Book Review: Hidden Family Secrets by Evelyn Hood

It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Evelyn Hood to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Hidden Family Secrets.

Can a long-kept secret ruin the future happiness of two families?

Paisley, Scotland 1745

Meg and Duncan Montgomery move to the flourishing Scottish town of Paisley to find work in the thriving weaving industry. Soon, Meg is expecting their first child, Margaret.

To make ends meet, they live in Peter Todd’s household, Duncan’s employer and Meg’s days are filled with domestic duties. But soon Meg and Duncan find themselves caught up in the intricate lives of the Todd family and when a tragic accident causes further conflict, a decision is made to keep a terrible secret from Meg.

As Margaret grows older, she despairs of the town’s inequality and becomes an advocate for the poor. While her philanthropic ideals are tolerated, even accepted by her understanding parents, Margaret’s affection for her childhood friend William Todd is greeted with disapproval.

But Margaret wants more from life than marriage and is overjoyed when she is taken on as a teacher at the local hospital.

As a dark secret from the past looms over the lives of both families,threatening to tear apart their futures, the younger Todds and Montgomery’s must decide between following in their parents’ footsteps or forging their own paths

The start of The Paisley Women saga series from Evelyn Hood, the original bestselling Scottish saga writer.

Previously published in paperback as The Silken Thread.

*****

Meg and Duncan Montgomery are hoping to seek a new and exciting life in the Scottish town of Paisley. When they arrive, Kirsty Todd and her family welcome them with open arms. As time passes, the families get more entwined and secrets are harboured and revealed – ones that could tear everyone apart.

I am excited to be part of the blog tour for Hidden Family Secrets. This was my introduction to Evelyn Hood and the first book in a brand new series. I couldn’t wait to get started as I love a good saga.

This book begins strong and continued to build momentum as the plot unfolded. There is a believable atmosphere and the author does a good job at establishing the setting. I felt as though I was in Scotland in the 1700’s.

Told from the point of view of Meg, Kirsty, Mary and Margaret, I felt so much empathy and love for them that, by the time I got to the end, I knew I was going to miss them and I do. These women are all strong, capable people at a time when all that was expected from a woman was to get married and be silent. They all give as good as they get.

The men, for the most part, were likeable. I did feel sorry for Colin and William and wanted to give them both a big hug.

There were moments where I cheered, laughed and cried. For me, there wasn’t a dull moment. This book is full of family, love, emotion and complication – just like life. I didn’t see the end coming. This tale reminds us that some secrets between loved ones can fester into something much bigger.

Hidden Family Secrets was a compelling beginning to what promises to be a great series. I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

(Thank you to Boldwood Books, Netgalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review).

About Evelyn Hood –

The Sunday Times bestselling author of 28 published novels, Evelyn Hood had a variety of jobs, including being a journalist and a poultry farmer.

She was a full time writer, best known for her family sagas, set mainly in her home town of Paisley (Renfrewshire) and on the Clyde coast, where she also lived.

Say hello to Evelyn on Facebook, Instagram and Bookbub. 

Hidden Family Secrets was released by Boldwood Books in September 2025. Click to buy on Amazon, Kobo and Waterstones. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.