Thanks to Bookouture. This is absolutely creepy for a novel. If you're a fan of Girl on a Train, you'll love this psychological thriller by Slater.

I always enjoy KL Slaters books and this one was no different. One of those books where you want to keep reading to find out what happens but you don't want it to finish because you are enjoying it.

I always enjoy K. L. Slater books and was delighted to get a ARC of her new book The Secret. This was a good psychological thriller with many twists and turns.
Alice is almost housebound after an accident and is too nervous to go out. Her sister Louise takes advantage of this situation to get Alice to look after Archie her eight year old son. Alice and Archie become closer the more time they spend together and it becomes clear that the child is being bullied by someone and Alice decides to get to the bottom of the problem. Archie also has a secret that he has been told not to tell.
There are quite a few excellent characters in this book. An enjoyable read.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolute fantastic read this was , I seriously could not put it down once I had started .I have read all of K L Slaters books and for me this was the best yet , although its called the secret it would have been accurate to call it three or four secrets , some lies and some shady behavior ......

Alice lives alone in the flat she shared with her Mum , her sister Louise is quite unpleasant and self absorbed and is increasingly reliant on Alice to look after her son Archie . I loved how Alice and Archies relationship developed throughout the book , he really comes out of his shell with his aunt , as the story progresses we are taken to the past and its here that we see that the sisters relationship has always been fractious at best , I was rooting for Alice to stand up to Louise and I wasn't disappointed .Great twist and a fab read . 5 stars from me

This is the first book I have read from this author. It was somewhat of avslow read but at the same time maintained my interest. It was a book filled with enough surprises to keep me reading. I will now go back and read some of the author's other offerings.

Fiction - Crime

Score: 8/10


K. L. Slater has this uncanny ability to make you feel incredibly sad upon finishing her books yet you cannot wait to read next one!

After a horrible car accident that resulted in injuries and a death Alice lives alone hardly ever leaving her house and in pain from the accident. Her sister Louise, who has always been jealous of Alice is working a lot of hours and asks Alice numerous times to watch her 10 year old son Archie. Archie has the look of a troubled, anxious child and Alice wants to help him. There is a lot of suspense wondering what happened to Archie, why is Louise always working, what is troubling the young woman Jenny who lives above Alice. I thought I had the secret figured out but I was wrong and there were a lot of interesting twists and turns.

I am a long-time fan of K. L. Slater and having enjoyed her previous titles I was eager to read this one. She is particularly adept at creating engaging and well developed characters that you actually care about - that continues in the book. The relationship betweem Alice and Archie is beautiful and they are both likable and realistic. Then there's Archie's mother, Louise, is not at all likeable and dumps all of her problems on sister Alice.

My first thought when I saw the title was "Oh, not another one using the s-word" but after reading it, I can appreciate that it was well suited to the contents. The story is one that is typical of a domestic (psychological) thriller and was interesting but wasn't the best i've read from Slater. I found it quite odd that there was only one chapter for a character that made you think that he was being introduced as the ending includes him in some way, only for him to never be heard from again!

I did enjoy reading this and it was perfect as an easy-to-follow and non-taxing outing but I hope that Slater's next book returns to the very high standards she set in her others.

Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Well, there’s more than one secret here – and not one of them was anything I expected.

Expect some truly stunning surprises and an extremely suspenseful read.

You should know that our main character is kind of neurotic (okay, not kind of – extremely!), but she’s very likable and I kept hoping that things would turn out well for her. I won’t tell you if they do – just know that certain things are going to surprise you immensely.

As for the main secret – I did not see that coming!

I enjoyed this tremendously. The author kept me guessing all the way through!

I have now read a number of books by K.L. Slater. This Author is amazing. Her characters come to life. I really liked Alice and her relationship with Archie. Louise (Archie's mother) not so much. Martyn and Darren were despicable. There are a few secrets in this story and the ones at the end of the book will have you crying for Archie. I would have given more than 5 stars if I could. Thank you NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

In the beginning of The Secret, we learn of Archie, the little guy being babysat over the course of this story. He is told in school that there are some good secrets, and there are some bad secrets, but we try not to tell them unless somebody might be hurt. And the story sort of takes off from there. I read the whole thing in a day - not to say it's the best domestic thriller I've ever read, but it was good. Kind of like cotton candy: melts on your tongue, tastes delicious, but it's ethereal and you'll forget all about it in 20 minutes.

‘The Secret’ by K.L.Slater published by Bookoutre on 26th July

Hey, well K.L.Slater has a great rep as a psychological thriller writer and I have enjoyed her previous 5 books so I knew the book would be good, and it is, its good!
In a swamped book arena of ‘secrets’ I thought it was quite brave to call the book ‘the secret’ as when I saw it I thought ‘oh, another one’....
but as the book starts you realise its exactly the right title as the characters lives in the book are all based on ‘secrets’....
Louise n Alice are sisters, but completely different....Louise is successful and outgoing....Alice is scared to leave the house and her daily thrill is waiting for the same man to pass her flat, they smile, then wave, then talk.....but of course nothing is as it seems
Enter strange neighbours, deceitful ex’s, a nephew being physically abused and more and the plot thickens
The story’s secrets eventually do become apparent and things took, well for me, an unexpected turn in a very clever set of ‘twists’ ( sorry, that word again but there you go ) in this case its no exaggeration to use the word and they come quick fire and leave you shook up and WOW’d
My only criticism is one small part of the book where Alice gives up something she has waited for all her life to do to go to her ill Mother but in reality she would have only been an extra hour, that bugged me and I was like ‘noooooooooooooo, just do it’
A good read, easy to pick up snd get back into after a break etc and even though goes between characters and past and present very easy to follow and keep up with
9/10 5 stars

Fantastic book loved every word, plausible storyline likeable and unlikeable characters in Louise and Alice and how my heart went out to Alfie, really good book one of the best I’ve read this year

Archie (8 years old) listens, and takes to heart, his teacher's talk about secrets. Always tell a trusted adult.
Alice (Archie's aunt) babysits for Archie on an increasing basis. Why?
Since Alice's 30th birthday, she has an obsession for a man who passes on the 8:16 tram on the way to work. Eventually they wave and smile...


Alice's sister, Louise, is resentful of Alice not working. Also, of Alice not selling her apartment and giving Louise half of the proceeds. Louise is self-centered - and Alice realizes that she always has been. After all, the house was their mum's... However, Louise visited her mum less and less during the last 2 years of her life while Alice was devoted to mum's care... this after Alice lost the love of her life, Jack.


Louise is married to Darren who adopted Archie. You see, Archie's biological father is a deadbeat best to be forgotten.

Alice finally meets up with the mystery man on the tram and the results are quite unexpected.

Louise finally dumps her problems on Alice - quite shocking.


Archie relays more than one shocking secret...

The shattering conclusions keep coming! Secrets are sure to both shock and surprise!
And yet, the twists keep on coming!

MANY thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a superb read!!!

Excellent story line which was gripping from start to finish. Great characters. I would highly recommend this book.

Received a copy of this book through Netgalley.
A brilliant plot could not put the book down a real page turner will appeal to a wide range of readers.The characters are well developed throught the book,hard to figure out who the culpit was .Good ending.

I finished this last night before I went to sleep so I had some time to think about the review I wanted to read. I have quite a fondness for the books by K L Slater and I was excited to read this one.

The story itself was ok, not fantasticly brilliant but still good enough. I felt that the characters were a bit one dimensional.
We get one chapter as a character that seems that he might be more important, only to then never get a chapter from him again. That felt very weird and rushed, as if the author decided to change the story half way through.

All in all, I did enjoy reading this but I do not think I will read it again.