Another great book by this Author ....
I really liked the plot of the book....
One missing girl, a discovered hidden journal, and secrets galore fill this book ....
I really enjoyed her first book 14 days to die and this one is as good the Author is getting better and better ....
Thank you to the author and netgalley for the copy

3.5 stars. This another good psychological thriller by A B Whelan. I enjoyed 14 days to Die so I was anxious to get my hands on this one. It has a good plot with lots of twists that keep you guessing and is charged with sexual energy. It didn't hold my attention as much as the first one and I got lost in a few spots but I had a lot of distractions while reading it. I still think it is a good read for fans of psychological suspense.

4* Sick Secrets Stars

This fast paced thriller begins with a glimpse into the mind of a killer. It then is told in multiple voices, the chapters alternating between the three strong heroines, Olivia, Ashley and Betty who all had their own struggling story in life but together were a formidable force. The characters were very realistic and well developed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful read and it did not disappoint with all the twists and turns it took keeping me guessing until the last page was read. I thought the author ended the book just perfect.

Thanks to Pikko's House and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

I requested this book through NetGalley because the synopsis appealed to me. I've been reading a lot of mysteries lately, and this seemed up my alley. Olivia is an immigrant married to a wealthy man, but her marriage has grown stale. Her husband, Richard, is different than when they met and cruel to her, and she begins to suspect him of being a serial killer. Sounds awesome, right?

Unfortunately, the execution doesn't live up to the premise. The characterization is odd and shoddy. For instance, one character is a psychologist. We're introduced to her as she waits for a patient who doesn't show. To blow off steam, she goes out and picks up a guy, and when she takes him back to her place, she excuses herself to go snort some cocaine in the bathroom. Rather than feel like an innate part of her character, it feels out of nowhere. Additionally, the dialogue is weak and, at times, unbelievable.

The story opens with the killer's perspective. I'm okay with this decision creatively, but to make it work, you have to limit the time readers are exposed it. Here, it drags on for too long. Instead of being introduced to this guy who's unstable and has terrible thoughts about women at the heart of his impulse for violence, the length of this chapter almost makes it seem like we're supposed to side with him. I would've preferred the author limit our exposure to being in the killer's head. I don't want to sympathize with him; I just want to see him get taken down.

Because the books through NetGalley are ARCs, I usually don't worry about the formatting all that much. I don't care about a small number of typos or tiny grammatical details. The formatting here, though, was distracting and substandard. New paragraphs weren't indented. Very often, two words didn't have a space between them. I don't know if this was overlooked or somehow happened in conversion, but it's hard to get into a book when you're slowed down by improper formatting.

All that said, the story IS interesting. There's a lot of promise. I appreciated that the three female protagonists teaming up. The end was intriguing, if not completely satisfying. I do think some readers will still enjoy this despite its flaws, but I wish the author had done another draft or the manuscript had been edited more thoroughly.