Kathryn Hughes 3 Book Set (The Secret, The Letter & The Key)

This three-book set by Kathryn Hughes brings together The Secret, The Letter and The Key. Each story follows a discovery from the past that reshapes the present, from a sealed envelope found in a charity shop to a faded newspaper cutting hidden among family belongings.

Across the collection, long-held choices and buried truths come to light as characters search for answers, confront difficult histories and attempt to put things right. The narratives move between different points in time, linking personal decisions to consequences that unfold years later.

Included titles

• The Secret
• The Letter
• The Key

Synopses

The Letter

Tina Craig is desperate to leave her violent husband. She works constantly to save money and volunteers in a charity shop to spend less time at home. While checking the pockets of a second-hand suit, she finds an old, sealed letter with no stamp. Opening it proves to be a decision that changes her life for ever.

The Secret

Mary has carried a secret for forty years, rooted in a choice that changed her world and affected someone close to her. Beth, meanwhile, is trying to uncover the truth about her parentage, believing it may be vital for her sick child. When she discovers a faded newspaper cutting among her mother’s possessions, she realises the key to her son’s future may lie in her own past.

The Key

In 1956, Ellen Crosby begins her first day as a student nurse at Ambergate Hospital. After meeting a young woman admitted by her father, Ellen faces a choice that will alter both their lives. In 2006, Sarah is drawn to the now-abandoned Ambergate and finds a suitcase left behind by a female patient fifty years earlier. Its contents lead her towards a forgotten story and the possibility of making an old wrong right.