The Secret Hours

Book excerpt: From internationally bestselling author Santa Montefiore, whose books have sold more than six million copies worldwide, comes The Secret Hours, a new story in the sweeping generational saga, The Deverill Trilogy, about the sister who left the family’s castle and never came back. Let the wind take me and the soft rain settle me into the Irish soil from where I came. And may my sins be forgiven. Faye Clayton is a dutiful wife and mother to three grown children. She’s not given to flights of fancy, but when her mother passes away, she begins to dream of a strange, yet familiar, castle set on rolling hills of grass and heather. When Faye learns that her mother has requested her ashes be scattered on the hills above a place called Castle Deverill in Ireland, she is shocked but intrigued. Her mother never spoke fondly of her childhood on a farm in Ireland, so why in death would she want to return to a castle Faye has never heard of? Against her husband’s wishes, Faye sets out for Ireland where she uncovers a heartbreaking story of love, prejudice, and lifelong secrets that have touched those closest to her. Spanning decades and continents, The Secret Hours is a poignant tale about the meaning of family, the power of forgiveness, and the ties we all have to the place we call home.