I am thrilled to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for the Vanished Child by M J Lee, I have a fantastic post to share with you about family secrets which has really got me intrigued and I look forward to reading The Vanished Child soon!
Description:
What would you do if you discovered you had a brother you never knew existed?
On her deathbed, Freda Duckworth confesses to giving birth to an illegitimate child in 1944 and temporarily placing him in a children’s home. She returned later but he had vanished.
What happened to the child? Why did he disappear? Where did he go?
Jayne Sinclair, genealogical investigator, is faced with lies, secrets, and one of the most shameful episodes in recent history as she attempts to uncover the truth.
Can she find the vanished child?
This book is the fourth in the Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery series, but can be read as a standalone novel.
Every childhood lasts a lifetime.
You can buy a copy of The Vanished Child here
Guest Post by M J Lee
Does your family have a secret?
Every family has things they don’t talk about in front of the children. Or sometimes in front of other adults.
You only have to watch the mesmerising revelations on Who do you think you are? or The Will to see that the deeper we dig into our families the more secrets we will find. Hidden by old aunties, buried in old photographs, or simply hushed up by drawing a curtain over the past.
An illegimate child. A black sheep. A missing son or daughter. A shotgun marriage. A drunken uncle. A convicted felon. A runaway bride.
Funnily enough in Britain, it looks like Geordies have the most secrets, followed by Lancashire. Here’s a table from a recent survey:
They were always canny people in Newcastle.
My own family secret doesn’t appear on the chart. My grandfathers fought on opposing sides during the Irish Civil War. One was a member of the Free State Army whilst the other was a Captain in the IRA. I often wonder whether they ever met.
Most family secrets are swept under the carpet, kept hidden by aunties. But occasionally, they come to light in genealogical searches, in old photographs, letters, and journals. They are a wonderful source of material for novelists. Through the techniques of the genealogical researcher, secrets can be discovered, tales told, and the past revealed in a way that no other mystery can match.
Family secrets form the basis of my own series of novels, featuring genealogical investigator, Jayne Sinclair. She’s an ex-police detective who, after her partner was shot and killed, found researching her family history a way of forgetting the trauma. She left the police force and now investigates family history for her clients. Family histories that no other genealogist wants to touch.
In the latest book, the Vanished Child, Jayne helps her new mother-in-law to investigate one of her secrets; an unknown brother born out of wedlock in 1944. In the case, Jayne is faced with lies, secrets and one of the most shameful episodes in recent history as she attempts to uncover the truth. What happened to the Vanished Child?
I hope you enjoy the book. But what about you? Do let me know at the email address below if you have any unusual family secrets. They could form the basis of a new investigation by Jayne Sinclair…
Martin Lee is the author of four genealogical mystery novels, featuring investigator, Jayne Sinclair. He can be contacted at www.writermjlee.com, on Facebook at writermjlee and on twitter at @writermjlee. He’s nothing if not original with his names.
About the Author:
Martin has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, tv commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites.
He has spent 25 years of his life working outside the North of England. In London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, winning awards from Cannes, One Show, D&AD, New York and London Festivals, and the United Nations.
When he’s not writing, he splits his time between the UK and Asia, taking pleasure in playing with his daughter, researching his family history, single-handedly solving the problem of the French wine lake and wishing he were George Clooney.
Social Media Links
Website: www.writermjlee.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/WriterMJLee
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/writermjlee
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