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Best Kept Secret
621 pages
A sweeping, page-turning family saga where old grudges and new ambitions threaten to tear apart a hard-won legacy.
What it feels like
Reading this installment of the sweeping saga feels like settling into a plush leather armchair to watch a high-stakes chess match play out across decades. The narrative moves at a remarkably brisk clip for a historical epic, trading dense historical exposition for sharp dialogue, boardroom betrayals, and political maneuvering. There is a distinctly soapy, addictive quality to the drama, where every hard-won moment of peace is immediately threatened by a ghost from the past or a reckless choice by the younger generation. The atmosphere is steeped in mid-century British nostalgia, yet the tension remains sharp and immediate. It is a deeply satisfying, propulsive read designed for those who love sprawling family dynasties, bitter rivalries, and the delicious agony of a well-earned cliffhanger.
- Mood
- sweeping
- tense
- nostalgic
- Tone
- dramatic
- earnest
- suspenseful
- soapy
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- weight of legacy · sins of the past · ambition and betrayal · family loyalty
- The writing
- Straightforward, accessible, and highly plot-driven, relying on sharp dialogue and rapid scene changes to maintain momentum.
- The arc
- Begins with a triumphant, hard-won union before plunging the reader into a steadily escalating web of anxiety, betrayal, and high-stakes tension.
- Who it's for
- Readers who devour sprawling, multi-generational family sagas packed with boardroom drama, political maneuvering, and long-held grudges.
Content notes
- blackmail
- betrayal
- political manipulation
About the book
Best Kept Secret opens a moment after the end of The Sins of the Father, with the resolution of the trial and the triumphant marriage of Harry Clifton and Elizabeth Barrington, finally uniting their family. Harry, now a bestselling novelist, Emma, their son Sebastian, and orphaned Jessica make a new life for themselves, but all is not as happy and secure as it could be. Emma's brother, Giles, is engaged to a woman who may be more interested in Barrington's fortune and title than in a long and happy marriage. And Sebastian, though he is bright, isn't quite the hard worker that his father was at school, and finds a hard time resisting the temptations that his somewhat unsavory friends provide. It all comes to a head when a new villain is uncovered, a face from the past with grudges against both Harry and Giles - Fisher, who tortured Harry at school and later took credit for Giles' heroics during the war. Fisher teams up with Giles' now ex-wife to wreak havoc on Giles' latest election as well as meddle with affairs inside Barringtons, while Harry and Emma must deal with a new scheme that Sebastian has unwittingly fallen into with a supposed friend. The drama continues for Harry Clifton and his family, bringing this mesmerizing saga into the 1960s.
Description from Open Library.
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