Holy thriller! Ben Harper's 'Twelve Secrets' was excellent. I couldn't put it down. Murder, small-town intrigue, and twelve unexpected twists made for a captivating read. While the trauma and tragedy were difficult to navigate, the unfolding of dark secrets kept me hooked. Growing up in a small town added to the authenticity of the experience. The characters were well-developed, and the story was expertly constructed. Twenty years of hidden secrets help Ben, a crime journalist, unravel the mystery of his 14 years old brother's murder. This is a must-read, as the twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to Bookouture for the advanced readers copy! I'm so ready for book two!

Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold is an explosive start to a new thriller series. Ben Harper journalist, the best in the field, is asked to write a front-page story about a childhood tradegy too close to home. At first, Ben is reluctant, but as secrets are revealed he can't help but investigate.

This was a great start to a new series. I can't wait to get my hands on book 2. The twists and turns in the novel never stopped. What a page-turner.

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of Twelve Secrets.

Ben a true crime journalist is no stranger to writing about horrible acts of violence but when his boss wants him to write about personal tragedies he has experienced everything he thought he knew about his life comes crumbling down. When Ben was young his older brother Nick and his friend Simon were brutally murdered by two girls they went to school with. Then years later his mother takes her own life or did she? Ben will do whatever it takes to find out the truth.

I really enjoyed this book. It was hard at first trying to keep all of the characters straight but it got easier as I read on. I did not see the twist coming at all!

This is going to be an interesting series, but I am not sure it's for me. This story has a lot of really good twists and unexpected discoveries, but the story moves really slow. The characters are great, and the plot is interesting, and the villain is good. I struggled staying engaged with the story because the pacing is slow. When there is action/suspension it moves fast, but the rest of the story does not. Before I say this series isn't for me, I am going to try the next book. If the blurb for this book catches your attention you should definitely read it.

This was an extremely well written story! The main character thought he could put his brother's murder behind him, after all the killer was in prison. But then circumstances changes everything...from what the police tells him to his own mother's letters written during that time. Could it be true? Read the book and find out for yourself. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

Twelve Secrets is a page-turning mystery that I couldn’t seem to put down. We are dropped right into the mystery as soon as the book begins. I enjoyed getting our main character’s perspective on things, and being able to follow along as he uncovers more about the tragedies surrounding him. I also appreciated reading from the perspectives of some of the side characters. It added depth and complexity to the story.

I will say, I felt there were a few too many characters; and a LOT going on besides our main mystery. It felt like we were trying to follow 8 or 9 different plot lines. At the end of the book, most of these make sense to our story, but there were a few that I feel didn’t need to be included.

Overall, this was a very fast read because I was invested in knowing what happened to our characters. Robert Gold did a good job of making me care about them, and dropping bombshells that kept me turning the pages!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Robert Gold for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book! The suspense built up chapter by chapter and the twelve secrets kept me guessing until the end! I think I actually counted more than twelve! I’m looking forward to following Ben as he solves the rest of his cases.

Just wow, a must read for murder mystery fans! Complex plot that is well thought out and woven into a tapestry of lies, betrayals, murder, control, and layers of secrets within secrets. You may guess something, but you won't guess it all - felt like Jaws blowing up at the end, and yea, they swim to shore.

This is the first in a series featuring true crime journalist Ben Harper. Sadly, the pace was far slower than I expected for this genre. There are a lot of details, as well as numerous characters. It takes time for the author to reveal their backstories and show how they are connected. This did lead to some confusion at times. I did enjoy the fact that the story is told through multiple points of view. However, the number of POV's is a bit much at times. This is okay read, but I'm not sure if I would check out future books in the series.

Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold is a mystery novel filled with secrets, family, twists, and protecting your loved ones.

I want to start by saying that I think this is a re-release, as it looks like it had been published in 2022. Also, a couple of places list it is the first book in the Ben Harper series, while others have it as book three. While I'm not positive, I believe this is the first in the series, as the titles on the follow-up novels go down in number.

That said, this was a quickly paced murder mystery with a lot of twists. Although not much really seemed to be happening, the plot moved forward nicely, dropping puzzle pieces here and there if you can put them together. There were A LOT of characters, and at some point it became too much to remember who was who and how they all connected so I just gave up (and I was even writing them down as I went along!). You need a board with names and string to keep them all straight in your head.

Now, this doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, it was still 4 stars. The writing was good and the pacing was quick. I didn't see the twists coming, and everything came together at the end.

All in all, a great beginning to the Ben Harper series. If you enjoy small town mysteries, with family secrets, loyalty, and lots of twists and turns, then I think you'll like this series.

Thank you to @Bookouture and @NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

Ben Harper's fourteen year old brother being murdered in such a sensational and brutal way piqued my interest right away. The apparent suicide of his mother was another mystery. There were several POVs that I figured were connected in some way and that I'd find out how eventually, but it took a long time to get them all to intersect. I ended up skimming some just to move the story along quicker. The reveals were a bit over the top, as well. Still, it was entertaining and I was curious enough to finish the story.

A copy was kindly provided by the publisher. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Talk about secrets….Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold is filled with them and Robert hands them out one at a time. Ben Harper is determined to get the answers to his mother’s death. Was it really suicide? Or did someone push her in front of the train.

Ben Harper has been haunted by secrets and death. Will he write the story?

Every time I turned around, I was met with another surprise, more danger. How many bodies will fall before all is exposed? Sure kept me guessing. The more I read, the more curious I became. I do love a fast paced novel filled with mystery and intrigue, and Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold fits the bill.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

A story full of secrets and intrigue.
The main character, Ben, is a very complex person.
A very suspensful read for sure.
If you are in the mood for a very twisty crime thriller, you should pick up Twelve Seconds!

Ben has experienced a lot of tragedy in his life and as a journalist he has never published anything about his past. He finally starts asking questions and now he’s uncovering a lot of secrets. What happened all those years ago?

This one has a lot of characters and some with two different names so making sure to keep everyone straight was tricky. Overall, learning about everyone’s secrets and trying to piece together clues made for a quick read.

I love a good cold case novel, and this book reminded me of a true crime show, like Dateline. This book had me hooked from the first chapter with a fast-paced plot and a true crime investigative journalist out to discover the truth. This book is actually fairly long, but thanks to the short chapters and intriguing plot I flew through it. There are quite a few characters so it took me a little bit to keep them all straight, but it didn't stop me from reading or enjoying this book. I can't wait to continue this series to see what happens next!

When I was young, my mom and I used to make up stories about the houses we would drive by, and we would try to figure out what secrets lay within the people and the home. It made long car drives much more pleasant. Every home has secrets, but the book Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold has secrets that my mom and I never even thought about in our scenarios.

Twelve Secrets had many twists and turns throughout the story. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out storylines, but not this time. I was confused in the beginning of the book, though. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and the story spans twenty years. I wish the chapters had titles that helped me each time the storyline changed. It was confusing when I couldn't just read the whole book through, and I had to remember what had happened previously with each character.

I loved the second half of the book as it all started coming together. I had to tell my husband to leave me alone, so I could finish the book! I love when stories come together in the end, and you have to trust the author that they will clear everything up for you eventually. There are a lot of trigger warnings that could be listed for this book, so if you get triggered by topics, you might want to look it up.

This is the first time that Twelve Secrets is published in the US, and I'm glad I was able to read the first book in the Ben Harper (the main character) series. It is definitely a stand alone book, however.

I gave this book four out of five stars. I love a book with twists, but I wish it wasn't a little confusing in the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Robert Gold for my free copy of this book. This is my honest review. If you would like to read more about the author and the storyline, you can find my book tour review at https://judiholst.com/book-tours/.

Twelve secrets by Robert Gold
#twelevesecrets
#robertgold


Rating 5 stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
https://instagram.com/sylv.iareads?igshid=NGVhN2U2NjQ0Yg==
Www.goodreads.com/dsamuel48samgmailcom

Intriguing with a twist

My review
It is the tenth anniversary of Ben's mom death. He is a journalist, and his boss wants him to write a piece about her death for the paper. Ben has known about death from early on in his life. His brother Nick was murdered when Ben was 8 years old.
2 teenage girls murdered Ben's brother and Ben's brother's friend. They did a few years in prison and then were released under different identities. Now, one of the now women has been found dead.
Ben has decided to write an article and do some investigative digging at the same time. It seems that his mother's death, his brother's death, and maybe the death of his brother's murderer may just all be connected
The closer Ben seems to get to the truth, the more people from 20 years ago end up dead, including the mother of the other boy who was murdered with Ben's brother
There are plenty of neighbors and maybe Ben's own mother that were keeping secrets of so long ago
Will Ben get to the truth
Who is the real murderer

Thank you to Bookoutere and Robert Gold for this ARC.

Ben Harper, a true crime journalist, has been through a lot. His older brother was murdered as a teen, and his mother committed suicide. But when a body turns up that has stark similarities to his brother’s case, Ben starts questioning everything.

Small-town crime thrillers are always fun for me to read. I love figuring out all the crazy secrets people seem to be hiding, and “Twelve Secrets” has enough twists and turns for an entire metropolis.

There were several times I had to reread sentences because I couldn’t believe where the plot had just headed. I had a strong suspect in mind from the get-go, and let me just tell you, I was wrong in a HUGE plot twist at the end.

This well-written thriller started a bit slow, and the multiple characters were somewhat hard to keep track of, but once I hit the 40% mark, I had it all sorted. The pace also started to accelerate around the 25% mark, and once some of the buried secrets were revealed, I just couldn’t put this one down.

Secrets can either destroy you or bind people together. In “Twelve Secrets,” Ben encounters the 12 hidden truths that have truly impacted him and the people in his life. The novel is fast-paced, twisty, and has a plot that will keep you engaged until the last page.

📚 BOOK TOUR BOOK REVIEW 📚

Twelve Secrets By Robert Gold
Publication Date: August 2, 2024
Publisher: Bookouture

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

First, I want to give a big thank you to Jess over at Bookouture for inviting me to be a part of Robert Gold's book tour and providing me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review and participation in the tour. This book, along with the next two in the series, are already wildly successful in the UK, and I was thrilled to be a part of their book tour launch within the US!

I said yes to the invitation as soon as I heard the words "crime thriller," and then I read the synopsis and I was all in. I was promised a "completely gripping and nail-biting thriller," and this book definitely delivered on its promise.

This is the first of a crime thriller series involving main character Ben Harper, a top-rated investigative journalist who has returned to live in his idyllic hometown of Haddley. Ben's older teenage brother, Nick, was brutally murdered years ago, but a recent murder brings back all of the questions from that time in Ben's life as he begins his own investigation into what really happened then -- and what's happening now.

The first few chapters introduced A LOT of characters to the story and initially, I wondered if I'd be able to keep track of everyone. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue at all because Gold created characters that were easily loveable or quickly despicable, so they were easy to remember. And let me tell you, when I read the end of Chapter Five, I sat up a little straighter in my chair and thought to myself, "Buckle up, this ride is about to begin."

This book is fairly long - like over 450 pages - but with its shorter chapters and the book's division into different parts, it didn't feel that long at all. It offers multiple POVs from various characters, and because of that, I was left guessing and questioning about the conclusion for the majority of the book.

This crime thriller was unputdownable as I tried to connect the dots and figure out what was going on. This was a story centered around a horrific crime, and it's also one of those stories where you can suspect everyone as involved somehow. I'm a sucker for a captivating police thriller, so I loved the police procedural elements here. However, what stood out to me about this book was Ben's unique perspective of being an investigative journalist while also simultaneously being the person affected by this sensationally brutal news story.

This book captivated my attention and had a subtle heart-pounding thrill consistently throughout its pages, urging me to read one more chapter... Over and over till I got to the book's satisfying conclusion. As soon as the book ended, I found myself wanting to jump right into Book 2 of the series, Eleven Liars, because I just wanted to read more. And isn't that the sign of a great book -- not wanting the story to end?!

If you're a fan of police procedurals and crime thrillers, if you like true crime shows like Dateline and 20/20, if you enjoy a good whodunnit murder mystery, if you like reading thrillers set in England, and if you're looking for a new thriller series that you can really get into....You're going to want to get your hands on Twelve Secrets and begin your plunge into the world of Ben Harper as soon as you can. Available now!

#TwelveSecrets #RobertGold #Bookouture #ARC #bookrecommendations #bookreviews #bookrecs #booktour #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #thrillerreads #fivestarreads #crimethrillers #thrillerseries

Journalist Ben Harper's brother was killed as a teenager and 10 years prior to this story, his mother killed herself. Coming up on the anniversary of her death, his boss wants him to write his family's story. He decides to do it but only because he feels there is more to his mother's death. Everyone has secrets, blah blah. (I had an urge to go through and tally up all the secrets and see if there are really 12 specific things, but I didn't do it!) 4 stars.