Reviews

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

marissaknee's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

judithdcollins's review against another edition

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4.0

Review to follow.

jlclerf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

sleightoffeet's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was just fun! It was a mystery that jumped back and forth from 2004 to the present day. There were characters I loved, ones I loved to hate, ones I started out hating but liked in the end and those that I liked but then hated in the end. Most of all it was light and fun (which I know is really not something someone should be saying about a book with a kidnapping).

I still think [b:The Killer Next Door|18716296|The Killer Next Door|Alex Marwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492596876l/18716296._SY75_.jpg|26579759] is my favorite Marwood so far, but this one comes in a close second.

ogatka's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

stephaniejnl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

proudlocks's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed the story but I wasn’t in love with it. It’s so slow in some parts.

There’s a very dark undercurrent to the whole thing which is different from most books I’ve read.

The book is full of unique, developed characters, it’s just a shame about the slowness of it.

k15mb03's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars

truscaveczka's review against another edition

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4.0

Warto było przeczekać początek o niczym, żeby dobrnąć do zapierającej dech w piersiach ostatniej sceny. Alex Marwood wie, co robi, i robi to po mistrzowsku.

thebooktrail88's review against another edition

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4.0

A holiday home, a party, a missing child, a ‘ripped from the headlines’ novel

Spending time at a holiday home in Bournemouth with an influential bunch of people sounds like a nice premise but this group are never going to be your friends. They are rich, spoilt, self absorbed and their personalities are ‘unique’. The wealth and privilege they enjoy is evident from the holiday home at Sandbanks and the food and drink on offer. the way they speak, their attitude. Each has reacted differently to Coco’s disappearance. Now Sean has died, his fourth wife and all those left behind start to reveal their secrets, their memories of what that fateful weekend involved.

Two narratives, past and present, with the facade of happiness ripped up and revealed amongst a media frenzy, now a funeral in the Sandbanks community.

There is not too much I can or want to say about this book really for the fear of spoiling it. Largely character driven rather than location based as such, this is like looking inside a family, behind the facade of wealth and every kind of judgement that brings and really revealing piece by piece how other people live, how families cope with a disappearance of a young child and what this all means 12 years later. I can’t say I liked any one of the characters but then this is what makes the novel so fascinating. Parents partying whilst their little children look on, a house full of wealth but manipulation and devious secrets too. I’m always chilled in an Alex Marwood novel and this was no exception!