WoW..........What a entrance to the beginning of Three Secrets by Clare Boyd. I was hooked from the first page and found this book a page turner. Its a gripping psychological thriller.
We follow a woman called Francesca and her relationship with her husband called Robert, their young daughter, her in-laws. The Tennant Family. They all have secrets from the past and we slowly learn about these throughout the book.
The beginning Roberts kisses Francesca on the head before heading out to the local shop for some cigarettes and more wine. But he does not return home. He walks up a hill to a footbridge and jumps to his death on a busy motorway below.
This book was a full of twists and turns and lots of secrets that are packed with lies and will make you scream at the book.
I highly recommend Three Secrets to everyone!

Big thank you too Bookouture and Net Galley for a copy of this Fantastic Book

Big 5 stars from me x

Reviews on my Goodreads Bog and Amazon UK. Plus, my FB page

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Clare Boyd for the opportunity to read her next book - I was a huge fan of her debut novel, Little Liar, and this one didn't disappoint!

The Tennant family is rich and dysfunctional. Francesca married into the family but her husband Robert killed himself. Francesca is filled with guilt but the family convinces her to move close to them. Francesca soon learns that she is not the only one with secrets. The story is told in two voices - Francesca and John, Robert's brother - and in two different timeframes, alternating the past with the present.

There were great characters in this book - some good, some evil but all developed and intriguing. I couldn't put this one down to find out all the secrets!

I read, reviewed and really enjoyed Clare’s debut novel ‘Little Liar’. When I found out she was releasing another book, I just knew that I had to read it as a matter of urgency. I had high hopes for this book and I was not to be disappointed. I absolutely loved ‘Three Secrets’ but more about that in a bit.

I really felt for the character of Francesca. One minute she is apparently happily married to Robert, although I think that she got the booby prize in so much as she much preferred his brother and they certainly had more of a chemistry. Francesca & Robert have a little girl. Robert leaves his house to go to the shop for some cigarettes and he doesn’t come home alive. On the outside it looks as though he has committed suicide but all is not as it first appears if you get my drift. Francesca is grieving for her husband but she also has to put up with the slightly (a bit of an understatement) odd behaviour of her husband’s family. Robert’s mother is overpowering and basically tells Francesca what to do and where to go. Francesca does allow herself to be pushed along and the fact that she moves to a house nearer her husband’s family proves that fact. Francesca notices some odd details that seem out of place so she decides to investigate further. Francesca is one feisty and determined woman and once she has decided to do something, she won’t be dissuaded from it. There are times when she feels as though her husband’s family are a tad overpowering and they swamp her. Francesca tries to do what is best for her and her daughter. Francesca does seem to have made an enemy in her sister-in-law who is jealous of Francesca’s easy relationship with her brother in law John, who is Robert’s brother. There were times when I wanted to leap into the pages of the book and defend Francesca or help her investigate the circumstances of her husband’s supposed suicide. There were also times when I wanted to slap Francesca’s mother in law across the face with a wet flip flop for some of her actions- such as taking Francesca’s keys and getting some spares cut so that she could go in and out of Francesca’s house when she wanted to. The mother in law just seemed to want to control her daughter in law. What are the true circumstances of Robert’s death? What secrets are threatening to come tumbling out of the closet? Has Francesca placed herself in danger? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves as I am not going to tell you.

I picked this book up only intending to read a couple of chapters……but two hours later I was still reading and I had cleared far more than two chapters. The author’s writing style is such that you can’t help but be drawn into the story from the first word on the first page. The story isn’t particularly fast paced but it so works because it shows the ease with which people are eaten up by secrets and how some people are master manipulators but this manipulation takes place over many weeks, months etc. Certain people play psychological mind games as often as I eat cake (& that’s a lot of times). Whilst the book didn’t exactly mess with my head, it did make me feel uncomfortable at times with what was happening or how some people were acting. In fact certain people didn’t just set off one alarm bell, they set off a whole shop full of alarm bells off. I was hooked on this book from the moment I began to read because the story intrigued me and I was interested to see how the story would develop and what skeletons would come tumbling out of the closet. I guess I am just plain nosy. The story is told in chapters from three different points of view – chapters are voiced by Francesca, other chapters are from John’s point of view and details the treatment of him at his wife’s hands and there are the occasional chapters, which look at events from years gone by. The chapters all interlink really well and the story flows seamlessly. Each chapter ends in such a way that I just had to keep on reading on and on and on. Reading ‘Three Secrets’ is seriously addictive.

In conclusion I have to say that for me ‘Three Secrets’ just blows ‘Little Liar’ out of the water and is easily the better of the two books. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to other readers and particularly to those fans of psychological thrillers. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Clare Boyd and here’s hoping that I won’t have to wait too long. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

4.5 Secrets And Lies Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

“Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”

“

“There are two types of secrets; The type you want to keep in, and the type you don’t dare let out.”

Now this was one dysfunctional family! I am sure there were more than just three secrets... what a vicious circle... secret, lie, secret, lie, secret, lie and so on.... I am dizzy just thinking about it! But the beauty of this book I was never not one time confused as to what was going on..... The time period Switched around, the point of view changed, but it was seamless and such a fun read....

Fran’s husband Robert kills himself, leaving behind a mess of secrets and lies... told from Fran and John(Roberts brother) alternating points of view.... this book reminded me of those domino creations... all it takes is one falling down to set off a spectacular chain reaction.... after one secret was revealed the secrets and lies kept coming.... ending with one spectacular,“ I did not see that coming,” ending!

Amidst all this craziness there were several characters I really actually liked and felt sorry for (sort of)... first of all the kids were all super adorable, especially Alice and Beatrice...Fran, Yes she did some things she probably should not have, but she definitely did not deserve to be caught up in this crazy family’s drama.... and John, oh boy both his wife and his mother were just evil women.... i’m not saying anymore than this, best to go into this book not knowing too much.... I really enjoyed Clare Boyd’s first book ”Little Liar” but this book was a cut above....

Absolutely recommend to all my psychological thriller loving friends, this is a good one all!

*** thank you too Bookouture and Net Galley for a copy of this twisted book ***

when francesca’s husband, robert commits suicide after years of manic depression and bipolar like symptoms she could never imagine the hidden secrets of her’s and his over bearing family that would thrust themselves into the open.

i have to say this is a page turner of a story and definitely one that should be read this year. i wouldn’t class it as a psychological thriller but more a family drama but so many issues are explored it makes it a fab read.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another 5 star read! This was a twisted, dark, full of twists and secrets, packed with lies book. It even included an overbearing, self centered, matriarch of the family.
I really enjoyed this book and the characters, Francesca and John, were so easy to like and root for.

Three Secrets comes out May 17th! I highly recommend adding it to your TBR!

Thank you #Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was drawn by the suspense and thriller in the description but I found it to be neither. Very long, drawn out story of a dysfunctional family but no twists or unexpected ending.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy. 3.5*

Robert is a film producer married to Francesca with a young daughter Alice. The book opens with Robert committing suicide but why?

This is a story of secrets, Robert's, Francesca's, his brother John's and lastly their mother Camilla's. This is a tale of dysfunction, betrayal and abuse. The depths that people will go to to bury their guilt and cover their tracks is laid out in full glory here.

I felt sorry for some of the characters but there are some truly despicable people in this story who I was hoping would get their comeuppance.

'Three Secrets' starts with a traumatic and life-changing incident for all around Robert, who commits suicide at the start of the book. His wife, Francesca, and his brother and parents all struggle to understand why he took his own life, and all are hiding secrets which may have contributed to his untimely demise; it becomes clear that there is a lot more to Robert's passing than was first thought.

This is a twisty story of lies and deceit, leaving you unsure who to trust and wondering whose bad decisions ultimately lead to Robert's death. This book really grabbed me, although it was slow to get into, I sound found myself wanting to know who was responsible. The book is well-written, and although I did not find any of the characters at all likeable, I think this is down to the talent of Clare Boyd and was perhaps her intention. My only complaint about this book is that it is marketed as a book to read if you loved 'Gone Girl'; now in my opinion Gone Girl is in an entirely different (far superior) league, and although 'Three Secrets' is a great read, it wasn't as chilling as I would have liked, and at times it is a little predictable.

When Francesa"s husband commits suicide without warning, she becomes determined to find out what happened.
I did not enjoy this book very much, I found the secrets to be lame and the characters were all unlikeable. I don't consider this to be a mystery or suspense because you can sort of tell what is going to happen. This is my opinion only and others may like the book but it just was a bit of a letdown for me.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The story build up was a bit slow, but the ending was fantastic. Looking forward to reading more by Clare Boyd.

Dysfunctional families and dark secrets make for good twisty novels and this is a classic of the genre. Francesca (unwisely) opts to move to her dead husband's former village when her mother in law finds her a small cottage. Then, as you might expect, things go wonky, especially with her brother in law John and mother in law Camilla. This took me a while to get into but once I did, I found it a well plotted read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

With thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Independent film producer Robert Tennant went out one night to buy some cigarettes. Before Robert left he told his wife Francesca that she and their daughter Alice were his life. Robert walked to the nearest motorway and jumped from the footbridge killing him instantly. Francesca was guilt stricken because she knew why Robert committed suicide that night.

Two years later Francesca and Alice still lived in the same flat in London. Francesca still blamed herself for Robert's death and was unable to move on. Robert's parents Camilla and Robert were worried about Alice and offered to buy Francesca a cottage in their village to be near to them. Francesca initially said no but changed her mind when she decided that it would be close to remaining family.

Francesca realised she made a mistake straight away. Camilla made a spare set of keys to Francesca's cottage and would let herself in unannounced. One day Francesca went to find some paracetamol in Camilla's medicine cabinet. Inside she found a pill bottle prescribed to Robert from a Harley Street Doctor. When Francesca questioned Camilla about the pills she went pale and clammed up.

Worried Francesca rang the doctor who prescribed the pills and was told Robert had never been a patient of the practice. Francesca told her brother in law John who found out that the pills were actually anti psychotics. Francesca was shocked that she didn't know Robert had been prescribed such strong medication and why did he keep it miles away at his mother's?

As more revelations about the Tennant family emerge, Francesca finds out that Camilla will stop at nothing keep the good Tennant family name.

The story skips from the present to the night Robert killed himself. John also gives flashbacks from events 16 years earlier when he was a child.

The hold the over bearing matriarchal Camilla had over her son's was fascinating. I have to admit I was frustrated that two grown men were afraid of their mother. I was not surprised that John repeated history and married the abusive Dilly's.

I loved this twisty turny story. The minute I was used to one revelation another came and knocked me off my feet again. I would not describe Three Secrets as a thriller but Dilly's actions were completely unexpected and certainly provided some tension.

I have awarded four stars because I was a little bit disappointed by the epilogue, I thought it was a bit of an anti climax to an otherwise great story. I look forward to Clare Boyd's next book.

I thought this book was sort of slow at places, but it was also very detailed in the way it was written, which kept the readers engaged. Not my normal type of thriller, but definitely unexpected twists. Will leave a more detailed review and recommendation in Chapter Chatter Pub!

This was a great book, with a really gripping story line and enjoyed the characters too, if you like something to keep you gripped this is for you!

What a brilliant book! Once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop. I was gripped from the first to last page. I’ve read both of this authors books and this is definitely my favourite.

I've just finished reading this. We've got company and I've been busy reading rather than interacting with her - she's family so she understands. It's a fascinating book. Just when you think you've got to the bottom of it there's an occurence that takes you off at a tangent. Hopefully, it's just me, but I could fit so many members of my family into the people of the book - gave an exaggerated idea of what my life could have been.

Good book.

Review: I would first like to thank Bookouture for letting me review this book. It is a new author for me and it was great to be able to explore a new authors style.

Clare Boyd creates a fast paced story which keeps the pages turner, giving you just enough information in each chapter ensuring the reader needs to read on.  

Robert says goodbye and never returns. Secrets surround the reason the death may have occurred but which one and whose secret. It is a great idea for a plot specially a psychological thriller. As we get to know Roberts family who want to keep his wife Francesca and his daughter close, we get a real in-depth feel to all the characters and what makes them who they are. It seems all the family have something to hide and worry about the reason for Roberts death.   

A thrilling read.

After having dinner with his wife, Francesca and his brother, John, Robert leaves the house under the pretense of “running to the store”, but instead, leaps to his death in an apparent suicide. WHY?

Each family member that Robert leaves behind, feels guilty -wondering if they played a part in his decision to end his life because of their own actions, or inactions.

His wife, Franscsca
His brother, John
His mother, Camilla

The cover hints “ A terrible secret killed your husband. But which one?”

The book description claims that as Francesca gets closer to uncovering the truth, she asks, “is her own life in danger now too?”

I never felt that it was or that she felt like it was.

Perhaps, I would not have been disappointed if the book had been marketed differently, But it is more domestic drama than thriller. Unfortunately, I found it slow moving, and not very thrilling at all.

But for readers who love books with dysfunctional families, this may be a book for YOU.
Available on May 17th, 2018!


I would like to thank Bookouture, Netgalley and the author for the ARC provided to me in exchange for my candid review!

Oh my goodness - what a fantastic book!! I read this book in 2 sittings and loved it. Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Meet the Tennant family - the dysfunctional Tennant family. 2 years ago Robert kissed his wife and went to the shops. He never returned. Instead he jumped off a bridge onto a busy motorway. Now his widow Francesca and their young daughter are leaving London to the same small village as Roberts family. Here is where she begins to learn Roberts secrets - and a few of her own are exposed.

A fantastic, twisty story that really hooked me in. Highly recommend it