Told in the POVs of wife and husband, Claire and Duncan, in which they are talking about a series of events that occurred to them. So much secrets and deception that it could of been such a better read but fell flat for me. I wanted more thrill since this book was suppose to be a thriller/mystery but I did not get any of that.

A suspense novel needs to feel suspenseful and either have a fast pace or be intriguing enough to make the slow burn worthwhile. Unfortunately, The House of Secrets felt slow and confusing. I normally like dual timelines but the before/after format without knowing what the event was at first didn't work for me. I found myself just reading to find out how it ended, which is never a good sign.

I went into this expecting a thriller and was a little disappointed when it turned out to be more of a slow burn mystery. There are a few too many POVs with different characters and different timelines, making the story difficult to follow.

I wouldn't really put it as a thriller, more like a suspense. It is certainly a slow burner. I had to take a few breaks and read something else in between because I tended to get a little frustrated going back and forth through the chapters.Next, then six weeks back, then six weeks back and several POVS. It was very hard work. The story was good...not fantastic at the end, but ok. I was just twisting myself in knots with too much brain power.But the ending was good.

I enjoyed reading this book and loved the plot. It was a great thrilling read that I brought on vacation!

This book started out really well. The back and forth from before and after was so irritating and did not flow or sit well with me. This overshadowed the whole entire book for me.

Errr.....
Sorry to Sophie Draper, this is a one star book for me. It is not my favorite. I couldn't figure out what on earth was going on. Seems like it was the common idea of everyone else who read this.

Thank you the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.
To be honest, I really did not enjoy this book. I didn’t care much for the characters. I couldn’t get into the storyline. It was a confusing story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest. Unfortunately this book was a do not finish for me which is not something that I generally do. I only made it about a quarter of the way through before the complete suspension of reality became too much.

Claire and Duncan are married, and have son, Joe. As Duncan is the Clinical Director of a veterinarian's office, he's well poised to supply her with anything she wants.

But all is not well between them. Claire feels she is married to a stranger and strongly suspects he's having an affair with a woman he works with.

Finding out about Duncan's secret life, she's determined to leave her husband and take her son with her. She's not sure what happened, but her son is missing .

(Book Blurb) Alone in an isolated cottage, hiding from Duncan, Claire tries to unravel the lies they’ve told each other, and themselves. Something happened to her family … But can she face the truth?

The suspense is nicely paced, with deftly drawn characters, warts and all. Twists and turns keep the reader riveted.

My one complaint ... there are many pages concerning animal abuse. Being in a vet's office, I can see where that would be a part of the story ... but it seemed too much, even though not extremely graphic.

Many thanks to the author / HarperCollins Publishers / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This book was a real struggle for me, very slow. I didn't get the thriller vibe I was expecting and overall felt let down from my expectations.

Overall, this book was just too slow for me and didn’t really capture my interest. There were numerous times that I almost DNFed, but I persevered to get through to the end. I also found the back and forth between the before and after and between Claire and Duncan to be confusing. It just wasn’t as cohesive as I would have liked to see. However, I will say I did like the ending, everything finally came together in a way that made sense, although there was one surprise that fit in to it well and I was satisfied with that.

The House of Secrets was not what I expected. At first I thought it was kind of a spooky story, which I am not into, but it really had some meat to it. The author’s Before and After chapters were very different from what I have ever read but it kept me reading as I wanted to know what was going to happen.. The characters were realistic and I really wanted Claire to be happy. Not to give the story away, the husband was not what I expected but It is a very realistic persona that the author concluded with. The conclusion was very realistic. I recommend this book!!!

Pretty good book. A bit slow, but a good read. Different than most books I’ve read. Enjoyed it. Will read more from this author.

This book may not be for everyone, as it has some pretty hard parts to read, about animal abuse. So, if this triggers you, I would definitely skip this. Other than that I did find it to be a good read, on a dysfunctional relationship. It has some pretty good chills, thrills, and shocks! Was original, but hard to read in parts. I would recommend to those who can handle animal abuse, as it’s sort of takes the rest of the book and puts it in back of mind.

Will use lower Amazon reviewer number.

I went into this book with such high hopes, but they were quickly dashed when I saw the Goodreads rating. I try to take those with a grain of salt, but unfortunately I am in agreement with most of those reviewers. The book had so much potential, but it ultimately fell flat.
I am a sucker for a good dual timeline, and for the most part it worked. It was a little confusing with both main characters narrating in the past and present, but I was able to keep it straight. I also appreciate that the narration was limited to Claire and Duncan. So many times I've read a book with two main narrators, and then a random one thrown in. Draper could of done that with Joe, or even Sally, so props for avoiding that temptation. While I guessed the "twist" with Evangeline, I did not see the ending coming at all. Again, props to Draper for leaving me stunned. That being said...
The final "twist" gave me serious "We Were Liars" vibes which is not a good thing. The ending of that book left me frustrated, and the same can be said for The House of Secrets. While it was sneaky, and well executed, as a reader it left me unsatisfied. Essentially half of the book didn't really happen, and I am not a huge fan.
The dialogue in the book also felt stilted and forced. It didn't have a natural flow, and it made the characters feel fake. I know Claire and Duncan had a very strained relationship, but their interactions were painful to read.
I will say, I think Garfield deserved far worse than what Duncan actually did to him. Garfield's actions left me infuriated and heartbroken - people like that do not deserve dogs. Those portions of the book did not sit well with me, and I wish they had just been left out all together.

This book was a struggle. It was slow. The characters weren’t like able and the “thriller” part just wasn’t there for me. I wasn’t a fan but maybe it was just wrong book at the wrong time.

the house of secrets was gripping ans truly has me yelling out loud . I enjoyed every second of this book but the ending wow!

She’s married to him. But does she know him at all?



Claire lives with her family in a beautiful house overlooking the water. But she feels as if she’s married to a stranger – one who is leading a double life. As soon as she can get their son Joe away from him, she’s determined to leave Duncan.


But finding out the truth about Duncan’s secret life leads to consequences Claire never planned for. Now Joe is missing, and she’s struggling to piece together the events of the night that tore them all apart.


Alone in an isolated cottage, hiding from Duncan, Claire tries to unravel the lies they’ve told each other, and themselves. Something happened to her family … But can she face the truth?

I found this book super hard to read. Honestly, it was hard to finish. there was so much jumping around it became confusing and ultimately frustrating to read. The characters were developing well but other than the promise of some thrillery parts, the book really neglected to become what i hoped it would be. Unfortunately, i did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

The House of Secrets, by Sophie Draper is an eerie story told from back and forth perspectives between primarily the husband and wife. This book wasn’t quite for me, but the author did a fantastic job with details that expressed the environment of both houses. Duncan and Claire have had a long lasting marriage, ,but their love for one another was very short lived. They met when they were taking vet classes and had the perfect university romance that everyone envied. Joe, their son, is now a young adult and has finished his education. He still lives with his parents and doesn’t seem to feel any urgency about starting a life on his own. Duncan and Claire’s marriage has become so torn apart that Claire is preparing to leave Duncan. She rent’s a place that is only a short distance from where she lived with Duncan so that Joe can still visit his father because she doesn’t want to cut off his relationship with his dad. Claire struggles with the decision of doing everything so secretively, but she cant even tell her best friend because her best friend is Duncan’s sister. Over the years she had grown quite close to her because they could relate on so many levels. Claire has always had challenges with her son, Joe, and she can relate because her son has multiple disabilities so life for her hasn’t been easy either. For years Claire had hoped that she and Duncan could turn things around, but his frequent affairs and increasing anger only contributed to the demise of their marriage. When Claire finally gets up the courage to move out, she is relieved, but Joe’s erratic and obsessive behaviors still continue. Joe has always been fanatical about going treasure hunting with his metal detector at night, even to the point that he is suspicious about others following him in their pursuit for a historical hoard of coins. It’s an obsession that scares Claire because Joe has disappeared for weeks at a time without getting in touch with her so she’s always afraid of the “what ifs.” Joe’s coin collecting has only angered Duncan to the point that he and his son hardly even have a relationship anymore. Claire’s dreams haunt her, but she can’t seem to stop having the overly disturbing dreams that seem like they are trying to tell her something.
When a body is discovered on Duncan’s property, the reader is led through a series of creepy events between Claire, Duncan, and Joe to find out whose body it is, why it was there, and who is responsible for the murder.
Personally, this book wasn’t for me but I do appreciate the author’s attempt at a unique plot with terrific attention to details. Thank You Sophie Draper, AVON-A Division of Harper Collins Publishers, and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading The House of Secrets. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion. Even though I wasn’t a particular fan of this book, the author’s talent did stand out and I will be looking for other books by her.