Review Coco's Secret by Niamh Greene

Coco Swan has always been embarrassed by her name.

With a name like Coco, she thinks people expect her to be as exotic and glamorous as the famous designer, not an ordinary-looking small-town antiques dealer who could win an award for living cautiously.

But when a vintage Chanel handbag turns up in a box of worthless bric-a-brac, Coco's quiet world is turned upside down. Where did it come from? And is it just coincidence that it's the same bag Coco's late mother always wanted for her?

When Coco discovers a mysterious, decades-old letter hidden in the bag's lining, she sets off on a quest to piece together the story behind it, stumbling across secrets that span three generations as she goes.

Could the beautiful Chanel bag be about to teach Coco more than she wants to learn? Or will it show her just where her heart can take her if she lets it lead the way?

Coco's Secret is a gripping and thoroughly satisfying story about a young women finally finding courage to become the kind of woman she always had it in her to be. It will go straight to readers' hearts just like her previous bestselling novels, including the bestselling and award-nominated Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife. Her other novels are Confessions of a Demented Housewife, Lessons from a Love Rat, Rules for a Perfect Life and A Message to Your Heart.

Review: a wonderful summer read! This was a truly gripping story and yet a totally easy read, perfect to add to your summer collections! The story begins with the eponymous Coco at home and her mother in France, tragically being killed. It then jumps ahead 20 years to Coco as an adult and we pick up the story with her discovery of a Chanel bag, featured on the gorgeous cover and her hunt to reunite the bag (and it's contents) with its opener. The wonderful thing about this book is that, whilst Coco is searching for the bags owner, and anyone connected with the bag, she actually discovers herself!

Not only was the plot compelling, a bit of mystery alongside the usual chick lit formula, but I really thought Coco was an interesting character as well. She doesn't have the usual ambition that I normally like in my female leads, she works in the family antiques business with her grandmother and that suits her just fine, she doesn't want to move, she is happy to get on without twitter and Facebook, and yet she really throws her whole self into the hunt for anything connected to this bag and I found that admirable in a modern woman in today's society!

Her grandmother plays and wonderful supporting characters, encouraging Coco in her search and making readers laugh along the way. Cocos best friend Cat is also a wonderful secondary character and has her own supporting storyline which I really enjoyed too. Of course there is a bit of male action thrown in her, not quite as much as I would have liked, and just a little too far towards the end, as if out in as an after thought, but he appears all the same, and is truly lovely, a new book boyfriend for me I think!

This book was enjoyable from the beginning right the way through to the end. I only wish the end could have been drawn out, only another 30 pages or so, but I would have liked to have gone into more depth about how the characters all resolved their problems and how it all panned out.  This would make a fabulous summer read and fans of this lovely author will definitely not be disappointed by her latest offering!

To get your copy's just click the gorgeous cover picture!