She looked down at the sweet little girl - and knew she wouldn't listen to what anyone else said. She had to do what was right. Even if it meant going against everything she was taught to believe and keeping a secret from the person closest to her...

England, 1766: Abigail is happily married to James, a tobacco trader turned sea captain, and is looking forward to starting a family and settling down in Whitehaven, deep in the Lake District. But after a series of devastating losses, she finds herself in turmoil, with her future suddenly seeming unknown...

When James announces that he will captain a ship to Africa and then the Americas for a year, it sparks a series of surprising and heartbreaking events - involving some of the darkest evils in humanity's history, and a tiny, terrified slave girl who's brought back to England. This helpless child forces Abigail to reconsider everything she thought she knew--and will change her life forever...

Now: When a shipwreck is discovered off the coast of Cumbria, local expert Rachel is brought in to investigate. Her first thought is that this will be a perfect distraction from her troubled marriage and the memories of her past that she is desperate not to think about. But then it becomes clear the wreck is a slaving ship from the 1700s - one that was recorded as sinking in the Caribbean - and Rachel begins to wonder if there's more to this terrible mystery than meets the eye.

Faced with uncertainty about both the past and present, can Rachel learn from Abigail's extraordinary story and take the first step towards a brighter future of her own?

The Widow's Secret is a completely heart-wrenching and powerful story of courage, redemption, and compassion. Fans of Lucinda Riley, Barbara O'Neal and Fiona Valpy will be absolutely captivated by this unforgettable read.

This novel can be enjoyed as a standalone.

Previously published as The Widow's Secret by Katharine Swartz.

Readers love Kate Hewitt:

"WOW!!!!... Clear your schedules and grab the tissues as you will need them!!!... It had me in tears by the end and I do not cry easily!!!... An absolutely unputdownable, addictive and compelling devastatingly beautiful heartbreaking book!!! I LOVED it!" Bookworm86 ?????

"This book had me crying so badly. It broke my heart, never has any book been able to just wipe me out with such gut-wrenching sadness... BEAUTIFULLY DONE." NetGalley reviewer ?????

"Not only broke my heart but shattered it... When the tears [came] though, they didn't stop. It is such an emotionally charged novel... An absolute tear-jerker of a read for which I highly recommend having a box of tissues on standby." Goodreads reviewer ?????

"An emotionally charged story right from the first chapter... I knew once I started I would not be able to put this book down... I was up till 4AM reading fighting for my eyes to stay open... Gripping and captivating!" Sinfully Wicked Book Reviews ?????