I LOVE this author!
KL Slater is a master storyteller!
You can always expect to real a story that pulls you in and keeps you guessing.
Never a dull moment with this author.

The Secret is one of K.L Slater's first books and I love that she has improved as she has published others. Alice and Louise are sisters. Louise is struggling to cope. Louise is a busy working mum, married to a wonderful man who adopted her son, Archie, and struggling to cope. She often leaves 8 year old Archie with Alice. Alice used to have a great job, but after an accident she is pretty much housebound, and loves having Archie over. While watching out her window one day, she sees a man on the tram, looking up at her. She waves and he waves back, sending Alice into a world of imaginary encounters. While watching Archie, she notices he is a bit withdrawn and seems to be keeping something from her and his parents. She is worried about him and meets with his teacher. She begins to think that Louise is hurting her son. Meanwhile, she finds out that the man on the tram is not waving at her, but the woman who lives above her and that she has broken up with him. Will Alice have a chance with this man?

The Secret was a story that was all over the place. There were so many flashbacks in this one, that I often wasn't sure what was going on. The narrators as well kept changing between the sisters and Archie. I wasn't sure if this was a thriller, a mystery or family drama. I stuck with it and at about 2/3 of the way through, the story took off. The secrets were not revealed until the end, but oh, what those secrets were. I gave this one 3.5 stars, but rounded it down to 3 for Goodreads.

Alice is almost housebound after an accident and is too nervous to go out. Her sister Louise takes advantage of this situation to gets Alice to look after Archie her eight year old son. Alice and Archie become closer the more time they spend together and it becomes clear that the child is being bullied by someone and Alice decides to get to the bottom of the problem. Archie also has a secret that he has been told not to tell.

This book has it all. Well written and holds your interest. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my review.

Driving to work has never been funner than when listening to one of this author’s stories! Loved it. Had a great twist I didn’t see coming, and I really enjoyed that ending 🙌🏼

THE SECRET is the sixth psychological thriller by bestselling author of twelve psychological crime thrillers.by K.L. Slater. After being a huge fan of her novels, I noticed that I have two novels that I haven’t read, which include, The Secret and The Silent Ones, so I am now catching up, as I love her novels. This is the review of The Secret.

Her Novels Include:

Safe With Me (2016)
Blink (2017)
Liar (2017)
The Mistake (2017)
The Visitor (2018)
The Secret (2018)
Closer (2018)
Finding Grace (2019)
The Silent Ones (2019)
Single (2019)
The Apartment (2020)
Little Whispers (2020)
The Girl She Wanted (2020)

The Secret is bound to be well received. and will keep you guessing right until the very end. Her novels just get better and better. This is a fabulous read, that will reel you in …one line at a time…

Everyone has a secret in their past.

Louise, a working mum, struggling to cope, often has to leave her eight-year-old son, Archie at her sister Alice’s flat. Louise and her husband, Darren, Archie’s stepdad, both work long hours, and have little time for Archie.

The sisters used to be close, but not anymore. They live separate lifestyles.

Alice barely leaves the house, and suffers from panic attacks. Alice had dedicated herself to looking after her mum as a caregiver. Louise was her mother’s first born and the less favored daughter, and had no time in her busy schedule for her mum. Alice is more willing to spend time with Archie.

Archie is a curious little boy. He likes to play on his own at his auntie’s flat until one day when he sees something he shouldn’t. Now he has a secret of his own. One he can’t tell his mum. One that could put him and his family in terrible danger.

I really enjoyed this book and the characters come alive on the page. My heart goes out to Archie and all that he went through. The story is told by different POV’s and switches back and forth in time. This novel highlights the drama faced by a family, coping with financial distress, control, love and a whole lot of secrets. The ending of this book will shock you and you will not see it coming.

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and Net Galley for my digital copy.

KL Slater is one of my favorite authors, so I’m not sure why it took me so long to read this book. Secrets lead to lies, lies lead to secrets, and it all leads to trouble. This was the story of sisters Louise and Alice. Louise is the responsible sister a working single mother while Alice stays home struggling with her anxiety. Louise calls upon Alice to take care of her eight-year-old son Archie. It doesn’t take long before Alice figures out that Archie has a secret. Archie has witnessed something that he should not have, something that can lead to some sinister troubles. What follows is an engaging pulse pounding story filled with twists and turns and secrets you would never guess. A tense and riveting story with a satisfying twisted ending.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for an early copy of The Secret. It was good, kept me wanting to know what was happening next. The end was shocking.

Another great novel from KL Slater! With each one I read by this author I’m pulled into a plot that doesn’t let you go. I’ve been reading this book in every spare minute, being pulled in several directions of suspicion. An amazing novel with a plot that had many twists.

This was an excellent book by K L Slater.

it went into the lives of a dysfunctional family and making a little boy, Archie, swear that he would keep things a secret.

We are not sure what is to be kept a secret as the reader and the tail unravels, leaving us with many questions

I thought the twist was great and I really enjoyed this book!

Louise and Alice are sisters with an extreme case of sibling rivalry after being raised in an abusive house hold. They grew up to be very different women. Alice hates leaving her house and Louise is drawn to relationships with abusive men. Archie is Louise’s son who tells his Aunt Alice that he has to keep secrets. The book gives a back story to both of the sisters and how they ended up where they are in life now. The book claims to be a psychological thriller, but it fell short. Th book felt longer than it needed to be.

All books by this author are brilliant. Always easy to follow with a twist at the ending. I look forward to her next.

This book took me forever to read. There was too much back & forth & point of views. I had a hard time remembering what happened before I put the book down & had to go back to refresh myself.
On the other hand, I did finish the book, so that's something.

This was fantastic. Told from 2 perspectives each quite blinkered to the others views, with a mystery intertwining the 2.

I don't mind books that flip back and forth in timelines, but this one did not work for me. Perhaps there were too many timelines from too many points of view as it came across as disjointed. The pacing didn't work for me and I loathe a rushed ending.

I was lucky enough to receive this book from netgalley wow I love k.l Slater she is a fantastic writer and I've read all her other books so when I got this one I could not wait to get stuck in and omg what can I say this book was fantastic and one of my favourite books I've read this year so far

Why does Karin Slater always write the best books?
She outdid her self with this one. I have always loved her style of writing and the way she developes here characters!

was a gripping thriller that took you to every aspect of trying to figure out what was really going on and what was going to happen next! This was such an amazing book and I can’t wait to see what else is released from this author!

A gripping thriller that shows that the secrets and jealousies that may lie within a family may cause damage. This is a story of two sisters. Alice and Louise, neither really likable but are completely different people. Full of realistic tension between the sisters.

The Secret is an addictive ‘Domestic Noir’ style psychological thriller that delves into the toxic relationship between two sisters. Louise is a married career woman with an eight-year-old son, Archie. Alice is out of work and childless; she also suffers with ME and anxiety, and is scared to leave her home.

The story starts with a dual prologue: then and now. This is in first-person and from Archie’s perspective. What happened in the past, was witnessed by Archie, and it is this secret that fuels the narrative and keeps the pages turning.

Most of the story is narrated in first-person from Alice’s perspective, with some narration in third-person from Louise’s perspective. This dual narration adds to the ‘who’s telling the truth?’ element and allows a degree of empathy for Louise; although to be honest, she isn’t nice at all. Alice’s character is in first-person and this works really well, leaving the reader with no uncertain terms as to who the protagonist is. Alice suffers with ME and anxiety; I could feel the exhaustion and pain radiating throughout her body. Readers will be screaming at Alice and telling her to say ‘no’ to the demands of her bossy and overbearing sister. We learn early on that Alice’s health issues are linked to a previous relationship. I won’t say why this is as I don’t want to spoil things, but when she sees a stranger who looks similar to her ex, you start to question Alice’s sanity.

Alice’s nephew, Archie, is a wonderful character and really brings the story to life. Dealt a raw deal in life, with a mother and step-father who both put themselves and their own careers before their child, Archie finds solace in spending time with his Auntie Alice. This isn’t an easy relationship at first. Alice barely has enough energy to look after herself let alone stepping in to care for her sister’s child. But Louise is controlling and uses emotional blackmail, forcing Alice to agree to look after Archie. According to Louise, Archie has ADHD but when Alice starts to get to know him, and gives him the time and attention that is lacking at home, the pair bring out the best in each other, and Alice starts to questions whether this is true. Alice has had a horrendous past, and her health is at a point where it looks it is on a downward spiral with no way out. But whilst helping Archie, Alice unwittingly starts to turn a corner and she starts to integrate with the outside world.

Alice also starts to get to know one of her neighbours, Jenny. Jenny also has her own set of problems. But somebody doesn’t like Alice helping Jenny – or is it Archie they don’t like her helping? And just who is that guy who waves to Alice each morning from the tram, that reminds Alice of her ex?

True to its genre, the story is full of red-herrings. And just when you think you know what ‘The Secret’ is, think again! There’s yet another twist!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The things I will take away from this as a New Writer, are pacing of the narrative and how to drop seemingly inconsequential hints into the plot that only make sense once the twist is revealed.