Lucina’s Letters is a sweeping family drama that looks at how secrets and lies can eat away at a family, with the repercussions that ripple through the generations. Luciana is the matriarch of the family, someone her sisters, nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews turn to for advice. Born illegitimate, with an Italian father, in her elder years she spends her time between Ireland where her family are based and a beautiful home in Italy where she can relax and get away from family troubles. In the past her sister Rosie lost her son to a tragic accident, but when one of her niece’s lets slip what really happened, Lucina feels it her duty to let Rosie know the truth. However, her heath deteriorates so she writes a letter to her family telling the truth about Rosie’s son and other secrets that have been entrusted to her. Her aim is to bring the family together, so old rivalries can be sorted and hopefully forgiveness can be given.

Lucina’s Letters looks at a family, the highs, the lows and disagreements that naturally happen. Barbara Francesca Murphy has created a family that many of us will be able to identify with in some way; there is the career orientated Sam, her family oriented sister Kelly, Grace who wraps her son in cotton wool permanently fearing he will be hurt. All of her characters are real, facing many of the issues we have today, and I found myself drawn into and invested in them. I liked following Rosie’s story the most, she is beautiful and seen by her sister as living a charmed life, where she sails through life with no difficulties. However, whilst the facade may seen perfect, if you scratch the surface the tarnish wears away. She is not the perect mother, not seeing that her daughter needs help, and her marriage has run it’s course for her, she wants love romance and sometime for herself. Rosie’s story is one that tugged at my heart, she has gone into herself, not caring about herself or her family, she only cares about her dead son. It was so hard reading her story in parts, she is only living to die so she can be with her son again. Following the characters, and their devlopment over the course of the book was fascinating and intriguing.

What I really loved about this book is that Barbara Frances Murphy captured family dynamics realistically, the good and the bad. The secrets of the past, especially the death of Ewan, fester away at the three nieces who were involved with his death, and the longer time goes the harder it is to tell the truth. She also looks at the dificulties many people face but don’t necessarily talk about to their family, unappy marriage, infertility, adultery and self harm. She also shows as human beings we are terrible at facing the truth, instead we bury our heads in the sand rather than attack problems head on. But, there is also the positive that the truth can bring you closer, and set you free. Barbara Frances Murphy writes with such empathy and understanding, and cleverly brought these emotions out in me.

Lucina’s Letters is a beautiful and heartwarming read, of secrets and lies, and how they can burn slowly gradually eating away at you. The wide cast of characters kept me engaged throughout, and I felt I was part of their story, the good and the bad. Beautifully written, with an understanding of family dynamics, this is a moving, utterly coompelling read that will leave you feeling satisfied and uplifted by the end.

I enjoyed the book very much. I did have to refer to the family tree listed at the beginning frequently to keep all the characters straight.

This book is written in different time frames and from different perspectives but transitions are not designated even within chapters and that can be confusing at times but a plus is that it is fairly easy to catch up.

Overall, the family drama is very entertaining and I would recommend the book.

First I have to say after reading a book of nearly 600 pages I was happy to have a book which was much shorter and quicker to read.

The blurb drew me in as I loved the fact it was set in Italy and Ireland, that is a story about family and the letter aspect of the story. There is drama, there are secrets and there are all the family problems that go along with it.

It is a pretty easy read, not overly in-depth but a decent story with a bit of mystery and suspense. A quick and easy read.

“They did not mean to hurt the boy, much less kill him. They only wanted to teach him a lesson.”

This stunning family saga set in Ireland and Italy explores the profound, dark repercussions of one long-ago deed.

Lucina is the oldest sibling and has grown up splitting her time in Italy with her father and in Ireland with her mother and siblings and maintains both homes into her adulthood.

The concept of family has always been of the utmost importance to Lucina, the self-appointed matriarch figure. Still, when she learns the truth about an event that almost ripped the family apart, she sets about mending the familial bonds.

Will the truth set them free and restore their family unit once more, or only drag them further into dysfunction?

While I enjoyed this book overall, but, the title is rather misleading. Lucina isn't truly a primary character, and the single letter (not “letters”) doesn’t get written until close to the end. The majority of the book deals with revealing the other family members' personalities, quirks, and secrets. Still, it is written in an entertaining manner which draws the reader in and keeps the story interesting and relatively quick-paced.

⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to NetGalley and Austin Macauley Publishers for the Advanced Reader Copy in return for an honest review.

Big family drama! Lucina is the oldest half-sibling to mostly sisters who have a different father. She has grown up splitting her time in Italy with her father and in Ireland with her mother and siblings and maintains both homes into her adulthood. Lucina never marries or has children but sees herself as the matriarch who must keep the family together. When a tragedy occurs, secrets are kept around the event and the sisters and nieces develop their own quirks and ways of relating to one another. As an elderly woman, Lucina eventually learns the truth about the tragedy and plans to travel from Italy to Ireland to tell the rest of the family but knows she is dying so writes a letter instead with instructions on when and how it will be read. In her letter, she not only reveals the events causing the tragedy but also several other family secrets and encourages everyone to forgive and forget.
I found the title of this book somewhat misleading as Lucina doesn’t seem to be a primary character and the single letter (not “letters”) doesn’t get written until close to the end. However, the bulk of the book is spent on revealing the other family members’ personalities, quirks and secrets and is written in an entertaining manner which draws the reader in and keeps the story interesting and fast-paced. I enjoyed the book very much but found that I needed to refer to the family tree listed at the beginning frequently to keep all the characters straight. Also, the book is written in different time frames and from different perspectives but transitions are not designated even within chapters so can be confusing at times although fairly easy to catch up to. Overall, the family drama is very entertaining and I would recommend the book. Thanks to NetGalley and Austin Macauley Publishers for the Advanced Reader Copy.