When Sheriff Jude gets a call late one night about an incident at the lake, he rushes to the location as his wife Michelle stays home with their teen daughter Caroline, anxiously waiting for him to call her with an update. Meanwhile Stephanie DuPont has just reported seeing possible tail lights heading straight into the lake. The chaos has Mayor Enzo rushing to the scene, trying to sort everything out. This event will begin to slowly unravel the secrets kept by the residents of small town Cason Glen.

Told by multiple POV's, each character has something to hide. At what lengths will they go to protect their secrets? With this author quickly becoming one of my favorites, I was thrilled to be able to listen to this as my first audiobook. But I was skeptical at first because I'm a fast reader and I like to sometimes go back pages if I forget a detail. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed listening to this book and had it on all the time at twice the speed. There was a lot going on, and eventually the little things all come together in the end. Overall a great book and anxiously waiting for the next release.

Thank you Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.

In a nutshell: It’s twisty, alright. You’ll enjoy the book if you love a twisty thriller. That’s it. Main USP: Twists galore.

Story:
A small town named Cason Glen. Here you’ll meet:
👉 Sheriff Judd Rivera, his wife Michelle and daughter Caroline –each hiding a secret.
👉 Neighbour Stephanie and her 17 year old twins Raphael and Dominic –each hiding a secret.
👉 Mayor Enzo, and his niece Sophie – hiding a secret.
👉 Stephanie’s missing husband Ted: hiding a secret.
Basically, that’s the plot of the book. Everyone is hiding a secret and everyone is trying their best to keep their secrets. So when something happens that threatens to reveal one of the secrets, there is a flash flood of sorts and everyone’s secrets are in danger.
The book is written in the multiple characters’ first person perspectives, mainly from Judd, Stephanie, Michelle, and Enzo.

I realise that the plot sounds very meh from the way I have written it. But it’s not bad. Kiersten Modglin is known for providing twists after twists in her books and this book certainly confirms that claim. Some of the secrets are visible a mile away but many of them will really surprise you. But because of this motif of multiple characters with multiple secrets each, I felt frustrated and mentally exhausted keeping track of who is revealing what and hiding what else. The secret-keeping went over the top as far as I’m concerned. It was also tough to accept that so many educated people couldn’t see the reality for what it was and chose to believe a farfetched or whitewashed version of the truth.

The pace and length work to the book’s advantage. Unlike many contemporary writers who add needless side-tracks and red herrings to push up their book to 400 pages, Modglin keeps the plot taut and focussed and doesn’t lose control of her narrative at any point. If your main criterion for an enjoyable psychological thriller is unexpected and countless turns in the plot, you will adore this book for sure.

I love twisty thrillers, but I enjoy them even more if I can connect with the characters (at least with a couple of them if not with all.) Unfortunately, most of the characters in the book are not just unlikeable but actually detestable. It made me wonder how so many churlish fibsters reside within such a little town. Sheer bad luck for the town, that! Stephanie is the one who irked me the most. Whiny and clingy at times, she lived by one set of rules for herself and imposed a different code of conduct on those around her. And as she is one of the principal characters of the book, she was one of the reasons my rating went downwards. Another factor that went against my enjoyment was the ending, by which time I was fed up of the secrets still being thrown constantly at my face.

I had long wanted to try a Kiersten Modglin book. There is a Facebook book group dedicated to psychological thrillers in which most of the members go ga-ga for this author. It was this FOMO that made me opt for this ALC. And while I don’t regret this experience, I’m not really a fan-girl yet. I’ll still try a couple of books more by her to see if the characters in those are more relatable.

I heard the audiobook narrated by Mandy Kaplan and Wyatt Baker. They do a great job of bringing the female and male characters respectively to life. As the audio version clocks just under 6 hours, it would be a great way of trying out this book.
Bonus benefit of the audiobook: I finally understood how to pronounce this author’s surname. ;)

All in all, I don’t regret going for this audiobook. I got to hear a fast-paced thriller with multiple morally grey characters and a multitude of secrets and twists. Something that most regular thriller lovers will enjoy.

My rating: 3.75, mainly because I opted for the audio. I don’t think I would have given it more than 3.5 had I read it.

My thanks to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

It took awhile for me to get into this audio book. I didn’t care for the narrator’s southern accent and I kept having to go back because I kept tuning out. The characters were absolutely despicable, a bunch of psychopaths of all different ages. I was appalled at how the children treated their parents. As the story progressed, I got more drawn into it and liked it better. And then the ending just blew me away, which I loved. I’ll give this one 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the ending.

Many thanks to Netgalley, OrangeSky Audio and Kiersten Modglin for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Jaw dropping plot twists? Check. Multiple secrets? Check. Lots of lies? Check. Everyone has something to hide in Kiersten Modglin’s novel Our Little Secret. A fast paced, suck you in book set in an exclusive subdivision, Cason Glen. This is a book that immediately peaks your interest!

This story is told from multiple points of view and everyone has a secret they are keeping, but not for long. If you love a good mystery/thriller/family-neighborhood drama this book is it!

Thank you to OrangeSky Audio for my ALC on NetGalley!

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@bookshelf_by_britt) on October 8, 2021.

This is a solid mystery, Modglin is a queen when it comes to twist endings and this one definitely has twists galore.

Stephanie reports seeing a car go into the lake one night. No one in the town seems to want the lake searched, so they go to lengths to question Stephanie about what she saw--was it really a car or could she have just been overtired?

Stephanie's husband is missing. She's a single mom to twin teenagers who are out of control. Did Ted leave her for someone else?
Enzo's wife was murdered, but no one has been arrested for the crime.
Sheriff Jude and his wife Michelle are hiding something and they definitely don't want the lake searched because of it.

I liked the overall mystery of this story and the twists, but there are no likable characters. In fact, the twin boys are so unlikable that I cringed every time they appeared in a scene. Overall this is fast paced, but there are a large number of characters and not quite enough development. I particularly disliked Stephanie and her interaction with her boys, but really her interaction with everyone. She's preachy to others, but lets the boys walk all over her and everyone else. She just grated on me and made me not like the book as much as I would have otherwise. And as I said in one of my updates, the stating over and over "oh no will someone find out my/our secret?" is overdone--just reveal the secrets already.

I listened to the audiobook that was narrated by Mandy Kaplan for the female characters and Wyatt Baker for the male characters. I loved the back and forth with the voices and it makes the story more engaging overall. I did like this book, but it wasn't my favorite by this author. If you're in the mood for a fast-paced story with a bunch of twists, then you can't go wrong with a Kiersten Modglin book.

🦄 Summary:
Stephanie, Enzo, Michelle and Jude live on the same street. Their neighborhood seems peaceful, but they all have to face the demons from their past. And when Stephanie thinks she saw a car drive into the lake, everyone has their reasons for not wanting the waters searched. Even Stephanie herself, apparently...

🦄 My opinion:
This was SO good! I now understand what the hype for Kiersten Modglin's books is about. I got to listen to the audio version of the book, and I was hooked instantly. The narrators display the protagonists' feelings so well I was actually looking forward to my drive to work, just so I could listen to the story some more! I love it when chapters end on cliffhangers, and I can't get enough of unreliable narrators - and this book had a bunch of them. The only negative thing I could say about this, is that I really didn't like the character of Stephanie. It seemed to me like she didn't think anything through, and was like "It was them. No, it was them, for sure. Wait, actually it was someone else entirely" the whole time. Well, on the other hand, this created red herrings and kept me guessing...

🦄 This was my first book by Kiersten Modglin, and it won't be my last!

🦄 Parts of this book reminded me of:
- The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper
- Someone We Know by Shari Lapena
- Those People by Louise Candlish

🦄 My Rating:
🦄🦄🦄🦄

Thank you to Netgalley and Kiersten Modglin for my free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Is there anything Kiersten Modglin cant write??? She is amazing and this book, Our Little Secret, is no different. This is not a book I will keep a secret!! The twists and turns had me trying to figure out "who done it" from the start and boy was I wrong. LOVE this book!

Not everything is as it seems in the perfect little town called Cason Glen. There are gossiping adults, unruly teenagers, unsolved murders, and missing people galore.

This story is told by multiple narrators, all unreliable at best, as the webs they've spun begin to unravel. Modglin had me asking questions from the beginning and masterfully trailed me along until the very end. The twist of the last chapter was chilling and something I did not see coming. Ultimately, this is a story about the lengths to which we will go to protect those that we love. And how quickly we will turn on them as well, given the right circumstances.

CW: murder, adult/minor relationships, grooming, sexual assault, infidelity, gun violence

Thank you NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for my audiobook.

The phrase "A book should show not tell" is the perfect criticism for Our Little Secret. Each scene felt like a series of info dumps tied together with stilted, forced dialogue. The premise that everyone in this quiet neighborhood had a secret was tantalizing and intrigued me at the beginning. Unfortunately, I grew more and more frustrated with every passing scene. No thrills or big ah-ha moments were possible due to the structure of this story. Not that every thriller/mystery needs those things, but if there is nothing else going on in the story it makes for a boring, flat book. The dialogue had no nuance and I often found myself laughing during scenes because I couldn't believe how dumb the characters sounded at times.

I enjoyed this thriller. The love story was fun and engaging. Lots of twists especially at the end. I would love to read more books written by Kiersten Modglin.

The Biggest Lie

This is a book about a small town, it's secrets and the lies told to hide those secrets. It appears that everyone has a secret. what will they do to keep their secrets hidden.

This is a regular Peyton Place type book. It revolves around the Mayor Enzo and his teenage niece Sophie, The Police chief, Judd, his wife Michelle and his teenage daughter, Stephanie and her missing husband Ted and her two teenage sons.

Stephanie tells Judd that she sees a car go in the water at the lake. They search the lake and find not one but four bodies. Now who is responsible for the murders.

It is a story of infidelity, murder, secret affairs, teenage sex and lots of lies and more lies. It is a mystery with a lot of twists and turns and an ending that you would not guess.

I just started reading ebooks and this was a good one to listen to while I walked. If you like mysteries you will like this one.

Thanks to Kiersten Modglan, Orange Sky Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me a complimentary copy for my honest review.

Wow! This book had so many twists and turns, my mind was blown! Every time I thought I knew how it would end, I was wrong.

So many secrets! So many lies! No one can be trusted in this tale of murder and betrayal. Under the surface of this idyllic small town lies a dark and disturbing reality that is close to being revealed. Who are the “monsters” of this otherwise peaceful setting? The final shocking twist I never saw coming. The narrators expertly brought the story to life and added a layer of intrigue and suspense. Thank you NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for my audiobook.

I LOVED this one! It was fantastic! I'm not sure how I've never read this author before but man I'm missing out. This was just phenomenal!

At first the two main female characters were kind of hard to keep straight, but overall the characters were awesome and well written. They were [pretty scummy without being unlikable which is a hard line to walk.

While I wouldn't say it's a page turner, it definitely is a well built mystery that kept me guessing.

I would 100% read more from this author!

Guilty read that delivers!
Kiersten keeps her reputation of hard ending twists and gasp out loud moments!
In a small town, a wife is murdered; a husband is missing; two people commit adultery; and that is just in the first fifty pages.
Jude is called to the lake - Stephanie convinced she saw a car drive into the lake, or a person fall in. She's so tired from working two jobs to support herself and sons after her husband just walked out.
Jude's wife, Michelle, is convinced her family's secret is about to be reveled.
But Stephanie retracts her statement. Just a misunderstanding.
Why would Stephanie makeup a story? What does she think is in the lake? What else could she be hiding.
This plot just consumed me - I can't even tell you how the story progressed; it just did.
Told from multiple points of view, this plot moves - dragging you along with shocks, disgusting behavior and all the reasons we want to peak in our neighbor's windows.

I gave this one a chance but only got through the first 10 chapters. I am not sure if was the writing style or how it was being read by the narrator but it felt like a over dramatic soap opera and it had not grabbed my attention enough to push through that issue.

I think the premise was ok and gave me hints of "Big Little Lies" with the small close community. Unfortunately, this one just did not work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for an advanced audiobook for review.

Small town, 3 families, a lot of secrets.

In Our Little Secret we have 4 povs (and 5th as the final chapter, the one that finally reveals it all). Everyone is hiding something, everyone is pretending to care until they have to save their own but, and they they don't love or care for one another anymore.

The characters were very unlikable, all of them. The story had a lot of fillers and a lot of talking to one's kids about sex.

I did finish it in a day, but I did really enjoy it a lot or found it interesting. It was a quick and simple one afternoon read, but there was nothing memorable about it, really.

Let’s meet the residents of Southwest Acres: Michelle, Sheriff Jude, Stephanie DuPont, Caroline and Enzo. Southwest Acres is a small, elite subdivision with six houses just near the lake that ran through the town of Cason Glen. Lake Guinevere, the community’s private lake, holds all the secrets.
Our Little Secret is about the secrets and scandals in this small subdivision community of Cason Glen.

Stephanie is left to raise her two teenage boys by herself after her husband Ted disappeared. She working two jobs to keep them afloat. Since her husband’s disappearance the boys have been misbehaving. They are out of control and she’s worried they will follow in there fathers footsteps.
Caroline is Michelle and Jude’s daughter. Caroline goes to school with Stephanie’s boys.
Michelle is a mother, a wife, and a friend to many in her community. She appears to be perfectly put together, but she’s known as the gossip queen.
Enzo was once the Mayor. He’s widowed with no kids.
Sheriff Jude is a cop, a father, and a husband. Ted, Enzo, and Jude were friends in school. They remain friends and neighbors.

It’s a busy story with plenty of shocking scandalous activity. I wish I could’ve been more invested in the lives of these characters, but I just didn’t have it in me to care. When it was all said and done I was relieved to finally hear the truth. At that point I wasn’t surprised or shocked. Maybe I should’ve been. I was actually disappointed with the outcome.

This was a character driven story where your following Michelle, Jude, Enzo, and Stephanie’s point of view. From the beginning the reader knows someone is missing and someone is dead. What you don’t know is why they are dead or missing or who did the killing. For me this is all I was interested in everything else was filler.
The story is not an investigative procedure story. It’s about the neighbors who live around the lake.

Narrators:
Mandy Kaplan is a voice over actress. She performed the female characters Michelle and Stephanie.
Wyatt Baker is a voice over actor who performed the male voice of Enzo and Jude.
Both narrators are new to me. Both brought these characters to life. They offered a memorable listening experience.

I listened using Netgalley’s app. This is an unabridged audiobook. This is a dual performance between Mandy and Wyatt. Listening time 5hours 54 minutes. Listening speed 1.75x. This audiobook has 34 chapters.
I’m thankful for narrators like these to perform this book so I can sit back and enjoy it.

Wow!! This was something else! I love the way this author tells a story. This mystery thriller was a wild ride to crazy land. Everyone in this was guilty of something. Lots of twists and turns full of more mystery. I highly recommend it if you love a good thriller. This author is quickly becoming my favorite mystery writer.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and the narrators were Mandy Kaplan and Wyatt Baker and they were awesome. This was 5 hours and 54 minutes of enjoyable listening.
Thanks OrangeSky Audio via Netgalley.

Carson Glen is a exclusive neighbourhood where couples hold secrets, one is missing and one turns up dead. This is a story of the lengths people will go to in order to protect the ones they love and the consequences of those choices. I can’t really elaborate further without giving away the twists. So give it a read.