This is a very tense psychological thriller. The story is told from multiple POVs. For a thriller it is very slow paced which isn’t something that I like. It deals with some dark themes.

Gripping and twisty thriller with a chilling end.

Hollie and Niamh are best friends, the only teenagers in a small village community. When Hollie disappears the police are convinced the residents must know more than they're admitting, and gradually layer upon layer of secrets are revealed.

4 stars

A fantastic read which I could not put down and kept me up until late at night. Certainly makes you question everything and everyone.

Another good read from the author and one that kept me hooked all the way through. The opening is gripping and it doens't let up from there. Great twists too.

Great book that will suck you into the story. Loved the different characters in here because it gave the storyline so much depth and feeling.

I always enjoy a DH book! Just a good solid thriller that keeps you turning the pages quickly. She doesn’t disappoint. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

Oh my word this book was awesome. Gripped me from, the start and I couldn’t put it down. Every chapter was brilliant.

This is an absolute gem!!! I’ve been so excited about this book and it hasn’t disappointed.absolutely will be recommending this book to anyone who will listen to me.

This was such a good solid read, it was totally thrilling and kept me gripped until the end. Really enjoyed the book, will read more in future.

This book will keep you guessing as to what is going on the entire time. The tension builds slowly throughout, every once in a while ramping it up ever so slightly. It will definitely get under your skin until things finally become clear after a thrilling finale

Elise is an air hostess and lives in a small village with her GP husband, Andrew and teenage daughter Niamh. They seem like the perfect couple but behind closed doors - their relationship is very different.

Niamh is best friends with Hollie who is highly strung and goes from one drama to another - but one day she tells Niamh a secret that she has found out about her dad. She makes Niamh promise that she will never tell anybody - a promise Niamh is determined to keep no matter what.

Keeping the secret becomes even harder when Hollie goes missing and her body is then found a few days later. The police are struggling to get any of the villagers to open up about the goings on in the village - but its clear they all may know something.

Slowly, it becomes evident that all the residents have their own secrets - all of which begins to surface and the truth behind Hollie's death is revealed.

The story is told from the perspective of Elise, Niamh and Hollie and can be a little repetitive from Elise's perspective with her thoughts about her marriage and tense relationship with Niamh.

A tale that has many twists that will lead down winding paths and keeps you guessing at who killed Hollie.

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

This was a gripping read and I liked how it was written in multiple POV.
Niamh and Hollie are best friends. One day Hollie tells Niamh a devastating secret and the next day she disappears. Shortly after she is found murdered. It seems everyone has secrets.
I liked how the story unfolded and all the wrong turns the author takes you down.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheSecret #NetGalley

This one was a lovely read. I really enjoyed reading this one. I just love this kind of books.
4 stars read for me

A dark sinister read!
It's a compelling read but not an easy one.
Nor should it be with the topics explored but do check trigger warnings if you need to.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝘿𝙚𝙗𝙗𝙞𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨

I haven’t read anything by this author before but the striking cover drew me in and I really enjoyed this. Told through multiple engaging perspectives, this is a story of family, mystery, suspense, secrets and lies, and sensitively covers some difficult topics.

I loved the small town community vibes, having grown up in a tiny remote village in Sussex for the first twenty two years of my life, and always find a book setting even more enjoyable when I can relate to it. The characters were well-written and all played such a big part in the revealing of the twists.. and speaking of twists, what a shocking and totally unexpected ending. In the best way possible!

I thought this was a raw and sadly truthful look at how relationships and marriages can look flawless from the outside, but you never know what’s happening behind closed doors. You won’t want to put this book down once you get started - a properly gripping, easy to read thriller. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Howell’s work in future!

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

Hollie and Niamh are the only two teenagers in the village and they tell each other everything. Hollie has a secret, a big one. And Niamh promised she would keep it. But when Hollie goes missing and ends up dead, it becomes clear the two teenagers aren't the only ones in the village hiding things. Suddenly, neighbours become suspects and secrets come to light. What secret could be so bad that it meant the death of Hollie? And who killed her?

"Only ten percent of people are good."

This was a great psychological thriller, but it does contain a lot of heavy themes and even though the author handles them very well (in my opinion), it will probably still be a bit of a tough read for some people. (TW: physical and emotional abuse, manipulation, violence, toxic home environment, toxic relationships, betrayal, child exploitation). The story is told from multiple POVs, which are all strong female characters (definitely a bonus, if you ask me!). The short chapters and multiple POVs make it a quick and easy read. There were a lot of plot twists (which I thought was a good thing) and the author definitely kept me guessing right up until the end.

"I used to believe that even the worst behaviour could be explained by abusive childhoods or desperation. But that was before I realised people have choices; make decisions. Before I realised that brutality can be intentional."

Reading this does make a person wonder: how well do we know our neighbours? After all, who can ever really be sure of what goes on behind closed doors?

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for my e-ARC.

Overall rating: ★★★★

Talk about edge of your seat, page turner. Wow!! It’s 7am and I’ve been up all night reading this.

Loved it. So many different outcomes I weren’t expecting.

I need to read more of Debbie Howells books.

This was a gripping thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. With twists and turns galore this book had me hooked and hanging on to every page. Whilst this book covered some difficult themes and has multiple trigger warnings, it was very well written.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an early eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first book I’ve read by this author and what a rollercoaster of a read ! There were so many twists and turns which kept you guessing with a great twist at the end .