A Mother's Secret: The Battersea Tavern Series (Book 1)

Product Information

Battersea Tavern is run by Winnie & Brian Berry, but these days it's more Winnie doing all the running around.

The author does not know if she would have ever pursued her writing dreams if tragedy hadn’t come into her life. Kitty’s son was 27-years-old when he died. The occurrence nearly broke Kitty.She might have never recovered if it wasn’t for a bereavement group she joined, one that constituted women who had lost children in tragic circumstances. The group allowed Kitty to heal. In 2004, my husband and I moved to Spain, and I was thrilled when my daughter joined us two years later. I continue to find writing cathartic, but also a joy, each novel bringing new characters, new emotions and new experiences to explore. I have a little confession to make- yes yet another one. Although I have several of Kitty’s books on my ever increasing ‘to be read’ mountain, I haven’t actually read one before……until now that is. When I was invited to take part in the blog tour for ‘A Mother’s Secret’, I thought that it would be an ideal opportunity to get to know Kitty’s work. Having enjoyed reading ‘A Mother’s Secret’ as much as I did, I am now rather cross at myself for leaving it this long to realise just how flipping fantastic Kitty Neale is. I absolutely adored reading ‘A Mother’s Secret’ but more about that in a bit. Dear Rachel, another likeable character and with her own story to tell - as do many of the character's - and this is what made the story more interesting. Even though the Battersea Tavern is the heart of the story, it's what is going on with its inhabitants, the drama that kept the story flowing - there was never a dull moment! I think that the Battersea Tavern is London's equivalent to Manchester's Rovers Return. I enjoyed every moment of it. The Family Secret is a one can't put downable read, and boyo boy there's a lot along the way to surface as you read.

Neither Elsie nor Bert nor their children wanted to move to Candle Lane. The street in Battersea is modest but they all miss their home in Wimbledon, especially the kids, Ann and Arthur.

Most modern authors would have used such affirmation as a reason to immediately make their mark in publishing. However, even though her writing talents were so clear to everyone who knew her, it would be years before Kitty Neale sat down to write fiction. Bessie has taken on Nora Dobbs, a young woman and she asks Pearl to take over her care when dies. Pearl, thinking that Bessie will recover from her illness and live for many more years, agrees, but less than a week later, Bessie passes away.