Having previously read Her Turn to Cry by Chris Curran, I was eager to read anything that Chris might write next. I was so impressed with Her Deadly Secret and absolutely raced through it in my haste to get to the thrilling conclusion.

We meet Joe and Hannah when their 14 year old daughter, Lily, goes missing. As the police investigate Lily's last known movements, they find an argument with her mother, a keen interest in a local cult and a hunt for her real father. It is clear that Hannah is harbouring a secret and she is even hiding it from her husband, Joe. Could this be motive for Joe to harm Lily? Even worse, in an attempt to keep her secret buried, could Hannah have harmed Lily? What a great hook...but there's more!

There are also two other linked stories, that of Loretta and Rosie. Loretta is the Family Liaison Officer, allocated to Lily's family. Loretta has her own challenges to deal with both at home and at work, but her persistence with Hannah might just pay off in the end. There is also the story of Rosie whose sister, Alice, was killed many years ago. Rosie's Dad went to prison for his own daughter's murder and even his family thought he was guilty, until letters from a mystery writer claimed he was innocent. The writer seems to know a lot more about Alice's death than they should...but what does this have to do with Lily going missing? We find out after travelling through so many twists and turns, as Chris Curran takes us on a rollercoaster ride, and sometimes a wild goose chase, leaving my heart in my mouth at the end of the book.

Her Deadly Secret is an absolutely thrilling read with so many shocks and surprises that it kept me on my toes from start to finish. It's definitely worthy of a huge 5 stars.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Her Deadly Secret is Chris Curran's latest novel, and it's a cracker of a read!

When Lily goes missing her parents Hannah and Joe are naturally distraught. The Family liaison officer immediately notices something off with Hannah. Does she know more than she's letting on?

Lily tragically is found murdered in woods near to the family home. The suspicion immediately falls to the parents, particularly as Hannah is still behaving oddly.

Loretta, the family liaison officer assigned to the case knows that she is hiding something, but she seems so fragile that she can't bring herself to start questioning Hannah until the case has more investigative depth.

Meanwhile Joe also thinks that his wife is behaving oddly, but puts her behaviour down to the tragic loss of their daughter. And then he discovers that Lily had a boyfriend, a member of the local religious 'cult'.

Joe is familiar with the Children of Light only because he 'rescued' his wife from their clutches. The news that his daughter may gave become acquainted with them is not something he wishes to hear.

That his daughter had a boyfriend he knew nothing about seems the least of his worries.

He has always known that he wasn't Lily's natural father but that didn't seem important until now. The Police are suddenly very interested in the fact that he isn't Lily's natural father, but why is that?

They can't possibly believe that he is a suspect. But if not him, then who?

Her Deadly Secret is a novel full of questions, that will have you turning its pages, gripped, until you find the answers.

A story which unfolds from the point of view of three families. The key players in my eyes were Joe and Hannah, they are in a dark, dark place as their daughter Lily is gone.

The police are investigating Lily’s disappearance and they have Family Liaison Officer, Loretta, working with Joe and Hannah. Loretta is there to provide support to the family at a difficult time but she is also expected to establish a bond with a view to obtaining information about Lily which could help the investigation. Unfortunately for Loretta Hannah is virtually catatonic and hardly speaks. Meanwhile Joe is doing what he can to get Hannah to speak with him but he is acutely aware that the police suspect he may even be involved in Lily’s murder. Joe had been away from the house quite frequently prior to Lily’s disappearance so he finds he cannot answer Loretta’s questions about Lily’s behaviour of late.

Unable to gain any significant information from Hannah or Joe we see Loretta coming under increasing pressure from her boss. Not helping her situation is a bullying colleague and, at home, a recent separation from her husband problems with the behaviour of one of her kids.

Two families down and we turn to Rosie. Years ago Rosie’s sister was murdered and her father was arrested and jailed for killing his eldest daughter. Now Rosie’s father is out of prison and she learns that her mother has allowed him to return home. Having cut off communications with her father years prior to events in the story, Rosie’s mother tries to encourage her to come meet her father – they both believe that someone knows her father is innocent of the killing…he received letters whilst in prison in which the anonymous sender indicated they knew he did not kill his daughter. Rosie is determined to find out who may have written the letters.

With three narrative threads to keep track of I thought Chris Curran did a great job of keeping each of the families interesting and under pressure. You want to keep reading to find out how they will overcome their immediate problems, plus you know that there is a reason there are three viewpoints to a single story – at some stage you expect paths to cross, I just didn’t know where that may happen. The only way to satisfy that curiosity was to read more and more chapters.

I read of many murders, kidnapping and violent attacks during the normal blogging year but the suffering of Joe and Hannah troubled me more than I am used to. Perhaps it is because most tales focus on the killer or the investigation and less so upon the family of the victim? Sharing Hannah and Joe’s grief and watching them struggle to comprehend the position they are in was unsettling and I put this entirely down to Chris Curran’s sympathetic unpicking of their lives.

I refer to books like Her Deadly Secret as “people stories”. Now I know that most books are “people stories” but this is a tale which is very much driven by the characters and their lives, we don’t rely upon clever action set pieces. No witchcraft or demons are lurking in the cellar and is unlikely the TARDIS will land to allow The Doctor to put everything to right. This is pure human and emotional drama and it works very well. Highly recommended.

Joe and Hannah Marsden are struggling to cope after their fourteen-year-old daughter Lily doesn't come home from school one day. Joe appears to be dealing with the situation slightly better than Hannah though, which leads their family liaison officer to think that Hannah is hiding something.

Meanwhile, Rosie Weatherall is following the Marsdens story on the news and it's stirring up old memories. Her sister, Alice, was murdered, so she can completely understand what the family is going through.

The two stories are connected but which character is going to be the one to reveal Her Deadly Secret?

I never know quite what to expect when I read a new (to me) author but I'm pleased to say I loved this book. To begin with I was confused with Rosie's character and couldn't see where she fitted in with the Marsdens but this is a story about secrets so I kept reading, confident that I'd find out soon enough. Joe's character was heart-breaking at times, desperate to do everything he could to help find his missing daughter, whilst knowing that he's being closely scrutinised by the family liaison officer and constantly being rejected by his wife. You could feel the strain and pressure that the relationship was under and my heart went out to him.

Her Deadly Secret is a complex novel, cleverly told from separate view points within each chapter.

Once I realised how the two seemingly unconnected families were linked I was quickly forming a list of potential suspects and conclusions in my head, only to have the rug pulled from under my feet as I read the next chapter. When I reached the end I was genuinely shocked as it wasn't the ending I was expecting, but I mean that in a good way. Chris Curran has written an absorbing and at times poignant story and I won't be leaving it too long before I pick up another one of her books.

If you love your books dark and twisty then this is a perfect book for you.

Another 5 star winner from this author!
Pacey and packed to the brim from beginning to end. A must read for any fan of this genre.

The first book i have read from this author and unfortunately it didn't blow me away.Based around 2 couples Hanna and Joe their FLO Lorretta and Rosie and Oliver.Hanna and Joe have lost Lily their daughter who was found murdered,Rosie lost her sister Alice 15 years ago who was also murdered.As the story progresses both couples become entwined with each other after events from their past come back to haunt them.What i found hard about the book is it kept constantly jumping from one character to the next each telling their own story.While this may be ok for some i found it annoying and i found myself just wanting to finish the book regardless of the ending which when it came was ok.A 3 star read for me,would i recommend this book ? yes i would but not the best thriller i have read this year by a long way.

I read and enjoyed Chris Curran’s previous novels so I was thrilled when I was invited to be a part of the blog tour for her new book, Her Deadly Secret. I was expecting great things and I’m so happy to say that it lived up to my expectations!

Her Deadly Secret is told from the viewpoint of two families. Joe and Hannah have just found out that their missing teenage daughter Lily has been murdered and are trying to find a way to cope whilst also being under the police spotlight. Rosie is happily married to Oliver but she still struggles to copy with the loss of her older sister many years ago. From the beginning I was suspecting a link between these two families but as the revelations start coming I was stunned!

I was very quickly invested in these characters, especially Joe, who is trying so hard to hold everything together as his wife falls apart. I also felt for Rosie as she dealt with the minefield of her father being back in her life after many years, and her mother’s acceptance of him. As much as I liked these two characters and generally was on their side, this novel does get so twisty that there were moment when I questioned my judgement of them.

This is a novel filled with secrets and lies, and eventually the house of cards starts to collapse as the truth begins to come out. I loved how some people were outright lying in their own selfish interests to cover their tracks but others were keeping secrets in order to try and protect others from the hurt of what they had believed at the time. This novel really does show the harm that can be done when people keep quiet in order to try to prevent loved ones from being hurt, even if it’s done with the best of intentions.

I raced through this novel in one sitting as it just grabbed me from the first chapter and kept me gripped, and needing answers right to the very last chapter! I thought I had it all figured out on more than one occasion but I have to admit that the final piece of the puzzle was just out of my grasp, which I loved as it’s nice to have a shock that you didn’t see coming in a thriller!

Her Deadly Secret is engrossing, twisty and when you think you’ve got it all figured out the rug will be pulled from under you all over again! I definitely recommend this novel!

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

wow! such a good book. so many lies so many twists! this was a hard book to put down.. such a good read. thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy of this book to read and review.

This is the longest 160 page book that I've ever read. It becomes interesting and then quickly goes downhill to boring. It does this throughout the book, over and over. The twist at the end takes this up to a three star rating instead of a two star rating. I'm so glad to be finished with this book.

This was my first introduction to this author and I can safely say it won't be my last. Her Deadly Secret had me hooked right from the start as I found myself thrown right into the thick of things.

The story begins with Joe who has just returned from doing a television appeal for his missing daughter, fourteen year old Lily. Joe and his wife Hannah are consumed by grief but Family Liaison Officer Loretta soon realises there is more at play and thinks Hannah is hiding something.

The chapters alternate between Joe, Loretta and Rosie. Rosie's sister Alice was found dead when she was sixteen. Their father was convicted of her murder and has only recently been released. Could these events, fifteen years apart and miles away from each other, in any way be connected?

I loved getting to know these characters and immensely enjoyed Loretta's chapters. I must admit at the start I thought they would be too distracting and take away from the actual mystery but in fact, they provided a brilliant balance as Loretta struggles to combine her demanding job and boss with her private life.

Her Deadly Secret is incredibly gripping and absorbing. With a superbly executed plot and a great pace, it had me glued to the pages. Of course, there are secrets and skeletons in closets. Some people turn out to be quite different from what they seem but it was trying to figure out the who/what/why that kept me utterly engrossed. Plenty of twists, turns and some red herrings had me continuously guessing at the outcome as the author quite deftly leads the story to a most satisfying conclusion. I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend you pick up a copy!

Wow and wow again,this is a very very good book,i would gladly give it a lot more than five stars if I could.

After their teenage daughter Lily disappears without trace Joe and Hannah her traumatized parents are consumed with grief.But all is not what it seems behind the curtains of their suburban home.

Loretta,the family liaison officer,is sure that Hannah is hiding something - a dark and twisted secret from deep in her past.

Could this terrible memory be the key to the murder of another teenage girl fifteen years ago.As links between the two victims emerge,Joe and Hannah learn that in a family built on lies,the truth can destroy everything.

This twist packed,gripping thriller has chapters that are split into sections,these sections are voiced by either Joe,Loretta or Rosie the sister of the girl who was murdered fifteen years ago.The alternating between the three characters speeds up as the story unfolds and heads towards the shocking,intense final chapter.Although events are narrated by more than one character per chapter each section is named so you know who's point of view you are currently reading.The flow of the story never feels broken by the changes in who is voicing the story.

As well as following Joe`s and Loretta`s separate investigations into Lily`s murder and Hannah`s suspicious behaviour we also get a glimpse into Loretta`s private life,her struggles with her teenage son and with trying to balance work and family life.We also follow Rosie as she reluctantly begins to try and find out the truth about who murdered her sister fifteen years ago.

It's a well written,gripping,twist packed mystery that had me hooked from the first word and totally engrossed by the riveting story that was unfolding before my eyes.I found myself changing my mind about who had done what and the final reveal was both surprising and shocking.This is the first book that I have read by this author and it most definitely will not be my last.

Great book. Brilliant plot and main characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Very enjoyable.

my 1st book buy this author absolutely loved it gripped from page 1the storyline gets better and better and the twists and i so felt for the one sister cant wait to read more from this author top notch read