Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for early access to the audiobook of Other People's Secrets by Meredith Hambrock in exchange for an honest review.

CW: addiction, drug misuse, alcohol misuse, domestic abuse, watch for growing list on StoryGraph.

Jane Doe was found left in a dumpster and subsequently adopted by Hannah. Everyone referred to her as "dumpster baby", and she still goes by Baby to this day. When Hannah passes away due to complications from alcoholism and a new owner starts to make changes to the bar and hotel that Baby has called home, her world starts to crumble. The storm only gets darker as a threat that Baby thought she was free from returns to town.

Okay, hear me out. The one-line pitch is, Rachel Hawkins' Reckless Girls and Catherine Steadman's Something in the Water meets a little bit of Breaking Bad. This is twisty and turny, and filled with the small town drama that I love. The exposition started off really strong, but I think the execution got a little messy about half way through. While the details of the mystery are a little hazy to me (as I write this review three days after finishing the book), the takeaway message for me was the importance of found family and how relationships can get us through a lot of hardship.

Meh, I didn't love this one like I thought I would.

It started off promising with a baby girl found in a dumpster. She's named Jane Doe and adopted out. When her adoptive mother dies that's when the story really begins. Jane, who goes by Baby, is now much older and working at a resort. The resort gets sold and Baby and the whole crew are not happy with all the new changes the new owner, Amelia, has plans for. Now they're on the hunt for a sunken treasure in hopes to buy Amelia out. They end up getting more than they bargained for.

Told by Baby in the 3rd person, which I didn't care for because I hated hearing the name BABY a gazillion times.
I wouldn't categorize this as a thriller because there were no thrills at all. I did like that she was very feisty and always stood up for herself and her friends though.

Overall, not for me, but since this is a debut I will try this author again sometime.

Narrated by Frankie Corzo for 9 hours and 58 minutes, easy to follow at 2x. She did an alright job. I did bump it up to 2.5x just to speed it along quicker to finish it up.

3.5/5
Pub day: 9-6-2022

At 75% there was still not a lot of mystery happening, this was more like a drama or suspense. There was an excessive amount of descriptive throwing up, more than was necessary in my opinion.

The narration was okay, there were times I felt like there should be more feeling or excitement as events unfolded but it wasn’t there. I also had a hard time with the main characters name, Baby. Outside of Dirty Dancing it just felt odd.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really tried my hardest to get into this book. I just couldn’t. I don’t know if it was the mood I was in? I just read some amazing thrillers, so maybe my expectations were very high? Not sure. Regardless, give this book a try. You might completely disagree with me and end up loving it.

This one was all over the place but oddly I enjoyed it. Baby, she is called that because she was rescued from a dumpster as a baby and then adopted, works at a run-down resort and, along with her friends, is barely getting by. When the owner up and sells it to her summertime boyfriend's twin sister, Amelia, Baby figures she needs to fight back. So many twists and turns and craziness lead to the climax. Baby really does hold the heart of community together, she just didn't know it until push came to shove.

I was intrigued by this book and didn’t really know what to expect from it. I was pleasantly surprised though and did enjoy listening to it. I loved the small town feel you got from it and the everybody knows everybody vibe. I loved all the minor characters throughout and the fun names they all had. It was definitely a little slow at first but halfway through it was when it picked up and I got more invested in it. Some of the twists were a little predictable but it didn’t ruin the ending. I can definitely see this being a tv show series, it really felt like it at times. Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend to anyone who wants a quick read.

Meredith Hambrock's debut, OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS, features BABY, a woman who was found in a dumpster as a newborn, and her life has been tough since in this crazy family drama.

She finally has found a place she calls home, where she lives and works at Oakwood Hills, a crumbling lakeside resort. Her adoptive mom died of a stroke, and she is stuck in this small town, barely getting by as a bartender. She drinks too much, has an attitude and foul mouth is self-destructive, and has made bad life choices.

She has a dead-end summer boyfriend romance and going nowhere. We also hear from characters, like DJ and Crystal, and others.

Things get heated due to the owners having sold the resort, and they plan to make big changes. This will not include Baby. She is not happy. The person who plans on buying it is Amelia, her boyfriend's wealthy twin sister, who plans to renovate it.

She wants to keep things the way they are. She and her friends try to find a way to keep the resort. To complicate matters, the local drug dealer is back in the picture and looking for revenge.

A sunken treasure is rumored to be sitting at the bottom of the lake to make things more interesting. What will she do with the money if she and her friends recover the safe? However, the drug pin is after it too.

The discovery of a connection between her family and criminal activity turns Baby’s search into a complicated and intense race against time.

The dark secrets in this small town are underneath the surface, which may slowly rise to the top. Whether rich or poor, everyone has dark secrets.

A story of the HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS. I would not classify this as a thriller but more of a mystery and a drama. Lots of drama and eccentric characters. However, the last part of the book gave some hope even though there were no likable characters.

THE AUDIOBOOK: I also listened to the audiobook, found it very annoying, and kept having to fast forward through it. If I heard the word "Baby" one more time, I thought I would scream! It was repeated over and over. Instead of Baby talking when it was her time, the audio would repeat "Baby said" each time she spoke which does not make for a pleasant listening experience. Very awkward, and have never seen this done before.

While no fault of the narrator, Frankie Corzo, I just did not like the way the audio was laid out. I would not recommend the audio. Maybe try the book instead. The book seems to have a higher rating on NetGalley versus the audiobook. Based on the fact I am reviewing the audiobook only, I will have to give this one 3 Stars, which is generous. Appears I am not the only with complaints about the audiobook.

I look forward to reading more from this author; sadly, this book was not for me.

Thank you to #DreamscapeMedia and #NetGalley for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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My Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: Sep 6, 2022

The narration was well paced and aligned with the main character’s persona. Though the book is written in 3rd person, it follows the journey the main character, Baby. The reading style and tone is somewhere between unremarkable and soothing, so as not to take away from or add to the story in any significant way. I increased the speed of the narration to fit my preference, but the pace was appropriate. Chapters were announced with a small pause in the narration and allowed a clear organization to form for the reader throughout the book. The twists and turns in Other People’s Secrets were unexpected, while remaining realistic. New predictions were formed often, only to flip completely in the next chapter. The characters are real and relatable. The main character, Baby, has a unique backstory, creating sympathy for her, despite some clearly bad choices. Other characters, like DJ and Crystal, I wanted to see developed more deeply. I found myself wanting to know more about the driving forces behind their actions throughout the book. I find myself wondering about some of the loose ends left at the in regards to character development and relationships. There are some mature references (sexual assault, domestic violence, etc.) that could trigger sensitive readers. Together, the narration and story create a pleasant listening experience. Fans of mystery and suspense along with readers who enjoy a good dramatic love story should read Meredith Hambrock’s Other People’s Secrets. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This wasn’t a book I loved but I think so many others will. I think it was just one of those things where I couldn’t quite get into the characters or plot completely.
Baby is well known as the “Dumpster Baby” in her small town. She likes to drink too much and has an on again off again boyfriend who refuses to commit. She lives and works at Oakwood Hills which is a lakeside resort that has seen better days. Her friends Crystal Nugget and DJ Overalls (what names!) also work there. Recently her adoptive mother passed away from a stroke and she’s working on her emotions. Now, Bad Mike, the local drug kingpin has returned and is about to upturn her already messed up life.
To make everything that much worse the owner of Oakwood Hills has announced plans to sell the resort to Amelia who happens to be her “boyfriend”s wealthy twin sister. Amelia has plans to completely renovate it and change everything in Baby’s life. She becomes desperate to stop the sale and she decides to go looking for some buried treasure at the bottom of the lake. However, Bad Mike is also looking for that treasure and when the search takes a turn for the worse it changes Baby’s life forever.
This book was a little bit all over the place with the treasure and so on. It was well written and therefore not hard to finish but I can’t say that I ever really got into it. All that said, I do recommend that you should read it if you are curious about it. Maybe it will be something you’d really like!

Not sure what to think of this book i think there's still time to change the name the number of times the FMC name babu was metioned made me dizzy. Underwhelmed by this one

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of Other People's Secrets by Meredith Hambrock in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't sure about this book when I first started it, but wanted to find out where it was going. It felt a bit like Ozark, but instead of a nuclear family at the center of the story it was Baby and her friends and coworkers. I ended up really enjoying the book and would recommend it to my friends.

I really tried to like this book, but I found nothing to enjoy. The main character is annoying, mean and seems to have no redeeming features, couple that with everyone calling her "Baby" and I could'n't listen for more thanan hour

This one was very different from what I thought it was going to be. However, being different is not always a bad thing I really enjoyed the twist and turns of the story!
Baby is known to everyone in the area because when she was a baby she was found in a dumpster and then adopted by Hannah. Then, when Hannah dies it seems like with her grief she is twisting down the bad luck train! Her lakeside home and work were sold and they are trying to create it into something totally different than what it always has been, on and off again boyfriend is from the rich side and won't really commit to her or even a relationship, and then while her heart is in the right place she wants to save her home she ends up creating a bigger issue than she ever thought possible!
Baby is thrown in the middle of a drug case and she is trying to connect the dots and just trying to survive and get to the next place to create a new life but without a job, money, or anyone it seems like she is at the end of her luck. Now I will say that the build-up to the twist of this novel is kinda lengthy and can get dull at times but, once you hit that twist you will not be able to put this book down! It will keep you on the edge of your seat!
I was given the audiobook to listen to and the narrator was amazing. Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook! It is absolutely amazing!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

Baby is self destructive. Her adoptive mother dies and Baby is more lost than normal. She loves her dying town where as most others want to escape. She has been in a summer only ten year relationship with local rich boy Peter. I felt for the town and the locals but couldn't connect to Baby.

Frankie Corzo did an excellent job narrating.

the title doesn’t make sense; this isn’t a story about other peoples secrets and the few secrets in the story, like why AJ wears overalls, are unimportant. I also didn’t consider this a suspense thriller or a mystery. This was a family drama. All of the characters are not likable, and I’m tired of fall down drunk MCs, but I did keep reading hoping Baby would grow up and get her shit together. I also find it unbelievable that Hannah, a 50yo drunk, would be able to adopt a baby.

This audiobook had its pros and cons. I’ll start with the negatives. First, this book started slow and I almost stopped listening to it. Also, the main character’s name, Baby, was another negative. The word “baby” was used a ridiculous amount of times and seemed to be in almost every sentence, especially in the beginning of the book.
Ultimately, I’m glad I stuck it out and enjoyed the second half of the audiobook. The twists and surprises made it worth sticking out.

If the repeating of a specific word bothers you, like me it did for me in this book, then I would choose the physical book or skip this one. I liked the narrator and it is not her fault that this book was written that way. I would listen to more books narrated by Frankie Corzo.

Thank you @dreamscape_media and @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Name of Book: Other People’s Secrets
Author: Meredith Hambrock
Audiobook Narrator: Frankie Corzo
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: September 6, 2022
My Rating: 3.2 Stars

Our main character is ‘Baby’ who actually was abandoned in a dumpster when she was a baby, She insists on going by Dumpster Baby~ but Baby to her friends.
Baby is now twenty-nine and you can usually finds her in the local dive bars - low on cash.

At first I thought these characters and the setting was a bit too sleazy for me but I hung in there. The narrator Frankie Corzo did such a great job in performing the characters and kept me interested.
I ended up liking it more than I thought I would.

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio eGalley. Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 6, 2022.

Baby is the main protagonist in this story and she will have the reader rooting for her as the story progresses. Life has not been kind to Baby, she’s a hot mess, but she is smart and endearing. After her adopted mother passes, she finds out the place that has become her surrogate home is going to be sold. The new owners plan on changing everything and that seems too much for Baby to take. She puts together a group of people and they plan on finding a rumored treasure, hoping to save the resort. An engrossing thriller with great characters and an entertaining plot. I listened to the audiobook version of the story. The narrator made me feel like I was right there with the characters.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Dreamscape Media for this Audiobook, I received review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook! It was thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat from chapter one.

The was hard for me to finish. I didn’t really like any of the characters, and the story was so boring. I got the whole dumpster baby, main character named Baby, but I couldn’t stand hearing ‘Baby’ over and over. Definitely a pass for me.