A review by mg_in_md_
Woman with a Secret by Sophie Hannah

4.0

This review is based on the Advanced Reader's Edition that I received at the 2015 Malice Domestic conference. The story begins with a peculiar personal ad in which the individual isn't interested in a relationship, per se. Instead, C (for Confidant) x describes a murder scene and asks for the murderer to come forward and share their deep, dark secret. The story then goes back in time to the day of the murder when a woman, Nikki Clements, is stuck in traffic on Elmhirst Road. She spies a face in the crowd that she hoped never to see again, a police officer who is checking each car along the route. She panics and makes a U-turn to avoid an awkward encounter. However, her unusual behavior does not go unnoticed and she is summoned to the police station for questioning. The traffic jam was related to a murder investigation of a resident of Elmhirst Road, controversial columnist Damon Blundy. Among the questions Nikki is asked is why the words HE IS NO LESS DEAD were painted on the wall of Blundy's study. While Nikki is not guilty of murder, she is far from innocent and cannot explain her unusual behavior without revealing the secret that could ruin her. Nikki is at once more and less than she seems. The creepily unsettling psychological twists and turns abound as Nikki's secrets are revealed. Fans of darker psychological thrillers by [a:Gillian Flynn|2383|Gillian Flynn|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1232123231p2/2383.jpg] and [a:Tana French|138825|Tana French|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1277505771p2/138825.jpg] should keep an eye out for this book, which will be available in the US in August 2015.