Thank you very much OrangeSky Audio for this audio book!

Kiersten Modglin quickly became a favorite of mine after reading The Mother In Law and The Perfect Getaway! When I say I LOVE her.... I freaking LOVE HER!😍

Our Little Secret is the absolute best!
These characters are so dang mysterious and the secrets and mystery is wild here!
Because this small town is full of it. People aren't who you think they are here.

The way she writes a book is something special and grips you from.the beginning.
I was hooked from the start and listened to this in one day.
I couldn't get enough of it.
Looking for a great thriller with unexpected twists? You will not want to miss this book!

I have heard so much about Kiersten Modglin but hadn’t had a chance to read her books! Our Little Secret was a great mystery/thriller. There were countless twists and turns. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong. Throughout the book we hear from 4 different characters point of view. I loved that! Sometimes I found it hard to distinguish which female was talking though. This story had missing people, bodies, affairs, lies, friendships and everyone somehow intertwined together. It made me want to take a better look at my own neighbors and close community! I enjoyed this mystery & the narrators. Thanks for the ARC!

This audio book had me guessing till the end. Great who done it book! The narrators did a great job and the author did a fantastic job on the book.
#netgalley
#suspense

DRAMA! Nobody ever seems to step out of line in Cason Glen and everyone is friends with their neighbors. In such a perfect town, why wouldn't they be? Ah, but there's the rub. Everyone -- absolutely everyone -- has a dark secret. And they're more intertwined than anyone could've guessed.

This small-town thriller is so twisty and bursting with unreliable narrators, you'll never guess whodunit, or even what IT is until the last curtain is pulled back. After just a few pages, I was dying to know who was hiding what from whom and why! This fast-paced read kept me on my toes, never knowing who to trust. The excellent voice acting made it even better.

That said, I really struggled with the writing style. There is so much rehash and overexplaining that I sometimes wondered if I had dropped my bookmark too early and was re-reading a chapter. Still, this tangled web is so fascinating, I have no doubt I'll be back for another exciting book from this skilled storyteller.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Our Little Secret by Kiersten Modglin

Several residents in the town of Cason Glen are hiding damning information about themselves. All are convinced that lies will help protect them. But, are lies necessary to achieve this goal? Will their acute need to mislead allow them to maintain their reputations, and the lifestyles they are so desperate to cling to? Or will their devious efforts lead to their downfall?

As Our Little Secret unfolds, there is no question that the main characters' secrets are not little. The characters' desperation and determination to hide the truth is palpable. Murder-mystery fans will appreciate the way in which Modglin has structured this tale. Its twists and turns include the ingredients of infidelity, abuse of power, loyalty, betrayal and vengeance. The author has an impressive knack for keeping readers guessing, and reassessing their beliefs about who is truly guilty of the crimes that have been committed.

What is also great about Our little Secret, is that it includes a thought provoking message about how people view truth and lies. The story shows what can happens when people make decisions without knowing about the motivations of those who are close to them. The characters' mentality and reality send a decisive message about the power, and limitations of lies, and may cause readers to wonder about how differently the characters might behave if they were aware of the whole truth. This story also gets readers to think about the reality, definition, and perception of love. Some readers might even contemplate and reassess some of their personal convictions.

Quill Pen News gives Our Little Secret a rating of 3.5 stars. This book could have easily kept readers engaged with another fifty to one-hundred pages. The abrupt end, to the well written story, leaves out in-depth information about the fate of the main characters who share their point of view during the majority of the story.

Our Little Secret is worth reading if you are a fan of fast-paced murder-mysteries. These readers will definitely want to experience Maudlin's talent for stoking a reader's desire to know the brutal truth of the tale, despite its sudden conclusion.

This review will be posted on the quillpennews.com website and is featured on the Qull Pen News Instagram page.

Kiersten Modglin does it again! There are so many terrible neighbors and twists and turns in her latest novel, Our Little Secret, that you do not know who is honest and who is lying. To make it even better, when you finally think you have it all figured out, Ms. Modglin throws the final plot twist in at the very end! What a fabulous writer! You can’t go wrong with one of her books!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.

“Comfort was the enemy. It’s when you feel the safest that you’re most vulnerable.”

Our Little Secret follows a cast of characters living in the small, close-knit community of Cason Glen. The neighborhood has been rocked by the murder of one person and sudden disappearance of another, and it quickly becomes evident that just about everybody in town has something to hide.

I love stories about small towns, especially those focusing on a darker undercurrent, but I found this book to just be okay. It did a good job of keeping me on my toes, taking twists and turns that I expected at first and then never would have guessed. However, the dialogue and overarching conflict felt repetitive at times. None of the characters were particularly likable, but I found myself absolutely hating a handful of them.

Overall, too many POVs and some redundancy knocked this book down to 3-stars for me. That being said, I would absolutely give another thriller by this author a chance.

I would give this a solid 3.5*. It was a twisty story with a lot of backtracking and backstabbing. Overall that part was alright. The story was one where everything kind of works out the way it should even though it is oddly more happenstance than by design on the part of the characters. They all seemed extremely competent in their criminal acts even though none of the crimes seem to have been hidden very well. The area they live in is small-town life and yet even though that kind of setting really invites so much scrutiny, and that is the very fear all of them worry about, nobody really pays attention to each other. Looking back on it, everything would break down under any kind of follow-up on each character's alibi. The book was not bad, I just thought it was strange for me. I would certainly read more from Kiersten Modglin and this book is one that I would recommend to mystery fans.

I received this free copy for my unbiased review.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. The synopsis was interesting to me and I was excited about reading this book. I don't know I just felt like it was very slow going and the language was really bad.

So many twists and turns that I was not expecting! With thrillers, I expect some form of twist but Kiersten Modglin has a way of twisting, and then twisting again, and again until you are so surprised and know there was no way you would ever have seen that coming. The writing keeps you engaged, although I am not a huge fan of multiple narrators in the same time period (historical fiction with dual timelines work for me). The multiple narrators was a bit confusing for me but I sorted it all out in the end. I just feel that with multiple narrators, I don't really get to know any one character well and that was the case with this book. Still, the plot keeps moving and takes you along for a great ride. A truly entertaining read!

The audiobook was very well done. Different readers for male and female characters made the multiple narrators a little easier to follow but I still had a difficult time keeping it all straight sometimes.

Murders, mysteries, lies and affairs about in this small town, twisty thriller. These types of books are Modglin's "bread and butter" so to speak: everyone has secrets, anyone could have "done it" and all the lies and twists are laid bare in the final pages of the book.

As with other books by this author, you must suspend disbelief, and I found some of the dialogue lacking. That said, this book was a fun read, with its "morally ambiguous" cast of characters, short chapters and cliff hangers every few pages, you will not want to put this one down.

I recommend this book for Modglin fans, as you will be getting exactly what you came for. For those who are more into the more realistic, hard hitting psychological thrillers, you may find this one lacking in writing. I did enjoy this book and had fun listening to it. The narrators were good and you can fly through this one quickly.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #OrangeSky Audio for this advance reader copy. My review is posted to my instagram account (www.instagram.com/booky_bethy) as well as on several facebook book pages, and Netgalley.

Small towns hold secrets. When a woman reports a car crashing into the lake one stormy night this small towns secrets will start to be uncovered.
So many secrets! I enjoyed this mystery with all its twists and turns. With multiple narrators and points of view this story really keeps you engaged and made the audiobook entertaining.
Thank you to Orange Sky Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC for an hour est review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝐾𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑛 🎧

💫Synopsis: “Bad things don’t happen in Cason Glen.
The locals make sure of it.
So, when the residents of the town’s most exclusive subdivision discover one of their own is missing, it sends a wave of panic and discord throughout the neighborhood.
They are supposed to be safe.
But they quickly realize not everything is as it once seemed in their idyllic world.
Slowly, the cracks have begun to show, revealing the dark and devious truth behind their home, their neighbors, and the lengths some people will go to protect their secrets.
Someone’s missing.
Someone’s dead.
Everyone’s lying.
In a town full of masterfully woven webs, these six friends are about to watch their world unravel. And, if they’re not careful, one of them might be the next to disappear…
When everyone you know is a liar, how do you decide whom to trust?“

💫Review:
Short, exciting and to the point is how I like to describe books like this one✨ Full of twists, great plot and unreliable characters that keep you entertained and fully engulfed in the story line from beginning to end.
This was an audiobook copy and unfortunately I wasn’t thrilled by any of the narrators, hence the 4 stars. I think an audiobook format should match the written characters and although this is totally subjective, it just wasn’t it for me.

I discovered Kiersten Modglin books this year and I’m so glad I did; this woman has a talent to keep the mystery going until the last page and is fascinating.
Thank you for the gifted audiobook.
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#mystery #fastpaced #audibook #giftedcopy #kierstenmodglin #ourlittlesecret #netgalley

“Our Little Secret” by Kiersten Modglin
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Release Date: 8/25/2021
Genre: Thriller

This popped up on my Netgalley audiobook options this week even though it was already released I decided to grab it!

The cover is perfect for thriller month! It says “Someone’s missing. Someone’s dead. Everyone’s lying.” If those three lines don’t draw you in I don’t know what will! This was a super fast read and kept me guessing the entire time. I did not guess the end! The ending definitely was an “oh sh*t” moment!

Cason Glen is a sleepy small town that relies on one another and protects each other until they don’t. When one of their own goes missing the town is stunned. Why would a favorite teacher with a wife and two teenagers just disappear? Four months later and no communication from Ted and no body found the town is still stumped. Slowly secrets are revealed and dirty laundry is aired.
The main characters are Michelle the wife of the local sheriff, Enzo the mayor, and Stephanie the wife of missing Ted!
They all have motives for the crimes being committed around Cason Glen, but are any of them truly guilty?

Addictive and full of suspense.
This novel despite being relatively short (6 hours) packs a lot of entertainment. I love the secrets, lies, and despicable characters, really nobody to like. Somehow they captured my interest. Okay, there's one character I liked, turns out he/she lied too. When push comes to shove, they lied some more. So who can you believe? NO ONE.
*Our Little Secret* is mainly told from three POVs. Michelle, the sheriff's wife, that one lady who knows all that goes around in town. Stephanie, a mother of twin teen boys who's trying to hold the family together after her husband Ted, a well-loved teacher went missing. Then there's Enzo, the mayor, widower, and a family friend.
The audio with male and female narrators is very good. Both narrators bring the characters to life. A perfect listen for a quick and fun thrill.

'Our Little Secret' by author Kiersten Modglin certainly lives up to its title - and then some.

The plot centers around the mystery of a beloved missing teacher, husband, and father of twin boys. What ensues is nothing short of a of a jaw-dropping entanglement of multiple mysteries and secrets all entwined together.

The conclusion seamlessly brings to light multiple (long kept hidden) insidious cruelties. Tying together all unanswered questions into a perfect - psychologically mind-bending and enthralling - bow.

Mandy Kaplan and Wyatt Baker make an impeccable team as dual narrators for the multiple (many accented) characters - aptly individualizing multiple points of view with harmonious clarity. Every voice is unique, consistent, and easily identifiable as belonging to a specific character. Kudos to both for providing an absolutely riveting and exemplary listening experience.

With much thanks to NetGalley and OrangeSkyAudio for the free audio download in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. #NetGalley #OrangeSky Audio #OurLittleSecret

This was addictingly good and I didn't want to stop listening.

There were so many twists and turns in this, I also loved the narration of the Audiobook.

This was overall superb😘😘.

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Firstly, I want to thank #netgalley #kierstenmodglin #orangeskystudio for the advance copy of audiobook arc for honest review.
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Trigger warning ⚠️
Cheating. Lies . Full of lies.
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The story is based in a small town called cason glen. It's a small town and everybody new everybody.
Started with a curious Stephanie that something to do with their lake . I'm heartbroken with stephanie on how her kids treat her , at the same time getting annoyed with her because she is just soft with them .
Michelle and the sheriff Jude has something to hide in the lake and that is visibly clear in story. Also enzo the mayor has something to hide .
But when a outsider girl was dead and they tried to search that lake , a twisty twisted super twisted happen especially on the ending and did not see that coming . I'm shock. Kiersten did a great job to this story and it keeps me going and straight to the point.
Very well recommended!
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5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ credit to the narrators too. They did amazing retelling the story . (Mandy Kaplan and wyatt baker )
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🌹 shaye.reads

When Sheriff Jude gets a call late one night about an incident at the lake, he rushes to the location as his wife Michelle stays home with their teen daughter Caroline, anxiously waiting for him to call her with an update. Meanwhile Stephanie DuPont has just reported seeing possible tail lights heading straight into the lake. The chaos has Mayor Enzo rushing to the scene, trying to sort everything out. This event will begin to slowly unravel the secrets kept by the residents of small town Cason Glen.

Told by multiple POV's, each character has something to hide. At what lengths will they go to protect their secrets? With this author quickly becoming one of my favorites, I was thrilled to be able to listen to this as my first audiobook. But I was skeptical at first because I'm a fast reader and I like to sometimes go back pages if I forget a detail. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed listening to this book and had it on all the time at twice the speed. There was a lot going on, and eventually the little things all come together in the end. Overall a great book and anxiously waiting for the next release.

Thank you Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.

In a nutshell: It’s twisty, alright. You’ll enjoy the book if you love a twisty thriller. That’s it. Main USP: Twists galore.

Story:
A small town named Cason Glen. Here you’ll meet:
👉 Sheriff Judd Rivera, his wife Michelle and daughter Caroline –each hiding a secret.
👉 Neighbour Stephanie and her 17 year old twins Raphael and Dominic –each hiding a secret.
👉 Mayor Enzo, and his niece Sophie – hiding a secret.
👉 Stephanie’s missing husband Ted: hiding a secret.
Basically, that’s the plot of the book. Everyone is hiding a secret and everyone is trying their best to keep their secrets. So when something happens that threatens to reveal one of the secrets, there is a flash flood of sorts and everyone’s secrets are in danger.
The book is written in the multiple characters’ first person perspectives, mainly from Judd, Stephanie, Michelle, and Enzo.

I realise that the plot sounds very meh from the way I have written it. But it’s not bad. Kiersten Modglin is known for providing twists after twists in her books and this book certainly confirms that claim. Some of the secrets are visible a mile away but many of them will really surprise you. But because of this motif of multiple characters with multiple secrets each, I felt frustrated and mentally exhausted keeping track of who is revealing what and hiding what else. The secret-keeping went over the top as far as I’m concerned. It was also tough to accept that so many educated people couldn’t see the reality for what it was and chose to believe a farfetched or whitewashed version of the truth.

The pace and length work to the book’s advantage. Unlike many contemporary writers who add needless side-tracks and red herrings to push up their book to 400 pages, Modglin keeps the plot taut and focussed and doesn’t lose control of her narrative at any point. If your main criterion for an enjoyable psychological thriller is unexpected and countless turns in the plot, you will adore this book for sure.

I love twisty thrillers, but I enjoy them even more if I can connect with the characters (at least with a couple of them if not with all.) Unfortunately, most of the characters in the book are not just unlikeable but actually detestable. It made me wonder how so many churlish fibsters reside within such a little town. Sheer bad luck for the town, that! Stephanie is the one who irked me the most. Whiny and clingy at times, she lived by one set of rules for herself and imposed a different code of conduct on those around her. And as she is one of the principal characters of the book, she was one of the reasons my rating went downwards. Another factor that went against my enjoyment was the ending, by which time I was fed up of the secrets still being thrown constantly at my face.

I had long wanted to try a Kiersten Modglin book. There is a Facebook book group dedicated to psychological thrillers in which most of the members go ga-ga for this author. It was this FOMO that made me opt for this ALC. And while I don’t regret this experience, I’m not really a fan-girl yet. I’ll still try a couple of books more by her to see if the characters in those are more relatable.

I heard the audiobook narrated by Mandy Kaplan and Wyatt Baker. They do a great job of bringing the female and male characters respectively to life. As the audio version clocks just under 6 hours, it would be a great way of trying out this book.
Bonus benefit of the audiobook: I finally understood how to pronounce this author’s surname. ;)

All in all, I don’t regret going for this audiobook. I got to hear a fast-paced thriller with multiple morally grey characters and a multitude of secrets and twists. Something that most regular thriller lovers will enjoy.

My rating: 3.75, mainly because I opted for the audio. I don’t think I would have given it more than 3.5 had I read it.

My thanks to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.