The Bad Mother by Isabelle Grey

From Goodreads
 

Recently divorced, Tessa Parker runs a successful B&B in a seaside town. During a surprise visit from Australia, a long-lost aunt lets slip a family secret that unsettles her fragile world.

In shock, and feeling betrayed by her whole family, Tessa confides in her ex- husband just as he reveals he has a new woman in his life.

Struck unexpectedly by jealousy; balancing her own turmoil against the demands of parenting, Tessa tries to trace her birth father, with devastating results. Yet she fails to see how this is a crucial moment in her children’s lives. If she gets things wrong, the consequences could be fatal.

My thoughts

I gave this a 3.5 stars.

This was a well written story that I was given to read for my Library Reading Group, I was disappointed that I couldn't make the meeting as I felt that it would prove to be quite a good book to discuss at the time that I read it.

However, I am sad to say that the story hasn't stuck with me that well at all. It's only a few weeks since I finished it and I'm struggling to remember that much about it. Having just read some of the synopsis on Goodreads it has brought some of it back to me.

Tessa's world is turned upside down when secrets in her past are revealed by her Aunt. Life often has a way of turning everything that we once believed to be true on it's head. Every family has secrets and it's how families deal with secrets that can impact on our day to day life. As Tessa's world is turned on it's head when secrets are revealed, can she can cope with the revelations and make the right choices or will the past come back to haunt her?

With teenage children of her own Tessa needs to learn to put them first, but how can she when her world is turned upside down and her emotions are running high.

Some secrets in our past are better left in the past, but for Tessa some are about to be revealed. How will these secrets impact on the rest of the Family though?

To find the answers to these questions, you will need to read the book. I enjoyed it when I read it, but doubt that it'll stay with me for long. Some of Tessa's actions I felt were a little selfish, but how would we have dealt with some of the secrets had they been revealed to us?