Cryptic clues lead Cleo on a deadly scavenger hunt that forces her to confront a truth that she’d rather stay buried.

I couldn’t put this one down. The suspense did not feel contrived; every action felt necessary and true.

Another great-written mystery by Natalie D. Richards. Even though I figured out right away the person behind the scavenger hunt I still really enjoyed this book. Cleo, Hope, and Connor were great characters and I really felt drawn to them. This book grabbed me from the first package left for Cleo and I just couldn't put it down.

One of my favorite YA thriller writers is Natalie D. Richards, I find she is this generation's Christopher Pike and Lois Duncan. All three of these authors are famous for their slasher-type stories and revenge-filled thrillers. Think along the lines of movies like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" or "Valentine". The late 90's/ early to mid-2000's slasher films. In Seven Dirty Secrets, we meet seven friends who each are hiding a dark secret of their own as the seven of them a year ago went on a rafting wilderness trip, but only six returned home safe and sound. The seventh is said to have died. Seven Dirty Secrets takes place one year after the rafting trip and it is our main female character Cleo's birthday. Cleo is obsessed with forensics and mysteries and is hoping to get a scholarship to study forensics and she is hoping that no one will find out what happened a year ago as that could ruin her chances. On the day of her birthday, she wakes up and goes to have a shower and sees a white present box. Inside it is a clue to start a scavenger hunt, Cleo initially thinks it is a prank from her friends. But what will happen when she realizes that it is something more sinister as each clue is something that she used to do with her ex-boyfriend Declan and only she and he knew about it or so she thought. Someone out there is determined to make Cleo and her friends suffer and face the consequences of what went down on the rafting trip. If you love YA thrillers, then Natalie D. Richards is an author you need to add to your reading lists as you will not be disappointed.

#SevenDirtySecrets #NetGalley #Edelweiss
A novel riddled with odd clues and a ending that left me wondering what I just read. I liked the plot it just was a little rushed in places and lagged in others.

Loved this book! Rich characters and a well developed plot pretty pull the reader in! Seven friends go on a rafting trip, but only six come home. Themes of physical abuse, drug usage and secrets among friends. I’d love o see this picked up as a Netflix series!

I know seven dirty secrets:
One caused the fall.
One did nothing.
One saw it all.
One didn't care.
One used their head.
One played the hero.
One was left for dead.

On her eighteenth birthday, Cleo receives a mysterious invitation to a scavenger hunt. She's sure her best friend Hope or her brother Connor is behind it, but no one confesses. And as Cleo and Hope embark on the hunt, the seemingly random locations and clues begin to feel familiar.

In fact, all of the clues seem to be about Cleo's dead boyfriend, Declan, who drowned on a group rafting trip exactly a year ago. A bracelet she bought him. A song he loved. A photo of the rafting group, taken just before Declan drowned. And then the phone calls start, Declan's voice taunting Cleo with a cryptic question: You ready?

As the clock on the scavenger hunt ticks down, it becomes clear that someone knows what really happened to Declan. And that person will stop at nothing to make sure Cleo and her friends pay. Can they solve the hunt before someone else winds up dead?

I was super excited to get to read this early and Richards didn’t disappoint.

Creating a crazy, intricate collection of mind games that not only keeps her characters on their toes but her readers also, Seven Dirty Secrets def keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Richards is the queen of misdirection and manages to effectively douse her stories with suspense and foreboding; you are always waiting to see what horrible, nasty thing is awaiting in the next chapter. A little slow in places, but otherwise a fantastic read.

#bookreviewsbymrsc #sevendirtysecrets #nataliedrichards

Seven Dirty Secrets. Sheesh. Sent on a scavenger hunt to clear her name after a birthday trip turned violent, Cleo enlists her best friend Hope to help her solve the clues that all seem to have one thing in common - her recently drowned ex-boyfriend. Revenge, mystery, suspense, and the challenging world of relationships are all explored in this one.

The pacing was quick. The countdown to the end of the scavenger hunt helped with this. The characters were mostly well developed, although some of the background ones could have been utilized or explained a little more. The overall plot was intriguing, if a little unbelievable at times.

Readers should be aware that domestic violence is a large feature of this story.

Overall, this was a story that kept me hooked until the end. Solid 4 stars.

Another fantastic, twisty, YA thriller by Natalie D. Richards. This is a story about Cleo, celebrating her birthday after a tough year, during which she lost her boyfriend in a tragic accident. A mysterious box arrives in her bathroom and so starts a scavenger hunt that leads Cleo to revisit a difficult past relationship. With the help of her friend(s) and brother, Cleo needs to discover who has sent her on this hunt and what the ultimate outcome will be. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

TW for dating violence/domestic violence.

A YA thriller for fans of One of Us is Lying and The Cheerleaders.

Teenage Cleo and her friends have a secret that they share after a white water rafting trip turned into tragedy. Cleo's boyfriend, Declan, fell into the river and didn't make it out. But was it murder? Or just an accident?

One year later, someone presents Cleo with a scavenger hunt, which may just uncover some secrets that she and her friends would like to keep buried.

A page-turner with a fun twist.

Another compelling read from Natalie D. Richards. I couldn't put it down. I certainly didn't see the twist coming.

Wow! This is whirlwind, action packed, exciting scavenger hunt which hooks you up from the beginning and you cannot stop reading because you’d already been dragged into mysterious teenage cat-mouse game!

Seven dirty secrets connected with seven teenage friends who took a rafting trip and something truly went wrong at their vacation.
One caused the fall.
One did nothing.
One saw it all.
One didn’t care.
One used their head.
One played the hero.
One was left dead.

I cannot tell you which line refers to which character. But we know for sure who is left dead is Declan: our MC Cleo’s abusive boyfriend!

Most of the group members think he’s deserved what happened to him. After almost one year of his death, somebody starts a dangerous game by leaving a green ribboned box at the bathroom when Cleo’s taking shower.

At first she thinks that’s a birthday prank played by her bestie Hope. Nobody is at the house except of her. Her parents are at work trip! Her brother is at college. The spare key hasn’t been used. There’s a trace of force entry and Hope tells her she’s nothing to do with the box!

You keep asking what’s in the box as like Brad Pitt’s character did at the last scene of Se7en! Thankfully it’s not Gwyneth Paltrow’s posh head! It’s a paper with first clues starting the action scavenger hunt!

Cleo has a secret: she had a toxic relationship with Declan who caused fourteen stitches on her head! So at their worst argument at their rafting trip ends his fall into the river. His body is never found and Cleo deals with her guilt feelings because she didn’t do anything to save him even though she cannot swim and she cannot jump to the water to save him by herself!

Now she started a new relationship with a nice guy who takes care of his grandma. She accepted to Michigan Stare College to study forensic science. So she can leave her hometown, leaving her haunted past behind starting over but somebody knows why she didn’t save her boyfriend and this scavenger hunt turns into a very dangerous game for avenging Declan’s death!

Who is behind this scheme? Her bestie Hope?her estranged brother Connor? One of their three friends: Jack, Valerie or Declan’s bestie Aiden?

It was definitely exciting, one sit read I couldn’t put it down!

But the culprit was soooo foreseeable from the first chapter. There was no surprise for me! But I’d liked the clues, development of scavenger ideas, secrets built around the friends and vicious game style culprit designed. Also the conclusion was satisfying.

I lower some points because of less surprise element but I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 intriguing, capturing, heart pounding, mind games stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS FIRE for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I flew through this book! I love this author's writing style. It is so easy to read and flows nicely. This book had a great mystery and I loved the scavenger hunt. I was guessing until the end and thought it was done very well. Looking forward to her next book already!