Amy doesn't trust Francoise - Really enjoyed this story about Amy and her relationship with her father (who I did not like one bit). She has a break from hospital work pending an investigation and returns home to find her Dad has a new carer Francoise . There are lots of twists and turns and the tale is very cleverly written as it portrays each character in depth and their relationships with each other. Totally unexpected but great ending for me.

After Emily, a midwife, gets in trouble at work, she goes home to see her elderly father who has dementia only to find that his carer, Francoise, has moved in. Who is she and why is she there? Is she exploiting Emily's father? Both women have a secret and this was a page turner finding out what they were!

Jane Corry We All Have Our Secrets Penguin 2022

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Corry dares to end her often complex, character driven novels with satisfyingly pleasant endings. To accomplish this in a way that is plausible, keeping the characterisation intact and maintaining the story theme is what has brought me back to Corry, from my first reading of her work. I have mixed responses to my previous experiences, really appreciating The Lies We Tell, and feeling less enthused about I Made a Mistake. However, We All Have Our Secrets, gathers all the best aspects of her writing. Corry has devised particularly complicated characters for this novel and uses a compelling mix of show and tell to achieve her aims. Observation of characters’ convolutions while they interact with other characters and during their brief internal monologues as they measure their and others’ behaviour as well works well with authorial intervention. The plot is intricate but devoid of holes. Past, present and future are brought together in an engaging narrative that sustains interest to the last word.

Emily is thirty-five, a midwife involved in a difficult birth, and about to go on a date with an attractive consultant. Her family has lived at Willowmead, a large house in Cornwall, for all Emily’s life, and she returns when disaster strikes at work. Her father, Harold, alone since his wife’s death, needs care, and Emily seeks his advice, while returning to offer him assistance, as a way of escaping her career problems. However, Emily is thwarted in both aspirations - Francoise has taken up residence as Harold’s carer – much to her father’s joy and Emily’s displeasure.

The story revolves around the two women’s competition for a place in the house and their concerns about each other’s honesty, at the same time as keeping their own secrets. Harold, whose story is told in brief flashbacks, and through Emily’s recall of the past as a family, also has secrets. Zorro, the dog also has a role to play in the jealous interaction between Emily and Francoise, providing subtle clues to the relationships in the house. Joe, the gardener, neighbours and local businesspeople are worth watching too. After all, who is telling the truth? Is there one truth or many? With whom should the reader sympathise in the maelstrom of feelings; actions that can be misinterpreted, or perhaps not; and even scientific information which may not be all it seems.

As well as the personal stories of the main characters, Emily, Francoise and Harold, there is a broader role for the characters. They raise issues about past war experiences, casting soldiers’ relationships in occupied territory as having an impact on the future; and the domestic relationships between women and men which seemingly only cry out for understanding but demonstrate the lasting impact of gender inequality. Women’s role in keeping the peace domestically provides a subtle background to the more forthright relationship between Emily and Francoise.

Jane Corry has written a satisfying, and gripping novel of psychological warfare in a domestic setting.

I received this arc from net galley and the publishers.

Having read a few books by Jane Corry before I was really looking forward to this one.
We meet Francoise who is helping the elderly father of Emily, but as the book goes on we find her true intentions and find out Emily’s story as well.

A great read which I will highly recommend

Absolutely amazing, gripped right from the start and couldn’t wait to pick it up to continue to read. Another fantastic read by Jane Corry

Jane Corry has a talent for writing domestic thrillers where family's secrets and pasts seep into the present. We All Have Our Secrets is no exception.

Emily and Francoise seem opposed to each other when they are really linked in a common purpose; to gain the trust and attention of one man, Emily's father. This is where their battle begins.

As his health declines and Emily's career is threatened, Francoise becomes both a help and a danger. Who is the strange woman? Why is Emily acting so strange?

An interesting read, particularly with the use of different narrators and excerpts from the past. Fans of Jane Corry won't be disappointed.

Familial Secrets…
A sweeping tale of familial secrets, past and present, and their often emotional impact as they eventually come to light. Who can be trusted and who is telling the truth? Narrated effectively, through differing timelines and with a credible and well drawn cast of characters. An immersive and compelling tale.

I enjoyed this undemanding but very entertaining story. The plot is compelling and the main characters are appealing. This would make an excellent holiday book.

I was slightly disappointed with this Jane Corry story.

I read it quickly mainly I must confess to figure out how the plot would be resolved and it was a satisfactory conclusion. I just felt that there was no tension, nor was there a whole lot of back story for either of the 2 principal characters. Emily in particular I felt was very underwritten, and as a result un-engaging.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A good read by this author. Loved the tension in the household, between Emily and Francoise. Some great twists right up until the end, and dark secrets. Read it over a few days. Thanks NetGalley/Author

This was a good read with a very interesting plot. The writing was brilliant but there were a few things about the book that just didn’t sit right with me. I don’t tell the story in a review, and without spoiling it for others I can’t describe what I mean! However, I can certainly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a well-written suspense with a happy ending. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Well as soon as I receive another Jane Corry book, I know I will be staying up all night! This was no disappointment, brilliant yet again. This one I felt was quite different to the others. The author was giving nothing away here - I really did not know who to trust. It moved cleverly to telling the story from each characters point of view.
Well done Jane Corry, you did it again!!
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Jane’s books for a few years now and was delighted to be approved by NetGalley to read and review her latest one.

Emily is a midwife in London, far away from her widowed father in Cornwall. When a routine delivery devlops complications, Emily makes the decision to head home and escape from the reality of an investigation. However, she arrives home to find a young French woman answering the door: a woman who is apparently living at her home, sleeping in her bed and is seemingly very friendly with her elderly and poorly father Harold. Just who is Francoise and why is she there?

The story is compellingly told by Corry as truths are uncovered; not just the secrets of the two women but also in the timeline of WWII as we relive the horrors of war suffered by Harold.

I could not put this book down. The twists and turns of the story kept me guessing right until the end. Would recommend.

Oh my goodness, I just love Jane Corry's novels! She is an excellent writer and always has the best storylines. Absolutely amazing and this one was a fabulous suspense novel. I really enjoyed the characters and had a great time reading this book.

#WeAllHavePurSecrets #NetGalley
Emily made one bad decision, and now her career could be over. Her family home on the Cornish coast is the only place where she feels safe. But when she arrives, there's a stranger living with her father. Emily doesn't trust the beautiful young women, convinced that she's telling one lie after another.
Soon, Emily becomes obsessed with finding out the truth... But should some secrets stay buried forever?
I really liked this book. So gripping.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for giving me an advance copy.

#WeAllHaveOurSecrets #NetGalley
Incredibly Compelling.
Emily, a midwife at a hospital in London does something terrible in her job and now she's suspended and decides to come back to Willowmead House to her old father, Harold Gentle who had served in WW2. But as soon as she reached there, a strange woman by the name of Françoise opened the door and told her that she's her father's carer.
Things start to happen, both women don't like each other and each suspecting that the other isn't good. And then Harold Gentle dies and the doctor suspects that it's not natural. If the death wasn't natural then who's responsible for it? Is Françoise telling the truth or Emily? Or both of them are lying? Read this book to find out.
I loved the characters of Emily, Françoise, and Harold. Other characters were good.
Narration of the story was excellent. It gripped me from the first page.
Overall it's a must read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for giving me an advanced copy of this psychological thriller.

I've enjoyed Jane Corry's previous books, so appreciated the opportunity to read an advance copy of her latest, We All Have Our Secrets. It started promisingly, with midwife Emily facing trouble over an incident at work. Emily returns home to her elderly father, Harold, only to find to her chagrin that French carer Françoise has moved in. Everybody, of course, has their secrets....

The Emily/Françoise/Harold storyline occupies the rest of the book and unfortunately this didn't really work for me. The storyline and characters never really convinced, it became confusing at times (rather too many secrets popping out all over the place) and I found myself plodding to the end. Even the flashbacks to Harold's wartime experiences, although more engaging than the present-day shenanigans, didn't really hold my interest. We hear from three different people's perspectives but they are all written in short sentences and paragraphs which made it all seem a bit disjointed. To be honest, the whole thing felt a bit rushed.

I do like this author despite this rather negative review, and I will eagerly look out for her future work. I'm sure many will enjoy this book but on this occasion it didn't work for me. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

Note: at least twice, the word "slither" is used when it should be "sliver". ("A sharp slither is poking out...") One of my current pet hates!

WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK! FANTASTIC!. Another brilliant, addictive read by the amazing Jane Corry. A cast of fabulous characters and the tension ramps up the more you read. I was sucked into the life of Emily and Francoise who are two completely different women, but both have their secrets and they don't trust each other at all. Francoise cares for Harold Gentle, Emily's elderly father and when Emily arrives at her childhood home the secrets, lies and twists start happening and the book is completely impossible to put down. It's additive, skilfully plotted and heartbreaking at the same time. This will definitely be a bestseller and I will recommend it to everyone I no. Huge Congratulations to Jane for another compulsive, unforgettable read.

Wow! We all have our secrets is such a compelling read full of intrigue and suspense that will keep you enthralled from start to finish with such a twist at the end I was totally entranced from start to finish!
Set in beautiful cornwall and told in the past and present we are introduced to Emily a midwife who has made a mistake at work, her elderly father who is struggling to cope with old age, frailty and dementia and François’s a French carer that has been appointed without Emily knowing!
Emily and François’s have a tense relationship based on mistrust,dislike and hidden agendas but as secrets are revealed and Emily’s father deteriorates they call a truce to care for him at the end of his life, after his death more is revealed testing the relationship between the two even more!
A fantastically emotive domestic thriller that I would highly recommend.

I enjoyed reading this story but I did find it a little lightweight.
The book explores the links between the Second World War and today, looking at the impact of individual war time events on the next generation of family members.
There are several twists as the story is revealed but I found it difficult to like the main characters and felt that some of the discoveries were unlikely.
There are additional complications, eg: a major error at work and an accident the same day, where the impact is minimal until the story needs it to become important.
For me, the various themes did not quite gang together.