They call it the Dark Place. They don’t know who built it or when but, for them, it’s special.

Every year Sam Hall and his friends hold funerals for their secrets in an abandoned hut in the Dark Place in the woods. But this year, their secrets are coming back from the dead...to terrorize them.

Sam is a former child star whose career went up in flames – literally. And no one, not even his best friend knows why. His friends each hold a secret pertaining to the night. A secret they would all like buried.

Now someone from the past is blackmailing them with their dangerous secrets. Sam isn’t sure who he can trust, who’s watching him – or how far he’s willing to go to bury the past once and for all.

When you’re alone in the dark, some things won’t stay hidden.

This book is definitely different from any book I ever read. It's a mystery thriller that borders on horror. But it left me more confused by the time I finished it. The parent's involvement in the past and then in the present would have prevented all of the events. They could have stopped in the beginning.

Secrets Never Die is available now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝘼 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.

I have such mixed feelings about this book?!? The premise had me hooked, but the story itself was a chaotic mess.

Let’s talk about the positives, first of all, I absolutely love it when there are short chapters. I tend to fly through those books so quickly and they keep me engaged, this one did just that.

The tension and twists throughout the book were exciting and I enjoyed the action. I thought the whole blackmailing part was a fun idea, it added secrets throughout the book.

However, I feel like the characters were difficult to follow. Normally I don’t care if characters are likable in thrillers, but in this case, it was tough caring for the story when the characters lacked so much depth.

Also, there were certain moments when I felt like the author was trying to make something clear, but it sort of got lost in the narrative.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book by any means, but it also wasn’t exceptional. It was just a fun, quick, and decent read. I did a combo of the ebook and audio, both were fun methods! If you enjoy blackmails, secrets, and twists & turns in your books then you might enjoy this one.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

I am never too certain when it comes to horror-adjacent books, but this novel had the right touch of fear and excitement that propelled me all the way until the end. The pacing was excellent right from the start, and I knew there was something up at Dom's party before we ever got the details. The Dark Place, and the idea of it, felt original, and every members' secret was never so far-fetched that it made me roll my eyes when they were eventually revealed to us. I kept suspecting everyone as the source of their secrets unveiling because everyone had just a tad bit of a weird vibe that made me wonder enough, "could it be them?". I totally didn't see the ending coming, and I am a huge lover of something just a TEENSY bit open/unresolved at the end. This was truly a well-thought out novel and I'm a fan.

This was a did-not-finish for me. I gave it twenty percent but just couldn't get into the storyline or relate to the characters in any way.

I decided to buddy read this with two of my coworkers, and for the most part, we quite enjoyed it. We were all skipping ahead and not wanting to stop reading at our designated check in chapters. We all kept making educated guesses as to what happened, and then every time a theory got thrown out the door, we produced a new one. They were upset there wasn't more death in it (I wasn't as it's a YA novel and I wasn't surprised.) We all agreed that the ending felt a little rushed and that it kind of fell flat. Overall, an enjoyable read, just not something I'd go out of my way to reread or even recommend.

While I appreciated this thriller, I felt like it was pretty standard for the genre and didn't feel super original or stand out in any spectacular way. While enjoyable, it wasn't something that made me feel like had super special qualities or particularly stuck out in any way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc!

Sam, a former child actor, and his friends have a yearly tradition. On Halloween, they visit The Dark Place. One at a time, they enter and reveal their biggest secret. This year, they discover someone else is there. Now, they keep receiving texts taunting them. Who is doing it? How do they know all their secrets?

I really wanted to like this book. It gave off Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying vibes. The ending really just wasn’t for me. I had a hard time believing the motive and who the culprit was. I don’t want to give anything away so that’s all I’ll say about that.

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

When reading the book, you can tell a lot of planning when in to making sure that the reader was constantly guessing what was going to happen next.

This one was not my favorite. While the big plot points were all there, and seemed pretty cohesive, there seemed to be a lot of disconnect in the small aspects. I'm not sure if it was because it was written in first person, but for a large chunk of the book, it seemed like the main character had a very bad case of ADD or something, because every paragraph would veer from one thought to another. They didn't seem to really connect to each other in the grand scheme of things. There were also moments where I didn't know where the book was taking place. Some moments it felt American, other passages made it seem like we were in the UK. All together, I was not a fan of how this one was written.

This YA novel explores very real dangers from keeping secrets that should never have been buried.

A group of friends sneak into the woods for a ritual every Halloween. Each goes into their Dark Place (a hut near an arch of twisted elms) to confess a secret.

Threats begin - and escalate into violence targeting more than just these teens. Seems that older - and darker - secrets are in play, and that more than one person seeks retribution.

This is a well thought out YA horror. I was kept guessing the whole time!
Sam and his friends share their secrets with the forest, but it turns out that someone has been listening. And is playing nasty pranks on the group. Pranks turn into blackmailing and people ending up hurt. The group has to figure out who is behind it before someone ends up dead.
This is a very well thought out plot. The characters are well developed and different. They aren't very deep, but they don't need to be for the story to still work. This would make an excellent horror movie.

An intriguing mystery/thriller that may read on the younger side for adults but is perfect for teenagers, who it is intended for.

This book gave me mixed feels. On the one hand I loved the race against the clock aspect. On the other hand, I think it lacked the depth that other ya mystery novels provide.

A fun, YA thriller that held my attention initially, but eventually lost its hold. A quick read with a predictable ending, "Secrets Never Die" was a good book, just not great.

I loved the beginning of this novel – an eerie, atmospheric Halloween party that sets a dark tone. When Sam and his three friends leave the party to sneak off to the Dark Place, an abandoned hut in the woods where they privately confess their worst secrets, the action starts immediately. With short chapters and a brisk pace, this novel is a pretty quick read.

If you can suspend your disbelief, this is an entertaining story that kept me flipping the pages. Someone from the past is stalking Sam and his friends and blackmailing them with the secrets they thought only the Dark Place knew. The threats soon involve his younger sister, Molly (both a heart and scene-stealer), which makes Sam even more determined to discover who’s behind everything. Several twists and surprises are tossed into the story, but it’s not terribly difficult to figure out the culprit. Still, that didn’t lessen my enjoyment. I especially liked the ending, which leaves the door cracked for a possible sequel.

I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy entertaining, fast-paced mysteries with surprising twists and dark secrets.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this book, I want to add it to my collection, I wanted more answers and more on the characters. I wish it was a little bit longer. I liked the writing style.

I loved that they made this book use apps to make everything more spooky but it’s also so true nothing stays secret anymore when you can post it on the internet

Pub: August 29, 2023
Genre: YA thriller/horror

Thank you @wednesdaybooks my gifted copy 🖤

"We call it the Dark Place. I don’t know who built it or when but, for us, it’s special."

✨🖤

Vincent Ralph knows how to write fast-paced action and suspense.

Secrets Never Die is no exception. The short chapters and engaging writing style are what kept me interested in the story.

When Sam and the gang’s secrets are finally revealed, I was left wanting more. A lot more. After being blackmailed by the very cleverly named Sasha Craven, I was expecting some dark and juicy info! Alas, that wasn’t the case.

That said, I thought the book ended on a strong note. That's all I can reveal without spoilers.

This is a light YA thriller so it’s good option for readers new to the genre or people who like to stay away from dark stuff.

I'm a big fan of Vincent Ralph's work in general and look forward to read his next book!

"I’ve learned that secrets can come back from the dead no matter how deep you bury them."

Sam is a young ex-actor living a quiet life with his family in his small, English town. But Sam has a secret no one else knows. So do his two best friends and his girlfriend. And once a year, they meet up and speak their secrets into the darkness of an abandoned hut in the woods. It makes each of them feel just a bit better getting the weight of their secrets off their shoulders. But then one night, their secret telling ritual is interrupted by a weird prank. Then they all start getting messages, videos and photos from someone who shouldn't exist...someone who knows all of their secrets and is determined to use them to torture and torment Sam and his friends. As the threats get more serious and the stakes get higher, Sam and his friends will learn that some secrets don't stay buried.

This book was an enjoyable, fast-paced and quick read. The chapters are short, the prose is well-written, and the mystery and plot twist are believable. I'm not fond of the use of strong language in any kind of book, but this was a bit toned down compared to similar YA releases.

This is the second of Mr. Ralph's books I've read, and I've enjoyed them both equally. They're great if you enjoy a good suspensful little mystery you can complete in probably two or three days. Overall, I give this book four stars and would be very likely to pick up the next book Vimcent Ralph releases. Thank you very much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free advanced reader's copy. This is my voluntary review, and all opinioms are my own.