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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
I received this book from @stmartinspress for a review. A very easy read and so many times I thought I had it figured it out but I was wrong. I really enjoyed the story and Little John. kept me wondering who was the crazy one. #ShareOurSecret
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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This was the first book I read by Nay, and I really enjoyed the writing style! It was different and took a bit to understand, but it worked so well in this book! The story caught my interest early on and I kept wondering how it would play out. While it was not overly surprising, it was a quick read and still very enjoyable!
This was the first book I read by Nay, and I really enjoyed the writing style! It was different and took a bit to understand, but it worked so well in this book! The story caught my interest early on and I kept wondering how it would play out. While it was not overly surprising, it was a quick read and still very enjoyable!
What a drab read. If you can find any empathy
or liking for the main character then more
power to you. This was just a bad, bad novel
all the way around.
or liking for the main character then more
power to you. This was just a bad, bad novel
all the way around.
Probably 3.5 stars for being compulsively readable.
This is a book with a great premise that is easy to slide into and keep the pages turning. It starts in a police station with the cops interviewing our narrator, Angela. We know something has happened but not exactly what, and Angela doesn't seem to really know either. Or does she? That's the crux of the novel: what does Angela know? what did she (or didn't she) do?
Angela uses the interrogation to tell her story of suffocating life in a small town and then finding the love of her life, also her best friend, and then losing him. It's typical first love gets crushed stuff, but Angela is not typical.
So like I said...very readable. But the novel really pivots on its narrator and her manipulative abilities and her playing and I thought it was going to work, and then it didn't, and the switch to not working was quite abrupt for me. Ultimately, the thrust of the book is that we are all capable of anything and, like, yep...we are. What else you got? But not much more than that. Angela promised to be more than she turned out to be, which was a disappointment. But I needed to finish her story, so there you go. I guess she got me in the end.
This is a book with a great premise that is easy to slide into and keep the pages turning. It starts in a police station with the cops interviewing our narrator, Angela. We know something has happened but not exactly what, and Angela doesn't seem to really know either. Or does she? That's the crux of the novel: what does Angela know? what did she (or didn't she) do?
Angela uses the interrogation to tell her story of suffocating life in a small town and then finding the love of her life, also her best friend, and then losing him. It's typical first love gets crushed stuff, but Angela is not typical.
So like I said...very readable. But the novel really pivots on its narrator and her manipulative abilities and her playing and I thought it was going to work, and then it didn't, and the switch to not working was quite abrupt for me. Ultimately, the thrust of the book is that we are all capable of anything and, like, yep...we are. What else you got? But not much more than that. Angela promised to be more than she turned out to be, which was a disappointment. But I needed to finish her story, so there you go. I guess she got me in the end.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Murder
The dialogue, characters, writing style ...just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t get into the flash back storytelling as LJ was narrating the story for cop. So much mundane detail. Such inconsistent and unlikeable characters. And I was so distracted by their stupid nicknames ...how many times did they talk about the mystery of what the “H” in HP stands for....and discuss where LJ came from. Who cares?? It was short though and a super easy read ...so I hung in there until the end hoping for a great twist or starling revelation (which didn’t happen).
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Roz Nay's debut thriller is centered around Angela Petitjean who, at 26, finds herself in a police interrogation room with Detective Novak. At first, Nay reveals only that something has happened to someone named Saskia and Angela is a suspect. As the hours drag on, Novak indulges or manipulates (the reader will have to decide) Angela as she reveals details of her relatonship with HP, the boy who was her only friend and then high school sweetheart. Through the course of Novak's hours-long questioning, Nay expertly divulges clues to what has happened to Saskia, along with the true nature of Angela's relationships with her, HP, Angela's mother, et al. And as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Angela is not the only suspect. Is she gulty of bringing harm to Saskia or merely loving HP too much? What is Angela really capable of? Is she delusional or the truthteller in this story? At precisely-timed intervals, Nay reveals details that propel the story forward -- and heighten the reader's curiosity. The result is a tautly-constructed tale of obsession, jealously, unrequited love and, perhaps, revenge that is intriguing and will keep readers guessing until the very last page. There is a lot of buzz about Our Little Secret and it is all deserved. It's a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book!
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book!
“The police want to know if I’m in love with him, and they ask it like it’s the simplest explanation rather than the most complicated.”
First love is intoxicating. Exhilarating. It’s passionate, consuming, all-encompassing. We never forget our first loves. But what happens they won’t forget you?
Angela was friends with HP before she loved him. She knows him better than anyone else. And he knows her. They are meant to be together. Meant to last forever.
Until Saskia.
Now, years later, Angela has put the heartbreak behind her. She’s friends with HP and his family. She’s healed. Forgiven and forgotten. She’s put the past firmly behind her. Which is what she keeps telling the police in the interrogation room.
Angela answers hours of questions, reliving her past with HP, trying to help them see that she has nothing to do with Saskia’s disappearance. Over and over she answers the same questions. Until Detective Novak. He seems content to let Angela tell her entire story. After all, if she’s telling the truth, who’s lying?
“Like I said, Detective Novak, what love story ends in a police station interview room?”
Coming in only at 228 pages, Our Little Secret packs a sinister punch in a short amount of time. This is a novel you will devour in one sitting. It isn’t just the length that makes this possible. It’s the compelling, hypnotic tale Nay weaves.
Told from Angela’s perspective, the narration feels intimate, and immediately pulls the reader in. Our Little Secret is more than just a title. It’s an omen, since Angela does talk as if she’s taking our confidence. She needs to tell her story, all of it. The beginning, she insists, is just as important as the end.
“There’s a skill to finding where a tale truly begins, and trust me, there was action long before there was Saskia.”
Obviously, since we are in an interrogation room, we have no idea from the start whether to trust Angela. And she doesn’t make it easier for us. She’s not very likable. She’s dark, and haughty. It’s obvious she thinks she’s miles above most people. But how she feels about HP is crystal clear. So is her opinion of Saskia.
Our Little Secret is a story of first love. How consuming it is. How soul crushing and heartbreaking it can be. How tragically it can end. Angela wants us to believe that this is a story of love. And forgiveness. Of healing and moving on into adulthood after heartbreak crushes our childish dreams. But we never forget that we’re still in a police station, sitting in an interrogation room. So clearly something isn’t as it seems. The question is what.
“But they were thoughts, not actions, and you can’t get in trouble for thinking thoughts. Because if you could, wouldn’t everyone in the world be in jail?”
I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers. They are meant to be more sinister than a more traditional thriller. They’re meant to creep into the darkest parts of our minds, to explore the pieces of our psyche that we don’t like to expose to the light of day. They take the deepest, darkest parts of humanity and give it a good twist. Diving into the mind of someone who thinks, does, or acts in ways we never would is the devious pleasure of these novels. And Our Little Secret doesn’t disappoint on any level.
We go on a journey with Angela. We go into her past, into her heart. We feel her heartbreak and betrayal. This book is a roller coaster of emotions. We feel the pull between her and HP, even after everything that happens. How they can’t let each other go. Not completely. Not entirely. As we careen towards the end, we realize we don’t really know who to trust. But by then it’s too late.
Like all good psychological suspense novels, this is one that requires time to process what you read. There are layers presented which always make for good discussions, so I think this is fantastic for book clubs. It’s a book you’ll want to read again, to try and pick up the clues the second time around. This is Roz Nay’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what else she writes!
Thank you St. Martins Press and BookSparks for sending me a copy to read and review!
First love is intoxicating. Exhilarating. It’s passionate, consuming, all-encompassing. We never forget our first loves. But what happens they won’t forget you?
Angela was friends with HP before she loved him. She knows him better than anyone else. And he knows her. They are meant to be together. Meant to last forever.
Until Saskia.
Now, years later, Angela has put the heartbreak behind her. She’s friends with HP and his family. She’s healed. Forgiven and forgotten. She’s put the past firmly behind her. Which is what she keeps telling the police in the interrogation room.
Angela answers hours of questions, reliving her past with HP, trying to help them see that she has nothing to do with Saskia’s disappearance. Over and over she answers the same questions. Until Detective Novak. He seems content to let Angela tell her entire story. After all, if she’s telling the truth, who’s lying?
“Like I said, Detective Novak, what love story ends in a police station interview room?”
Coming in only at 228 pages, Our Little Secret packs a sinister punch in a short amount of time. This is a novel you will devour in one sitting. It isn’t just the length that makes this possible. It’s the compelling, hypnotic tale Nay weaves.
Told from Angela’s perspective, the narration feels intimate, and immediately pulls the reader in. Our Little Secret is more than just a title. It’s an omen, since Angela does talk as if she’s taking our confidence. She needs to tell her story, all of it. The beginning, she insists, is just as important as the end.
“There’s a skill to finding where a tale truly begins, and trust me, there was action long before there was Saskia.”
Obviously, since we are in an interrogation room, we have no idea from the start whether to trust Angela. And she doesn’t make it easier for us. She’s not very likable. She’s dark, and haughty. It’s obvious she thinks she’s miles above most people. But how she feels about HP is crystal clear. So is her opinion of Saskia.
Our Little Secret is a story of first love. How consuming it is. How soul crushing and heartbreaking it can be. How tragically it can end. Angela wants us to believe that this is a story of love. And forgiveness. Of healing and moving on into adulthood after heartbreak crushes our childish dreams. But we never forget that we’re still in a police station, sitting in an interrogation room. So clearly something isn’t as it seems. The question is what.
“But they were thoughts, not actions, and you can’t get in trouble for thinking thoughts. Because if you could, wouldn’t everyone in the world be in jail?”
I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers. They are meant to be more sinister than a more traditional thriller. They’re meant to creep into the darkest parts of our minds, to explore the pieces of our psyche that we don’t like to expose to the light of day. They take the deepest, darkest parts of humanity and give it a good twist. Diving into the mind of someone who thinks, does, or acts in ways we never would is the devious pleasure of these novels. And Our Little Secret doesn’t disappoint on any level.
We go on a journey with Angela. We go into her past, into her heart. We feel her heartbreak and betrayal. This book is a roller coaster of emotions. We feel the pull between her and HP, even after everything that happens. How they can’t let each other go. Not completely. Not entirely. As we careen towards the end, we realize we don’t really know who to trust. But by then it’s too late.
Like all good psychological suspense novels, this is one that requires time to process what you read. There are layers presented which always make for good discussions, so I think this is fantastic for book clubs. It’s a book you’ll want to read again, to try and pick up the clues the second time around. This is Roz Nay’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what else she writes!
Thank you St. Martins Press and BookSparks for sending me a copy to read and review!