Member Reviews
This books starts with a woman being drowned by someone. That beginning lets the reader know that this will be a great thriller. Three families who, live in the same neighborhood, decide to rent a beach side home and go on a vacation while their children are at camp. Most of the character's have professional jobs and very fancy homes. The book has three parts, the day before, the day of, the day after but they are not individual books in the book they continue throughout the book as the day before, the day of ,and the day after. Sometime I was confused about this situation and had to write notes but not because of the book but more I sometimes get confused. The book title leads you to believe that one person has a secret but actually all people have secret in this book.. 'The book is extremely enjoyable with the end definitely fulfilling. My only
caution would be that there is domestic violence. I became a fan of the author and cannot wait to see her next book.
Thank you for NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read and comment on this book. I would recommend it to anyone.
One Little Secret by Cate Holahan is an entertaining story told over three days. Here is the basic idea of the story: a few couples decide to rent a beach house in the Hamptons as a quick getaway but someone is murdered and the others are suspects. I love that premise!
The glass beach house was supposed to be the getaway that Susan needed. Eager to help her transplanted family set down roots in their new town—and desperate for some kid-free conversation—she invites her new neighbors to join in on a week-long sublet with her and her workaholic husband.
Over the course of the first evening, liquor loosens inhibitions and lips. The three couples begin picking up on the others’ marital tensions and work frustrations, as well as revealing their own. But someone says too much. And the next morning one of the women is discovered dead on the private beach.
Town detective Gabby Watkins must figure out who permanently silenced the deceased. As she investigates, she learns that everyone in the glass house was hiding something that could tie them to the murder, and that the biggest secrets of all are often in plain sight for anyone willing to look.
Of course, everyone is hiding something, they all have secrets they don’t want to be shared but who is the killer and WHY? I always like books like this one, where a group of people are together tensions begin to build, secrets are exposed, add some wine, and a murder and there you go. This is a great book to bring with you on vacation!
Due out on July 9! Order here.
Three couples rent a house on the beach for a relaxing vacation while their kids are away at camp. Sounds like a fun time, until one of them is found dead on the beach. Suspicions and accusations fly, and we slowly figure out that everyone is not necessarily who they seem. I enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick read and kept my attention waiting to see what would happen next. I thought near the end I had it all figured out, boy was I wrong!
Make sure you add One Little Secret to you TBR pile!
Thank you to #CrookedLaneBooks and #Netgalley for the ARC of #OneLittleSecret.
Three couples rent a vacation home in the Hamptons while their kids are at summer camp. What should be an idyllic week at the beach turns deadly real quick. The author doesn’t waste much time jumping into the mystery which I appreciate!
The chapters alternate between the day before in “incident”, the day of and the day after. The chapter flow so seamlessly that you don’t have to pay attention to the headers.
This book sucked me in, kept me guessing and just when I thought I might have figured it out, gave a new twist! I certainly couldn’t have predicted the secrets everyone was hiding, who knew what and who was truly in the dark and how it would all unravel. This was my first book by Cate Holahan and I’ll be back for more.
I am very middling about this book. I thought the storyline was good- but the way it played out didn't live up to the plot. Some parts I found really exciting and others I was bored and wanted it to be over. I found most of the characters annoying and couldn't sympathise with any of them.....the only one I liked was the police officer. I feel like it could have been so much more than it was and I am a little disappointed with the outcome, I don't know what I expected and it was a surprise, but it wasn't that? Such a shame as I had high hopes for it.
One Little Secret by Cate Holahan
Three couples rent a Hamptons beach house while their children are away at school camp, the couples are all neighbours.
Susan organises the beach getaway as she thinks it would be a great way to get to know her neighbours better and receive some kid-free conversation as her husband is a workaholic.
Wow there is so much intermingling between these characters, they have so many undesirable qualities and are not very likeable people at all. There’s alcohol fuelled arguments, betrayal, jealously, sarcasm, secrets, domestic abuse..... and it’s only the first night. The story quickly turns into a whodunnit as one of the women ends up dead on the private beach.
Detective Gabby Watkins must figure out who is the murderer, so many of the neighbours appear to have motives. While this story was a page turner I found it a little confusing to follow the characters in the beginning of the story but as the story developed it became easier.
Great read if you enjoy a whodunit.
Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review
This is my 3rd book by this author so I was excited when i got approved by NetGalley to review this book before it comes out. Her last 2 books I enjoyed both and gave each one 4 stars. This book alters chapters between The Day Before, That Day, and The Day after “the murder”. I found myself getting easily confused throughout the book. I’m not sure why I kept getting confused, maybe it was keeping all the characters straight? It was a great ending and I did not see it coming! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book for my honest review.
This book kept me on the edge of my chair - not an easy thing to do for a jaded reader like me!
3 couples, neighbors, share a rental property in the Hamptons, Ny for a week while their children are at summer camp. One of them is murdered and it's up to a Long Island detective to figure out who is telling the truth, who is lying, and who needs to be punished.
All marriages are different. They have outside to the public faces and inside behind closed doors faces and Cate Holahan shows up both sides of all three couples. There's a connection here that's more than just neighborly, so anyone of them could be the kiiler.
Told in alternating and multiple POVs, the book bounces back and for the majority over 3 days - before, the day of, and the after the murder. It was a great way to tell the tale, too, because just like a raw onion, the layers of the story and of the people were peeled back and revealed with each new chapter.
This is a great read. Thanks to Netgalley for a sneak peak.
Thank you to NetGalley, Cate Holahan and Crooked Lane Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.
The beach house is supposed to be a nice getaway Susan needed to get a break from her kids and to make friends with her new neighbors. So she invites her neighbors on a weeklong sublet with her and her workaholic husband. The liquor loosens lips and the three couples begin to pick up on other’s martial tensions and work frustrations. But someone says too much and the next morning one guest is found dead on the beach. Detective Gabby must figure out who silenced the deceased, but Gabby finds that everyone is hiding something that could tie them to the murder.
I really enjoyed this novel; it was so quick paced and such an easy read to whip through! I really enjoyed how the chapters went back and forth between the present day and the day before the murder, it definitely made things come into perspective in a different and interesting way. I really enjoyed some of the characters and really enjoyed to hate some of the others! I enjoyed all the secrets that were wrapped up in just these three couples and how different they appear from one another even though they are in very similar situations. This novel would be a perfect binge read for the beach this summer! I would definitely recommend.
Out July 9th!
I am almost finished reading this book now. I will admit the beginning was a little tough to follow. I wasn't sure who was who, who was married to who etc. However once the body was found, the pages kept turning. I loved the dynamic of the group, even though they weren't really close (it sort of shows how awkward making friends as an adult is) as well as how mistrust and miscommunication can lead to marital problems and beyond. I love how Gabby was tied into the night with her husband and daughter as well, and I couldn't wait to find out who was sneaking around with who, behind everyone's back and who the killer was.
Susan is trying to make friends in her new neighborhood in New York City so she invites the neighbors to share a house at the beach while their kids are away at camp. But the neighbors all have secrets they are keeping. Instead of friendship Susan finds the pieces of her life falling apart as secrets are revealed. Who is willing to kill to keep their secret?
One Little Secret by Cate Holahan was a great, fast-paced, who-dunnit, a perfect beach read. In fact, I only recommend reading this at the beach because the description of the rental house and beach will drive you crazy for a beach vacation.
Probably closer to 3.5 than 3, but there were just so many characters right off the bat, and so little differentiation that it was really hard to follow at first. Once I got a handle on the 3 separate couples and 2 separate story lines, the story started to pick up and get better.
The plot boils down to 3 couples renting a beach side home, alcohol flowing on night 1. Wife from one couple is dead by the next morning and everyone is a suspect because dead wife's husband was sleeping with a wife from another couple, the dead wife was suing a husband's start up that was on the vacation, and another of the couple's that was there was a doctor for the start up and is involved in the law suit. Also the doctor who is involved in the law suits daughter saw her mom having the affair with the dead womans husband, then told her dad who then commenced beating the ever living hell out of his wife, continuing a long line of existing abuse in this marriage. There's another storyline running adjacent to this one where the detective's daughter is attending a party where an au pair is drugged and date raped, and one of the spouses from the vacation couples was present. It's a very confusing twister to keep up with, which is what reduced the rating for me. It's possible to keep these story lines clean and running smoothly and this just didn't for me. It was still a good, suspenseful read, but it was just really hard to follow.
Thank you #NetGalley for an advanced copy of #OneLittleSecret!
Ummm wow! What a book! One little secret??? More like 25 little secrets!! This book is about a police detective, Gabby Watkins, investigating the death of Rachel who was vacationing with her friends Jenny, Louis, Susan, Nadal and husband Ben. After reading each chapter I was sure I knew who the killer was, until the next chapter when another secret was revealed and I thought that person has to be the killer!!!! I don’t give any names but the next sentences could be potential spoilers so read at you’re own risk... First, you think it’s the one who’s husband supposedly is having an affair with the deceased... Then you think it could be the friend who’s having an affair with the deceased’s husband... Then you think it could be the doctor who is being sued by the deceased... you just keep going back and forth about WHO could’ve done it, because if I’m being honest I wouldn’t have been surprised at any of them being the killer because they ALL had some type of motive! This was extremely fast-paced and I was never bored! Definitely recommend!
From the cover and summary, this book reminded me of Agatha Christie. However, I quickly found out the writing is much different. The story line was hard to follow and I found myself less and less interested with each page. I doubt I will even finishing reading it at this point and I'm only about 5 chapters in.
Three couples rent a beach house on the Hamptons for a week while their kids are away at camp. On the night of their first day there, one of them is murdered and discovered dead on the beach the next morning.
I liked the pacing and the back and forth between the day of, the day after, and the rare flashback. It was a very quick read, however the problem was the characters weren’t particularly compelling and I didn’t really like the woman who died, so I never felt fully invested in the story. They were frankly all pretty unlikeable people and the detective was absolutely incompetent. Everyone is either a scumbag or a moron.
There were other little things that bothered me... the idea that Westchester County (where I live) wouldn’t have an appropriate school for a child with autism, how obvious the abuse was but the detective didn’t think to question a woman’s decision to wear a scarf in the summer, everyone’s jumping to idiotic conclusions.
It’s just a pet peeve of mine when authors use repeated dumb decisions by the characters as a driving force for the plot. Write realistic people please.
3 stars and thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and author for the opportunity to read and review.
It was an okay book. It took me a bit to get into it but when I did I liked it more. Would I reread it? Probably not. I would recommend to someone that likes a good summer book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a Kindle ARC of One Little Secret.
I wasn't a fan of the author's previous book, The Widower's Wife, but I am interested in novels with a strong female protagonist.
But One Little Secret was disappointing, and not because there are triggers here including domestic violence and substance abuse.
The characters were all unlikable, surreal and unbelievable; all the men are hot and attractive, the same goes for the women, all leggy and rich and incredibly educated and accomplished.
The often used literary trope of adultering is used indiscriminately here. It got to the point where the reader wonders: who isn't cheating?
The detective, Gabby Watkins, wasn't very competent and quick to assumptions and make an arrest based on circumstantial evidence.
Also, I couldn't believe why any of these couples would agree to share a home for a WEEK when it's clear no one likes each other.
Character development was weak and there was nothing to establish why any of these people would agree to spend time in one another's company.
This is no police procedural and there are no twists to uncover or evidence to decipher so the mystery lacks urgency, the tone and pacing slow and doesn't bring the reader into the story.
Overall, a quick read but not for me.
This was a great "twisty-turny" thriller. This story follows 6 people, 3 couples, who are all neighbors and go on vacation together. I loved all of the drama that ensued. In the beginning I was a little confused on who was married to whom, but once I figured that all out, I fell right into the suspense of the story. When the story starts off, someone has been murdered but you don't know who it is. The victim is then revealed and the rest of this story is figuring out "WHO-DONE-IT". I enjoyed I Personally loved how this one ended but don't wanna give away any spoilers. This would be a great quick summer read. Picking up this author again!
While this book was a page turner, it did not leave me with much of an impression. The characters were for the most part unsympathetic. I did like the way the author structured the story -- taking place the day before the murder, the day of, and the day after. I just didn't think the relationship and connections between the characters were ultimately believable. It seemed forced and contrived. Also, not a fan of the detective. She came off kind of dumb and not much of a threat. There was very little tension for a thriller/mystery.
It was a pleasant way to pass the time but not a book I am going to be rereading any time soon.