A town reeling in the wake of tragedy

An arsonist is on the loose in Colmstock, Australia, most recently burning down the town's courthouse and killing a young boy who was trapped inside..

An aspiring journalist desperate for a story

The clock is ticking for Rose Blakey. With nothing but rejections from newspapers piling up, her job pulling beers for cops at the local tavern isn't nearly enough to cover rent. Rose needs a story-a big one.

Little dolls full of secrets

In the weeks after the courthouse fire, precise porcelain replicas of Colmstock's daughters begin turning up on doorsteps, terrifying parents and testing the limits of the town's already fractured police force.

Rose may have finally found her story. But as her articles gain traction and the boundaries of her investigation blur, Colmstock is seized by a seething paranoia. Soon, no one is safe from suspicion. And when Rose's attention turns to the mysterious stranger living in the rooms behind the tavern, neighbour turns on neighbour and the darkest side of self-preservation is revealed.

I'm not sure what to say about this book without giving spoilers, so I'm not going to say anything. Except I will say this book is a really enjoyable and unexpected read. 4*

Another great read from my weekend, highly recommend this book.

Rose Blakey is an aspiring journalist. She is desperate to escape the from the small Australian town in which she lives. Rejection after rejection mean she is stuck in what she sees as a dead-end waitressing job.
This is a town is gripped by fear following an arson attack in which a local boy died and by the delivery of dolls to local children, dolls that spookily resemble their recipients.
The atmosphere in the small town is suffocating and, as anonymous notes arrive and small incidents become large ones, paranoia develops at a pace suspicions falls on those not born in the town. Rose sees this as the ideal opportunity for becoming a reporter, not fully understanding the implications of what she writes and how it will impact on the paranoia.
The novel is so well written as we are drawn into Rose’s world, as we see the occupants of the small town with its brutal cops and desperate parents, and finally see hope and friendship emerge.
An intriguing but slightly disturbing read. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a review copy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of Little Secrets, a psychological thriller set somewhere in Australia.

Rose lives in Colmstock, a formerly prosperous mining town but now gone to seed, and dreams of escaping to the city and a career in journalism but dreams are all they are until someone starts leaving porcelain dolls on the doorstep for young girls and her reporting gets her a byline in a city newspaper.

Little Secrets is not really my kind of novel and I struggled to get through it as it just didn't hold my attention. It paints a vivid picture of a decaying town and the quiet desperation of its residents in everyday life and their hysteria at the dolls but it is really the story of Rose, her relationships with those around her and her determination to escape. Most of the novel is concerned with this and it only gets mildly exciting in the last quarter. I wouldn't call it gripping and I'm struggling to remember many thrills but as a study of various characters it could be called psychological.

I quite like Rose in her single minded determination to escape Colmstock. Some of her actions have unintended consequences which I can't mention but the reactions of her admirer Frank and friend Mia to them towards the end of the novel seem out of character and bizarre.

Little Secrets is an interesting read, not to my taste, but I'm sure plenty of readers who prefer a more character driven novel will enjoy it.

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