As Agatha worked at the local supermarket, disliking her boss, wishing she was elsewhere – she admired Meghan Shaughnessy’s life. Meghan was pregnant and the mother’s group get together in the café opposite showed Meg laughing and talking with her friends. Agatha knew Meg had two other children - Lucy and Lachlan – and she was envious of the happiness and lifestyle the family had. Their lives were perfect – Agatha wished hers could be the same.

Meg’s husband Jack was a high-flyer in the job he was in – his work kept him busy and often he was stressed. But Meg and Jack loved each other, even though they didn’t talk as often as they used to. They were busy – right? But Meg held a secret deep inside; one she didn’t want anyone to know – especially Jack.

Agatha’s pregnancy was progressing in a similar time frame to Meg’s, so when they struck up a conversation at the yoga class they both attended it was a natural progression to head for coffee. Meg liked Agatha’s company – Agatha already knew she liked Meg. It was a lovely friendship, swapping pregnancy and life stories. What could possibly happen to upset the happy progression of pregnancy to new baby? Would secrets bring everything undone?

The Secrets She Keeps is another brilliant psychological thriller by the master of the genre, Aussie author Michael Robotham. A gradual build-up of tension to the gripping, heart-stopping and explosive conclusion, The Secrets She Keeps satisfied everything for me as I turned the last page. Highly recommended.

With thanks to Hachette AU and NetGalley for my ARC to read and review.

The Secrets She Keeps is another gripping page-turner from Michael Robotham. I found this book somewhat different from his other novels that I have read, but certainly no less engaging. I was constantly surprised by the many twists in this psychological thriller. I was also simultaneously filled with horror and amazement at the protagonist's ability to navigate through the maze of the secrets she keeps. Highly recommended. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group, U.K. (Sphere) and NetGalley for the ARC.

Oh Mr Robotham, you had me worried at the beginning of this novel. Michael Robotham writing from the viewpoints of two pregnant women? I thought you had changed genres to write a suburban family drama rather than the psychological thrillers we have come to know and love. But of course I was wrong and the novel very soon evolved into a twisted story of longing and obsession.

The two women, Meghan, mother of two and popular mommy blogger married to a TV sports broadcaster and Agatha, who works in Meghan's local supermarket and is pregnant after a fling with a sailor, are both expecting their babies around the same time. They bond over this and get to know each other. Both of them are keeping secrets and telling lies to themselves and their partners and as the births of their babies approaches, their worlds collide and threaten to destroy them and their families.

An excellent psychological thriller, written in the alternating voices of the two women, which works really well in giving us insights into their characters and feelings and deceptions. Mr Robotham, you are a first class story teller and writer and in future I will never doubt your ability to spin a good yarn on anything that you choose to write about.

Michael robotham is such a skilled author to be able to write a book with such empathy for both agatha and Meghan.

You follow these women on their journey wit Ben/Rory and ride the emotional rollercoaster right to the very end.

I can't rate this book highly enough

I really enjoyed reading The Secrets She Keeps, a psychological thriller by Michael Robotham. The story gripped me from the beginning and I did not want to put it down. The subject matter was quite harrowing in parts but believable. I felt great sympathy for both Agatha and Meghan.
I would to thank NetGally and Little, Brown Book Group UK for e-copy in exchange for a honest review.

The Secrets She Keeps is a gripping psychological thriller with a very well written plot. The plot has many twists and turns that kept me guessing. I highly recommend to lovers of thriller fiction.

Absolutely fantastic book that had me gripped from the very first page. I couldn't put it down and thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely one of my top reads this year. I haven't heard of this author before but will definitely look out for more of his books

A completely different type of novel for this author.. I was blown away with It and read in to the wee small hours it was so good. Written with tension but also compassion. Highly recommended.

I am a big Michael Robotham fan and this book did not disappoint. It started strongly, did dip on the middle but once the baby was kidnapped it took off. Another great story from a master storyteller. The plot is told from the perspective of two pregnant women Agatha, a shelf stacker in a supermanrket whose boyfriend is away on a long term deployment with the navy, the second Meghan, a stay at home mum, married to a TV presenter who writes a popular Mummy blog. Agatha has a number of secrets she is keeping which result in the kidnapping of one of the babies. Not everything is as it seems and the twists in the story and description of the kidnapping and post-kidnapping scenario are brilliantly plotted and written. I highly recommend this book to all people that enjoy a good thriller.

This book is so masterfully written that in spite of quite unoriginal plot, I couldn't put it down. It was gripping, with well rounded and realistic characters (even secondary and episodic ones like the supermarket owner Mr Patel and Hayden's sister and parents). The story is narrated by two very different main characters - women, who are in their late thirties and at the beginning are both pregnant and don't know each other. There are several twists and many secrets revealed along the way, and it is a quick, easy and enjoyable (although at times 'edge of your seat', 'hand over your mouth') read. Michael Robotham, you've got a new fan!
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

How far would you go to create the perfect family

Agatha is pregnant and works part time stocking shelves at a Grocery store counting down the days until her baby is due.She spends her evenings all alone waiting for her absent boyfriend Hayden to maybe return her calls.The highlight of Agatha`s day is if she manages to catch a glimpse of glamorous Meghan.

Meghan has it all,two perfect children a handsome husband,a happy marriage,a stylish group of friends and her own popular parenting blog.

Then Agatha learns that Meghan is pregnant again so she musters up the courage to speak to Meghan.The two women strike up a unlikely friendship,a relashionship that unbeknownst to Meghan will change the course of her not so perfect life forever.

This twisted,gripping tale of secrets,lies,manipulation and the human need for unconditional love is told from the alternating perspectives of Agatha and Meghan.I know you where supposed to feel sympathy for Meghan but although what Agatha did was totally wrong and inexcusable I felt more sympathy for her character than I did for Meghan.As a sufferer of anxiety and severe paranoia I know what it's like to feel worthless,that you don't deserve to be loved.It's hard constantly having doubts about yourself and fighting that little voice inside that feeds your paranoia and anxieties.I had mixed feelings about Hayden as the story unfolded but it was hard not to feel a bit of sympathy for him by the time the story ended.

The characters where complex,well developed and realistic,I especially liked Dr Cyrus Haven,he reminded me of Dr Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds.The story isn't fast paced or full of twists but the chapters are short and snappy and the swapping between the two women has no effect on the flow of the story it is gripping story that had me hooked from the first word to the last.

Wow what can I say. This book absolutely blew me away. It was written in such a way that you interacted with all the characters feeling their joys and sorrows as if they were your own. I was left feeling elated but at the same time absolutely drained. The 5* stars I have awarded are richly deserved and thank netgalley for allowing me to read a copy of this enthralling novel

I defy anyone to read the first chapter of this and not be intrigued. If you liked 'Girl On The Train' then The Secrets She Keeps is for you. The writing is sparky and compelling, and the whole thing just rattles along. It's no wonder Stephen King is such a fan.

Alternating between two narrators, each with secrets to keep and things to lose, Robotham ratchets up the tension chapter after chapter until the turning point when one character crosses a line there is no real coming back from.

Like other readers have pointed out, I was expecting more of a twist somehow, but perhaps this is because of all the constant hype about twists in psychological thrillers. Having said this, the writing and insights about these times we live in more than compensated.

I would lie to thank Netgalley and Sphere for an advance copy of The Secrets She Keeps, a stand alone psychological thriller set in Barnes, London.

The novel is told in alternating chapters by Agatha and Meghan, two pregnant women who meet by chance and strike up a friendship. Both women have secrets so the two points of view put a contrasting spin on events.

I am not a big fan of psychological thrillers but having read and liked some of Mr Robotham's earlier work I was tempted to give this a try. The Secrets She Keeps is a fairly pedestrian novel. I had a good idea of the general thrust of the plot after a few chapters so all that was missing was the fine detail. The subject matter is not edifying and is quite upsetting in parts but it is well done.

Part of my problem with the novel is the characters. I didn't particularly like Meghan, a woman of poor judgement with whom I couldn't identify. Her secret is a whopper but it still didn't make me feel sorry for her. Agatha is a different story. Her backstory comes out over the course of the novel and I couldn't help feeling sorry for her, even if her struggles seem a bit stereotypical.

I think plenty of readers will enjoy The Secrets She Keeps as it is a well paced novel with some interesting twists.

I'd heard good things about Robotham but this really wasn't a book for me. The two switch-about female narrators have appeared in many similar domestic 'thrillers': the yummy-mummy with the seemingly perfect life, and the disturbed outsider who stalks her, befriends her and wants what she has. The pages are full of baby minutiae, and I could see the entire plot within the first 25% of the book, partly because it's been done before more than once. I skim-read to the unsurprising ending - best for readers wanting a page-turner obsessed with motherhood and babies.

A fantastic read which I could hardly put down. My reading has been a bit in the doldrums lately but this book brought my enthusiasm back with a bang. The chapters alternate between Megan who is from a happy middle class background she is married to a dream of a man who has a successful career as a sports presenter.She has two gorgeous children and has a baby boy on the way. Agatha has a totally different life with an unhappy childhood, she can't forgive her mother for her past and refuses to have anything to do with her. She had a boyfriend but they argued before he went back on duty in the navy. Agatha doesn't want to think that their relationship is over especially when she finds herself pregnant. Working in a supermarket stacking shelves is not something she dreamed of doing but while she is working there she notices Megan with the children and begins to imagine how different her life must be. There is so much more to this story, I loved it.

Excellent story. Told from viewpoint of the two main characters in alternating chapters and I really liked this format. The story was well paced all the way through and I really enjoyed it. The characters were well written and I felt I could empathise with them both especially as we got to hear more of Agatha's back story. Great book and I highly recommend it.

This is an outstanding psychological thriller that had me completely unable to stop reading until I had finished. To say it is compelling is an understatement. It is a novel narrated through the perspective of two women expecting babies around the same time from different ends of the social and economic spectrum. Meghan is having her third 'oops' child, is married to the well known, good looking sports commentator, Jack, and runs a popular mums blog detailing her everyday life and personal thoughts. She has had a privileged lifestyle, and despite elements of her marriage feeling stale and occasionally fraught, loves her husband. Agatha is expecting her first child, is involved with a younger man, Hayden, who is a sailor in the Navy. She works in a supermarket, sees and relates to Meghan shopping there regularly, and thinks that Meghan has the perfect marriage, husband, and children.

The two women become friends at Agatha's persistent instigation. They connect over their coming births, looking forward to the lives they have planned. Only Jack is supremely ambitious and is not so keen on having an unplanned baby. Agatha's background has been traumatic, challenging and there is a dark schism between her and her mother, rooted in the her dark history with her parents as committed Jehovah's Witnesses. Agatha is not above being manipulative when it comes to her relationship with Hayden in her efforts to ensure that it is as wonderful as it could be. However, Meghan and Agatha harbour lies and deeply buried secrets. Their lives collide on a path that places such deep strains on their lives that you wonder if they can survive.

This is a well plotted and twisted story with a narrative that is tense and gripping. I was particularly impressed with the complex and authentic characterisation of Meghan and Agatha, not to mention other characters such as Hayden and Dr Cyrus Haven. The storyline felt desperately realistic, and there are mentions of real life contemporary events that it echoes. The portrayal of the media really touches a nerve with its amoral drive for any angle for a exclusive story that it can get, without any thought to the people concerned and the lives they ruin. A terrific book that I highly recommend.

Excellent book. Great storyline and characters. A real page turner. I would recommend this book.

Two women both at opposite ends of the social spectrum. Agatha, single, not necessarily pretty and working at a supermarket. Meg, glamourous wealthy wife of Jack, a famous sports presenter.
Both women are pregnant, babies due at the same time. But all is not what it seems. Both have a secret, a secret that needs to stay buried before it destroys what they both have.
This a taut psychological thriller and one in which Robotham gets to the very core of the psychology of each woman, particularly that of Agatha. Agatha has even deeper, darker secrets that stem from an unhappy childhood and follow her into adult life. In some ways you feel pity for her even if what she does is wrong.
The plot takes many twists and turns and the reader is left guessing what will happen next..
A little different from your normal psychological thriller but definitely one to read and enjoy