Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Arriving at Bluebell Farm in the English countryside, historian Tasha has never felt more alone. Her twins have left for university, her marriage is over, and she’s said goodbye to the place she thought would always be her home. Exploring the tumbledown farm and striking up a friendship with elderly Maud, whose prickly exterior masks a warm heart, offers the distraction Tasha desperately needs.
Together with Ryan, a silver-haired, motorbike-riding archaeologist, Tasha digs into the farm’s history. Soon she finds faded photographs and a sealed, yellowing letter that calls to her. But Maud’s eyes fill with tears as she insists the long-lost letter must never be opened. Could it be from Maud’s father, who went missing after the Second World War?
Intrigued by the stories hidden behind Maud’s sharp blue eyes, Tasha and Ryan unearth a heart-wrenching secret. Maud’s father’s disappearance is not the only mystery hidden on this farm. If Maud reads the letter after all these years, will it reveal all?
And with Maud’s encouragement, can Tasha have a second chance at love with kind-hearted Ryan? Or will the heartache in their own pasts keep them apart?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Hidden Letter at Bluebell Farm to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Hidden Letter at Bluebell Farm is the third in Rebecca Alexander’s Wildflower Secrets series. Any reader could read this book as a standalone story as there are subtle reminders of past events but you never feel as if you have missed out. Previous characters do make an appearance every now and again but if you have not met them previously this does not affect your understanding of the current story. As someone who has been with this series since the start I loved seeing old faces again and I thought it was clever how the author linked the past and present together in terms of the familiar characters stories. Plus it was nice to see how they were getting on since I had last read about them. This new story was wonderful from beginning to end. I found myself completely sucked in right from the get go as Maud’s incredible story unfolds.
I found the descriptions of Bluebell Farm and the surrounding harsh land of the moor simply breathtaking and so evocative. The atmosphere of the desolation of the farm and its run down state pervaded throughout the pages yet a sense of hope began to emerge as Tasha began to uncover the secrets of the past and in doing so the incredible yet heart wrenching tale of the strong and courageous woman that was Maud began to make itself known. An exceptional story is deftly woven as the timeline moves expertly back and forth between the past and present highlighting how resourceful Maud was. Someone who had come from a lost era and who had always clung steadfast to Bluebell Farm remaining loyal to the memory of her family despite the tragedy, heartbreak and suffering they had endured.
A fascinating social history of farming on the moors is built up throughout and it could have been the case that this developed in a history school textbook but thankfully that didn’t occur as the personal, social, historical and romance elements all blended together to absolute perfection. I loved the fact there was no messing around with a long winded introduction which brought nothing to the story. Instead we get straight down to business and from that point on I barely come up for air so engrossed did I become. Tasha is a historian and works for the Heritage Trust who have recently bought Bluebell Farm. The plan is to renovate/excavate the farm and its surrounding buildings and turn it into a visitor centre. Tasha is to oversee the initial stages and she arrives having sold her house and bought a camper van following her divorce from Tony. What she sees upon her arrival is not what she had expected. She knew the farm was rundown and in a series state of disrepair but the job is much bigger than she would have thought. Not to mention Maud, now in her 90’s appears to be very resistant to change even after selling the farm.
Maud is allowed to stay on the farm until she passes and new accommodation will be created for her and the heritage of the farm will be preserved as best it can be. Maud is evasive, prickly and cantankerous with firm opinions and views. She’s a hardy woman used to living on her own for so long in primitive conditions and Bluebell Farm is the only place she has ever known. Despite her recent limited interactions with the outside world she has led an extraordinary life and suffered much hardship and heartbreak. As we delve back into the past we gain a deeper understanding of Maud. We learn that the events she endure, shaped the person who she is today and that the secrets she holds buried deeply within her will now have to come to the surface. Time may have stood still to a certain degree on the farm but with the arrival of Tasha and Ryan and their archaeological crew the foundations of Bluebell Farm will be shaken.
I really enjoyed the present day element to the story. Yes, there was some romance that featured but it wasn’t the dominant theme throughout the book instead it wove itself into the main threads of the story at a slow and gentle and underplayed pace. This was so apt as this was Maud’s story not Tasha’s. Tasha is merely the conduit through which an emotional story of extraordinary hardship emerges proving the greatest of love stories perhaps might not always have to have a happy ending. Tasha does her best to connect with Maud to bring her into the modern day world. She is resistant to change and to new methods of doing things and Tasha realises Maud is an enigmatic person who is hiding things. As the team set about exploring the farm major surprises occur which in order to comprehend we have to go back to the past.
1940 was the year that Maud first met Martin Emerson, the grandson of the neighbouring farm, and from that moment love sprung for her and she harboured this for many years right up until the present day. But love is not always reciprocated, or perhaps certain situations won’t allow this. Yet, she remains steadfast and loyal as she has always done with her family and the farm. As Maud recounts her story to Tasha chapters from her viewpoint tell of growing up on the farm and how war changed everything. The loss of her brother to war set in motion a series of events which have life altering and long lasting consequences. George, her father, takes to the drink and is never the same person due to the loss of his son. Maud and her mother Ethel have to step up and keep the farm running with limited resources and finances. They live in a world of pain, anxiety and fear, yet they keep trudging on desperately hoping that things would change.
Maud is very resilient and would love nothing more than to be a shepherdess when she is older and to one day marry Martin. But fate has plenty in store for her and as the strands of her story unwind there are numerous challenges, difficulties and extenuating circumstances that test her and alter the course of her. Things that spring to life in the present don’t seem to make sense at the time until further investigation and probing are carried out. Through Maud’s point of view things begin to make sense, but there is one significant event that leaves many unanswered questions and the hidden letter of the title comes into play here. I was smug in thinking I had everything worked out yet at the same time I was thinking that just seems to easy to have it pan out like that but the author had plenty of surprises up her sleeve packed full of tragedy, secrecy, hardship, misfortune, loyalty and mysterious. All of these things Tasha is determined to get to the bottom of as she forms a close bond with Maud. Perhaps she is the first person who can try and crack the walls that Maud has enshrouded herself with and in doing so Maud may finally be able to lay the ghosts of the past to rest.
The Hidden Letter at Bluebell Farm was a beautifully woven story and the best in the series so far which is saying something considering how much I enjoyed the first two books. There is a multi-layered plot with brilliant characterisation and although there is something sad, dark and secret about the farm, throughout it all Tasha attempts to right wrongs and bring hope, love, tenderness, friendship and solidarity into Maud’s life and in a way her own too. The characters and setting became so real I felt like I knew them in real life and I didn’t want to let go when I reached the final page. I could have kept reading on for many more hours. Hopefully in future books we will get glimpses once again of Tasha and co. Rebecca Alexander has written a powerful story and I was delighted that my first read of 2026 turned out to be such a memorable read.
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