A Mother’s Heart

‘Full of heart and essential truth, this moving book will sweep you to a very satisfying ending and perhaps a few happy tears’ — KATIE FFORDE

‘A riveting family saga, with terrific characters, that has you utterly engrossed from start to finish. I loved it’ — PATRICIA SCANLAN

‘I absolutely adored every page of it . . . No one blends love and loss, happiness and heartbreak quite the way Carmel does. Not since the late, great Maeve Binchy’ — CLAUDIA CARROLL

‘An emotional family drama . . . full of the warmth we’ve come to associate with Carmel’s writing’ — HAZEL GAYNOR

‘An exploration of familial love and grief . . . and how in the face of our greatest trials, our strongest bonds can be forged’ — ROISIN MEANEY

‘Warm, uplifting and thought-provoking . . . The perfect book club read!’ — DEBBIE JOHNSON

‘Beautifully written, warm and wise. I adored it’ — ALEX BROWN

Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
While Rachel Butler likes her life in a pretty Dublin coastal village, her heart lies in Hawke’s Bay, where she grew up. Visiting for the first time since tragedy tore her family apart, she and her stepchildren fall for its beauty and outdoor lifestyle.

Malahide, Ireland
As Rachel picks up the threads of her life as a single parent, she can’t shake off the memories of her loving family in New Zealand – and her dream house, the villa on the bay. But it’s time to move forwards with their life in Ireland, close to the children’s grandparents, amid the familiar surroundings they all know well.

Until the children’s grandmother, still grieving, starts to interfere, questioning Rachel's position as stepmother.

Until Rachel’s attempts to strengthen the family she loves so dearly backfires, pitting everyone against each other.

And until her late husband’s parents mend the rift that has existed as long as she’s been married – bringing with them an explosive secret . . .