3 couples who are all neighbors decide to take a beach vacation together. But once they are all in close quarters, secrets come out and marriages are tested. Then one of the women is found dead on the beach and the other 5 people are all suspects.....and they all have motives to kill her.
This was a little like Big Little Lies. Everyone has secrets and they are slowly revealed throughout the book. The story alternates between before and after the murder, until all the pieces fall into place and the murderer is revealed. It had a great storyline and the mystery kept me guessing. This makes a great beach read!

Wow! Talk about a page turner!! This book was everything a thriller should be and more. From the interjecting story lines to the formidable detective who can’t give up until she discovers the truth, this book has it all in one carefully packaged story. I’ll admit, I had a little difficulty remembering names early in, but once the story began at the beach house, I was committed. This book truly has something for everyone, from marriage and relationships, to murder and malpractice suits. I highly recommend this book for your next beach vacation or just a casual weekend. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Another gripping thriller from Cate Holahan. I choose this one because I have read most of her previous books and this one did not disappoint. Characters who you can’t quite figure out

Three rich married families who live in the same neighborhood go for an adult getaway together located in the luxurious Hamptons. Mix that in with wine, extramarital affairs, high tensions. Sounding like “The Real Housewives” yet? Oh yeah, and one more thing, murder.

That’s right. By the end of night one, one of the six are dead. While learning more about the characters, several secrets are exposed. Some that directly led to the murder, some indirectly. While I was able to get to the bottom of who was responsible before it was revealed, I can see how others would not. But let’s face it, I read enough thrillers and watch enough crime and drama centered shows, I won’t fault the author Cate Halohan for that.

I found “One Little Secret” thoroughly entertaining and a perfect summer read as well. I thought it was an easy read (in fact, I finished it in one day.) I also give kudos to Cate Holahan for imagining the character Susan because let’s face it, as a stay at home mom, boy can I relate.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane books for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was disappointing. And it really sucks because it has everything I wanted in a book. Rich people in a beach house arguing with one another. Oh my god, what’s that?! Murder???

Hell yeah. I love murder mysteries. Unfortunately, I did not love this one. I liked it but that’s all I can give it. The perspectives were interesting but confusing, I had to reread several times because wife was used so many times in one sentence.

I liked the fact that there was a lot of POC representation but when one of your only black women becomes a prime suspect it sours the experience. The characters were all one dimensional and unlikeable. The plot muddled and unimaginative. Nobody appeared to like one another so why spend all that money on a vacation with people like that?

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC.
Please check out my blog for more reviews: https://aelilyreads.home.blog/

What can “one little secret” do to a group of friends, thrust together in a beachfront home, forced to confront their issues?

A whole lot.

This book has the feel of “Real Housewives” mixed with Agatha Christie, when six friends, three married New York City couples, send their children to summer camp and head to the Hamptons for a week of sand and sun. But everyone is hiding something and those tangled relationships come to light when tragedy strikes soon after arrival. What is the straw that broke the camel’s back - and what will the outcome be?

This is an interesting book because it’s so interesting and you get so wrapped up in the characters’ lives, but I can’t say that I liked any of the characters. They were all really flawed, kind of terrible people. But what doe all of that mean for the story? That’s the question that kept me reading furiously. I was so into untangling everything going on that I couldn’t put the book down.

The ending was really intense and made a lot of sense, so I was really pleased with it and felt that it was satisfying. The Agatha Christie-esque part comes from the fact that it really is like a big puzzle with everyone connected in some way and everyone hiding something. It’s up to one detectives to put all of that picture together. It’s just down to good ol-fashioned detective work. Poison would like this one.

This is a great who-dunnit set against the beautiful Hamptons with rich city characters. It’s a perfect read for your own week a tthe beach when you need s good pick me up!

Three couples who live in the same neighborhood decide to rent a beach house while their kids are all away at summer camps. Just hours after arriving at the house, tension in the relationships becomes high, and secrets are slowly revealed.
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One of these friends is found murdered on the beach the following morning. Detective Gabby Watkins works to uncover who could have committed this crime, while also solving another case happening at the same time in this small beach town.
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The book is told in a few different timetables, which I really liked. The story was quick and easy to breeze through- the last half of the book I found myself very anxious to be able to keep reading (literally reading while waiting in the drive-thru at Starbucks 🙈)
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I thought I really had this one figured out, and then there was a new twist. The story kept adding new and different levels which really kept me engaged.
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The book was very well written and descriptive, I would absolutely pick up more of Cate Holahan’s books! If you are looking for a fast paced mystery to read during the summer (especially at the beach!) I definitely would recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Part domestic drama and part police procedural, One Little Secret is a fast and fun read.

One Little Secret follows three couples on vacation in the Hamptons as their deepest and darkest secrets are revealed, ultimately ending with the murder of one of the group.

Lots of twists and turns and interconnections between the couples, detectives and locals give the story richness and keep you guessing how everything will tie together at the end.

A great read for fans of fans of Big Little Lies and The Party.

I look forward to reading more of Cate Holahan's books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Meryl L. Moss Media Relations for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fun, fast-paced thriller. It won't knock your socks off with twists and turns, but it will entertain you. A perfect beach read that's light and suspenseful at the same time. The clues are revealed in a very well-paced manner, where I was never getting frustrated that we didn't know certain facts. I enjoyed this book! Thriller junkies will likely be disappointed, but I would recommend to people who like light thrillers, who maybe don't read a lot of thrillers.

One Little Secret by Cate Holahan is a thriller that is a bit like taking a police procedural and fusing it into a domestic drama. The story in this one is told from multiple points of view and from different time frames of the day before, day of and day after a murder has occurred.

Detective Gabby Watkins is one of the only females in her profession so she tends to get assigned the more sensitive cases such as when a rape occurs. Just as Gabby is dealing with a victim that says she was raped Gabby also gets a call that a female body was found and finds herself investigating both cases.

Susan and her husband were planning a getaway to a beautiful glass beach house. Susan thought the time away would also be a perfect way to get to know some of their neighbors better so Susan invited along two other couples. The three couples however all have their own secrets and marital problems and by the end of the night one of the six is the murder victim the police find.

I’m always a huge fan of some good old fashion domestic drama when neighbors are hiding things from one another so One Little Secret by Cate Holahan should have been right up my alley. However, with this one I swear I had the hardest time connecting to any of the couples and kept having to remind myself who was who along the way. Others seem to have really enjoyed this one but to me the lack of connection made it a bit so-so in the end.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A group of rather despicable people get together for a vacation and one of them ends up dead. Whodunnit? There's a case to be made for any of them to have been the killer and they're all so totally unlikable that it wouldn't have bothered me one bit no matter who was the culprit.

The writing in this book is obviously good to keep me engaged in a story where I didn't like any of the characters, and figured out who the killer was fairly early on. The pacing is swift with one secret after another being revealed. It's an entertaining thriller.

Good beach read!

I liked the character buildup in this novel. They all have a secret but which one will one of them die over? The writing style was great and I had a hard time putting this book down. I like the setting as it was perfect for the admission of the secrets.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was a pleasant surprise! I read a lot and I always think I can tell who the murderer is. But this one got me and I didn’t figure it out til close to the end! I will say, I didn’t really like how they revealed who was murdered at the beginning. But, that actually didn’t matter because it seems these six neighbors/friends all had a motive! I was constantly switching my thinking to oh it had to be her or he definitely did it. I love that it kept me guessing the who AND the why! Really unique. I’d definitely recommend this book for a fun, mystery whodunnit read.

Many secrets and characters...

This took me a moment to get into after an excellent first chapter. There are a lot of characters to wade through and they are a pretty horrible bunch for the most part.

The detective, Watkins, isn’t a bad character, just not a highly competent crime buster. There were some surprises and connections I didn’t see coming. I liked how the reveal was teased out in the characters description which is slowly revealed.

This was an entertaining read and I will check out the next one by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and Meryl L. Moss Media Relations for a copy in exchange for a review.

Book 73: One Little Secret by Cate Holahan
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📚 Beachy Murder-Mystery Recipe:
1. Three wealthy couples who barely know each other ☑️
2. Beautiful beach house vacation sans the kids ☑️
3. Plenty of alcohol ☑️
4. Secrets, Infidelity, and Lies. Oh my! ☑️
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📚 The couples on this Hamptons vacation are all successful in their business and career endeavors. But what happens when you mix business with friends, and friends with sex, and sex with secrets, and secrets with violent tendencies? Apparently murder! Oh yes, one of these neighbors is killed...who is it and who did it?
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📚Told from three alternating time lines, the novel is fast-paced and you start getting a sense that everything is not as perfect as it seems right away. The characters are flawed and dealing with issues within their own family, which makes you empathize with them. I'd be lying if I didn't say there was a point where I needed to slam the book down or throw it across the room, because of a few scenes dealing with abuse. 😡 But I didn't...cause, you know, who wants to ruin a good book???😅 The book survived, but unfortunately, some of the characters did not.
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Thanks to Net Galley, Crooked Lane Books, and Meryl Moss Media for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my review.

Thank you Netgalley and authority for the Ecopy of this book.

I kept this for when I had some time off and although I can't say it was a hugely enjoyable read it did intrigue me.
The characters were sometimes predictable as was the store. However I liked the writing style and once I really got into the book I wanted more.

I don't want to give anything away, but this was an enjoyable and entertaining read and I would read another book by this author.

Thank you Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for an early copy. Interesting book, I was confused who was with whom at first but I eventually got it. It was a fast read, good plot.

One Little Secret is a thrilling novel that takes place at a rental home in the Hamptons. Three couples rent a house for a week while their kids are at camp, hoping to form lifelong friendships. Instead, on the first night secrets come out and someone is murdered. The rest of the week is spent in interrogation rooms in the police station. Do these couples know their neighbors or are they all really strangers?

One Little Secret was a light thriller, that served as a good beach read. I loved guessing who was the murderer and why they murdered their neighbor. Holahan gave this thrilling mystery several layers, that I enjoyed peeling back.

While I enjoyed One Little Secret, I am going to have to give it just three out of five stars. The characters were well developed, but I would have enjoyed a little bit more back story on each of them and their dynamics/friends prior to this week-long getaway.

Three neighboring couples rent a beach house for the week while their children are at camp. Sounds like a lovely way to spend the week, until one person ends up dead.

Lots of drama and lots of secrets in this book! Told in three parts, The Day Of, The Day Before and The Day After, it’s never a mystery of who dies and more why and who did it. A locked room mystery with lots of motive and even more secrets.

I did not love this one but I did like the pace and the mystery. What I didn’t enjoy as much was the characters. And I’m also not quite sold on the idea that people with so many secrets and drama between them would rent a house together. Also that they managed to have these secrets for such a long time and it took only a few hours and a couple bottles of wine to reveal all.

Once I actually got started on this book, I tore through it. It's an easy, intriguing read. Sometimes predictable as is the nature of most books of this nature. However, Holahan's writing, the premise, and the characters kept me wanting more and more. For a book that covers quite a few characters, I really thought they were done pretty well! I didn't feel as if I needed more of any character in particular. More often than not, the characters are NOT likable -- and that's okay by me. A character doesn't have to be likable to be a good character!

Overall, entertaining and worth the read!

4/5: ★★★★☆