Past Secrets

From Publishers Weekly Kelly's ninth novel, a cross-generational contemporary romance set in Ireland, is packed with high drama and the emotion to match. At 60, Christie Devlin and her peaceful home and garden are the heart of Dublin's picturesque Summer Street. But when a surprising nook of art teacher Christie's past is unearthed, the 30 fulfilling years Christie has spent with her husband, James, and their family threaten to unravel. Her neighbors, meanwhile, have their own crises to attend to: single mom Faye Reid is horrified when her daughter, Amber, drops out of college to travel with her musician boyfriend, prompting Faye to follow her to try to prevent her from making the same mistake Faye made in her youth. Wounded by an awkward adolescence and a cheating boyfriend, 30-year-old Maggie Maguire wishes she could stop letting her past hold her back from self-acceptance as she returns home to care for her ailing mother. If Kelly's sins are too many peripheral characters, an uneasy transition into Amber's teenage voice and meandering passages that could have been edited out, then they are easily forgiven. Kelly's evocation of mother-daughter relationships shines, and her handle on romance storytelling combined with her characters' feel-good, empowering evolutions make this a satisfying novel. (Jan.) Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review Praise for Always and Forever:�A tear-pricking writer, capable of making you care about her characters... a warm, moving read.� Daily Mail�Bursting with emotion, heartache and dreams... realistic and likeable characters that meet life-changing events head on.� Ireland on Sunday�Totally believable.� Rosamund Pilcher�An absorbing, heart-warming tale.� CompanyPraise for Always and Forever:�A feel-good fable about life turned pear-shaped.� YOU Magazine�Demonstrates her capacity to write observantly and kindly about women and their relationships, lit by occasional laugh-out-loud funny interludes.� Irish Independent�An absorbing heart-warming tale which transports you into the sleepy hollows of Carrickwell, Ireland.� Real�An upbeat and diverting tale skilfully told...Kelly knows what her readers wants and consistently delivers.� Sunday IndependentPraise for Cathy Kelly:�Warm and delightful.� New Woman Behind the shining windows and rose-decked gardens of Summer street, single mother, Faye, hides a secret from her teenage daughter Amber. Whilst 33 year old Maggie hides one from herself. Every woman needs her Cathy Kelly time. The warm and moving new novel from the No. 1 Bestselling author of 'Always and Forever'.