Lucy is helping her mother clean up her grandmother's home so they can rent it out. Her grandmother, Mary is in a nursing home because she needs more care than they can give her. Her memory comes and goes but now in the nursing home, her secrets are in danger of exposure since Lucy has found a hidden locket. This is a multi-generational family drama with nothing but love and understanding among the family. Side drama with a wayward father in and out of the picture. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Relative Secrets by Helen Stancey was a quick read full of engaging characters who trade off telling their stories and share their views of what is and has happened in the family. The story starts in a retirement home where Lucy’s grandmother, Mary, has recently moved due to her ailing mind. The people in the retirement home and their decline is sad to hear about. Lucy and other family members clear out Mary’s home. As they explore different rooms, Lucy discovers a locket that contains a secret and, as a result, begins a genealogical quest to unearth some of the family’s history. The main story was a fairly enjoyable one but the subplots were a little lacking in development. In the end, I was left with the feeling of some questions left unanswered which was a bit frustrating. Overall, an enjoyable story.

Relative Secrets by Helen Stanley

Family secrets that should never be found out.
The book was spent trying to find out a family secret and resolve it.? Would Beth really be upset when she’d found court? I think the story could have been shortened and still reveal the secret. It was not one of my favorites.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for review.

This book follows the Pearson family. Secrets are slowly revealed when the grandmother is put into a care home for dementia.

This book follows multiple viewpoints, the secrets are interesting, and the characters are real.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this in exchange for a review.

I loved this book, it kept me intrigued as to what the secret was right up until the very end of the book. Helen Stancy told a really good story in that things like that may have been going on all those years ago with not many people knowing at all, so the fact that Helen told this story with such enthusiasm and accuracy of the time is amazing. What an original idea, the only thing that I am gutted about is that I didn't come up with this first!

I also loved the idea that all families have their secrets as well behind closed doors and it really does get the reader thinking about other families of that time as well, that still span generations, what secrets have they got that they aren't sharing.

A lovely read that follows the family of Beth, Adam, Lucy and Daniel as they deal with having to put their mother/grandmother into an aged care Home. As they are cleaning out her house, the web of intrigue starts when Lucy discovers a locket and then some artwork and birth certificates. The tale shifts between the present time and the family trying to deal with Mary’s situation as well as their own personal issues and the past which is when we see what happened to Mary in her youth. An easy to read story that keeps you turning the pages to uncover the secrets.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Shhhhh, Mary has a secret. However, she is in a long-term care facility because she cannot take care of herself and her mind wanders and she has been making odd comments.

Mary's granddaughter, Lucy, is helping her mom clean out Mary's house so that renters can move in and they can use the income to help with Mary's care. While cleaning out a draw, Lucy finds some interesting items. She hides them and begins to research her family tree behind her mom's back.

Will the secret be as horrific as Lucy fears, or is there more to the story?

Helen Stancey weaves a beautiful story backwards and forwards between the characters to fill in the missing pieces. I look forward to reading more of her stories.

Took a few chapters to understand the characters as the chapters alternated from present to past. A family past has to put together all the pieces to understand the journey and help the descendants to move forward in their lives. Although fictional, it is a very likely story. Thank you #NetGalley and #kindle for the advance copy.

This book was downloaded in error and then deleted before I could review in any event. Please accept my apologies. Despite the issue, I had intended to read..

3.5 Stars

I just finished this novel by Helen Stancey and it sucked me in from the beginning. I love books where the characters take turns telling the story, so this was perfect. But the characters were so vivid and realistic. I was prepared for some sort of twist because it seemed inevitable but this one threw me for a loop.

I wish I was one who savored a great book slowly but I don't - I devour them, unable to do anything else until the last page is finished, then I'm so sad when it's over...I will miss Beth, Lucy, Daniel and especially the incredible Mary (and Tom). What an intriguing beautifully written story. I fell in love with each of these dear ones.

I recommend Relative Secrets by Helen Stancey it was an enjoyable read.

I feel this could have been good, but isn't. The story itself as well as the writing style is enjoyable, however the whole thing lacks clarity and resolution and the ending is well, just not there. It needs a serious edit to make this into a well rounded book and it does have the potential to be so.

After Lucy's family moves her grandmother into a nursing home, Lucy discovers hidden family momentos while cleaning out her grandmother's house. The items hold family secrets that send Lucy on a journey to figure out her family story in the hopes of helping her make sense of her grandmother's dementia ramblings. So let me first say that the "family secrets" of this story aren't that shocking or scandalous. Each new bit of information had me like "eh" and were not jaw dropping twists. In addition to that, NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS STORY. The pace was mindnumbingly slow with barely anything interesting happening and the characters weren't developed enough to carry the book. Also, the book just ends with what feels like no resolution or point to it. Lucy doesn't even act on the information she finds out so there's no drama. If you need a mundane palate cleanser of a book, this one is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for my ARC.

A well written, tightly knit, story of three generations. Family secrets and mysteries are uncovered as illness develops and time runs out to find out the truth
A bit of a slow start for me, but overall enjoyed it.

I'll be honest, I started to read, made it about 30% in, and just decided that the book and I should part ways. This is CERTAINLY a case of "it's me, not you." The constant flipping between perspectives, the main story getting muddled due to side plots, and the writing style are just not my thing. Additionally, I have recently lost a family member to dementia, so it became progressively worse to read about Mary and her condition. So I'm putting this down, stepping away, and allowing this book to find its audience that I DO think it will find once released. I, for one, will just not be a part of it.

A lovely story about a young girl trying to find out about her family history after finding out some information that makes her question everything she had ever believed. Well written and keeps a nice pace throughout. A nice, light read.

I’m disappointed, as I really thought this sounded so intriguing but I was left quite confused. I don’t enjoy books with a constant change in perspectives, especially Mary's chapters, but I respect this was to show her dementia but as a narrator it left me quite lost. I wasn’t really investted in the story bar Lucy’s search for the truth, the rest felt very irrelevant to me. A shame, as It sounded good but left me underwhelmed.

Relative Secrets by Helen Stancey, tells the story of family secrets and what happens when they start to work their way to the surface. Mary has been moved from her home to Long Term Care Facility when her memory starts to deteriorate and she can no longer keep her shameful secrets to herself, leaving her Granddaughter Lucy to piece the truth together. Helen Stancey does an amazing job at quilting a families stories together to make one big cohesive piece.

Set mostly in 1999 with flashbacks to earlier times. Lucy’s grandmother Mary has dementia and is in a care home. Mary has a secret and often rambles on about earlier times. While sorting in out her grandmother’s belongings Lucy finds a locket with an old photo hidden in a drawer and other items and photographs in Mary’s house. Lucy sets out to discover who the people are in the photographs.
I loved the way Lucy uses the snippets of information she hears from her grandmother and the items and photographs in her grandmother’s house to find out what her grandmother’s secret is.
This was about family relationships and secrets.

As this book unravels, we learn more about several characters within one family, including long-buried secrets. For me, it took a little while to get going but it was worth persevering with.

A bit slow to start, but once it got going, I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. I love books that are generational within one family as various family secrets are unravelled. I loved the gran. What a spirted character. The book kept me guessing to the end and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.