I’ve always enjoyed books with dual timelines, and I enjoyed this one as well. I liked the combination of historical fiction and crime drama. Thanks for letting me check it out!

**will be posting my review to IG (www.instagram.com/lipsticktoliterature) before pub day of 9/6/22

I read the synopsis awhile ago when I requested the ARC of this book and totally forgot what it was about so I basically went into this one blind. It's actually my preferred way.  The beginning of the book but was SO not what I expected and I loved it!!!  The story went back and forth between 1949/early 1950 to 2013 (which is considered present day in this book)  I've said it before and I'll say it again I love when stories go back and forth in order to be able to weave together a complete story. There are 4 generations of women in thus story so keep that in mind when reading it. Ingrid aka GG aka Brigid is the great grandmother. Diane is the grandmother, Francis is the mother and Izzy is the daughter. This is my only complaint. Sometimes I felt it was hard to keep track of who said what but it could have also been the formatting on my kindle paperwhite.

This book is depicts a strained relationship between a mother (Francis) and daughter (Izzy), the struggles Francis has in her work and personal life, Diane's love and respect for her mother Ingrid. And the love and strength of a young mother, Ingrid, in the early 1950s.

Yes there is a murder mystery to solve but the power and determination of a mother's love is the center of this story in my opinion.

I love dual timelines, so that was what drew me into this book. It was portrayed as a mystery, so that was what I was expecting. While I was disappointed to find it was not the mystery I thought it was, it was still a fairly solid read.

This book is a combination of historical fiction and crime. It has dual POVs and timelines, as well as 2 great female detective characters, which you know I love! I also enjoyed the character development and the strength shown by the female characters. The historical aspect of this book is heartbreaking. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to both historical fiction and crime genre fans.

Thank you @netgalley and @penzlerpub for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

I lived The Only Child but Kayte Nunn. It's a solid historical fiction about a home for unwed mothers. That alone is a premise for a horror story given what has happened in these types of homes. Set in Puget Sound, the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest adds to the tension and really ramps up the mystery Frankie Grey has to solve.

Baby bones, mysterious notes, a fragile relationship between mothers and daughters, this book throws it all at the reader. All I can do is hang on for the ride.

It's one of the best historical mysteries I've read in a long time.

Let me start by saying I love me a good dual timeline, and this book did not disappoint! I loved how developed the characters were. While I wanted much more mystery and whodunit this was still a pretty good read. Frankie is a pretty good character, even tho she has issues.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishing for access to this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Very well written time hop thriller. Every chapter ended with something that made you want to keep turning the pages.
Great character development - relatable and interesting.

Definitely a great book club choice.

Phenomenal novel! Wow, this one was definitely a thrill. I honestly was not sure where it was going to lead but then the ending really took me for a spin! Outstanding writing and the characters were crazy good!

I enjoyed this book reading it in just a couple sittings. I liked the transitioning POVs between now and back in the 40s. I thought I had narrowed down who the killer was, but was not quite right. I have always wanted to live on an island and thought the author did a good job portraying the scenery of the island. Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this ARC copy.

4/5 stars

The Only Child is a fascinating historical fiction/romance/mystery novel. So no matter what your favorite genre is, The Only Child will pull you in to its emotionally-charged story.

Frankie has run home to the Seattle area from Australia after a bad incident at work. She is a police officer, and has spent the last several years working away from her ex-husband and daughter. While she saw her daughter Izzy on long breaks and for holidays, she is looking forward to getting to spend an entire summer with her. They'll be living with her mother Diana, at the Fairmile Plantation on Orcades Island. Diana has bought the property, and has spent months fixing it up so she can open it as an inn. Frankie has accepted a job as a police officer in Orcades beginning in the fall, but first she'll spend the summer helping her mother and getting to know her daughter again.

Diana's mother, Ingrid, lives in a retirement home on the island, as well. When Frankie goes to visit Ingrid, she sees the police are there investigating a death. While death is fairly normal in a retirement home, the person being tied to her bed is not. Of course, Frankie can't help but get involved and helps Molly, who will be one of her colleagues in a few months, with her investigation. The dead woman is Sister Bernadette, a former nun.

The book jumps between the present and 1949, when Fairmile was a home for unwed mothers, run by the Catholic Church. Frankie finds out one of the other residents was an unwed mother and had just been reunited with her son, who had been taken from her after she gave birth.

Frankie also is dealing with a daughter who is very different from what she remembered from their last visit. Izzy is 15 and is growing into a beautiful young woman. She has a typical teen attitude, and isn't used to someone questioning her every move either. Her father lets her stay out late and doesn't expect her to check in, so she struggles with Frankie's rules.

And then there's Joe, who is Molly's brother. He runs the local pub, and he lights up every nerve in Frankie's body when he is near. But Frankie has too much going on in her life, and isn't sure she even wants a relationship right now.

All of these threads from the past and the present come together to create a compelling story about family, the treatment of unwed mothers in the 1940s and '50s, and how that ill treatment left scars for generations.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the past and present timelines as the history of Fairmile was revealed. It elevated the plot, and helped set the mood.

Frankie was a realistic and likeable MC, who was flawed but understandably so.

With the death of a former nun and the revamping of Fairmile, it’s time that the dark secrets become unburied… What Frankie soon discovers is that her very own family was affected by the horrors of Fairmile.

The story is set in Orcades Island and is told in 2 different timeliness 1950 and 2013. Frankie comes back to help her mother restart Fairmile to become a lodging house and to start as the new deputy in town. 3 weeks in, a murder occured in Pacifica Gardens, where Frankie's grandmother is a resident. Frankie takes special interest with the murder because she believes the crime is related to Fairmile being a home for unwed mother's back in the day. This book was a good historical mystery. A times it can be slow but it still kept me hooked especially reading Brigid's story in Fairmile when her family sent her when she got pregnant. The historical portion of the book made me research about Unwed mothers home back in 1940 and 1950s. It was sad to discover the punishment and mind control this young mother's had to go thru as they were told to give their babies for adoption. It also led me to read the story of St. Mary's in Tuam, Ireland were 800 babies died. There was so much to read about the past but one thing I really I liked about this book was how it emphasized a mother's love. A love that will go lengths to protect their beloved child.

“The Only Child” is a story that evoked some heart wrenching emotions. It follows a dual timeline of 1949 and 2013. In 1949, a sixteen-year-old pregnant girl is sent off to live in a “fallen women” home, Fairmile. Here, she is expected to birth her child, give the child up for adoption, then will return home. However, the horrors of the time are revealed, causing a turn of events.

In 2013, a police deputy, Frankie, has moved into Fairmile as her mom remodels it to turn it into a hotel. Her daughter, Izzy, is visiting for the summer, and the mother is grappling with motherhood after spending years apart from her child.

The death of a nun who was formally employed at Fairmile stirs up the community, and Frankie goes on a whirlwind of events to figure out who killed her.

This book was such a great thriller while also exposing the horrors young mothers faced in the past and are still facing today. It was heartbreaking at times reading the events that happened at Fairmile and I felt connected to the characters. I also appreciated the comments the author included regarding misogyny both in the past and today. It’s unfortunate what women have to face while men are awarded a “get out of jail free card” of sorts.

I especially loved that the dual timelines are interconnected, as it really made the book come to a satisfying close. I felt that the author tied up all the loose ends. I also greatly enjoyed the atmosphere and setting which heightened the somber tone of the book.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone. Although the outcome was what I suspected, I enjoyed the way the book turned out and was not let down at all. I can’t wait to pick up more books by Kayte Nunn in the future!

I really enjoyed the story behind this book. This book is quite timely given the fact that reproductive rights are at the forefront of history right now. It was interesting to go between the two timelines, first in the 1940s/1950s, and then the present day. I felt like the pacing in the first half of the book was very slow. It did pick up a bit in the second half. I was intrigued enough with the characters to want to keep reading, so that's something. There were a lot of little side stories that I felt didn't really seem to serve a purpose, and they didn't get tied up in the end, so I felt like the story just ended. That was a little disappointing.

I received a digital ARC of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

I read around 59% of this book, and then did not finish. I think this would be a better read for another person. I would still recommend people to try, I believe it is just a difference of taste

Kayte Nunn leads readers through a tightly woven suspense novel about a decades-old crime that still haunts the remaining survivors. In “The Only Child,” Nunn takes pieces of historical fiction, crime thriller, suspense and the mystery genre and puts them together beautifully into a harrowing yet hopeful story. I loved the dual timeline of 1949 and 2013—and the complex characters we get from these times that are either tragic, terrifying, or inspiring. Some all three. Nunn exploits the raw shame and oppression women faced in the 40’s and the lengths families would go to save face instead of their daughter. Hard but hopeful, tragic but tender, “The Only Child” invokes a kaleidoscope of emotions that readers must cycle through on their way to an ultimately redemptive ending.

I was so intrigued by this story and was sucked into the story 1950's storyline at Fairmile. The fact that this story was suspense and historical fiction had me from the beginning especially with that opening. I had no idea there used to be houses like this where girls would go and have to give their babies away. It was heartbreaking to read about these young girls that felt they had no other choice. However, the story was predictable and the ending fell a little flat for me. I wanted more of Frankie's story line and didn't quite feel as invested in the 2013 storyline. It was an enjoyable read and I will be recommending it for anyone who likes historical fiction with a twist.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penzler Publishers for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

With the abortion issue uppermost in the minds of many women and girls, this book tackles the issue of girls being forced to carry and then give up their newborn babies. This was fairly common in the 1940's and '50's in this country, as well as, in Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Far fetched? If many Conservatives have their way, this practice may be revived.
Kayte Nunn has undertaken the telling of this story with aplomb. Her characters fairly jump off the page. Your heart breaks for those young girls, literally teenagers, who were brought to the fictitious, Fairmile, a "home" for pregnant girls, run by Catholic nuns. Throw in a murder and a modern day story of single motherhood, and you have a fast paced novel that truly shines. I highly recommend, "The Only Child".

This is my first book by this author and overall I enjoyed it. The Only Child is not a scary mystery, but an intriguing story that alternates between a home for unwed young mothers in 1949 and the recent past when the same home is being revamped as a guest house. SPOILER ALERT: Human remains are found and the mystery unravels. I felt the pace of the story was just right and the characters were likable and well developed. The setting is well drawn and appealing on an island in the Pacific Northwest. For me, the romantic element was a bit heavy handed and bordered on a bodice ripper romance a few times. I would have preferred the romance just be acknowledged and allowed to move forward without time devoted to stereotypical lustful longings and such. This detracted from the book for me. I will recommend the book because it highlights an important element of women’s history and is a good read. Thank you to Kayte Nunn, Penzler Publishers, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Good

This was a good, but not very original and there were a few parts that didn't flow very well for me.

Deputy Frankie Gray returns from several years living in Australia to help her mom get a former Catholic home for unwed mothers turned into a bed a bed and breakfast/inn. The story alternates between 1949/50 and 2013. The earlier story concerns one of the young mothers and the unfair treatment she received from her family, the nuns at the home, and society in general. The later story has Frankie re-connecting with the teen daughter she left to go work in Australia while trying to investigate a murder that happened in the nursing home housing Frankie's grandmother. Oh, and a charming small Washington island community, potential best friend, mysterious new boss, and, of course, a handsome man that is interested in Frankie as she is in him.

There were lots of set up for twists, but no twists. The book seems to be posed for being the first (I think it is the first) of a Frankie Gray series. That is the only reason I can think of all of the untied ends. Or maybe it is just like real life.