Reviewed by Emma Crowley
When Ginny Kingston returns to Ireland’s windswept Roone Bay after ten years of self-imposed exile, the last person she wants to run into is black-haired Ruari Savage. But there he is, glowering at her from the back of the tiny church hall, as she holds the townsfolk spell-bound throughout her lecture on Irish history.
The Kingstons and the Savages have been neighbours, farmers and bitter rivals for as long as anyone can remember. But, finally drawn home by work, Ginny is determined to discover the truth behind their family feud. And what happened to the first young lovers who tried to mend the rift over fifty years ago. For some strange reason, mechanic Ruari with his practical mind and strong hands, has offered to help…
Ruari’s aid, however, comes at a price: the truth about why Ginny herself left so suddenly. What he doesn’t know is that Ginny’s devastating secret might destroy their families’ new-found peace – and any chance of happiness they have with each other – forever…
Can Ginny and Ruari work together to heal old wounds? And will the secrets that have divided their families for generations ever come to light – or tear them all apart?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Irish Family Secret to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Irish Family Secret is the third in the Emerald Isles series by Daisy O’Shea. Each book is a stand-alone story connected by the location of Roone Bay in Cork. I have adored this series so far and this new story proved to be another fantastic read with strong central characters, an engaging plot with a mystery at its centre and the history and heritage of Ireland is brought to life through rich and engrossing writing. Daisy O’Shea is a real talent and I love how she is bringing the culture of Ireland to the fore in these wonderful stories. I do hope she continues to write many more books in this series as I know I won’t grow tired of them at all.
The prologue takes us back to 1923 to the O’Brien family farm which is more or less a rocky outcrop with land not much good for farming but still they persist. Neighbouring farmer William Savage barges into the O’Brien household.He is on the warpath. His daughter Molly has disappeared and he believes young Davan O’Brien to be the root cause. The families never had an easy friendship. In fact it was non existent as there has long been battles over land rights. But this new incident cements the rift between the two families which still exists in the modern day.The reader is then taken forward many years to the more modern day. It’s never actually specified exactly what year or decade it is and nor has it been in previous books. I often wonder has the author ambiguously done this? For I’d love to know the specific date I am reading about. There are lots of little clues as to whether it could be the late 1970’s or early 1980’s as when I am reading I see things and think oh such and such a thing hasn’t already happened in Ireland and is clearly evident from the themes and issues explored in this book that the church very much held a firm grip over society. Not knowing the specific date doesn’t ever detract from my enjoyment or understanding of the story and really it’s inconsequential overall but still there is a little niggle within me that wants the answer.
Ginny Kingston leads a transient lifestyle working as an archaeologist. She has returned to Roone Bay for ten weeks as part of her work cataloguing the old monuments scattered across Ireland and hopes to discover more. I loved this aspect of the storyline as it felt like my history lessons from school were all coming back to me with the mentions of rath’s, fairy forts and souterrains. For people unfamiliar to this aspect of Irish history lots of information is provided but never at any point did it feel like a boring old history lesson. Everything came to life so well and the historical aspect was balanced perfectly with the more human and emotional side of the story that the author was trying to convey in terms of Ginny. How her story bears uncanny resemblances to that of Davan and Molly. The couples story is told in chapters dotted throughout the story which appeared at just the right time. When Ginny discovered something in the present we were taken back and could see how this unfolded in the past. Things were drip fed to the reader but I enjoyed this as I don’t like a rush of information all at once, left towards the end and therefore the climax and ending feel rushed and unsatisfactory. Instead the pacing was spot on throughout.
Ginny is a complex person who left the windswept landscape of Roone Bay under a cloud of suspicion which only entrenched the feud between her family and the O’Briens. She has kept running never wanting to bring forth her feelings to the surface. I could sense that something serious must have occurred in her past but now that she is back are things that were secret for so long about to be exposed or is it best to let sleeping dogs lie? Ginny is an emotional person who is always searching for something as is the norm with her profession. But one wonders will she ever find what she is looking for that will have her become happy and content and no longer filled with this longing and a sense of apprehension? Ginny’s personal history is slowly revealed and the author certainly packs an awful lot into the pages. The countryside, rocky landscape, coast, nature, history , farming, family and love are all themes that feature heavily and are interwoven throughout the plot to perfection.
Ginny goes on a journey and in doing so attempts whether she at first wanted to or not to mend the deep chasm between the two neighbouring families that has stretched down through the decades. She was keen to discover what really happened with regards to Molly and Davan but in doing so she began her own personal reflections. Ruari, one of the sons of the Savage family that currently lived beside their farm, was the man who began to draw Ginny out of herself in ways she had never expected. She could be rigid and uptight and close herself off when she had to get emotional or confront things that she wished to brush under the carpet but her time in Roone became like a reawakening and a journey to acceptance, healing and forgiveness.
Initially, Rauri came across as brash, rude and offensive but his reasons for this soon became clear and I could understand them but deep down there was goodness in his heart and he was willing to share this. But was Ginny willing to accept it given the history between the two families? What they discovered was intriguing and just made the entire story come full circle and I was gripped by every page. Daisy O’Shea really brings her characters and their storylines to life and discusses issues which were very important in Ireland at the time. Those of the role of women, the dominant position of the church and stigma and divorce amongst many others and she does so with sensitivity, fairness and tact.
The Irish Family Secret is another triumph for Daisy O’Shea showing how the past can deeply affect the present but there is always room for hope and forgiveness. I would definitely recommend this book and can’t wait for what the author has in store for us next.
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