Chris reads his adoptive mother’s journal and discovers the identity of his birth father. But when his adoptive mother dies, his world becomes far less comfortable. This is my first read by this author and I would be interested in reading another by her.įorty-eight year old Christopher Bright has been married to Diane for almost twenty-five years, has two adult children and a successful career as a Brisbane architect specialising in restoration work. As for the ending I found it unsatisfying, although others may disagree. The writing is good and the characters believable if largely unlikeable. I did feel some sympathy for his wife Diane, though she is not without serious emotional flaws either. This is an interesting read of a family and two marriages. This is a family of secrets for he also has his own secret, stemming from the day his adoptive brother died when they were children. Adopted by his mother’s sister, Jo, and her husband, Ben, he longs for more information about his real parents.Īfter Jo dies and he finds out the truth about his parent through her diaries, his life is turned on its head. What is it? He often feels it is because he as an adopted child, who didn’t know anything of his father and only a minimal amount about the mother who died when he was a baby. He has a good business and is well off, but there is something missing in his life. He has been married almost 25 years at the beginning of this story and is father to an adult son and daughter. Ĭhris Bright is a conservation architect.

His quest for information, however, reveals not only the truth about his mother's life but exposes the fault lines in his own, and Chris finds the price of knowledge increasingly heavy.

Life is orderly, yet an unresolved question has haunted him for as long as he can remember: Who was his birth father?ĭevotion to his adoptive parents has always prevented Chris from enquiring too deeply, but when his mother dies, information emerges that becomes the catalyst for changes he has never imagined.Īs light is cast on his father, attention turns to his birth mother, but when he goes in search of the person behind the photo, he encounters a conspiracy of silence. He plays tennis on Saturdays and enjoys a beer with his business partner after work. He has a devoted wife, two talented children and an old Rover. If nobody asks, you never have to tell.'Ĭhristopher Bright is a well-respected conservation architect, good neighbour and friend.

The beloved by annah faulkner