Fans of twisty domestic suspense, here’s your next read!

Zach and Holly Bancroft appear to have the perfect life: perfect marriage, dream home, brand new baby girl. But appearances can be deceiving, and all is not well in the Bancroft house. Zach is gaslighting and controlling, and Holly has an ugly secret in her past that Zach is holding over her head, allowing the emotional abuse to perpetuate. Holly knows she needs to change her situations, but who can she trust to help her? And how far will she go to save herself and her baby girl?

I read this fast-paced novel in two sittings. The interactions between Zach and Holly are so convincingly disturbing that I felt the dread of those scenes in the pit of my stomach. Some of the later plot points get a little outlandish, but definitely made this book a wild ride. I did not see the biggest twist coming and that’s always a mark of a great read in this genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me an advance copy of this book.

A domestic thriller revolving around Holly and her successful OB/GYN husband Zachary. When their daughter is born Holly begins to question Zach's behaviours. He's telling her she's just exhausted and not remembering correctly. She is worried she just might be going crazy. Then someone close to Zach is murder and Holly's isn't so sure she knows her husband as well as she thought.

I read The Marriage Secret a couple of weeks before I wrote this review and when I sat down to write I had NO recollection of this story at all. I had to reread the synopsis before I could register what happened in this book. This was an OK thriller. It was a quick read and Holly was a likeable enough character. The twist was fine but not shocking. Overall a 3 star read.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

undeniably, this story grabbed me and held on - i read this in basically a single sitting, over the course of half a day, and i was super intrigued to see where it would end. that said, i'm not entirely certain of how i feel about it? it was almost like there was an outline of plot points that needed to happen in the story, and then the dialogue was just added around it, whether or not that pacing/dialogue/character interaction worked well. at times it did and at times, i didn't really care and could've skimmed happily, just to get to the ending and see whatever big reveal(s) were in store.

overall, fine!

Sucked in from page 1… this was a heart-pounding thriller that continued to deliver twisty punch after twisty punch. I can usually predict how much I will love a book by the time I am 50 pages in. I started this book last night as I lay in bed knowing I would probably only make it a few pages in before falling asleep. Not the case! I made it to 40% before I forced myself to close my kindle!!!

This is the perfect example of how an author introduces readers to characters that you either love or hate… or love to hate! Baldwin, almost subtlety at first, introduces readers to Holly and Zach. They seem like the perfect couple. Zach, loving, doting husband and soon father-to-be… Holly, dedicated, loyal wife and mother-to-be. Well it isn’t long before readers will know Zach’s true colors! (In sing song-y voice… Controlllllll freeeeeaaakkk) 🤯

Truth in a marriage is a two-way street, and if only one person plays by the rules, it puts her at a disadvantage.

Things go from bad to worse and the most unthinkable scene (well one of many but just one of the first in the story) happens on the day Holly gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. Like… “what the hell just happened there?” No way did Zach just do that… say that… I can’t even tell you how badly someone needed to punch him in the face. 🤬 Oh… and if that wasn’t bad enough…wait until they all come home from the hospital 🤮.

“If you didn’t want to stay until death do us part, you should never have told me your secret.”

Little did I know… one unthinkable scene turns into another and another! I kept saying… “if Holly doesn’t grow a spine and get rid of him, I’m not going to keep reading”!!! Ugh!!!! The question is, does Holly really know her husband, her friends, his friends? Is Zach really as crazy as readers may think?

Then she straightened her shoulders. Not this time. No freakin’ way was she going to let him do this to her again.

This story is twisty and twisted! I loved every minute of it and my heart was pounding as I learned about the most twisted pieces of how events from the past and present weave together and deliver an ending that took my breath away! Just FABULOUS!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Zach and Holly had the perfect marriage. Or did they? This book was absolutely great. The plot twist left me speechless. I definitely recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so hard for me to read at first. I have trouble when a character seems to have no choices and cannot seem to help themselves.

Holly and Zach have a perfect marriage and they are about to welcome a baby into their life. Zach is a little controlling and he may extract little punishments when things aren't done his way. Holly thinks all marriages have their little peccadillos until the day she gives birth to their daughter. During delivery Zach seems to increase the pitocin causing Holly to have extremely painful contractions. He also seems to be depriving her of oxygen, but that can't be, he's a OBGYN doctor for goodness sake. Holly blames her faulty memories especially when shortly after the birth she takes too many pain pills. It was difficult to go through this journey with Holly until she begins to take her life back.

The story has twists and turns aplenty and just when you think you know where the story will take you we go down a side alley. These side stories kept the plot moving along nicely and I really ended up enjoying the ride.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this novel.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Marriage Secret' by Carey Baldwin.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Carey Baldwin, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 11th February 2022.

This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read 'Her First Mistake' which I would also recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis. I am a fan of Carey and if this book is as good as 'Her First Mistake' it is bound to be a good read. It also stated in the synopsis that this book is 'A completely unputdownable and twist-filled psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Carey Baldwin. Fans of The Wife Between Us, The Marriage and Gone Girl will be totally addicted to The Marriage Secret.' I am a huge fan of 'Gone Girl' so am looking forward to see if it lives up to this. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 41 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Arizona, USA 🇺🇸.

This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonist being Holly Bancroft. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

'The Marriage Secret' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Carey discusses/includes domestic abuse and the death of a child.

WOW!! JUST WOW!!! I WAS MOT EXPECTING THAT EXPLOSIVE ENDING. WHAT A TWIST!!!

This book is very well written and the vivid descriptions completely absorb the reader from beginning to end. The cover and synopsis work well with the storyline.

The storyline is absolutely captivating as well as realistic. Throughout the storyline I kept questioning myself on what I thought was going on and was completely blown out of the water when I discovered who was actually behind what. A huge congratulations is in order to Casey, its getting harder and harder to shock me and just when I thought I had sussed it all out BANG I was completely blind sighted! I enjoyed the first book I read by Carey which was 'Her First Mistake' but I absolutely LOVED this one!!! The storyline was packed full of mystery, suspense, lies, love, friendship, twists and was an excellent psychological thriller. The storyline was quite unique and I would be interested in reading more of Carey's books. It is also quite thought provoking and makes you wonder what you would do in Holly's position. This book brings up the subject of domestic abuse and is extremely well written and researched. So many people think domestic abuse is just physical but so many times it can be mental and hopefully anyone going through that and reads this book will realise and get the help they need. It is so easy for someone not in that position to say to just leave but it is never that easy, especially when a child is involved. A huge congratulations to Carey for tackling this subject and bringing light to the fact that domestic abuse comes in all shapes and sizes.

The characters were strong, well defined and realistic. I really felt for Holly with everything she was going through. Having been in a few relationships that involved domestic abuse in several forms I knew some of what she was going through. There were times I really felt sorry for her especially with everything else that was coming out of the woodwork. She went from being this strong woman who I praised for her strength and determination and then thanks to her husband started doubting herself but I'm so glad she pulled through for herself and her daughter. Do I think that the ending was deserved? Personally yes!!! However it really does make you think throughout the book. I did really feel sorry for Frances who was not only treated badly by her ex husband but also by the son that she adored and as a mother myself my heart really went out to her.

Congratulations Casey on absolutely page turning thriller with an absolutely EXPLOSIVE ending that I would never have seen coming!!! Here's to your next success 🥂!!

Overall a page turning, intriguing psychological thriller that will keep you up late at night with an explosive ending you will never guess.

Genres covered in this book include Psychological Fiction, Thriller, Suspense and Psychological Thriller amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Girl On The Train', 'Gone Girl' and anyone looking for an action packed psychological thriller with an explosive ending!


309 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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This is my first book by this author and she had me on the edge of my seat from the very first page. It was a fast read and I read it in a day. Holly is married to Zach who seems like the perfect doctor, husband and father. But is he far from perfect!? Holly is hiding secrets as well. Throw in a murder or two and a twist here and there and this makes a great thriller! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought for sure I would not be able to finish this book …the beginning chapters read like a low budget romance, with oddly stilted language. Holly was the obviously groveling wife that you just want to shake and say "wake up!". To the outside world, Holly and Zach have the perfect marriage and a charmed life. But when the gaslighting from her husband became more and more complicated, the pace really picked up. Holly is living in fear of a secret from her past, and Zach weaponizes it to terrorize her. Books about domestic psychological abuse are never easy to read, but at least this one gives us Holly to root for. I raced through to find out what happened all the way to the twisty ending!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced reader's copy.

Entertaining roller coaster ride! This is a fast paced thriller that I absolutely became engrossed in right from the first page. A fast paced psychological thriller that is unpredictable and highly entertaining! I highly recommend this book.

Great story , I enjoyed the read very much, The ending was a surprise shocker, Looking forward to more book by Carey Baldwin.

I really enjoyed this page turner of a book. It is a domestic thriller based on a marriage gone awry and some not so likeable characters. A quick read and I was hooked from the start!

Many reviews of this book are positive so clearly it is being enjoyed by many readers. For me, though, it was all over the place. I appreciate how the author illustrated the escalation of domestic violence with a series of small off, but perhaps excusable, actions, how men of a certain societal standing are automatically believed, the challenges of leaving a situation when resources are cut off, and how abusers use gaslighting as a powerful tool to control their victim. Domestic violence is often at the heart of a thriller so I think the author wanted to add in other elements to make more original, but I don’t think they worked as well as anticipated. The characters didn’t feel real, in their dialogue, actions, and decisions.

For example, in the beginning, the dialogue between the two main characters felt like it belonged in a period drama. “There’s nothing that makes my pulse pound like the sight of you, my beauty, with or without window dressing.” What? Did we just travel back in time? This was one of many elements in the novel that made it lose authenticity for me as a reader. In subsequent chapters, the odd dialogue shifted to a more modern vernacular but the actions and character development swerved into the far fetched lane. I know that most thrillers have elements of the unrealistic, but the twists and turns of The Marriage Secret didn’t seem to be rooted in sufficient character or plot development for me to go along with this unrealistic ride. There were so many times when I thought that the decision the character made was in direct contrast to everything we had learned about him/her so far. Sometimes I guess that can be exciting or twisty, but for me, it felt inauthentic.

I also felt like at times the author wasn’t sure what type of book she wanted to write because suddenly we’re in the midst of a silly, amateur sleuth with a trusty sidekick and bad props plot line. We shift out of that quickly and are thrown back into the domestic thriller.

Overall, I think it had potential but just went in too many directions for me. I think many readers, though, will enjoy the fast pace and twists.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book description sounded very good but sadly I found it very slow and was left feeling disappointed. Sorry but this one isnt for me

I absolutely loved Carey Baldwin’s previous book, Her First Mistake so I was really excited to read this new one. However, I didn’t love it quite as much. The plot was really good and one of the twists towards the end was a surprise but I found it a little unrealistic at times and some of it was a bit drawn out and over explained.

All in all, it was a good domestic thriller that kept me interested. The characters were really good and it highlighted the impact of gaslighting and domestic abuse very well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars

This book is about Holly. She is married to Zach. From the outside her marriage seems perfect but Zach is very controlling and abusive. Zach knows a secret from her past and he uses this to ensure that she never leaves him.

Although I was gripped by this story from the beginning I really was finding the abuse that Holly was going through a bit hard to read. It made me think about the women who must go through this mental abuse and how much harder it is to prove than physical abuse. I did get to a point where there didn’t seem to be anything more to the story. Thankfully a third of the way in the story takes a bit of a turn and there is a lot more happening than just the abuse. It was then I started to really enjoy it. I really wish that the author had done something different with the ending because unfortunately it is an ending I have read many times before.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for a review.

I don't know how I feel about this book.

There were some things that I liked and worked but then there was so much that just made the story feel like it eas trying too hard. And the secret mentioned of Holly, I was expecting something really bad but to me it was just an accident that sadly ended badly...not really a secret?

The ending felt like it eas stretched out way too much and I love twists n turns but this felt like something else, just one on top of the other.

Interesting read but just didn't land well for me sadly.

There was so much gaslighting in this book that is was very hard for me to get past. I was able to get through 40% of the book before I had to stop reading it. There were a lot of triggers that I just couldn't' handle. The part I did read was really good and I wish I could have finished it to see how everything turned out.

Totally enjoyed this book. Many twists and turns to keep you in suspense. At time tough to hear what the main character, Holly, was going through in her relationship. However on the whole this was a book I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. Thoroughly enjoyed and looking forward to more books from Carey Baldwin. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy to read.

***3.5 stars***

🔪Genre: Domestic thriller

📝Short Summary:
From the outside, Holly Bancroft’s marriage to Zac, an OBGYN seemed perfect. But after the birth of their daughter Jolene, things took a turn. Zac became controlling and mentally abusive. When a young woman is found murdered, and Zac becomes the primary suspect, he pleads with Holly to be his alibi, and in return, he will keep her deepest darkest secret. Will Holly stand by her husband or, will she use this opportunity as a way out?

💭Thoughts:
Thank you @netgalley, @CareyBaldwin, and @bookouture for this ARC. This thriller took me by surprise with the many twists and turns. It reminded me a lot of The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks because both books explored the complexities of a “perfect marriage” or so we think. Although there were some moments where I disagreed with some of Holly’s choices, I loved how brave she was and how far she was willing to go to protect her daughter Jolene. The ending was a little unrealistic but oh my did it shock me. I didn’t see it coming from a mile away.

😍There were a few plot holes that left me with some questions but overall, it was a great book. Read this if you’re looking for more domestic thrillers.