I really enjoy the way Marybeth Mayhew Whalen addressing human emotion and experience in her books. This Secret Thing is the story of a daughter struggling with her mother’s arrest for being a madam in her upscale suburb. Violet is left alone and shocked by the revelation about her mother, Norah’s, secret life. The story follows her coming to terms with the truth, dealing with the reactions of those around her, and all of her teenage issues. Violet’s story is the center of the plot but the reader also gets to see how other people in Norah’s orbit deal with secrets of their own.

This book is definitely a slower pace than I was expecting but I really enjoyed the ride. Everyone in this book is hiding something (with varying degrees of seriousness) and I read quickly to find out how all of the pieces would come together. This story wraps up in a satisfying and interesting way. I have read all of the author’s other books and am excited to see what she writes next.

Thanks to Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful small town mystery novel that sheds light on the way rumors spread and impact the lives of those in the midst of a scandal. Beautifully written!

3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed this, especially the overarching message which was solidified at the end. I do think there were a few too many perspectives than necessary, and I think the character of Nicole was not explored well enough (I don't think she's mentioned in the last 40% of the book at all? The conflict between her and Violet is also never resolved, though I guess it's not central to the storyline).

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was going to take off and be exciting but what started with a bang fizzled out to an uneventful story. I wanted more! I rate this book a 2.4! Thanks Netgalley!

This Secret Thing by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is a story that is literally just secrets on secrets on secrets in the suburbs. There is a prostitution ring, a return from college, a girl just holding secrets of other neighbors, forbidden love, a mystery body, and just so many damn things. What I liked about the story was the multiple narrators who were holding multiple secrets from others who then shared what was really going on. For me though, there was almost too much going on. As I'm reflecting back, I almost feel like I read multiple books instead of just one! However, if you want a domestic thriller with literally all the twists, this is where you need to turn. Even though it was a lot, it kept me reading as I wanted to know how it all (and all was so much) played out. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent release!

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC. Mothers, daughters and friends navigating life and face tough decisions. I liked that the story was told by different viewpoints. It was a very dramatic storyline throughout but I expect a bigger ending than it turned out to be. Definitely a fast read because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

While this book kept me interested, I didn’t get what I wanted from the story. There is very little about the madame-plot line in this story. The podcast angle at the beginning really hooked me into the story, but it really read more YA because we heard from Violet and Casey a lot more than anyone else.

There were also a lot of side storylines that didn’t really make sense. Nico’s POV was really unnecessary, and it didn’t tie in.

Overall I thought this book had great potential but it fell flat for me.

I actually liked this more than I expected to. The plot kept my interest and I wanted to find out what happened. I found the characters to be pretty one dimensional, though.

I was hooked at the beginning of this book but soon other characters and storylines started taking over. I just found it to be more confusing than it should have been, unfortunately. It was a great premise. But it didn’t play out like it could have.

I love the fact that author, Marybeth Whalen is from NC like me and close to the same town! Her earlier books based on Sunset Beach, NC were precious and definitely worth reading. However, her latest novel, This Secret Thing, varies between a young adult novel and women's fiction. Each character has so much drama going on in their lives it's hard to keep up. It ranges from addiction, prostitution ring, co-dependency, etc. It really is a busy book with just too many subplots. I really had a hard time finishing it, but did. The sub plot or main plot (who can tell?) about a mom involved in a prostitution ring made me a bit angry that author Whalen felt okay to glorify this horrific act on women. It just makes me sad that such a great author has fallen to this level. Read her earlier works, but sadly, this one is a definite miss.

Everyone has secrets...especially small-town America. In a North Carolina suburb successful business woman Norah is arrested as a madam of a prostitution ring that reaches far and wide in town. Her teenage daughter, Violet, must be taken care of her by Norah's estranged mother Polly. Teenage life is hard enough without your mother being arrested and Violet is already dealing with her friendship ending with longtime best friend Nicole-whose mom Bess just happens to be Norah's former best friend. These complicated circumstances are compounded by Nicole's older sister Casey coming home unexpectedly from college-obviously running from something. On the edge of it all is Detective Nico determined to find evidence tying his brother's disappearance to Norah's business. Secrets and dange collide while everyone has their own secret thing they're dealing with.

Fast paced, engrossing and full of interesting characters This Secret Thing is another hit by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen.

Than you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. It had a really good plot, great main characters and really keeps you hooked on the plot. I would highly recommend this book.

I always love reading books local authors, and even better when they take place in your state. This Secret Thing is by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, who is from NC and the novel takes place in Raleigh (near my hometown).

This Secret Thing starts with an episode of The Nosey Neighbor Podcast. The host is interviewing Bess Strickland about the arrest of her neighbor Norah Ramsey month before. The rest of the novel is the events that unfolded leading to Bess being a guest on the podcast.

This suburban neighborhood is no stranger to scandal, but the latest one, involving Norah, has everyone scratching their head. I don’t want to give too much away, by a description.

This Secret Thing is told from varying points of view.
Violet, Norah’s teenage daughter who is blindsided by her mother’s arrest.
Nico, a cop trying to find his missing brother.
Polly, Norahs estranged mother who steps in to care for Violet even though they barely know each other.
Bess, Norah’s neighbor and former best friend.
Lastly, Casey, Bess’s daughter who returns home from college with a secret of her own.

I know people find so many POV, intimidating. But I never found myself confused with the different people, and the story flowed so well. I was intrigued as to what what happening to these families in this quaint Raleigh neighborhood from beginning to end.

“Sometimes you don’t need a leash to keep you in place. Sometimes you just chose to stay.”

I have enjoyed a couple of Marybeth Mayhew Whalen's book but this one felt short of the mark for me. THE SECRET THING has great characters and a gripping plot line, but the last fourth of the book just felt unrealistic and the way the story concluded did not ring true.

This Secret was a big one, although let out of the bag pretty early in the book you still need to read to know all the “players”! This book was Big Little Lies meets desperate housewives and a nice, quick escape from the real world! Lots of character depth and drama! Got a little long in the middle but would still recommend to friends! Grab your towel and head to the beach! Thanks for the advance readers copy!

Norah is arrested for running a prostitution ring from a spa. The book focuses on the daughter left without a mother/caregiver. There are six different viewpoints, but not too hard to follow. Many characters and subplots on the side. I liked that the author focused on the lives affected by Norah’s arrest rather than the business she was running. It wasn’t the most original idea, but was told masterfully. If you like mysteries and chick lit, you will enjoy this book. Four stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank You NetGalley publisher and author for this copy.

This was sort of a hard one for me to read.
I honestly tried and couldn't
I just wasn't what I was hoping it to be I guess!
I think it was all the different stories being thrown in.

I loved the summary of the book..... It just wasn't my cup of tea.

This book came highly recommended to me and it held up. I went into the story completely blind, as you should. It's about a teenage girl who's mother goes to jail and the events that led up to that and the consequences that followed. It is not a murder mystery (which is also refreshing). The format is what I was unsure of at first but it won me over. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view. I thought it was going to be confusing (as it sometimes is in other books) but this one pulled it off. The change in character voice was always clear and the use of this writing style really helped the author create the characters, their thoughts and actions, more deeply.
Good characters, story well told- good book. It was easy to read but not shallow.

Thank you to Netgalley for this good book for review.

This Secret Thing by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is a powerful story of family, friendship and sisterhood. I am a sucker for a strong woman uniting novel and this one was no exception.

Though the main secret thing is revealed at the beginning of the book it does not deter from the story, it very much works with This Secret Thing. Violet’s world explodes and she is left alone with a grandmother she never knew. A strong vital grandmother who puts Violet before everything. I like this type of woman and I really liked Polly. I liked all them women in this story even Bess who for a few chapters was not someone I would want to be friends with but she redeemed herself, drew me in and I was invested in her life.

Ms. Whalen’s character building is done extremely well; there were parts of all these women that were extremely relatable. I will surely be on the lookout for other books by this author. She pushed all the right buttons for me.

Call me crazy, but I get a strange delight when I finish a new book, and only AFTER realize it's an author that I've loved in the past. That was the case with This Secret Thing. This was such a good book, drawing characters of all ages that rang true, giving us so many situations that were both heartbreaking and life affirming. There are bits of mystery set through the novel, but at the heart, I felt it was a book about who we are when life throws us curves over and over again, at any age. It's a story about friends, mothers and daughters and marriage. This book was so very good, and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.