I really enjoyed One Little Secret by Cate Holahan. This is about three neighbor couples who rent a vacation home together when their kids go to camp for the summer. Unknown to all, each has hidden motives and connections. Susan simply wanted to develop friendships to make her autistic son life better but the rest are not quite as innocent. After a night of drinking and an awkward argument one of the spouses is found dead on the beach.
The twist is not unexpected but done in a way that leaves the reader satisfied.

I did feel the story line with the au pair needed more of a conclusion. It was thrown in as a plot device and we are left with questions.

I look forward to reading Cate Holahan’s previous books “Lies She Told” and “ The Widowers’ Wife” as well.

Thank you to #netgalley and #crookedlanebooks for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed reading One Little Secret. It's a Agatha Christie like Murder Mystery, though there are more serious than I remember from AC, issues women are fighting against for ages and louder in the last few years. Two of these things are domestic violence and rape next to a lot of others things like women betraying other women instead of helping each other.
Though the heavier things aren't there to create an voyeuristic effect, they nonetheless aren't that easy to take in. Especially when you are a woman you recognize all the mechanics and they might at best make you feel angry or shake your emotions – depending on how close you are to these forms of violence.

Other than that, this book kept me guessing at who the murderer was. The story hides it's secret quite good. There are six characters who all in time seem guilty so I changed my suspicions every now and then. One Little Secret actually has a lot of small secrets and also some messages both genders should take to heart.

This book is very well written. It pulled me in almost right away and kept me interested until the very end. I will definitely be recommending this to the customers at my work!

Thank You Net Galley, Crooked Lane Books and Cate Holahan for a chance to review One Little Secret.

A new family moves into the neighborhood and with an attempt to bond with others invites the other 2 couples for a joint vacation at a beach house with the kids away at camp. Everything is glassy and perfect on the surface but scratch it, lies and secrets emerge. There's an extramarital affair, there's another imagined affair that causes anguish and pain, there's physical and emotional abuse between a couple and to top it all there's a lawsuit against two of them forced on by the third. All the tensions and frustrations of marriage and friendships break open and leaves one dead with all the others as suspects.
This is a very engaging and compelling thriller by Cate Holahan, I loved how each and every character has been flushed out beautifully, the insecurities and vulnerabilities that threaten the self esteem of a person playing havoc in life, and the effects of alcohol drinking with strangers. There's much being discussed in the book but it can be read smoothly and effortlessly and that was impressive. This is my first book by the author and now am off searching for all the others and I am hoping Gabby Watkins follows in another series.

One Little Secret is the perfect title for this book. Three couples decide to rent a beach house for the week and what ensues is mayhem. The author really develops the couples relationships with each other and about each character. It delves into what we see on the surface and what is really going on. The intermingling of wives and husbands is well written. Add to this story is Sergeant Gabby and her drive to find the killer of a vacation gone wrong.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

I enjoyed this book with an intriguing storyline which keeps your interest. The slow reveal of the truths and lies and the extra details about the relationships between the characters add to the suspense. I like that this book made me think about who did it and why right up until the end. A great book.

One Little Secret is a book that kept me guessing. It had some cleverly written moments that I found to be very original. The story revolves around three different couples and a detective, and switched perspectives depending on the chapter. Initially, it was challenging for me to keep all the characters straight. The book also jumps around between “before,” “the day of,” and “after” a specific incident. These elements were somewhat confusing until I adjusted, and developed a better grasp on who was who. Once I had it figured out, the story flowed better but I know some people will not enjoy this writing style. It really had to think to keep everyone straight in my mind and it disrupted the flow at times. However, the story itself was one that really kept me hooked and made for a excellent quick read. It’s a story full of connections that readers will crave for the mystery and drama. Trigger warning for domestic violence.

I’ve finally broken my NetGalley rut! This book started off a bit slow but got more interesting as the story went off. Didn’t blow me away, but was a good enough read that I’d give Cate Holahan another chance. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

4/5

The story right away sucks you in. You get to know a little bit about the characters and start to learn their secrets and then *spoiler* one of them dies. The plot reminded me of “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty. The fact that all the characters were intertwined together was great. Definitely recommend. As good, if not better than her last book “The Lies We Told.” Great up until even the last page.

This book surprised me in the best way. The first few pages were good, but I was wondering if I was going to actually be into it. Rich parents, pretty wives, snobby kids going away to summer camp. OH well let me tell you...take those things and a few pages later add in lots of wine, a beach house, neighbors, and a ton of secrets and watch the magic explode!
This one of those whodunnit books but nothing I guessed was right! And getting to the "dunnit" part was so fun. The writing was so top notch and the plot was perfectly evil and mysterious. I loved getting to know each character and some of them I became attached to.
The setting is beautiful - a beach house with a pool and a grill and short walk to the beach.

I also give 5 stars for the cover art. The cover is what made me choose this book at first. A broken wine glass just screams "shit is about to go down inside this book".
This was a 5 star read for me.
Thank you #NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

One Little Secret by Cate Holahan is a great book that I read in one day. The plot is as follows; a group of three couples go on vacation together, renting a house on the beach. One of them turns up dead on the beach. This is a great whodunit, with a cast of characters that are both real and vulnerable. One of the main themes in the story is domestic violence, and that was depicted well as an underlying part of the story. While the main story line may seem a bit played, with wildly successful people vacationing on the beach, there is a sinister side to this story, that trades on the notion that generally all is not as it appears in most people's lives. People keep secrets and sometimes those secrets are fatal. Fantastic book that kept me reading as the chapters shifted from one character to another, and one time frame to another. Highly recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Quite the page tuner One Little Secret is a clever thriller with lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. Looking forward to reading more by this author!

This book was a pleasant surprise. At first I thought I was going to have a hard time keeping track of the characters, since I have a difficult time with that if there are too many. No problem! The characters were well developed, the storyline was well described but not overly so. Quick read, kept me guessing til the end

There are SO many secrets in this book! Not just one. And that’s a good thing. Parallel story lines eventually come together but it’s a wild ride until you get there. Three couples share a vacation rental at the beach and that’s when the secrets start coming out along with a murder. This reminded me of a story Agatha Christie would have written if she were alive today. Craftily plotted with really interesting characters. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy for review.

This book was about three couples who rent a house in the Hamptons on the beach for a getaway after their children leave for sleep away camp. They all live in the same neighborhood in Westchester, New York. The book is called One Little Secret but it appears they all have secrets and such intertwined lives with many secrets amongst them. In any event, the day after they get to the beach, one of the wives is found dead. The story goes from the detective and back and forth from the remaining two couples and the husband of the dead wife. As the book progresses you begin to see what is going on with the other couples and the husband of the dead wife. This book was well executed and kept me guessing right till the end who the culprit was and even in the epilogue there was another twist. This book kept me interested right till the end and if you like psychological thrillers, then I recommend this book. I would like to thank net galley for the ARC of this book for an honest review.

A twisted tale of three couples who rent a glass beach house for a week's vacation. Beware: there is more than one little secret amongst these neighbors and friends. One of them ends up dead on the first night and the remaining people are all reasonable suspects. What follows is a tense and thrilling ride to the end.

One Little Secret is actually a misnomer.....there are many secrets in this new novel. There are two parallel story lines in the book. The story begins when a police officer, Gabby, investigates the possible rape of a young girl who was, apparently, given drugs at a party on the beach. The second story line involves three couples who have agreed to share a beach house while their children are away at camp. The couples are Jenny and Louis, Rachel and Ben and Susan and Nadal, all neighbors back home. Soon Gabby is investigating the drowning, or murder, of one of the women sharing the beach house.

There are lots of secrets that are slowly uncovered, ie. infidelity, abuse and legal entanglements. The investigation takes a few unpredictable turns, including one that hits Gabby a little too close to home.

I really enjoyed the book. It was well-written and held my interest. Though the story had several running story lines and jumped back and forth in time, the author made it very easy to follow. I would like to read other books by this author.

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC!
This was a great, twisty mystery with all of the elements I want in a thriller: sex, lies, twists, and a good, female cop.

**4 Stars**

In Cate Holahan's One Little Secret, three couples who are neighbors decide to rent out a gorgeous beach house for a getaway. By the end of the trip, one person is dead and the remaining "friends" are all murder suspects.

The book reads like a modern twist on an Agatha Christie novel; though the book's title suggests only one person has a secret, it appears as though every person on the trip is hiding something that could easily incriminate them. There are affairs - including ones between not just one but possibly TWO couples on the trip; there are financial issues between the couples; and, finally, there is a pending lawsuit involving two couples on the trip.  Yes, this is absolute recipe for disaster, to say the least.

Why any of these couples would willingly go on vacation with each other is beyond me, but it sure makes for a suspenseful read.

Readers should be aware that there is domestic violence in this book, and the author has dealt with it in the most delicate, critical way possible. It's clear she has researched the psychology and manipulation involved in domestic violence. In this case, the women who is being abused is successful, smart, and has a fantastic career; her husband, the abuser, also has a successful career as a physician. He uses his career and training to mask the violence he is inflicting on his wife; his training grants him the knowledge of how to 1) conceal the bruises/physical trauma he causes, and 2) provide medications to his wife so that she can cope with the pain of abuse.

The ending of this book was satisfying, if not emotional. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy suspense, thrillers, and crime novels.

I was really excited to get a copy of Holahan's book because I really enjoyed her last book, Lies She Told, which I reviewed. If you haven't read that book, I highly recommend it (I gave it 5/5 stars!). Thank you to NetGalley, Cate Holahan, and Crooked Lane Books for an advanced reader copy of One Little Secret!