the darkness, his three young daughters express their grief in different and challenging ways – with one set on a path of self-destruction that could devastate their family all over again. Desperate to understand his own heartbreak better, he reaches out to others who had known Laura. Including her new friend Maria, whose light and warmth are exactly what their grieving family needs, and who is soon helping out and providing emotional support for them all.
But the picture Maria paints of Laura is unfamiliar to Nathan – of a wife who felt ignored, a mother who felt she couldn’t do enough – and he struggles to reconcile it with his own memories of the woman he loved. Is it possible he didn’t know his wife after all? And can he trust Maria? He can’t escape the feeling that she’s keeping something from him.
Maria is hiding a secret with the power to rock Nathan’s family to its core. Because it is about what happened the day that Laura died…
An insightful and powerful novel guaranteed to break your heart, about how the unthinkable can sometimes help us see the world in a powerful new way. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, and Susan Lewis.
Buy now!
The Secrets We Keep
Get it here!
My whole body aches. I trawl memories of her, now so precious… my darling child. I can’t lose her…
When Tessa arrives at the little house by the lake with her two children, it is an escape. The rental house may be a bit small – but it’s theirs for the summer. A place to hide…
However, their isolation is disrupted by the family from the big house next door. Three children and their glamorous mother Rebecca – who seems determined to invite Tessa into their lives.
Rebecca, however, is harbouring a dark secret. And when it becomes too much for her to bear, Tessa seems to be the only person she can turn to.
But as powerful bonds form between the two families, choices will be made that can never be undone. And as the summer comes to an end, nothing can keep everyone safe. And one family will pay the ultimate price…
A gripping, powerful emotional page turner with a heartbreaking twist, for fans of Jodi Picoult, Emily Bleeker and Diane Chamberlain.
Buy now!
A Mother’s Goodbye
‘My arms ache with the need to reach and hold my precious child, and then to never let go. But I can’t. I know I can’t.’
Get it here.
Heather is devastated. There’s no way she can keep her baby. She can barely pay the bills as it is. But when she meets Grace, a wealthy, single career woman, who wants a baby more than anything, Heather believes she has found the perfect adoptive mother.
As Grace and Heather’s lives become entwined, they are tested to breaking point, though neither can deny the other’s love for the child. But just when they think they are learning how to live with each other, they receive devastating news that turns their fragile world upside down.
Will either mother know what is the right thing to do for the child they both love?
An absolutely gripping, emotional drama with a tear-jerking twist. If you love Jodi Picoult, Kelly Rimmer or Diane Chamberlain, this will warm your heart, make you cry, and stay with you forever.
Buy now!
Acknowledgments
I needed a lot of research help with this book, in particular to make sure all the details about foster care and the laws surrounding it were as accurate as I could make them, and for that I am very thankful to my sister, Susie, and her experience as a foster mother. She fielded my many random questions, and also spoke freely of her own experience. Thanks, Suse!
I’m also grateful to the many sources of information and encouragement for both birth and foster families there are on the internet, as well as for the authors of the memoirs I read of foster parents, children, and birth parents. All of it helped to inform my experience and allowed me to write from both sides of the story.
As always, I am thankful to the fantastic team at Bookouture who work so hard for both me and my books. Thanks to Isobel, my lovely editor, and also Kim, Noelle, and Sarah in marketing and publicity; Alex H, Alex C, Leodora, Peta, Radhika, and many others whose time and talents invested in this book I’m not even aware of! You are all unfailingly great!
Thank you also to my readers who enjoy my books and let me know it! I love hearing from you, and you’re the reason I keep writing. Thank you!
Lastly, thanks to my family, who are patient with my preoccupation with another world—the lives of Beth and Ally took over my mind for a good two months while my real family patiently waited. Thanks guys!
Published by Bookouture in 2020
An imprint of Storyfire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
Copyright © Kate Hewitt, 2020
Kate Hewitt has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-83888-649-3
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.