When Sarah's husband doesn't return from war she is heartbroken. The love running through the words on the page kept me turning to discover how it would play out. The mystery had me utterly speechless.

this is the first novel by jan Baynham and I am running to find the others and order them ASAP.
This book was absolutely brilliant. set in a Wales and in Sicily. It has family grief, mystery and love running through the pages.. definitely recommend
#THESECRETSISTER

This wasn't for me so I gave it to my elderly mother to read and she adored it unconditionally. This wasn't for me so I gave it to my elderly mother to read and she adored it unconditionally.

I was gracisley given the opportuniTy to get an early release copy of the secret sister on NetGalley.com. I just finished reading it. I so enjoyed it! this is my first book of this author and I am sure it will not be my last. congratulations on your new novel

The secret sister by Jan Baynham.
Wales, 1943.
Sarah Lewis should be heartbroken when her husband doesn’t return from war. But he was never the kind husband she hoped for. And now she’s stuck with her cruel mother-in-law on the family farm.
A good read. I liked Carlo Sara and Menna. I did not like the sound of Fred. I didn't like Gwyneth either. I liked Alessandro and Claudia and Giulietta. What a lovely ending. .moving and gripping read. 4*.

The Secret Sister by Jan Baynham is a beautifully crafted different WWII story of love, secrets, and mystery based on little known details about Italian POWs. I truly love books that, though they do not physically transport you to the country/countries portrayed in the story, you feel as though you are actually there via the wonderful world building by the author. What a contrast between Wales and Sicily! I could not only visualize every aspect of both countries, but I could taste them and smell them too! Then this amazing author through in a forbidden love story, secrets, and a mystery to solve and I was a reader in heaven.

I immensely enjoyed reading this story and was totally engrossed from beginning to end. After reading this fantastic book I have put Jan Baynham on my TBR Author list. If you enjoy Historical Fiction with secrets, a mystery, and not just one love story but two, I highly recommend The Secret Sister by Jan Baynham.

Many thanks to the publisher Joffe Books via NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this story. I was under no obligation to write a favorable review and all opinions are my own.

Jan Baynham does a great job in creating this beautifully done historical fiction novel. I enjoyed everything that was going on in this story and that it had a great family feel.

The Secret Sister – by Jan Baynham

Right from the first sentence, we know where we are. In a damp and mouldy POW bunk, but not in Germany, as you might expect. No, this is Wales, Carlo Rossi is a WW2 Italian POW, and this is his story.
The author transports us back to the narrow minded, small town mentality of those times, and contrasts the green and grey of mid Wales with the sparkling colours of Sicily, thirty years later in the second half of the book.
It’s hard to imagine that prejudices like the ones in this story existed not that long ago, and I was so involved with the against the odds love story of Sara and Carlo, that it was a wrench to leave it and visit Sicily in the late sixties. But here is where the author excels and takes us on a tour of Sicily’s brilliantly coloured landscapes, food, drinks and culture. I felt as if I’d gone on holiday. All without losing sight of the core story, cleverly continued over thirty plus years.
A beautiful story with several twists and turns which had the capability to move me to tears on several occasions. I was sad when it ended.

This beautiful book transported me not only to Sicily, but to mid Wales during the Second World War, and the claustrophobia of the small communities where everyone knew everybody else’s business. It is here the book starts, in 1943, when Italian prisoner of war Carlo meets Sara, who had been trapped in an abusive marriage.

The Secret Sister is unusual for a dual timeline because the whole wartime narrative is played out before the story moves on to 1968, but I can see it had to be this way for the story to work, and the author definitely made the right decision to do so. It is in this second part of the book that we travel to Sicily and Baynham brings the island to life in a wondrous whorl of colours, tastes and sensations. I was absolutely transported there and now cannot wait to visit the island.

I thoroughly recommend this emotional tale of family secrets and enduring love.

You'd think aswoman should be devastated when her husband doesn't return home from war, but Lewis isn't. Her husband wasn't a loving husband, so for Lewis, it's almost a relief. Unfortunately her and her son are left with her mean mother-in-law on the farm. She finally escapes to live with her sister and tries to build a new life for her and her son.
It's not long before she has an interest in am Italian prisoner of war. Even though the people and prisoners of war are not to be friendly, the two have am undeniable connection and soon start writing love letters. The forbidden love can be dangerous.
Years later secrets of the past are revealed and they'll need to uncover more truths.
This is a wonderful WW2 story of love, secrets, and mystery. I highly recommend this enjoyable read!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy of #SecretSisters

Publication August 31, 2023

I enjoyed this book. A story of love, family and hidden secrets. Set in Wales after WWII, a young widow becomes involves with an Italian prisoner of war who has been recruited to work at her sister and brother in law's business.
Fast forward several years later, their daughter finds missing papers of her father's life in Sicily before the war. With that information she goes in search of her father's missing family and past. The book was interesting (the chapel built by the prisoners of war bought back memories of me visiting the Italian Chapel in the Orkney's in Scotland); however I thought that the book left some unanswered questions. Without revealing those questions, I did find the book very well written and one I will probably recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and raced through to find out how it ended.
The story follows three acts. The first concerns Welsh woman Sara and her forbidden romance with a Sicilian prisoner of war. This was enjoyable, but I found the second and third acts even better. The scenes set in Sicily captured the atmosphere of the Mediterranean vividly and made me wish I was there to experience the settings described so lovingly by the author. In the third act I enjoyed the conflict and felt it realistically captured the likely dynamic of a complex family situation.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about families, especially with a mysterious element, and to those who love to experience travel to sunny climes from the comfort of their armchair.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.