming.
This book keeps the reader on their toes as it is difficult to predict what will happen next. Just when you think you have a handle on it all something happens that turns it on its head.

We All Have Our Secrets is a real cracker. It starts off nice, with Emily the midwife delivering a baby, then wham bam you're hit with twists and turns at a great pace. The narrative is told from multiple viewpoints, and multiple timescales, including some great action from the midst of WWII.

Emily returns to her family home in Cornwall to find her elderly father being cared for by Francoise, a young French woman. Why is Francoise there? What are her motives?

There are some excellent plotline that take you down a certain path right until the end, and you're never quite sure who to believe (even after you've finished it).

Make sure you have enough time to give to We All Have Our Secrets; once you start it, you won't put it down!