A great holiday read. The story is told over three days, the day before, the day of and the day after a murder. Everyone is keeping a secret but one of them is prepared to kill to keep theirs.

I found the book very entertaining, the writing style reminded me more than once of an Agatha Christie novel which is not a bad thing.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an unbiased review.

Several twists & turns in this one! I devoured it in a matter of hours on vacation - great vacation read.

This one was a little different for me as this was an investigation into a sexual assault and a murder so it definitely caught my attention because I don’t typically read on those topics but again it captured by interest right away as the prologue just grabbed me. The author definitely didn’t waste time getting to the point. I love how the story was told by many POVs and alternating timelines. I couldnt relate to any of the characters but it was a good whodunnit.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a book I was really excited to read. And it lived up to my hopes. The twists and turns keep you guessing throughout the book.

There were some less than favorable reviews on GoodReads for this novel, which is terribly disappointing, as I truly enjoyed it. Some complaints referred to the complicated amount of names and couples and characters, which I can see as being a problem for a speed reader who wasn't truly invested in the story. To which I say, they were doing this novel an injustice. I found it to be an intricate and interesting plot, which was peeled away one small but satisfying layer at a time.

The pacing kept along steadily, with enough tidbits revealed often enough to keep the plot chugging without becoming a tedious info dump.

The characters were real, and flawed, and for the most part (intentionally, I believe) unlikable. I find this to be a stellar plot device in a thriller.

I especially appreciated the way each character was slowly shown to have their own motive for the murder. We didn't even have to hear the detective say it outright. I felt the author trusted her readers to see the writing on the wall, and I respect that.

I also enjoyed the theme of strangulation as a weapon of choice for several of the suspects, to keep us guessing.

All in all, an easy read, an interesting thriller, with a particularly catchy plot.

Three couples vacation at a beach home while the kids are away at camp. The next morning, one of the women is found dead on the beach. Everyone at the house had secrets, and someone decided murder was the only way to keep that secret hidden. Pretty exciting stuff! Loved the East Coast references.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Unfortunately this one just wasnt for me. I found myself struggling to connect with the characters or wanting the know what happened.

DNF @32%

*Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC!*

If you like a twisty, multiple POV thriller, this one is a good one for an afternoon read snuggled up on the couch. What I liked about it was that I had no fucking clue what was going to happen, and that we got to see so many different pieces of character development by having so many alternative perspectives. Solid 3.5 star (rounded up in rating!) for me!

Heads up: trigger warning for physical and verbal abuse.

I have a lot of mixed opinions on this book. On one hand, the plot was absolutely incredible. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen I ended up being completely wrong. I never saw it coming. The relationships between each character were incredibly complex, which added so much more mystery to the story. This was definitely a book that captured my attention and kept me reading. However, I felt like the characters were not well fleshed out, and the perspective changed too much for my liking. Granted, we did get to read through the eyes of each character, but I felt that it changed too often. I also was not a fan of the detective character and the somewhat separate plot line that the book opened up with that included her. Overall, it was an interesting read that I would recommend, but only if you are looking for this kind of mystery.

First, I would like to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a free Kindle edition of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I feel as though I have read a lot of books set in the Hamptons, lately. Thankfully, returning to the Hamptons through Cate Holahan's eyes has been an incredible ride! Each time you think you have figured out whodunnit, evidence emerges pointing to the contrary.

Three couples have arrived at a beach house in the Hamptons on vacation. After an eventful and mentally-taxing first night for everyone, one of the couples discovers the body of one of the vacationers on the beach. One of the wives has been murdered. Could someone in their group of friends be capable of such brutality? Gabby, the detective on the case, is also working a rape case, and the deeper she digs, the more apparent it is that these two cases are linked in someway, and they are hitting much too close to home.

The timeline jumps back and forth between the events leading up to the killing and the investigation following it. No one is innocent. Everyone has a secret. Each of them are tangled in a web of deceit. But which of them could possibly be capable of murder?

Holahan expertly navigates the alternating timelines and keeps you guessing the entire time. An unputdownable page-turner. I can't stop thinking about it!

#netgalley #onelittlesecret

4.5 out of 5 stars

I want to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is told in a span of three days in third person. We cover day before, day of, and day after a murder Three couples gather at Glass Beach. As tensions among the friends mount you are not really surprised when someone is found dead. They do let us know it was one of the wives but we do not know which one it is at first. I have to say that this book really read like a modern day Agatha Christie.

One Little Secret by Cate Holahan is a great murder suspense novel that will keep you wanting more.

Description: Everyone has a secret. For some, it’s worth dying to protect. For others, it’s worth killing.
The glass beach house was supposed to be the getaway that Susan needed. Eager to help her transplanted family set down roots in their new town—and desperate for some kid-free conversation—she invites her new neighbors to join in on a week-long sublet with her and her workaholic husband. Over the course of the first evening, liquor loosens inhibitions and lips. The three couples begin picking up on the others' marital tensions and work frustrations, as well as revealing their own. But someone says too much. And the next morning one of the women is discovered dead on the private beach. Town detective Gabby Watkins must figure out who permanently silenced the deceased. As she investigates, she learns that everyone in the glass house was hiding something that could tie them to the murder, and that the biggest secrets of all are often in plain sight for anyone willing to look. A taut, locked room mystery with an unforgettable cast of characters, One Little Secret promises to keep readers' eyes glued to the pages and debating the blinders that we all put on in the service of politeness.

Susan decides to invite a few of the new neighbors to the beach house for a week long getaway. Everything starts off well, but by the next day of being at the beach house one of the women is found dead. A night of drinking and lose lips has led to someone taking matters into their own hands.

To find out who killed Rachel you need to read the novel, but let me tell you it is well worth it.

I was provided this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and I definitely give this book a 5 Star

Over the summer I fell into a reading slump. I was behind in everything - reading, reviewing, commenting - and I truly felt as though I needed to throw in the towel as a blogger and reviewer. And then I read One Little Secret. It completely turned everything around for me! I read the entire book within hours and immediately went on a search for all of Cate Holahan's books. I downloaded them and read them all as well. I was a fan! I was also out of my slump. Do I need to say more!?

Fine. One Little Secret is a marvelous "locked-room mystery." Susan wanted nothing more than a peaceful get-away at the beach. She invited a few other couples to join her and her husband at a beach house rental. Susan thought it would be a dream vacation for them, a time of fun and games and a way to reconnect with one another. She thought wrong - deadly wrong. A night of drinking leads to diminished inhibitions, secrets are revealed and the next morning one of them is found dead on the beach. Who wanted this person dead and why, more importantly how?

One Little Secret is well written, suspenseful to the end and is one of the best "locked room" mysteries I've read in a while. It very easily could have slipped into campy but the craftily worded plot never allows it to go there. While many have called this a "summer beach read" because it set at a holiday house at the beach, this is a mystery that will be a good read any time of the year. When you're finished with this one, go find Holahan's other books. You will enjoy them as well!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— One Little Secret by Cate Holahand (out now)
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Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free digital arc.
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Three neighbor couples. One vacation home. One dead body. Who’s dead? Who’s telling the truth? Who is the murderer?
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What I Loved: I loved Lies She Told by Holahand and this one lived up to my expectations. Told in alternating timelines that are within 24-48 hours of the vacation arrival, we are thrown into the lives of these couples. We know they aren’t good people— mostly— and most of them have something to hide. The pace was perfect never having a really down moment.
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What I Didn’t: I understood the tie in, but I didn’t love the tie in between the detective following up the party crime to the actual crime. I feel like the link the detective made was too far fetched and honestly kind of unnecessary. Leaving it how it was with a dif epilogue would have been a stronger ending in my opinion.
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What happens behind closed doors at a house with your new neighbors on the beach does not always go as planned. Susan and her family are new to town and decide once their kids are off to camp, that they will invite 2 other couples from their neighborhood to a cozy beach house to get to know each other and unwind. Three couples and an evening of drinking and overflowing secrets which are divulged leads to one of the wives being found murdered on the beach the next morning. Gabby, the detective, arrives to investigate and has a connection to one of the couples.

One Little Secret is written from different points of view and different time periods. It is told the day before the incident, the day of and the day after the incident. Some of the couples past is also discussed to help you understand and fill in the missing pieces. There are so many unlikable characters in this book but it makes it a total mystery to figure out who the villain might be. Everyone has a secret that is yet to be revealed. There is a slow build of the characters and helps to establish the connection and links between the characters and leads to an intense and surprising ending.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

What do you get when you have three yuppie couples, an expensive vacation house on a private beach and one secret they’ll do anything to keep? You get a rather predictable and even outlandish mystery called One Little Secret by Cate Holahan.

When the children are away, the adults play. After three couples’ children go off to summer camp, the parents all decide to take a trip to the Hamptons where they rent a house on the beach. Even thought they’re all neighbours, they really don’t know each other. On the first night, drama ensues — from arguing, secrets and then even murder.

The following morning, police are called to the beach where a body has been found, one of our vacationing neighbours. Detective Gabby Watkins is called to the scene who will have to unravel the private lives of a doctor, lawyer, an abusive husband, a workaholic and at least one person who’s having an affair. What she finds is that each of the vacationing adults has a secret — one someone might kill to keep quiet.

I guess you can describe this book as less of a thriller and more of a police procedural with a wee bit of a domestic drama thrown in. The story is told from multiple points of view and across three days — the day before, day of and day after the murder.

All the characters were very unlikeable and beyond irritating. I had the hardest time connecting with them, which deterred me from wanting to finish this book. But I cannot, not finish a book. So let’s add another couple of negatives to this pile — the pace is unbelievably slow and it is so wordy.

While this book definitely captured my attention, I mean, who doesn’t love a good whodunnit, I feel like I won’t remember this book. Even as the skeletons started tumbling out, and you realise these people are going to do anything to protect themselves, I knew exactly who did it relatively early on. Predictable and outlandish are the two words that stay with me when it comes to One Little Secret by Cate Holahan. I’d pass on this one if I were you!

Three couples go on vacation together while their children are away at camp. They won't make it through the first night before one of them is murdered. I tore through this book pretty quick. This was a fun, addictive read where everyone is a suspect with their own motive for wanting this neighbor dead. Highly recommend.

Three couples, all neighbours, go on holiday in the Hampton's in order to get to know each other a bit better as one couple are new to the area. One wife ends up murdered on the very first evening. Who out of the remaining five did it?
We meet the six and the book flashes between "Day Of" and "Day After". We very quickly discover that each person has hidden secrets they don't want any of the others to discover. That first evening, fueled by wine, some of these secrets pop out with devastating effects.
Somehow DS Gabby Watkins must unravel these secretive threads to uncover both the murderer and the motive. Along with investigating the murder, she must also get to the bottom of an alleged date-rape at a party with under-age girls where one of the six neighbours may have been at too.
When the investigation takes a turn closer to home than Gabby ever thought things get even more intriguing.
A fast, gripping read with many twists, turns and surprises.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity of reading this book.

This one was an okay read. I think, in my mind, I was expecting a mystery and more suspense. This turned out to be much more about abuse and the ways that women are manipulated, over powered and hurt. It was tough a times and not at all what I had expected the story to be. The MC's job as the only female that is shoved on to every case where some woman is weeping or whining or crying was disappointed and frustrating.

I also thought the beginning was jarring. I was immediately thrown into the families at a camp drop off where they are just name dropping all the kids, husbands and wives. I had no idea who was who and that confusing beginning (plus keeping up with the officers life and their interactions) was overwhelming and definitely kept me from liking the story as much as I could since it took me so long to sort who was who and how they were all tied together. I wish I'd liked this one more.

steves_reads
4.5/5 - We had been eagerly anticipating #onelittlesecret by one of our favourite authors @cateholahan and it did not disappoint! Twisty psychological thriller that kept us guessing right until the end (and increased our kilometres on our walks because we wanted to keep listening!) Long walks and staying up late reading = one tired dog! 😴 🐕 #books #readingwithmyears #reading #audible #audiblebooks #dogs #dogsreading #dogsreadingbooks #psychologicalthriller #mystery #stayeduplatereading #netgalley