When three couples rent a beach house for part of the summer on the shores of Long Island what could go wrong? When a body is found on the beach each of the guests become a suspect. The book is told across three days the day before, day of and the day after which I enjoyed. Every couple has a secret that they don’t want revealed. Detective Gabby Watkins begins her investigation and she’s refusing to stop her investigation until she figures out the truth and what really happened. I absolutely loved her character she was a strong female who definitely can handle her own. This book had everything rich families, beautiful wives, spoiled kids who were sent to camp, murder and secrets. When Gabby begins her investigation of a possible drugging and rape of an au pair she never imagined it would have a connection to the body on the beach and to the wealthy couples at the beach house, soon she’s investigating infidelity, abuse and possible legal entanglements and how is it all connected? I give this a solid four stars. The author did an amazing job holding the readers attention. I love how all the story lines were connected and the ending definitely had me saying WOW!

One Little Secret by Cate Holahan is a book that will suck you in from the start. I read this one quite quickly, needing to know how it was all going to play out. Nobody is who they seem in the beginning and the twists keep coming. A great, fast paced read for anybody who likes a good whodunnit.

3 couples, a weeks holiday with no children in a beach house in the Hamptons. A chance to relax and get to know new people - what could go wrong? Murder - that is what! Copious amounts of alcohol has all the secrets being spilled - work stress, martial tensions, kids - you name it. In the morning a woman is dead on their private beach - who wanted their secrets kept secret that badly? Enter Detective Gabby Watkins - an investigator who is like a dog with a bone and determined to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

I always love the suffocating feeling of murders taking place away from home. This thrilling whodunit had an amazing cast of characters, and I loved having a smart, female detective at the helm. What a great read!

“Marriage was like a poker game in that the stakes increased the longer each player sat at the table. After a dozen years with the same person, the pot became so large that’s no one could walk away over anything less than a monumental display of cheating. All other grievances had to be shrugged off.”

Love and marriage, love and marriage, they go together like a horse and carriage or perhaps more like a long walk of a short pier as we learn in this tale.

A kid-free vacation (every parents dream vacation, am I right?😂) turns into a murderous adventure then the inevitable mayhem ensues in, One Little Secret.

This is a solid, well written read as expected by the very talented Holahan. Yet, it’s sadly not my favorite read of her books so far but still deserving of 4 stars.❤️

How well do you know your neighbor? This murder mystery puts that question front and center. Three couples that live next to each other take a beach vacation together while their kids are at camp. One of the wives ends up murdered on the beach. Who did it and how many of the people in the house had a motive to do it? A great mystery that makes you stop and think about what you choose to know about your neighbors.

This title just did not do it for me. I guess, overall, I just didn't find any affinity for any of the characters, so that makes it a bit difficult to get into the novel as a whole. I think there are many better examples in this genre.

These suburban thrillers are becoming a favorite of mine. I love trying to figure out all the secrets that are being contained in the little housing divisions. Often there are more than one and they get juicer as the story goes one. This book was no exception. It honestly had me guessing right up until the end.

Susan is new in town. Her family moved in support of her husband's company and Susan is trying to get settled with her twins boys. A week away with the new neighbors isn't exactly a relaxing vacation, but it will give everyone a chance to get to know them an vice versa. Or that's what Susan's hopes were at least.

After the kids are all off to the respective camps and the adults have arrived at their home for the week tension starts to fill the air fast. It seems most in the house are hiding something. Something that effects one or more people that are in the house. Something that ends up killing one of the house guests, ensuring a closer look at each remaining person until the suspect is found.

A very interesting and entertaining read.

I really enjoy books that make you question the behavior of the "innocent," and because it's unclear for most of the book who is responsible for what and whose complicity contributed to events, this definitely falls into that category. I compelling, fast read.

Pros: Interesting storytelling, easy to follow plot, twists and surprises along the way, and ending ties up well.

Cons: While a decent read, it was also a bit forgettable.

Enjoyed.

Affluent couples keeping secrets and committing crimes during a beach holiday in the Hamptons...

Told in a third person perspective over a 3-day period (day before, day of, and day after), this is a super quick read...and an addictive one! Although the characters (three separate couples) are mostly ass-hats, they all had moments during which I found myself relating to them in some way. Moments when I found them to be beautifully human and empathetic. And although I was fairly certain, following chapter 2, who the killer was, I found it didn't really detract from the story. There were a couple times I second-guessed myself, but ultimately ended up being correct.

Honestly, my biggest gripe with the book...the dimwit detective, Gabby Watkins.

"Oh, you had a motive? Well, you're under arrest. Oh, you mean you have an alibi? Never mind then."

Then she moved onto the next person.

"Oh, you had a motive? Well, you're under arrest. Oh, you mean you couldn't have? Never mind then."


I mean, come on. We're really supposed to believe this woman made sargeant? She's a total nincompoop. Beyond that, I found the rate of escalation to murder in this novel a bit implausible. One minute these couples are dropping their kids off at camp, the next they're committing murder. It just didn't ring true to me.

This has the potential to be an excellent mystery/thriller, with some mild tweaking. As it stands, however, I can't give it more than 3.5 stars.

**Much appreciation to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Cate Holahan for the advanced reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: July 9, 2019
Review published on Goodreads: June 20, 2019

This is a good choice for your next vacation read if you are a fan of domestic thrillers. In this book we follow the events at a beach house when 3 couples rent a beach house together. When one of the vacationers ends up dead on the beach, Gabby ( a local police officer) must wade through the secrets to determine what happened. I found it entertaining and also liked that it carried an important message.

After sending their kids to camp, three couple share a week-long sublet with a private beach. Susan set it all up. She is new in town and desperately wants to make friends with the neighbors for her sack and the sack of her two kids, one of which is autistic.
Over the course of the first evening, as the alcohol flows freely, it is obvious that there are martial tensions and work frustrations between the couples. Before the morning comes one of the woman is found dead on the beach.

I enjoyed the story and it held my attention as the plot unfolded and the reader puts together who did it and why. I had a hard time separating the characters at first which made it a little hard to follow but after a few chapters it did clear up. Overall I would recommend as the story is quite entertaining.

People who enjoy the thrillers with unexpected twists and turns, will definitely be glad to have reached for that book!

(Also posted on my GR page)

4 solid stars

One Little Secret was good. End of story lol.

I didn't throw that word carelessly, and after a string of yea-ok and bad psychological thriller books, this one was a breath of fresh air. This book was a love child of Big Little Lies and The Girl on the Train, which, IMO, was a good indication.

One Little Secret was professionally written with characters (finally!) I did care about, a plot than managed to keep me swiping the pages, and a satisfying twist. The ending was a bit... how do I put this? rushed? draggy? But overall, this was good.

To be honest, this book left me quite confused, and I am still not sure how I feel about it.

At a very high level, this book is about three couples who are neighbors and decide to rent a beach house together. However, after a drunken night, one of them is found dead on the beach, and we follow as detectives try to piece together what happened that fateful night. Although all the couples have secrets, which ones are worth killing for?

This was a quick summer read, but covered serious topics such as abuse and underage drinking. However, I really wanted to like it, but I am not sure I actually do. It felt like Cate Holahan just tried to fit too much into one book, and then rushed to connect all the dots (some predictable and others slightly less so). I also did not like the ending, which usually brings down my review. Overall, I greatly appreciate what the author was trying to do, but it fell slightly short for me.

Thank you to netgalley and crooked lane books for this ARC.

Three couples renting a house, boozing it up, one murder, throw in an underage drinking party and this sums up this novel. The story was not quite believable but did keep you wondering who murdered Rachel. There's not just one secret but many that will come to light. Story didn't have a lot of depth but was a quick read.

Susan and Nadal have recently moved to the neighbourhood. Their kids and those of their neighbours are around the same age. Susan decides she wants to get to know the neighbours better (Ben and Rachel, and Louis and Jenny), so they plan a trip together while the kids are away at camp. On the first morning, one of them is found dead on the beach.

I really enjoyed this. I thought it was paced well, and I definitely wanted to keep reading. It’s told by way of “The day before”, “The day of”, and “The day after”, referring to the murder, but I thought it was pretty easy to keep track of where I was. In opposition to the title, there were actually quite a few secrets going on in this book! Of course, this is one with all the twists and turns.

Have you ever read a book and hated every character in it ? this is one of those stories, at least for me. And to me that means the author has written a really good story. If you can feel that passionately about characters in a book. These are horrible people. Liars,, Cheaters, perhaps even murderers ? but who is the killer and why ? 3 couples take a vacation together and all their secrets and personal problems come to the forefront. And a woman is murdered. There is another story that ties into the major one involving young girls and a date rape Find out how they all tie together in the latest cleverly written novel by Cate Holahan.

One Little Secret is a murder mystery turned into a human behavior study of what happens when troubled marriages, money and career, and overwhelming parental duties collide when three married couples end up under one roof. What was supposed to be a relaxing, adults only vacation turned into a murderous affair night one, but what the reader learns very quickly is that the murder is only the tip of the iceberg.

Review posted to Goodreads and Instagram 6/14.

There's a spot, usually about 2/3 through a book where I either don't want it to end (because I'm enjoying it so much) or I can't wait for it to. This one was the latter. I didn't like or (worse) care about the characters. I found them all equally despicable. They were all shallow people, only interested in themselves or possibly, their children and of course, money. They seemingly had no redeeming qualities. Huge disappointment! #OneLittleSecret #NetGalley