When Frankie stumbles upon an unopened letter from her late mother, she’s delighted to have one last message from her . . . until she reads the contents and discovers the truth about her birth. Brimming with questions, she travels to York to seek further answers from the Mortimer family, but her appearance sends shockwaves through them all.
Meanwhile, Robyn Mortimer has problems of her own. Her husband John has become distant, and a chance remark from a friend leads Robyn to wonder exactly what he’s not been saying. Dare she find out more?
As for Bunny, she fell head over heels in love with Dave Mortimer when she first arrived in town, but now it seems her past is catching up with her. She can’t help wondering if he’ll still feel the same way about her if he discovers who she really is – and what she did.
As secrets tumble out and loyalties are tested, the Mortimers have to face up to some difficult decisions. With love, betrayal and dramatic revelations in the mix, this is one summer they’ll never forget.
Something to Tell You by Lucy Diamond is a novel about the Mortimer family and the many problems and secrets they all need to confront. The novel begins with Harry Mortimer finding out that he has a daughter called Frankie, the result of an affair he had many decades earlier. It’s a shock for him and for his wife, as well as their children. But after this secret is unveiled, we delve further into the Mortimer family history and find out there are many more secrets being hidden from the family.
“Disappointment had coursed through her, weighting her feet to the floor. Wrong time, wrong place. This was what you got for being hot-headed, for making it all about you, she told herself despairingly…This was her moment. The one she’d been wondering about for so long.”
Something to Tell You is told from many different POVs, which is common in a lot of Lucy Diamond books.
At the beginning, the book is a little overwhelming. There are a lot of characters mentioned and it takes a moment — and a re-read, in my case — for the reader to fully understand who everyone is and how they relate to each other.
The POV switched between women rather quickly so I kept getting the characters mixed up and forgetting who was married to who, and which subplot belonged to which character. I think perhaps there were too many characters in the book and more time should’ve been given to fewer characters to really allow for the reader to relate.
The book explores many different plots and problems, so it’s not just about Frankie meeting her biological father. In fact, that part of the story is quite non-existent for most of the book and Frankie’s storyline in the book is actually more about her relationship with her boyfriend and his child from another woman.
“Fergus didn’t seem to like this idea, leaning against Frankie’s legs and sliding a thumb into his mouth. He stared at the floor and shook his head, no, and Frankie crouched down too, putting a protective arm around his small warm body.”
All of the characters have something they’re worried about, whether it’s a secretive husband or an affair, or a hidden incident from the past that’s threatening to be revealed. There’s plenty in the book to be unpacked — there’s so much for the reader to be intrigued by.
My favourite character was Bunny — she’s sweet and passionate but also anxious and nervous. She’s flawed, but relatable. She’s worried about her past and if the secret she’s keeping will affect her relationship, and I think a lot of women will relate to her insecurities and her self-doubt.
My favourite storyline was Robyn and John Mortimer. Robyn finds out from an acquaintance that John has actually been fired from his job at the university, and it appears to be quite the scandal. She probes him for information, and she even follows him to uncover his secret. What unfolds is shocking for everyone involved.
“Until Robyn met John she had never really held down a very long or enjoyable relationship. She was quite shy and awkward…and never felt as if she was getting the whole boyfriend thing right.”
The book explores female friendship, sisterhood, tragedy, bonding, reconnection, and it also explores the beginnings of relationships and the end of relationship.
I was intrigued in the story and the plot, although I think the book was let down by the pacing and some of the dialogue. The really tense scenes in the book — in particular the scene where Harry Mortimer explains to his family that he has an illegitimate daughter, and also the scene where Jeannie tells Harry that she’s going on their overseas holiday solo — are written too quickly and the conversations progress really fast. The reader experiences a wave of different emotions and the scenes don’t come across realistic or relatable. Additionally, the dialogue is at times forced and unnatural and it can be jolting for the reader.
Recommended for fans of family saga , chick lit, and romance novels.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Something to Tell You
Lucy Diamond
January 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers