The Secret of the Brighton House

Her family lied to protect her. Will the truth tear them apart?

Joanne’s always been told her mother died in childbirth, but she never questioned her dad’s love. When unpacking a box of her own old baby clothes, Joanne accidentally discovers a photo of her birth mum holding a newborn, and realises she’s been lied to.

As Joanne begins to dig into the past, she uncovers layers of secrets that threaten to destroy the very family she holds dear. What really happened to her mum? What could be so devastating that her dad has kept it from her for her whole life—and is she ready to find out?

Cathy trained as a journalist and wrote about everything from HR and supply chains to football finances and port strategy before moving into public relations. In 2022, after having spent a lifetime pottering around bookshops, she bought Kemptown Bookshop in Brighton, where she has created a community hub that supports local authors and aspiring writers. In 2023, she took on joint management of The Creative Writing Programme, the leading independent centre for creative writing teaching in the south-east of England―the course that set her on track to be a writer. When she’s not writing (or reading), Cathy loves pottering in other people’s bookshops. She lives in Brighton with her three children and two rescue cats.