A house full of secrets lies at the heart of this absorbing family drama that is perfect for the winter months, from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author Lulu Taylor.

Where is Sylla? Why will no one tell me where she is?

Helen is married to Angus, the younger of the Ballintyre brothers. They met as students and Helen fell in love, not just with Angus but with the romantic Ballintyre family and their beautiful house on the edge of a loch. But marriage to Angus has not proved happy.

Now, years later and with a family, Helen and Angus have been forced to move back to live at Ballintyre with his older brother, Charlie. Helen is surprised to find that Sylla, Charlie’s wife, has disappeared and no one seems to know where she is. Helen is worried, not least because Charlie and Sylla lost their teenage daughter, Rose, only a year before. Surely someone should be looking for her . . .

Sylla Ballintyre has spent her life ministering to her husband, Charlie, and coping with the presence of his overbearing mother, Josephine, until the tragedy of losing Rose drained her happiness away. When she stumbles on the path to freedom, she knows she must take it, whatever the cost.

As Helen struggles with the fallout of recent events and its effect on her life, Ballintyre House becomes the setting for revelations of love, obsession and betrayal that have resonated beyond the present and into the past, affecting the lives of all those who have called it home.

Review:

Brooding, nostalgic, and heart-tugging!

A Winter Memory is predominantly set in the Scottish countryside during the late 1960s, as well as present day, and is told from two different perspectives, Tigs, a young woman struggling with the feelings she has for her childhood friend even after he goes off and marries someone else, and Helen, a wife and mother who finds her life unexpectedly turned upside down when her husband loses his job, they relocate to his family’s estate, and her sister-in-law seems to have up and disappeared without a trace.

The writing is descriptive and smooth. The characters are multilayered, secretive, and troubled. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine seamlessly into a mysterious tale filled with life, loss, secrets, betrayal, lies, obsession, friendship, misdirection, and unrequited love.

Overall, A Winter Memory is another atmospheric, rich, multi-generational family saga by Taylor that kept me engaged and entertained from the very first page and reminded me that life can be complicated, messy, challenging, too short, and often terribly heartbreaking.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Review:

Gripping, menacing, and addictive!

The Winter Secret is an unsettling, pacey, atmospheric novel about love, life, loss, secrets, power, control, friendship, family, jealousy, and tragedy.

There are two main memorable characters, Xenia, a young girl in the late 1940s whose life is anything but glamourous when her mother’s starlet lifestyle leads to a neverending rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows. And Buttercup, the present-day Mrs. Redmain whose life is pristine and wonderful until the cracks begin to appear and everything is not quite as perfect as it originally seemed.

The writing is eloquent and descriptive. The characterization is well done with a cast of characters that are distressed, vulnerable, and sympathetic, and a setting, Charcombe Park, that is a character itself with its history, grandeur, isolation, and multitude of secrets. And the plot uses a past/present, back-and-forth style to create tension and suspense as it quickly unravels all the personalities, relationships, behaviours, and motivations within it.

Overall, The Winter Secret is a clever, haunting, absorbing novel that swept me away to a country estate marred by both cruelty and love and immersed me in a story rife with deception and obsession.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

Review:

Disquieting, moving, and absorbing!

A Midwinter Promise is predominantly set in Cornwall during the 1980s and 90s, as well as present-day that takes you into the lives of Alex and Johnnie Pengelly, two middle-aged siblings who are struggling to come to grips with the complicated relationship they have with their dying father, the hostility between themselves and their stepmother, and the truth behind the life and loss of their mother, Julia when they were children.

The writing is captivating and vivid. The characters are genuine, distressed, and intriguing. And the plot, alternating between timelines, unravels and intertwines into a sweeping saga filled with life, loss, family, heartbreak, parenthood, mental illness, substance abuse, secrets, deception, and friendship.

Overall, A Midwinter Promise is another compelling, intelligent, heartwarming tale by Taylor that reminds us that life is short, psychological disorders are a very real concern with often devastating consequences, and people often do the wrong thing for the right reason.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

“Caitlyn, there’s something I have to tell you. About Sara.

Caitlyn thinks her marriage to Patrick is a success. For one thing, he is one of the few people not to fall head over heels for her beautiful friend, Sara. Life is lived on his terms, but they are happy.

Aren’t they?

When a devastating accident turns her existence upside down, Caitlyn is forced to reassess everything she thought about her marriage, what she truly knows about Patrick, and his real feelings for her best friend. In the refuge of an old manor house, she begins to discover the truth.

In 1947, the worst winter in decades hits England, cutting off entirely the inhabitants of Kings Harcourt Manor. For Tommy Carter, widowed at the start of war, it is particularly hard: the burden of the family falls on her. She has the solace of her children, and the interesting presence of her brother’s friend, Fred. But there is also Barbara, a mysterious figure from her past who appears to want a piece of Tommy’s future as well.

Her Frozen Heart is a thrilling mystery from Lulu Taylor, top ten bestselling author of The Snow Rose.”

Review:

Simmering, menacing, and dramatic!

Her Frozen Heart is predominantly set in the Oxfordshire countryside during the late 1940s, as well as present day, and is told from two different perspectives, Tommy, a young widow struggling to keep her family fed, safe, and warm during the harshest of winters, continuing war rations, and an unexpected visitor with malicious intentions; and Caitlyn, a young woman who finds her life unexpectedly turned upside down by the sudden loss of her husband and a secret that threatens everything she thought she knew about her marriage.

The writing is descriptive and unsettling. The characters in both time periods are troubled, determined, protective, and strong. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel subtly into a mysterious tale filled with life, loss, family, survival, heartbreak, betrayal, obsession, romance, misdirection, manipulation, and violence.

Overall, Her Frozen Heart is a clever, atmospheric, brooding thriller that reminds us just how quickly life can spin out of control and just how parasitic some of our relationships can truly be.

This novel is available in Canada on September 25, 2018.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.