The Island Secret

by Lorraine Kelly

Evie has come home to Orkney and finally found peace.



She has rediscovered her passion for painting, mended broken friendships, and for the first time in a long time, truly feels a sense of belonging.



But then a surprise visitor arrives.



Mysterious Amelia McLean claims to be Evie’s long-lost relative. She looks strangely familiar, her stories seem plausible and she quickly slides into island life.



Yet Evie soon starts to feel unsettled and suspicious – and with her hard-won happiness slipping through her fingers, she knows she must uncover Amelia’s secret, before it’s too late…



 

399 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2026

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this but the storyline was entirely predictable. Orkney is one of my favourite places I have visited and I have ran round the peedie sea when I did Kirkwall parkrun - but the overuse of the word peedie really started to grate on me.

[Helen Haythornthwaite · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great setting, great characters and a good plot - it had all the hallmarks of a brilliant book. However, while I really enjoyed reading some parts of this novel, I really wasn’t enamoured with the writing style in the main, and some of the dialogue just didn’t bring true.

[Rita Shuttleworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed her second book cant wait for the next

[Magpie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lorraine Kelly's warmth shines through from the first, which is why I persevered as long as I did but, unfortunately, this did not make up for her dearth of writerly skill.