Firstly, I would like to thank @Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book for an honest review!

I cannot say how happy I am that I finally picked this book up. I didn't really know what to expect from this book. The title of the book put me off for a good few months because of my own grief. Finally I have read it and I really loved it. Julia was a great main character and she was going through such a hard time. I really felt for her and wanted to see her have a happy ending.

I have noticed as I've got older that I am enjoying more and more adult fiction (I'm so mature) which I never actually saw happening. This book is full of family secret with Linda appearing in Julia's life at a rather unexpected time. I enjoyed seeing all the dynamics of the family and was so happy when Julia accepted Pete into her life! Such a sweet guy.

I loved that this book had many twists and turns to it and had me thinking constantly. I hated that I had to live my everyday life when all I wanted to do was finish this book! Now that I have I am so satisfied with it! I'm surprised I haven't heard more about this book and really recommend it for everyone to read!

This was not a particularly enjoyable read for me. I didn't engage with any of the characters and it was a real struggle to finish the book. I found the overall story line weak and the ending ridiculous.

Julia is struggling to cope after the death of her mother, and also with the break up from her long term partner. When Linda appears at her mother's funeral Julia is surprised to learn that Linda saw herself as being close to her mother, but her mother had never mentioned Linda to Julia. Linda hinted at a family secret. And so the family story unfolds. I wasn't entirely convinced by the characters but found it a decent story nonetheless.

I found myself completely captivated by After The Funeral from the very beginning.
We meet 49 year old Julia at a very sad time in her life, the funeral of her mother, Emily. When she meets a stranger attending the funeral claiming to know her and hinting at a family secret, Julia is understandably disturbed, but intrigued. Who is this Linda who claims to have spent time with her mother, but who her mother has never mentioned?
I have to say that for the most part of this book I couldn't make my mind up if I liked Julia or not. At times she comes across as quite standoffish and a bit self-important, but she is struggling with her grief and the recent break of a relationship, all of which affects her ability to do her job as a counsellor effectively. This, of course, has a knock on effect on her finances, another cause of stress which leads to her returning to her work sooner than she really should have. Her new client, Grace proves that she isn't really well enough to counsel effectively, but she really needs the money and Grace has her more than little bit intrigued.
When Linda turns up at Julia's Aunt Ada's 80th Birthday celebration, seemingly drunk and just there to cause trouble, the suspense is revved up a notch and I was desperate to discover Linda's story and her connection to the family. It is obvious that Aunt Ada knows something about her, but she takes her secret with her to her grave.
When Julia's supervisor insists she takes some time off and go away for a few days, I love that Julia goes to Walsingham. I know Walsingham well. I have been there on pilgrimage many times in the past few years, but unfortunately didn't go last year with our church group. My friend, Gayle, and I are looking at going sometime in November this year, all being well. Anyway, it's such a beautiful place in such a lovely part of the country and I loved that I could picture where Julia was whilst she was there.
When Julia meets Linda once again and she hands her a diary of her mothers which was missing from her house, she knows she is finally going to discover the truth. That truth is quite heart-breaking and this is when I really warmed Julia. Reading Emily's diary entry reveals the secret everyone had been keeping for all those years and my heart wept for Emily. I don't want to say any more for fear of spoiling it for anyone, but needless to say it has been a compelling read.
It is such an emotional story full of secrets, love and devastating loss. It has, however, hope for a brighter future with long lost family and new relationships.
It is hard to believe this is a debut novel. I highly recommend and will be looking forward to future books by Gillian Poucher.
Many thanks to Anna and Julia at RedDoor publishing for my review copy.

I felt a connection with this story since the beginning, I know how lost you can feel when you loose your mother; like you are missing an important part of your life, a pillar that no matter what was always there… Julia has not only lost her mother, she is trying to get over the infidelity of her partner when a mysterious woman hunts her with a dark family secret. Ready to discover what happens After the Funeral?
This is a very emotive book, full of drama and secrets; because Julia is not in her best moment, but the mysterious Linda doesn’t seem really trustworthy, or not to me, let’s be clear. I didn’t like much her since the beginning, but that’s what keeps you reading in a book, the story and the characters, to discover if you are correct with your guessing or you were totally wrong!
I know how a secret can break a family, but keeping it quiet it will never do any good, so maybe it’s time for Julia to discover the truth with the full impact of it. Because when Linda will hand her the diary of her deceased mother, she would never believed all the secrets her family had buried, but maybe it will help her to heal all her wounds and start fresh, don’t you think?
This is a family saga, connecting 3 generations with some dark secrets, but it will show you too how really important is a family!
Ready?

I was given a copy of After The Funeral by the publisher for an honest review.
When Julia's mother dies and a stranger turns up a the funeral saying she is a distant cousin Julia begins to question how well she knew her mother in the final weeks of her life. Julia is not only struggling with the death of her mother but also a recent break up with a long term partner. The characters were well developed, I felt sorry for Julia trying to deal with everything and also trying to work out what the hidden family secret is. I enjoyed this book but did feel the end of the story rushed and ended quite abruptly.

A really good debut novel about family secrets. I really enjoyed this story. I think there were too many coincidences in it but that does not really take away from the story. There were plenty of interesting characters and a good secret when it was eventually told.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

AFTER THE FUNERAL by Gillian Poucher is a complicated story of secrets, betrayal, and family relationships, and will draw you in effortlessly into its depths.

Julia Butler is barely holding it together. Her mother has passed away, her relationship has ended very badly, and her career is always complicated. So when a strange woman approaches her at her mother's funeral claiming to be a relative who had a close relationship with her mother, Julia is confused and a little unsettled. Too much in her life has changed and she doesn't want this stranger around. But as Julia begins to dig into who Linda really is, the past bursts into the present and the truth will shock Julia to the core ...

AFTER THE FUNERAL by Gillian Poucher has a tense atmosphere from the very beginning which really adds to the plot and while the characters are not necessarily likeable, they are compelling. There is drama, lies, and harshness from the past which must be confronted in this story and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering the truth as the story progressed.

AFTER THE FUNERAL by Gillian Poucher is a well thought out story with plenty to keep you hooked to the very end.

After the Funeral is a convoluted and compelling tale about families and secrets. The core of the story lies with Emily whose death is the impetus behind the ongoing revelations that had been folded into three generations of this family. Going back to World War II, we follow the children of the vicar at Lincoln as they mature. We see the choices they have made and the repercussions of the same and follow the waves of choice and chance.

A debut novel, this is an excellent British tale taking place in Lincoln and Norfolk. The characters are interesting and empathetic, the prose colorful and the locale pictured well. I am happy to recommend Gillian Poucher to friends and family.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Gillian Poucher, and Red Door Publishing. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this novel. This is my honest opinion of this work.

This is a dramatic book that reads like a soap opera, with a lot of dialog and a great deal of emotion. Julia Butler is still suffering from her mother’s death and her boyfriend leaving her for another woman. She is feeling totally alone and somewhat at odds about how to move on. Then a stranger named Linda introduces herself to Julia at her mother’s funeral and hints at a long-held and deeply-buried family secret. Linda is the character who keeps on giving in this novel because she continues to show up at the most inopportune times and continues with her air of secrecy and mystery. The plot in this novel is very convoluted and complicated, but it not particularly believable since there are a lot of coincidences that just seem to come together, thus taking away from the realism of the novel. The characters are mostly very weak and needy, and none were very likable, although I did sympathize with Julia and her loss. Her quest to discover the family’s secret is the theme of the book and the desire to know that secret kept me reading. I did guess part of Linda’s role in the family secret long before it was revealed, but that did not stop me from wanting to read the rest of the story to find out the fate of the much beleaguered and grieving Julia. Readers of suspense will enjoy this book as long as they don’t expect a great deal of action or reality.

A solid debut that covers some interesting topics. I felt it could have been a bit more ‘show-y’ less ‘tell-y’ but on the whole a strong start. The main character was a bit slow on the uptake but was forgiven, due to her grief, but otherwise she was human, flawed and likeable.
Some interesting themes around parent-child relationships, and issues of faith in a secular country.

I liked reading a story about an older woman, in her 40s, even though I didn't identify with her all the way. Otherwise, the book was a bit up and down, a bit of suspence and intrigue, some bizarre bits, some predictable. Some of Julia interactions with her newfound cousin Linda were a bit frustrating and hard to digest, and the eventual reveal a bit too dramatic. Overall, it was a decent read, entertaining insofar as the journey was but not one that stayed with me after the book was over.

Julie has taken the death of her mother very hard. Emily was ailing and weak and now Julie feels bereft and all alone. Finding a total stranger at the funeral claiming a relationship with her mother, and a very close one at that leaves Julie bemused, nervous and curious as to why her mother never ever mentioned this before.

To add to Julie's misery, she is not getting over her break up with her partner for five years and his apparent finding a new girl friend and also finding her heavily pregnant has added to her woes. She cannot believe that Greg had been unfaithful for such a long time and the agony is acute as he did not want children with her and she now finds him very happy about his impending fatherhood.

Unraveling the secrets of who Linda is, is the main crux of the story. Complicated and going back decades to a time when mental stress and post par tum depression was not understood the complications are dire and reflect on the present day as well. Handling misery on so many sides Julie feels her life is crumbling as nothing seems to be going right for her - personally or professionally. Her family life even with her step brother is disintegrating and there does not seem to be anything she can do about it.

The coincidences dovetailing are a little too precise to be believable but the story covering three generations of a family is a good one. It also reinforces my belief that every family has secrets well hidden!

After the Funeral is a interesting book about a family secret. The author has written a good book with strong characters.

This book is well written
Has good characters and is worth reading
I just found the coincidences and connections to many to be believable.

Thank you netgalley, Gillian Poucher and Red Door Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

AFTER THE FUNERAL – Gillian Poucher
RedDoor Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-91045-376-6
April 2019
General Fiction

Walsingham, England, 2002

Julia Butler, a childless and late middle-aged woman, attends her mother’s funeral. It is a difficult time. Only a few months ago her lover ended their relationship. Just as he had left his wife for Julia, he has now left her for a younger woman. At the funeral a woman she has never met before approaches her and introduces herself as Linda. Linda claims she and Emily (Linda’s mother) are second cousins. Linda is an artist and invites Julia to a local exhibit of her paintings. Julia reluctantly agrees, and even more reluctantly attends the exhibit. A photographer takes their pictures together at the exhibit, saying the two women share a family likeness. Later, after an altercation, Linda tells Julia her family has a secret, one Julia doesn’t know, but now was not the time to tell her.
Julia has suspicions about Linda’s presence, which increase when the woman shows up inebriated at her Aunt Ada’s eightieth birthday party and causes her mother’s older sister to suffer a stroke. More serious problems arise, some within her family, some with her finances, and others with her work as a counselor. She and the only other business occupant in their building, Tim, a reflexologist, will soon have their leases terminated. Then she learns Linda, who had a key to her mother’s house, entered a few days after the funeral. Later she suspects the woman took one of the diaries Julia found hidden in the house. What did Linda want? What secret does she know? And does Julia want to know this secret?

Julia’s story is about family and its convoluted relationships of love, jealousy, dislike, regret, and forgiveness through the generations; how the past affects the present and about finding faith even when in despair or doubt. It also includes some romance. Julia is filled with sadness and emotions she doesn’t show, but her turmoil makes her want to avoid any new relationships. This eventually leads her to explode in one instance of rage. The other well-portrayed characters are seen from Julia’s viewpoint, but the reader will understand them and their motivations. It is a complicated story with some very sad episodes and some seemingly serendipitous circumstances, but the outcome is surprising and evocative.

Robin Lee

I requested this book thinking I'd step outside of my usual stomping grounds and explore something new. Unfortunately the novel didn't hold much appreciated for me and I found myself uninterested in the family drama.

#After The Funeral #Netgalley
I was really looking forward to reading this book, I read the synopsis and thought yes that’s my kind of book. However I found it disappointing really family secrets in a diary. Unfortunately it was rather predictable. I persevered hoping it would get better. Alas not to be. I absolutely hate books that are predictable unfortunately. I can’t say it wasn’t well written because it was. It’s also a bit addictive st thr start. It only became predictable, after the diary’s I did wonder prior to this about Lind. Overall not really for me. However others may really enjoy it. Has I said it’s well written and initially addictive

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book



Julia Butler finds her life unravelling when a stranger at her mother’s funeral hints at a disturbing family secret. Along with her partner’s infidelity and the prospect of a childless future, she’s near breaking point.

I really enjoyed this book, not my usual genre but a very interesting and thought provoking read and I am so glad I decided to read it.

It is a well developed story with good characters and I felt as though I knew them all personally, it is a well written and very descriptive book and I will read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Red Door Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.