A Woman of Secrets by Amelia Carr is a fantastic read which kept my full attention from the moment I started reading this book. There are two main characters, Martha and Pascal. Martha commonly known as MJ is a police diver in the Police Underwater Search Team who had just come through a divorce and we are told of Pascal mainly during the late 1930's and the 1940's until 1947 and then again in the present day when she is an old woman looking back at her life.
It is through Martha's job that she finds in Bolborough Lake a heavy leather box with a gold signet ring, a silver locket containing a curly snippet of a baby's hair and an ornate medal in the shape of a cross. The cross turns out to be a French Croix de Guerre which is a medal given for bravery to foreign nationals fighting in France during the First and Second World War. Martha decides to research the contents of the box and receives help from a newspaper reporter Pete Holbrook who prints the story of the find. Martha does not realise through finding out the history of the contents of this box, is going to change her life in a way she could never imagine.
The author tells the story in both present day and back in the 1940's. Both eras are told in a fantastic way and has a very interesting connection between the two periods of time. The book actually opens with this box and its contents but back in 1947 when the other main character Pascal has come back from France after working as an under cover agent. For some reason known only to her she has thrown the box into the lake she clearly has something she wants to hide. Through Martha finding the box, is when the reader will find out what each of these items means to Pascal and the story is truly a heart breaking one.
Not only is this a book based on the Second World War we also meet other main characters including other members of Martha's family and Anne an ex model who has a daughter dying from leukemia who we are told about in the present day.
Constantly while reading the book I was questioning how are all these characters where going to be brought together. I promise you it is in such a surprising way, I was so shocked when I was reading the book. It was in such a way I do not believe not even the best armchair detective would have figured it out. I do not want to ruin the book for other readers therefore I will not tell anymore details of the book, just to say I loved everything about this book and I am sure other readers will do the same.
If I could have given this book ten stars I would have done it. This is one book which will remain a favourite of mine for a long time.
