Our Little Secret By Claudia Carroll

[amazon_link id=”0008140766″ target=”_blank” ] [/amazon_link]’Our Little Secret’ is the latest book by bestselling Irish author, Claudia Carroll.

Sarah Dee has the perfect life. A high-flying job in a law firm, a beautiful daughter and a house to die for. So how does she find herself looking in through the kitchen window while another woman enjoys it all?
When Sarah takes pity on a struggling young graduate who can’t get a job, she thinks she’s doing the right thing. She’s being kind, generous and helpful to others, as she always is. But as Sarah allows the younger woman into her home, her law firm and even her family, is there more to this pretty youngster than meets the eye? And could this be a good deed that goes further than expected?

Claudia is back is another gripping and heart warming book, filled with her familiar mix of entertaining characters and Irish charm.

In this book, we meet three females. Sarah, her daughter Darcy and her best friend Liz. Sarah, is a single mother, who’s marriage recently split up. She’s a busy solicitor and her job and do-gooding takes up a lot of her time much to the annoyance of her only teenage daughter, Darcy, who spends a lot of her time mad at the world and mad at Sarah. Whilst, Liz has been Sarah’s friend for years, been there through the bad times and provides much entertainment in the story.

One day, Sarah meets Lauren, a trainee beautician who confides in Sarah that she is actually a qualified solicitor and is desperate to get into a firm. With a huge heart and kind spirit, Sarah takes it upon herself to train Lauren into being the best intern possible when a job becomes available at her practice. But, Sarah doesn’t stop at finding Lauren the perfect job, she also invites her to live in her house and start living the life she always dreamt off.

Lauren’s life has been far from perfect, orphaned and broke, she’s scrabbled and saved all her life, wanting to make a better life for herself. Sarah immediately falls for Lauren and her maternal instinct kicks in, she takes Lauren in under her wing and wants to help those poor unfortunate woman out who’s had such a hard life but her best friend Liz, is dubious about Lauren and her story and this causes tension between the two friends. Meanwhile, Darcy is going through a difficult time, still reeling from her parents separation, experimenting with drink and boys and is feeling peer pressure to fit in. She enjoys Lauren’s company, she sees her as an older sister, being fun whilst offering advice when Sarah isn’t around.

As the story progresses, it gets quite darker, as Lauren settles in, Sarah becomes uncertain of her new friend and begins to wonder if she was lied to, as Lauren regularly oversteps the mark, in both professional and personal life.

The story is seen through three narratives and all three voices made for interesting reading. Sarah is a kind woman who is always looking out for the underdog, when she meets Lauren she’s determined to help her get a better life and it’s interesting how the tables turn in the relationship. Once confident and happy, she becomes uncertain and wonders if her bolshy outspoken friend was right about her opinions, as Lauren tries to take over all aspects of her life. Liz tries to bite her lip, but she has serious doubts about Lauren and this really affects their friendship. She is sharp witted and scenes with her really did make for funny reading. Whilst Darcy, adds an element of vulnerability to the tale, her innocence and desire for her parents to get back together does make for sweet reading.

Another cleverly written tale that holds the readers attention from page one. Seamlessly alternating between drama, humour and filled with Irish wit and banter that had me giggling throughout, Claudia has delivered a wonderfully thrilling and observational tale about friendship, female relationships and questions whether you always believe everything that you are told.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0008140766″ target=”_blank” ] Our Little Secret from Amazon from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.