Who knows what secrets lie hidden in your family’s past? Southern England, 1982. At 25, single, and under threat of redundancy from her job in a local library, Emily feels as though her life is going nowhere – until the day when Carl comes into the library asking for books about tracing family history. Carl is baffled by a mystery about his late grandfather: why is the name by which Carl had always known him different from the name on his old passport? Fascinated as much by Carl himself as by the puzzle he wants to solve, Emily tries to help him find the answers. As their relationship develops, their quest for the truth takes them along a complicated paper-trail which leads, eventually, to the battlefields of the Great War. In the meantime, Emily discovers that her own family also has its fair share of secrets and lies. And old sins can still cast long shadows… Can Emily finally lay the ghosts of the past to rest and look forward to a brighter future?

My Thoughts:

This was a well written story which is so much more than a romance. It is set in 1982 England and it fits perfectly around the Remembrance Day celebrations. This is a story about love and a mystery entwined but it is so much more than a romance as there are links to World War One and some really heartfelt family tragedies that brings this book through so many twists and turns, but leaves it with a beautifully written ending. I didn’t want to put this book down and will be recommending it to my friends.