One of the best books I’ve read in a while. Loved it.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

I enjoyed this book and the many twists and turns. However I feel like the character of Eric wasn’t fully developed and was not completely believable.

LITTLE WHITE SECRETS has been a roller coaster, not for a second allowing me to anticipate events. It is an enthralling family drama I could not put down.

Emily’s life is picture perfect with a wonderful husband, a striving career and two adorable children – a tennis champion, Daniel and a very quiet teenage girl, Zara. She couldn’t wish for more, some would say. But when her fourteen year old daughter starts hanging out with the wrong people, it all goes downhill.

All of a sudden, Zara is skipping school, taking drugs and hangs out with the exact people you wouldn’t wish your child to even meet. And, as Emily’s marriage seems solid, she needs her husband more than ever but he proves to be unreliable and hiding a very dark secret that turns her life upside down. Her marriage lasted all these years through lies that are now tearing her apart and I have to admit that I thought this will be a story with no survivors or one where the bad guy wins.

I can definitely say that this terrifying story will grip the hearts of every mother and wife out there. All throughout this novel deals with addiction, infidelity and bad choices, teen drama, mental health and loss getting you more and more involved. As the events unravel, the reader receives shock after shock with each new discovery more painful the previous. I have to say that Mason did such a good job portraying each character. They are all complex, far from perfect and not easy to like but most certainly suited for the plot.

This novel is full of twists and turns, of secrets divulged as you dive into the story and I have to admit that I had times when I had to stop and get a grip. As soon as I went over one shock I had to get back, desperate to know what happens next. So if you are looking for a five star domestic drama that will keep you hooked, grab LITTLE WHITE SECRETS by Carol Mason

What a wonderful surprise this book was! A page turner that keeps up the suspense throughout, with relatable characters and a story that will grip the heart of any wife and mother of teens.
I highly recommend it!

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Emily’s family is picture-perfect. She has a star in the making son, Daniel, who excels in tennis and a daughter Zara, who is quiet and pliable when it comes to doing whatever her parents want. She has been married to Eric for twenty years and of course, they have had their issues, but who hasn’t? They are such a perfect family that a newspaper wants to do a special report on them because of their son, and they play their parts perfectly, because they are, after all, the perfect family.

But flawlessness has a way of unravelling in the most unexpected ways. Zara becomes friends with the new girl at school, Bethany, a girl who is a little rough around the edges. A lot rough. And she makes Emily feel uneasy because her pliable daughter starts to change, and not in the best of ways. And Eric is behaving oddly. Only Daniel seems to be acting as normal. And somehow, ever so slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, life starts to become unlivable. Zara is acting out, and the ringleader is always Bethany. Eric is drinking more than is good for him. Daniel is losing tennis matches.

And Emily finds herself torn in how to react. Eric is of no support when Zara goes off the deep end. Emily finds the support she desperately needs in the form of her neighbour Steve, a widower and quite possibly attracted to her, as she may be to him. And then life gets out of control and there is no telling how it's going to end for this once ideal of families.

Deceptions, deceit, cruelty and confusion are all interwoven in this novel that deals with addiction, infidelity and bad choices that watch as a family implodes in slow motion. Its as if the reader is watching a fatal car accident happen right before their eyes, each new revelation more painful than the last. Emily is forced to confront the lies that have held her family together and the lies that will now tear her family apart and there is an extraordinarily strong possibility that there will be no survivors.

Mason has written a novel that is powerful and painful and gripping all at the same time. There are times when the surprises are so gut-wrenching it's necessary to put the book down and remind yourself that it's only a novel. The characters are well-drawn and capable of making you invest in them emotionally. The only way to describe the way the family careens off the rails is stupefying. The sad part of this novel is that despite it being so brutal, it is totally believable, and all too often played out in one way or another every day. Perhaps that’s why the emotional intensity of the piece works so well.

Trigger warning, this novel deals with alcoholism.

You have to read this book.

5☆ An Enthralling Dark Domestic Drama, I Couldn't Put Down!

Emily and Eric have a lovely home and the perfect family but Eric spends alot of time away from home working and he is clearly hiding lots of things from Emily. His behaviour towards her starts to deteriorate especially when he turns to drink to get him through the week!

Zara (14yrs old) has always been quiet and sensitive. Unlike her older brother Daniel (16yrs old) who plays Championship Tennis and is the current Winter Cup Winner. Zara always seems to go under the radar, until she meets Bethany!

Zara meets ‘Bethany when she knocks on Emily's door with her mum asking for charitable donations for abused women.
But something about ‘Bethany & her mother feel off with Emily. She just can't put her finger on it.

So the last person she expects to see Zara hanging out at home with is ‘Bethany.

But the more Zara hangs around with Bethany the more Zara's behaviour rapidly changes. Sneaking around, drinking, being deceitful, being rude.....But just what is so appealing about Bethany.

Slowly Emily's perfect world is crumbling around her and she has no clue what to do.
Can Emily find a way to fix her family before it's too late?

One character I did adore was Otis the Lurcher, what a sweetheart.

Little White Secrets is such a thrilling, Pacy, domestic drama, I devoured it in two nights.
It's a lil suspenseful, dark, gripping, intriguing, enthralling and a Page Turner.
The story deals with mental health, grief, deceit, addiction, plenty of teen angst, family relationships and friendships.
The characters are brilliantly portrayed, complex, flawed not all are likeable but perfect for the plot.
I loved the cleverly plotted twists and turns as the story progresses, secrets are divulged.

So if you are looking for a gripping, tense, domestic drama, that will keep you hooked, has plenty of teen angst, secrets and deceit then I can't recommend reading Little White Secrets enough!


Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

How many secrets unroll out of the first secret? When Emily’s life starts to unravel, she has no idea what the root of the issue is. Her work, her husband and daughter seem to be spiraling out of control. Can she figure it out and pull it all back together?

While I figured out some, the rest kept me guessing. A solid read.

Carol Mason writes with the brilliant forensic complexity of Cath Staincliffe and the searing emotional veracity of Liane Moriarty in her latest addictive thriller, Little White Secrets.

Perfection is a word that could be used to describe Emily Rossi and her lifestyle. She seems to lead a life straight out of the glossy pages of an inspirational magazine with a great husband, a thriving career, a beautiful house in the country and two wonderful children. Emily seems to be living the dream until her daughter Zara brings a cuckoo in the nest that ends up up-ending all of their lives forever. Emily’s family starts spiralling out of control with Zara beginning to stay out late, take drugs and making unsuitable friendships. Emily is at her wit’s end and she needs her husband more than ever. But Eric seems to be too concerned with his job in London and keeping his drinking habit a secret to care…

Secrets seems to be desperate to tumble out of the Rossi’s closet. After years of perfection being the gold standard of their lives, when a dark and twisted secret is uncovered, Emily’s life is once again turned upside down. With her family’s life to protect, can Emily save her damaged family? Even if by doing so might mean keeping her own dark secret from them?

A chilling family drama about the lengths a mother goes to for the sake of her family, Little White Secrets is not your average thriller. Incredibly tense, brilliantly suspenseful and with twists and turns galore, Little White Secret is a white knuckle edge of your seat kind of book you will struggle to put down – just make sure you lock all your doors and windows first!

A brilliant thriller that is a cut above from the usual domestic noir fare, Little White Secrets is a nail-biting chiller from the talented Carol Mason.

Little White Secrets is gripping, tense and full of drama! I was hooked from the beginning reading this story as it alternates with a dual plot line. Emily appears to have it all – solid marriage, nice house, good job and two children. But what happens when you are not sure you can trust your husband, you can no longer relate to your rebellious teenage daughter, a mysterious woman and her daughter suddenly appear and a newly widowed doctor moves in across the street. Who is holding secrets, how will they impact your perfect life and which are more than little while lies?

This book wasn't what I expected.

Nope.

It was more. I'm not a fan of family suspense but I decided to give this a chance. A bingeable tale.

This book is really well written.

I read this as an ARC.

It didn't pull me in at first but I am the type of reader that can't stop reading a book and I'm very glad I am for this book because the secrets (from the title) that unfold throughout the book were really good. I wasn't expecting any of them.

There were times in the book where I found myself gasping and saying 'no don't do it'. I was invested in the characters. I felt sorry for Zara as she was teen going through teen stuff and then all the other stuff on top and getting into the wrong crowd of people because she seemingly just wanted to fit in.

Relationships, family and secrets a plenty in the book. I really liked it.

The writing of this book really captivated me. It’s a good mystery and has a twist that is always welcome. I guessed the secret Eric was keeping from his wife but felt that the characters, story and writing were good enough to keep me reading and enjoying the book. I highly recommend Little White Secrets to anyone looking for an engaging suspense book that is filled with strong, memorable characters. Ms. Mason's clever look at how people are not always who they seem creates a story that keeps you turning the pages. What secrets are they hiding and could those secrets hurt us? Who can we really trust and do we really know those people closest to us that we love? This is a psychological family drama about deep secrets, real fear, love, and losses. Right up to the last page, I was pulled in, engaged, and could not put this book down. If you enjoy suspenseful stories, this is a book you want to read. I look forward to reading each new book this author puts out!

As Little White Secrets begins, the Rossi family is posing for pictures to accompany a feature article in a glossy magazine. Eric, the father who has a temporary job in London, is perhaps a bit too effusive. Mother Emily, a college professor, is proud of her family but worried about her appearance in her new green dress. Daniel, the son and superstar tennis player, is the subject of the article. His younger sister Zara, a bit overweight and uncomfortable with publicity, stands by awkwardly. In the magazine, six months later, they appear to be a perfect family. Things are not always what they seem.

The Rossis deal well with superficial problems, ignoring the serious fractures in their relationship that threaten to break it apart. While Emily deals with a career threatening situation and the handsome doctor next door, she ignores Eric’s manipulations and absences. When Janet and her daughter Bethany enter their lives, things begin to unravel. Zara falls under Bethany’s spell and her personality changes almost immediately. While Emily tries desperately to reconnect with Zara and distance her from Bethany’s friends, it becomes obvious that Eric has major hidden problems of his own. The explosive conclusion is both satisfying and sad.

Little White Secrets is a 5 star read. While I would have liked to see Daniel as a more developed character, the pressure his sports success puts on the family helps to explain why problems have developed. No one in the Rossi family is without fault. Their mistakes have been hidden too long and as Carol Mason slowly reveals them, you realize how much damage has been done. This is family drama at its best.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing and Carol Mason for this ARC.

3-4 Stars rounded up

The Rossi family seem to have the perfect life. Father Eric has a good job in London, mother Emily has a part time lecturer job at Leeds University, son Daniel is a promising young tennis player and daughter Zara seems to be doing well. Within six months their lives start to implode revealing the cracks they are papered over in the last few years. It’s apparent Eric is hiding several things, Emily’s work life is about to undergo a worrying upheaval but most alarming of all is that Janet and daughter Bethany Brown Exeter their loves and Bethany’s malign influence over fellow teenager Zara is to become frightening in its power. The story is told by Emily and Eric.

The characters are well portrayed and some are likeable such as Emily and Daniel. Janet and Bethany are strange, both are quite rude and abrupt and very easy to picture. The teenagers are their behaviour is well depicted and shows very clearly how easy it is for lives to be utterly derailed extremely rapidly when one person exerts control over another. Eric is delusional about a lot of things and is only truthful when he has no choice but he is interesting. His behaviour in the past shows that one wrong decision can have a tsunami effect even years later. The plot is believable, the pace is good and it’s well written and their spiralling out of control lives make for entertaining reading! There is tension and suspense between characters which comes across clearly. The ending is surprising and unexpected and though not necessarily morally right it is believable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for a copy of the book.

Overall, an easy read which shines a light in how seemingly perfect lives can be uprooted by an unlucky chance with resulting destruction of a family.

FirstLine ~ PROLOUGE: 'Zara?' I shout, as I stare at my face in the mirror at the bottom of the stairs.



This book was a quite the read. It had a lot of twists and turns that I certainly did not see coming. It was an intense domestic thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat! I loved the characters and how dynamic all the relationships were. You definitely had some breadcrumbs laid out for you, but you never quite knew where the intense intersections of the plot/subplots were going to come to a head. Brilliant!

To me it remains a bit of a secret why other people find this a great book.
I mean the writing is great, but the story never really hooks me. From the first few chapters I already knew where the story was going and how it might end. For this type of book it’s not what you want.

Emily seems to have a perfect family, but in the first few chapters you already know this absolutely isn’t the case. The only character who seems to be ‘perfect’ is her son, but he only rarely makes an appearance. The story is about her daughter, Zara, and her husband Eric. Zara seems quiet and a thoughtful soul until she brings home a new friend who sets in motion a slew of life changing events for this family.

As I mentioned before I found this book unsurprising and highly predictable. You’d expect twists and turn and surprising secrets and reveals in this book, but it didn’t have it for me.

Well-written, well-paced look at a family splintering under alcoholism, infidelity, and deception. Dark and plot-driven, with few sympathetic characters among the adults. Frequent readers of thrillers may find the twists predictable.

Overall a well written story with good characters although for me it was a bit of a slow burner but I think that is because my main reads are psychological thrillers.

Not sure I would read more from this author but this is purely my own opinion.

Overall I enjoyed this. I predicted most of the twists though but it still highlighted the drama around teenagers and family secrets. How little white 'secrets' are actually just lies.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy.

Little White Secrets is well written.
It’s captivating domestic drama, hooks you in from the beginning chapters, into a fictional but realistic world that you feel you’re there, living the characters lives.
There’s a bit of everything in this tale, deception, addiction, mental health issues, lies, teenage angst and relationship. It pulls at your heart strings
I really enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it and will definitely read more of this author's books in the future.