In the best-selling tradition of The Girl on the Train and In a Dark, Dark Wood, from the internationally best-selling author whom Stephen King called “an absolute master” of the psychological thriller, comes a riveting suspense novel about the unlikely friendship between two pregnant women that asks: How far would you go to create the perfect family?
Agatha is pregnant and works part time stocking shelves at a grocery store in a ritzy London suburb, counting down the days until her baby is due. As the hours of her shifts creep by in increasing discomfort, the one thing she looks forward to at work is catching a glimpse of Meghan, the effortlessly chic customer whose elegant lifestyle dazzles her. Meghan has it all: two perfect children, a handsome husband, a happy marriage, and a stylish group of friends, and she writes perfectly droll confessional posts on her popular parenting blog – posts that Agatha reads with devotion each night as she waits for her absent boyfriend, the father of her baby, to maybe return her calls.
When Agatha learns that Meghan is pregnant again and that their due dates fall within the same month, she finally musters up the courage to speak to her, thrilled that they now have the ordeal of childbearing in common. Little does Meghan know that the mundane exchange she has with a grocery store employee during a hurried afternoon shopping trip is about to change the course of her not-so-perfect life forever….
With its brilliant rendering of a shocking kidnapping plot and the secrets some women hold close, The Secrets She Keeps delivers a dark and twisted thriller.
Excellent First book I have read by this author and I will go back to see if any of his older ones interest me. This was great! I don’t understand why people said it drags in places. I didn’t think so – you find out tidbits of information along the way. It goes back and forth between the 2 main characters but I didn’t find it confusing or overly complicated as some books are with that format. The chapters are not very long either. A Great read, I highly recommend it!
Compelling read; a cut above the usual psychological thriller This novel kept me engaged from beginning to end. The writer did an excellent job of revealing the two main characters’ thoughts and depth. Well written and well paced. The final paragraph was a bit of a mystery; one of those “up to the reader” endings, which I find annoying at times. However, easy to overlook one paragraph in a riveting story.
Very impressive I really liked this book – it was a really pacey psychological crime thriller with lots happening. The author’s capacity to get inside the heads of the characters was impressive and convincing. The story flowed really well; the suspense was managed with great skill and there were surprise twists and turns which popped up unexpectedly, creating heightened engagement.Â