Don't Tell a Soul is the kind of book you don't start unless you know you have uninterrupted time to devour this edge-of-your-seat novel. I was glued to this psychological thriller until the very last page.

Seventeen-year-old Elle leaves home to escape her alcoholic, abusive father and start fresh in a new town. She lands a waitressing job and a place to stay with a lady named Vera in her large, run down, old house. Vera, also the product of an abusive father, sees similarities between herself and Elle. Needing help to make ends meet, she offers to rent Elle a room and soon develops maternal feelings for the girl. But Vera has secrets—secrets she's not willing to share with another soul.

I loved the twists in this novel. Some I saw coming, and others were a complete surprise. The characters are well fleshed out and relatable. I wanted Elle to find peace and happiness, and I really felt for Vera. There was so much depth to both characters, and it was intriguing to see the aftereffects and psychological damage done to both of them and how they each coped in their own ways.

When I'm in the mood for a psychological thriller, this is exactly the type of book I'm looking for. I will definitely be checking out more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for providing a digital copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Solid 4⭐!!!

I'm a slow reader, but for a fast one you can definitely read this in one sitting. Absolute page-turner. The story made me feel a lot of emotion: tension, thrill, sadness and excitement.

The main characters have this compelling features that you can't help but understand what they've become because of ehat they've been through.

Definitely worth reading! Thank you Netgalley, Inkubator Books and Ms. Jessica Huntley for this masterpiece 😊

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Don't Tell a Soul by Jessica Huntley is a breathtaking, heart-braking, thrilling and suspenseful domestic/psychological thriller written in a dual timeline, presented from different points of view. Even though this story is heavy on child abuse and alcoholism it sucked me in immediately I couldn't put it down until the last chapter. What can I say, I love Jessica Huntley!
As usual, the main topic is well-researched and shows the psychological effects of abuse. The main characters are well-presented, and the storyline is easy to follow.

Vera is trying to keep her property on the water but she is drawing in the pail of bills. There is no option to sell the property, so she must figure something out.
When 17-year-old Elle runs away from home to escape her abusive father all she wants is a new start. She moves to a small town, far away from home and gets lucky when Vera offers to rent a room for a reasonable price. It's a win-win situation so both are happy with the arrangement.
Soon Elle feels Vera's caring side but she doesn't know how over-protective Vera becomes when she cares about you.
They both are dedicated to keeping their secrets but life has different plans.

There are some good twists that I didn't see coming and some violent scenes that are easy to skip if you don't want to read them.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this copy!

Wow! I enjoyed this from the start. The background story of Elle, and Vera had me hooked. I felt sorry for Vera, I liked her character. You never know what's going on behind closed doors, and what secrets people may have. Suspenseful and just a brilliant mystery/thriller, unpredictable!

This isn't the first Jessica Huntly book that I've read, and it certainly won't be the last.

I always enjoy reading Jessica's books and can get through them really quickly. This one was no exception.

Don't Tell A Soul is written from the perspective of a number of characters while also switching between a past and present timeline.

Both Vera and Elle have suffered abuse at the hands of their violent fathers but have very different ways of dealing with it.

Elle runs away and is taken under Vera's wing, not knowing that Vera is hiding a dark secret within the dark depths of her shabby home.

There are secrets and betrayals throughout the story, and I definitely felt the familiarity of Jessica's writing, comparing it to her brilliant My_Self series.

Thanks to Net Galley and Jessica for an arc copy to read and review.

I loved this book. Absolutely breathtaking, I couldn’t sleep till I finished it. I highly recommend it

I love Jessica Huntley! She tells a great story. Interesting characters. Great plot. Enough to keep everyone interested! There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this book. It drew me in immediately which is something I look for!

17 year old Elle runs away from home to escape her abusive father. She wants to keep her true identity a secret.
Vera knows all too well what an abusive father is like. Vera wants to keep everything in her life a secret.

“Nice people aren’t always who they appear to be on the outside”

Don’t Tell A Soul is my first Jessica Huntley book and it delivered on being a suspenseful domestic thriller. This is written in a dual timeline format of current and past to provide details needed to understand how we get to the events of now. It’s very well done and doesn’t cause confusion for the reader, even when the POV is from a different person other than Vera and Elle, everything flows well together.

Reading this, you can tell the author put a lot of thought into how to plot out this book and the events that happen in both Elle and Vera's lives to shape who they are now and what they go through. This was a really well done book.

Definitely an enjoyable read for anyone who likes twists and turns in their thrillers!

** Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Jessica Huntley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. **

This was my first book by Jessica Huntley, and I really enjoyed it. Check your trigger warnings. The book is heavy on abuse and alcoholism but is so captivating!

Vera, who is 17, has had enough of her father's abuse and decides to run away to another town. Her mom has never stepped in to help her so she feels the only way she can get freedom is to run away. When she gets to the new town, she finds a place to stay and hopes that she has left her trouble behind. She soon finds out that the lady she is staying with has more in common with her than she realizes, but she is also hiding many secrets!

This book left me on my seat after every chapter. I couldn't put it down and really enjoyed it. I did feel like I could predict a little of what would happen, but it was still very thrilling! I did find some grammar errors, but it was an ARC, so I didn't get caught up too much on that. I will definitely be reading more by Jessica Huntley in the future!

Thank you, Net Galley, for providing me with the ARC and the opportunity to read it!

As always, Jessica knocked it out of the park with this book! She's an amazing writer and definitely one of my top 5 favorites!

"Don’t Tell a Soul" is a thrilling psychological ride that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The story is about Elle, a young woman escaping an abusive home who ends up in a cozy small town. She gets a job as a waitress and meets Vera, a kind woman who offers her a room in her big house. But just when Elle thinks she's starting over, she discovers a dark secret hidden in Vera’s house.

Jessica is fantastic at creating well-rounded characters. Elle’s journey from being vulnerable to strong is really relatable. Vera, with her kind exterior and hidden depths, adds a lot of complexity to the story.

The book is super engaging and fast-paced, making it hard to put down. Jessica masterfully builds suspense, revealing just enough with each chapter to keep you hooked.

The story dives into themes like trust, betrayal, and the lengths people go to protect their secrets. It also explores the psychological effects of abuse and the struggle for independence and safety.

All in all, Jessica delivers a story full of unexpected twists and turns with a shocking ending!

Jessica Huntley's first traditionally published book - you would never know! Keep them coming girl, this was UNREAL!

After years of abuse, Elle decides to run away from home to a small town. Things seem to be looking up for her - she gets a job as a waitress, finds some friends, and meets Vera, a woman who offers Elle the attic room in her massive house. Elle and Vera instantly click. Vera feels like the mother Elle always wanted. However, Vera is hiding her own secrets. And she will stop at nothing to keep them safe.

There is one simple rule in Vera's house - do not enter the basement. Simple enough, right? Elle doesn't think much of it, until she finds herself down there one day. And what she sees will change her life forever...

Wow wow wow. I loved this book! Eerie, disturbing, heart pounding, and full of twists! I actually was unable to put this one down. I gobbled it up so quickly. And that ending?! WILD.

Character development was excellent. Jessica Huntley does an excellent job at building up our two main characters, Elle and Vera. Both characters are multifaceted and super interesting.

An absolutely crazy ride. A must read for any thriller fan! You will not be disappointed. Warning - you will want to finish it in one sitting.

Thank you nkubator Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great psychological thriller that kept me guessing throughout. A couple things seemed predictable but I was wrong! Vera was a creepy character to me, which made me enjoy the book that much more.

Wow! My first Jessica Huntley novel but definitely not my last. I read this in one day and could not put it down. The characters were crazy great and kept me totally engrossed in the story. Creepy and dark with fab reveals.
Thank you NetGalley and Jessica Huntley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"Don't Tell a Soul" by Jessica Huntley is a captivating psychological thriller that follows Elle, a young woman fleeing from her abusive father, as she attempts to rebuild her life in a small town. There, she befriends Vera, a mysterious woman with a similarly troubled past. Before going into this review, I do want to note a couple of content warnings, which include child abuse (described in detail) as well as some gore (also described in detail).

The book’s pacing transitions from a slow, tense build-up to a flurry of action and suspense, especially in the last 20% of the book. Huntley's storytelling skillfully leads readers from comfort to unease as there is psychological tension that keeps building and building that keeps the pages turning. There are little hints throughout that something isn’t quite right at Vera’s house. A lot of this book focuses on the inner dialogue of both Vera and Elle (there are two perspectives, for the most part, throughout this book), so there is a lot of “tell” and not a lot of “show” with the writing. Elle especially seemed to narrate every single thing, and I’m not really a fan of that type of writing style. This style caused a bit of a disconnect for me while I was reading. The prose, however, is very simple and made for a very fast read.

What I enjoyed the most with this book were the interactions between Elle and Vera, which highlight their shared experiences and the different paths they take to cope with their past traumas. This dynamic makes the story an interesting exploration of how people deal with similar circumstances in varied ways. The plot was pretty predictable with the twists, though I did enjoy learning the backstories of the different characters and their motivations.

Overall, "Don't Tell a Soul" is a fast-paced and absorbing read that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers. Jessica Huntley has crafted a suspenseful and emotionally resonant story that explores the fine line between safety and danger, and the life-and-death stakes of trust.

When Vera offers to rent a room to newcomer Elle, it seems like she is not only being extremely nice, but also solving one of Elle’s problems. After all, no one has been in the house Vera once shared with her family for a very long time. Many years have passed, and the once stately home is slowly falling apart.
But Elle appreciates her kindness. Even though the people she meets in town, think there’s something off with Vera. Elle has secrets of her own and knows that there can be many reasons for a person’s silence.
Told in the past and in the present, I figured out one of the secrets early on. It did not stop me from flipping pages to see if I was right and to learn the other mysteries that were hidden between these pages. An enjoyable read on an oh so hot summer day.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I was franticly turning the pages of my kindle trying to figure out what would happen next. While I did see some of the twists coming, it was still overall a great story. I felt bad for Elle and Vera. I was glad to see they could both relate to each other with their childhood experiences, but finding someone like that can also be dangerous.

If you’re in the mood for a gripping, psychological thriller, Don’t Tell a Soul is the next book you should read. This book was great and I especially enjoyed the twist.

Don't Tell a Soul by Jessica Huntley is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that hooks you from the very first page. Huntley masterfully weaves a tale of secrets, lies, and chilling revelations that keep the reader on edge until the final twist.

The protagonist, with her complex and layered personality, drives the narrative forward with relentless determination. As she delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding her, the tension mounts, and the stakes become increasingly high. Huntley's ability to create an atmosphere of unease and suspense is commendable, making each chapter more intense than the last.

The pacing is excellent, with just the right amount of action and introspection. The plot twists are well-executed and genuinely surprising, ensuring that the reader is constantly guessing and re-evaluating their assumptions. The supporting characters are equally well-developed, each adding depth and intrigue to the story.

Huntley's writing is crisp and engaging, with vivid descriptions that bring the settings and scenes to life. The dialogue is realistic and adds authenticity to the characters' interactions, further immersing the reader in the story.

Don't Tell a Soul is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and anyone who enjoys a well-crafted, suspenseful narrative. Jessica Huntley has delivered a compelling and unforgettable story that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

It all starts with a bracelet, an abusive father, blood on the floor and no memory of the events. Our first introduction into the past of Vera.

Don't tell a soul then moves to the present day, and Elle escaping her abusive home. Running to a small town where she is quick to get a job and the offer of a place to stay.... with Vera, in her huge, rundown house.

Elle is enjoying her new found freedom, although nervous her secret will be found out. Vera is also terrified of her secret being found out and we learn how far she will go to protect it.

I thought the book was fast paced, intriguing (if not a bit far fetched in places) and ends with a good few twists and turns. I loved the remote small town setting, the various side characters who I alternated being trusting and being very skeptical of, and the haunted house feel of Vera's home.

I was rooting for Elle - hoping that she would move past her abuse and trauma, finally finding her feet but the odds were against her.

This was a great read. 4 stars.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this story. It definitely moves right along and is a quick read, but it just feels like something is unfinished in the writing itself. I easilyfigured out what was going on pretty quickly, so there wasn't a big shock for me as it all came together. A fun way to spend a few hours on a reading Sunday Funday for sure. I did not, however, care for the way this book wrapped up and it left me kind of scratching my head.