Santa Montefiore

Fleeing a hated job and a fiancé she does not love, Ellen visits her aunt's cottage on the wild Irish coast of Connemara and becomes engrossed in a local tragedy involving a young mother's death in a lighthouse fire, while the ghost of the victim watches over her family and mourns her lost future.

A Novel

Secrets of the Lighthouse

"Ellen Trawton is running away from it all - quite literally. She is engaged to marry an aristocratic man she doesn't love, she hates her job, and her mother...well, her mother is not a woman to be crossed. So Ellen escapes to the one place she knows her mother won't follow her - to her aunt's cottage on Ireland's dramatic Connemara coast. Once there, she is embraced by a family of aunts, uncles and cousins her mother never mentioned. Her imagination is captured by the picturesque ruins of a lighthouse where, five years earlier, a young mother died in a fire. Locals say she may have been murdered by her husband, Conor Macausland, who abandoned the his castle after his wife's death. Cutting all her ties chic London society, and therefore not knowing about the search for her that has begun, Ellen gives in to Ireland's charm, warmth, and romance, thinking her future may lie where so much of her past has been hidden. Meanwhile, Caitlin Macausland is mourning the future she can never have. After dying in the lighhouse fire, she is unable to move on. She watches her children and her husband, hoping they might see her, that she might feel their love once more. When Caitlin notices Ellen's arrival, she senses her world is about to change. Can she prevent it? Or can she find a way to freedom and happiness, the happiness she sees in the spirit of a little girl who, for some reason, also can't move on? The rugged coastline, tightknit communities, and ancient landmarks of western Ireland provide the backdrop for this story of two women seeking peace and the love they desparately need. For each of them, the key can be found in the secrets of the past, illuminated by the lighthouse"--

María Belén

2.5 stars

Even though this is probably one of the most predictable and cliché stories I've read in a while and it's heavy on romance I quite liked it. 

The writing is very good, the plot is well constructed and the characters are interesting enough. But what I liked the most about the book were the descriptions of Ireland and its culture. I think it's the best part of the story. 

Overall I quite enjoyed it.

Samantha bolton

Summer is not complete without a new novel from the top ten bestselling author Santa Montefiore. Ellen Trawton is running away from it all—quite literally. She is due to get married to a man she doesn’t love, her job is dragging her down, and her interfering mother is getting on her nerves. So she escapes to the one place she knows her mother won’t follow her—to her aunt’s house in rural Ireland. Once there, she uncovers a dark family secret—and a future she never knew she might have. Meanwhile, Caitlin Macausland is mourning the future she can never have. She died tragically in what the village thinks is suspicious circumstances, and now she is stuck in a limbo, unable to move on. And between the two of them is the old lighthouse—the scene of so much tragedy. Can each woman find the peace she so desperately longs for? And can they find the way to live again?

Secrets of the Lighthouse A Novel

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