The Shut-Away Sisters, heartbreaking historical fiction from Suzanne Goldring-Review

About the Book

She paid a terrible price to keep her sister’s secret…

Florrie and Edith, two devoted sisters, have lived in their little house with threadbare carpets in the East End of London since they were children in the war. But while their neighbours know Florrie as a bright-eyed, kind elderly lady, they always wonder why Edith never leaves the house.

Years later, Kate, their great niece, comes to sort out their things. Kate is running from a broken relationship, and as she sits amongst the dusty furniture, looking at old photos of Florrie during the war, she recognises the change in her aunt – from a carefree young girl laughing with her friends to a young woman with dark sad eyes, always by herself.

Desperate to find out more about Florrie and Edith, Kate is shocked to discover an untouched wedding dress wrapped in tissue paper in a bottom drawer and a locked room at the end of a passage upstairs without a key. What could her aunts have been hiding?

And as she reads entries from her great-aunt’s diaries she is transported back to a time where the German bombs rained down on London and a seventeen-year-old girl was forced to give up everything to keep her sister’s secret. Can Kate ever understand the darkness that has bound her family together? And if she does, will she be able to move on from it?

A heartbreaking historical novel of war, tragedy and the sacrifices we make for those we love. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Victoria Hislop will be hooked by The Shut-Away Sisters.

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My Thoughts

The Shut-Away Sisters by Suzanne Goldring is my first read by this author.
It is absolutely a heart-breaking read and leaves you questioning why life can be so unfair sometimes.
A dual timeline, we find ourselves spending time with Kate in modern times, she has just gotten out of a bad relationship and taking a break from a workhorse of a boss to clear out her recently deceased aunt Florrie's house for her father.
In past times her father grew up as the youngest child with two older sisters, that are seven years apart. When Florrie was fifteen years old her older sister Evie's beau Frank goes off to fight in WWI leaving her sad, lonely and waiting for him. The waiting turns into years and Evie becomes reclusive, rarely leaving her room, eating little while writing letters to her beau and poetry.
Years go by the parents pass away, the brother goes off to fight in the war and Florrie becomes the caretaker of Evie who has become an invalid. Florrie has a chance at marriage but feels obligated to care for her older sister as they spend the rest of their days together in this house.
It is an intriguing book to read as we see Kate discover a locked door in her aunt's house. What secrets will she uncover upon entering the unknown room. Very suspenseful book, the more I read the more I discovered and the more my heart broke.
I need more books by this author, NOW. All the rest of her books are on my wish list.

Pub Date 29 Jun 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Her debut novel MY NAME IS EVA draws on her experience of volunteering in a care home and was partially inspired by a cache of wartime love letters which were saved from the flames. Her second novel, BURNING ISLAND, is set in Corfu, a place of fun and beauty but also tremendous tragedy.

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