This is a family saga. It is a slow burn. The pace is slow especially at the beginning. The characters are well developed and believable. It is a heart wrenching read at times.

This book was a slow burn for me but I enjoyed it and got into it. The red herrings worked which lead me to try and work out who I could trust.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Holly Mayhay has the perfect family set up, married to Jordan they live in a little cottage by the sea with their daughter Marley and baby Benjamin. Everything seems idyllic in their lives until Marley starts to act strangely, refusing to talk and rushing off to hide in her room, they know something is not right.

Desperate to find out why Marley is acting this way, Holly creates a worry box, where Marley can post her thoughts each day. But when Holly discovers a note saying "Secrets makes me sad" she begins to question everyone involved with her care .... including her family!!

I was fully hooked with this family drama, I loved all the family secrets. The going back and forth in Holly's life, illustrating her childhood worked very well in this story.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loves this book this book that much I had to buy the audio book , raced thru this book and also read again which is not like me at all to re read a book again .

I really connected with Holly, although it took me a while to get into the book, what a twist I did not see coming!

I really enjoyed this book, it took me a little while to get into it, I found the main character Holly a little odd, every relationship was complex, including the one with her husband, father, mother and seven year old daughter Marley - the story is based on family secrets, and the damage that has been caused. Holly is likeable but seems incapable of asking straightforward questions, maybe we are all a little like that, for ease but sometimes the hard questions do need to be asked.
Entertaining story and characters, look forward to reading more from Samantha King.

A really enjoyable read with a character that you really connect with. I could not out this book down with an amazing twist I did not see coming.

This story fell a bit flat for me. The main character Holly Mayhew is worried about her young daughter Marley who is anxious and withdrawn. In order to help her Holly introduces a “worry box” where Marley can write and post her worries away. What starts of as quite an interesting story, soon turns into a dull tale of family secrets. For me this was a very slow story with a pretty obvious ending, certainly not a page turner. Thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy. I give this story 2⭐️

Wow! This is what I felt as I finished reading The Secret Keeper by Samantha King. This book cannot completely be classified as a mystery-thriller per se; it's more of a domestic mystery and suspense.

The story is about Holly Mayhew as she struggles to understand what has suddenly become wrong with her daughter Marley. Holly feels her daughter has suddenly become very withdrawn, not at all her usual self. She has given birth to a son very recently and it was both a difficult pregnancy and birth for her. Both she and her son almost didn't survive it. This makes her think it might be a case of sibling jealousy. But there are no explicit signs from her daughter which point towards it.

She also has been at home taking care of the kids not able to go back to her job as elementary teacher at her daughter's school. Her health still hasn't recovered from her pregnancy and all these have lead to a gap in the relationship between her husband Jordan and herself. Due to her health issues, her husband doesn't take it seriously when she conveys her doubts and fears about their daughter. He thinks she is just overcome with all her difficulties. Her attempts to help Marley open up have also not been fruitful and she tries to help her by asking her to use a worry box. Her distance from her husband also leads her to think her husband might be in an affair with her friend Amy who had grown up in her house and with whom she has a sometimes contentious and sometimes amiable relationship.

All these struggles combined together come to a head and force her to confront many of her childhood hang-ups and baggage. Her daughter's messages in the worry box also raises more questions about people closest to her rather than answer her concerns. Her efforts to find the answers finally leads to a lot of secrets, that had long been buried, to come out.

The story actually carried a dark tone throughout and the author has a rather descriptive, terse prose which manage to pulls the reader into the life of the main characters. The characters had been given enough depth for us to see them as real people - people with their own faults, virtues and struggles. The author has managed to weave a clever story around the limited, literal take a child can have about the happenings around her. There are so many twists in the story some of which you can never see coming. The story was so very interesting that I read through the book in one go without ever laying it down. This is excellent writing by Samantha King and I would definitely be sure to check out all her future works as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and this was a first for me from this author but i will most definitely reading more. Couldnt put it down taking me on a major emotional rollercoaster. Cant wait to read more from this author.

A pleasant read but not a memorable one for me. I liked the swapping between Holly’s childhood and her current situation of being a mother herself. I was expecting more tension as the beginning reads as if there’s going to be a dramatic event in a week’s time but the book is more an insight into family and relationships within the family together with secrets (hence the title of the book).

This book had me hooked from page one! My favorite part of reading this genre is when there are unexpected twists and turns, and the author of this novel delivered. Would definitely recommend!

A really nice family drama which had me gripped. Hollys daughter starts to act withdrawn, so using a worry box Holly finds out more then she bargained for. The story flits between the past and present and is a fab book and gripping read.

Whilst this was an easy read it wasn’t the thriller I expected, more of a family drama. There were a lot of red herrings before the reveal of the final secrets. Unfortunately I had guessed the main twists early on in the story and found the ending rather predictable.

The plot of the book was such a great page turner. The plot of the book was very well written. I truly cannot wait to read another wonderful book from this new to me author. This was a truly great book.

This story covers the complex relationships between family members. As the story unfolds their dark hidden secrets cause widespread ripples through their lives and the truth is eventually uncovered. A story of love, loss and belonging.

I fell in love with this book.

The book opens with Holly covered in blood, receiving CPR, what follows is a story full of suspense, twist and turns. I was absolutely gripped by Holly’s story, so much so that I finished it at 2am and had to get up for work at 6am - it was worth it though!

The characters were brilliantly brought to life and the author done a great job. The book is based on the secret keeper’s daughter, Holly Mayhew. Her life seems perfect family. Then suddenly one of her children become withdrawn and unlikely themselves. There was a lot of history around and a lot to uncover.

This is a real page turner. I cannot list specifics about the story without giving anything away. I loved everything about it. The characters were brilliantly brought to life and I carried them all until the end.
Great read 10/10

When Holly's bubbly, outgoing daughter, Marley becomes quiet & withdrawn she tries to coax her to open up she gets nowhere. Her husband, Jordon puts it down to the arrival of her baby brother. Holly senses that Marley's seventh birthday part marked a change. She decided to make her a 'worry box' at first Marley's notes show no cause for concern but when Holly reads," I don't like secrets" she knows she needs to get to the root of it. The story is told in the present as well as in flashback to Holly's childhood, growing up with Amy, who came to stay when they were very young & never went home. She thinks of her as her best friend- although at times she seemed the opposite! This was an intriguing read. The whole set-up with Amy struck me as weird! The characters were all rather unreliable but none the less I had to find out the truth.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me rad & review this book.