Every family has secrets. But some have more than others.

"What I enjoyed most about this beautiful story is the author's writing style. His words are woven in a manner that will draw you into the book, keeping you captivated until the final page."
¿¿¿¿ Priya Murugesan, America's Online Bookclub

"It's rare to find a book able to weave together the lives of so many people, with so much emotional depth and over so many years, but Paul Ilett does it with almost effortless grace. But he is not just an author who only knows how to write about emotions, his descriptive prose paint scenes that spring from the page. He will transport you to a miserably rainy morning outside a hospice, then whisk you off to the baking sun of the Canary Isles. Within a few short sentences you are there, immersed in the world."
¿¿¿¿ Seb Fox, Goodreads

On Charlie Fletcher's 23rd birthday, he decides to tell his dying mother that he's gay. Knowing she does not have much time left, she shares a secret in return. But it's a far greater family secret, one that will have repercussions for Charlie and his siblings for years to come.

The Fletchers are a family with more than their fair share of skeletons in the closet, and as one of the most closely guarded secrets is finally revealed, are others about to be uncovered too?

What is so important about a photograph of a little boy at Christmas?

Why has a handwritten letter remained in a sealed envelope for more than twenty years?

And which of the Fletchers is carrying the darkest family secret of all?

From their home town of Southend-on-Sea to the stunning vistas of Gran Canaria, Five Siblings at 23 is an epic tale spanning more than two decades, visiting the family each time one of the Fletcher children is 23 years old. Through the years, we follow their joys and heartbreaks, their successes and tragedies, as the brothers and sisters discover life does not always turn out the way you want. And that some secrets must be left untold.