Tara Hyland

William Melville's daughters are heiresses to the world's most exclusive fashion dynasty. Beautiful and rich, they are envied by all. But behind the glittering façade of their lives, each girl hides a dark secret that threatens to tear their family apart. Smart, ambitious Elizabeth knows how to manipulate every man she meets, except the one who counts: her father. Gentle, naïve Caitlin, the illegitimate child, struggling to fit into a world of privilege while staying true to herself. Stunning, spoilt Amber, the party girl with a weakness for bad boys, but more fragile than anyone realises. As each of them seeks to carve out her own destiny, Elizabeth, Caitlin and Amber face difficult choices, which will take them in wildly different directions. But as old wounds resurface and threaten to destroy the foundations of the Melville empire, their paths will cross again. Because the simple truth is that, no matter how far you go, you cannot escape the claims of family.

Daughters of Fortune

Franny Healey grew up in post-war rural Ireland. Addicted to the glamorous films of the day, she determined to do whatever it took to one day be a film star herself; immortal, adored. When she fell pregnant at seventeen, Franny faced an awful choice: leave behind the family she loved, or suffer the life she never wanted. Seven years later, Franny faces another devastating choice. Now living in the East End, she has a good friend in Annie, and a beautiful little daughter, Cara. When, one night, she is spotted by a Hollywood producer, and finally given the chance to go to Hollywood and become a star, Franny has to choose between her daughter and her dream. She chooses Hollywood. It's a choice that brings Franny all the things she ever wanted - stardom, excitement, love. But just three years after her marriage to multi-millionaire Maximilian Stanhope, the film actress Frances Fitzgerald, nee Franny Healey, is reported to have died in mysterious circumstances. Abandoned by her mother, packed off to live with her grandmother, Cara endures a tough childhood. Kept secret from the Irish authorities, she is sent, on her granny's death, to a Church-run orphanage - a harsh institution, which not all the children are lucky enough to survive. Cara does survive, and returns to the East End. From there she carves a career as a hard-hitting investigative journalist, exposing corruption and injustice. But there's one story even Cara is afraid to touch: the mystery of what really happened to her mother. It's a story that will take Cara half-way across the world, to LA - to retrace her mother's footsteps, in the hope of finding answers to the questions that have haunted her all her life.

Fallen angels

A heartrending novel that follows a mother and daughter through post-World War II Ireland and London, demonstrating that family bonds can never be broken.

A Novel

Sins of the Mother

An unwanted child, San Francisco, 1958. On a dark December night, a baby girl is left at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage on Telegraph Hill. A mysterious suicide: one year later, movie star Frances Fitzgerald takes her own life. Her husband, wealthy businessman Maximilian Stanhope, is rumoured to know more about her death than he is letting on, but nothing is ever proved. A terrible secret: What is the connection between these two events? Frances's daughter, Cara, is determined to find out. Abandoned by her mother when she is just seven years old, her childhood is filled with hardship and loss. As a young woman she finds professional success as a journalist but, on a personal level, she still struggles to trust those around her. Soon Cara becomes convinced that uncovering the secret behind her mother's death is the only way to lay her demons to rest, but learning the truth may end up tearing her apart.

Fallen Angels

A sweeping novel that follows a mother and daughter through post-WWII Ireland and London, demonstrating that family bonds can never be broken.

From the poverty of post-war England and Ireland to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's golden age, a beautiful, sweeping family drama that illustrates that the bonds between a mother and daughter can never be broken. An unwanted child: San Francisco, 1958. On a dark December night, a baby girl is left at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage on Telegraph Hill. A mysterious suicide: One year later, movie star Frances Fitzgerald takes her own life. Her husband, wealthy businessman Maximilian Stanhope, is rumoured to know more about her death than he's letting on, but nothing is ever proved. A terrible secret: What is the connection between these two events? That's what Frances's daughter, Cara, wants to find out. Abandoned by her mother when she is just seven years old, her childhood is filled with hardship and loss. As a young woman she finds professional success as a journalist, but on a personal level, she still struggles to trust those around her. Soon Cara becomes convinced that uncovering the secret behind her mother's death is the only way to lay her demons to rest, but learning the truth may end up tearing her apart.

Tara Hyland

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