Secrets of the Lighthouse

Reviewed By  Janet Mawdesley       January 17, 2014

 

Author  Santa Montefiore

Distributor:     
ISBN:                 978-14-711-3031-1
Publisher:         Simon & Schuster
Release Date:    

Website:    http://www.simonandschuster.com.au 

This absolutely enthralling tale will have you captivated within moments of reading the first two pages.  Caitlin lures you into her world of shadows hinting at things that she has done, she has created and she has ended up suffering for. What these things are sets the scene for a captivating romance definitely a cut above the usual style.

Ellen Trawton is over her life as a privileged daughter of England’s upper crust of society. She is tired of her mother’s efforts to marry her off to the right person and tired of trying to fit into a lifestyle that seems to bring her little happiness.

She long ago discovered she has an Aunt living in Ireland and decides on a whim, to run away from her everyday responsibilities. She goes to Connemara, intending to stay with her Aunt just long enough to try and decide just what it is she wants of life and then take it from there.

Once there, Ellen discovers there is a side to her mother she had never experienced and realises she has an enormous family of Aunts, Uncles and cousins neither she nor her sisters knew about.

As Ellen becomes more and more included in her family and life at Connemara, she is also made aware of the tragic history of the lighthouse she sees every day.

Connor Macausland, husband of the deceased Caitlin strikes and brooding and mysterious note in the small community, with many believing he is the cause of Caitlin’s death.

And so the story unfolds with Caitlin doing her utmost from beyond the grave to try and destroy everything Connor and Ellen are building together as they meet and fall deeply in love.

The lives of all the family members come under review the longer Ellen remains in Connemara, revealing hidden secrets of a family divided, a love deep and abiding along with a mystery that bound and divided the community is relived again.

Montefiori has created a masterpiece of human lives and families ties in this must read story, binding the everyday and spiritual worlds into an unforgettable tale of life, love and all the other stuff that goes on in between to make up family.