Like KL Slater's other books this one hooks you right from the very beginning. Her character creation is amazing and her story lines are always full of mystery and suspense, making the reader devour them quickly. This story really captivated me from the beginning and I loved the main character. There was something about her that really made you relate to her as a character. She didn't have her life together and things were difficult but she was managing. It was nice to see characters not living the picture perfect life before the plot happens, makes it more realistic. This thriller really kept you on your toes just waiting to see what could possibly happen next. I have to admit however though half way through the book I slightly lost interest. I'm not even sure why.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

Louise and Alice are sisters who have a fractious and volatile relationship. Alice suffers with ME and lives a reclusive life after the death of her mother and a traumatic past experience. Louise is a career woman with a husband and an eight year old son Archie.

Everyone has secrets but some secrets are more dangerous and harmful than others. Louise begins to leave Archie more and more with his aunt. As they bond Alice realizes that Archie is anxious and is hiding something. She is determined to find out what is bothering the little boy but the discovery of some secrets can fracture a family apart.

This is another tense gripping book by the talented KL Slater.

I enjoyed this book. A thrilling read that keeps you turning the pages.... to discover what the secret is.

This was a great read, with some twists and turns! I couldn’t put it down.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book.. All thoughts and opinions are my own

As always another fantastic read by this author. She always guarantees a thrilling read and leaves you on the edge of your seat and she didn't disappoint as usual

Special thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a free, electronic copy of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
After the death of their mother, sisters Alice and Louise have been struggling to save their already-dying relationship. Louise is overcome by stressors from her new job, along with trying to raise her young son while Alice deals with crippling anxiety and physical pain which has prevented her from leaving the house in years. When Alice is unexpectedly left to care for her nephew Archie, she begins to have doubts about how well her sister is really coping with her life. Then when Archie reveals to Alice that he “has a secret”, and Alice notices the bruises on his arm, Alice realizes she must face her fears and confront her sister, in order to save Archie.
“The Secret” is the latest novel by author, K.L Slater. But this is not just a story about one secret, but is, in fact, a story about many, many secrets, and how even a small secret can ruin a life.
As a fan of K.L Slater, I was excited for this novel. An author, in my opinion, known for her psychological thrillers with an English city as a backdrop, “The Secret” fits into this description perfectly. It is definitely a novel that will keep you guessing until the very end, and keep you engaged from page one.
This novel was a bit of a slow starter for me. “Secret” is told from the standpoint of Louise and Alice (and later Archie), and each chapter will jump back and forth in time, so that a single chapter may start in “present day”, then jump to “ten years earlier” than end in “three years earlier”. Although this format does help set the stage for plot and character development, it made the plot a bit disjointed and confusing for me. I felt there were far too many storylines being told, and they were all so different from each other. At the beginning, I was unclear as to where the multiple storylines were going (it does sort itself out toward the end of the novel, however). I would describe this novel’s plot as a “funnel”, whereby a lot of information and characters starts out the novel and it begins to thin out and have a more definitive form toward the end.
I did not really connect with either sister, especially at the beginning. Louise is simply a monster and psychopathic manipulator, whereas Alice is a pushover (although she has good reason for being this way). Alice grows on you though, and Archie (the nephew) continues to be the shining spot in this whole novel.
“The Secret” had an unpredictable ending, and it wrapped up the plot very succinctly. I expected to be left with lingering questions, but everything was answered in a deliciously satisfying way.
Fans of K.L Slater will enjoy her newest novel, and she definitely does not disappoint in providing ample psychological twists and turns throughout. The novel quickly becomes addictive and page-turning, and then it is, quite simply, difficult to put down. Highly recommended for fans of the genre!

K.L. Slater is back and at the top of her writing game! THE SECRET is the kind of book where just when you think it's going one way, it goes another. It kept me on my toes as I tried to piece together what was going to happen.

The story is told mainly from the points of view of Alice and Louise, two completely different sisters. Alice is a bit of a recluse and likes to watch the tram make a stop outside of her apartment building every morning...well, more like she is intrigued with one of the passengers. Louise is a successful PR person, but may not have it all together. Despite having a husband who treats her son, Archie, like his actual son, there is clearly something going on with her as she drops Archie off for Alice to watch him many evenings and even in mornings before school.

At the beginning of the novel, Archie witnesses something he shouldn't and is told to keep it a secret. Under no circumstances is he to tell anyone. This ties into the situations that Alice and Louise are going through, along with situations in the past that we learn through flashbacks. This secret could be danger to him and his entire family.

I have read all of K.L. Slater's novels, and I've been a fan of all of them. I have to say that this one was definitely the best! There are so many sub-plots that I found interesting that eventually tie together. The characters are written in a compelling fashion, completely fleshed out, and with a great deal of backstory. I was eager to see how everything tied together. The one "criticism" I would give is that everything kind of wrapped up too quickly in my opinion. It definitely doesn't deter my rating for this book, but I would have liked the ending to be a little more fleshed out and meaty like the rest of the book. I would highly recommend.

Thank you to K.L. Slater, publisher Bookouture, and NetGalley for an ARC of THE SECRET in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars out of 5!

I have been fortunate enough to read and review all of K.L. Slater’s previous books. Hand on heart, I can honestly say that I have loved each and every one. I was so looking forward to reading ‘The Secret’ and I was not to be disappointed because I LOVED it. I thought that her previous books were good but ‘The Secret’ blows the others out of the water.
I really felt for Alice towards the start of the book. She is suffering from M.E and lives in chronic pain and faces a daily battle to simply get through the day. Now I could certainly empathise with her there. I haven’t got M.E but I do have chronic back pain 24/7 and I will do for life. Just putting one foot in front of the other can be incredibly painful and very draining. Alice’s sister Louise is just taking the mickey. Louise doesn’t seem to comprehend what Alice is going through and just dismisses whatever she says. Alice is also expected to look after her nephew whenever Louise needs her to. Alice is tired enough at the best of times but having a young kid to run around after seems to double the strain. The only relief Alice has is to watch out of the window for somebody she has taken a shine to on the tram and who is always on a specific tram. I got the impression that Alice has suffered tragedy in the past through little clues that are dropped throughout the book. All the clues placed together form the complete picture. To start with I just wanted to poke Louise in the eyes with a sharp stick. The way she talks to Alice is appalling but then she has been like that ever since they were children. Louise has put Alice down when the opportunity has arisen. That’s a common trait within families and in fact I have it within my own family so again I could empathise with Alice over that. Louise just seems to dump her child on anybody who will have her. Don’t get me wrong I know that she is stretched on the domestic front but she should appreciate that her sister is limited and that just because Alice’s illness is hidden doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Louise is under immense pressure at work and she is close to cracking. Her husband works too and he has to leave the house early and comes home late. It soon becomes apparent that both Alice and Louise are hiding secrets and that there is more than one skeleton in the closet waiting to come tumbling out.
Oh my days, this was yet another stonking read from K. L. Slater. From the moment I started reading to the moment I finished reading, I was totally hooked and addicted to this book. I binge read the book in the course of a day as I was just desperate to know how the story ended and what secrets were being hidden. For me ‘The Secret’ is a real ‘CPID’ (Can’t put it down) book. My Kindle wasn’t glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it came everywhere with me. If I had to put the book down for any reason, then I was desperate to get back to it to get my next fix. I guess that I am just one Nebby Nora (nosy parker) who likes to know the gossip. The more I read, the quicker I read and the faster the pages turned. In fact the pages were turning so quickly that they were almost turning themselves and before I knew what was happening I had finished the book, which I was disappointed about. I was enjoying the author’s writing style, the story, the characters and the setting of the book in Nottingham so much that I just wanted the book to continues. To say that in one way this book was rather scary is an understatement. There were times when I almost didn’t want to turn the page because I feared what I was going to read but then I realised that of course I had to turn the page because I needed to know how the story ended. Reading ‘The Secret’ was much like being on a rather scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with no idea which direction the story would take you in next. There were also more twists and turns to this story than you would find on a snakes and ladders board. I smugly thought that I had figured out who had done what and why, only to realise later that I had the wrong end of the stick entirely. Oops.
In conclusion it’s fair to say that I absolutely 100% LOVED reading ‘The Secret’. It’s certainly a book to get your heart rate beating faster and your blood pressure soaring. There were times when I held my breath because I feared what was going to happen next. I would definitely recommend this author and her books to other readers but particularly to those readers who like psychological thrillers, which mess with your head occasionally. I can’t wait to read what comes next from K. L. Slater. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This book was marvelous to read it was a stunner to read
I thank Bookoutre for the Arc
The book was about Archie who had a secret from his lips .
You trust her with your child

Yet again KL Slater has written a fantastic
psychological thriller . I honestly found this one difficult to put down . It was a total page turner .

This was an intriguing book. Right from the first page, I was drawn in. This novel is mainly about two sisters. Alice is thirty, single and lives alone in a flat in Nottingham. The highlight of her day is observing a young man sitting on a tram which passes her home every morning. It seems an empty, lonely life until you learn that she has ME which is one of the least understood conditions. It's invisible but extremely debilitating. Initially, I wondered if she also had Agoraphobia. Her sister Louise is a needy, married woman with a son called Archie. I believe she took advantage of her excessive requests for babysitting. Louise is the polar opposite of her sister. She's well-groomed, smartly dressed and has an executive job. She's full of confidence and enthusiasm but is she as happy as she makes out? Louise is the nasty sister with cancerous jealousy of her sister, and she's poisonous. A few times I wondered if Alice over-stepped the mark with her criticism and meddling of her sister. She seemed a little self-righteous and fully believed that we all have a moral responsibility to do the right thing. In retort, Louise ignores her opinions as she believes Alice is unqualified to judge because she hasn't any children - an ill-judged, ignorant assumption perpetrated by many mothers. Is it fair to judge? When Archie's behaviour becomes challenging, and he's covered in bruises and has "accidental injuries" Alice is determined to save Archie and investigate. Louise is more concerned with her career but has ascertained that he has ADHD. She refuses to recognise that it might be trauma and reaction to events around him at school or at home. Sometimes, an onlooker can pick up on issues better than someone busy and involved in so many problems. Louise is defensive, ruthless, sarcastic and riddled with spite and jealousy. Is she taking out her venom on her young son? Will the sisters ever resolve their differences? There's a terrific twist at the end as the secrets come to light. They hit you between the eyes. A compelling reading, excellent characters to analyse and re-analyse as situations change and so much more. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

The time has come again when one of my bestie authors releases a new book, K.L.Slater certainly hasn’t let me down, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by any of her books. The Secret is special, I won’t be keeping my thoughts a secret from any one, I will be shouting as loud as I can, letting everyone know that The Secret is Out Now…….

Opening The Secret and the first thing that takes my breath away is the prologue, Archie has seen something, something bad, something that could endanger his family, now its a secret he must keep. A child with an impossible burden. Once you read it there’s no going back.

After the initial shocker of the prologue we get to know all about Archie, his mother Louise and his Aunt Alice, where will the secrets of the past take us and how does it fit with the present, turn the pages delve deep and take the journey that K.L.Slater has laid before you.

Looking at each character in turn its obvious that the two sisters Alice and Louise have had a unstable relationship for a long while, Alice is quiet, almost meek in the eyes of her sister Louise, in which Alice has become almost reclusive due to past events in her life. On the flipside, its obvious that Louise is out going, bolshy, almost tyrant like as she is used to getting her own way no matter the consequences, but is it all an act, is her life unfolding. Archie on the other hand is emotionally saddened, a child with troubles, withdrawn and seemingly unable to interact with other children successfully, I just wanted to reach out to Archie hold his hand and tell him that I’m here for him.

As I turn each page, one after the other, absorbing the journey of each character, filling my boots with the plot, sensing the realism within each written word, it felt as if I was involved, a party to their lives, embroiled in The Secret.

A mystery to be solved, an ending that will blind side you, what you waiting for its time to peel back the layers, unveil…………The Secret.

Thanks to Bookouture, K.L.Slater and Kim Nash for the advanced readers copy of The Secret in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. Thanks to Kim for the opportunity to be part of the Blog Tour for The Secret.

This book had a bit of everything for me. I love KL Slater and have read a few of her books. This one had me gripped from the start. I kept reading as I couldn't wait to get to the end. Tragedy, lies and deceit followed the sisters throughout this book. At the outset, we meet Alice (the likeable sister) but who is virtually a recluse seeing the same train and the same handsome man on that train every day. She wonders about meeting him some day. We are than introduced to Louise (the not-so-nice sister). We are then left wondering what happened to get them to this point. Archie (Louise's son) is definitely holding his own secrets..The web untangles bit by bit to an explosive ending where The Secret(s) are found out! The character of the sisters really come through and we can see from their family life growing up that they are from a dysfunctional family. Excellent read! I have to take off a star as I though the ending came quite quickly and I feel could have been played out more.

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

The Secret is an absolutely gripping psychological thriller from K.L. Slater. I haven’t read a K.L. Slater novel since I read Blink early last year and now I’m thumping myself on the head with regret that I haven’t caught up on her work since. She is a writer who knows how to hook her readers really early on and you won’t stop turning the pages until the end.

Louise and Alice were two captivating characters. Louise is a businesswoman; she has a young son, a husband and a high flying career. Her sister, Alice however lives on her own; it has been a long time since she has had a relationship and she doesn’t have any friends, she spends a lot of her time staying on her own in her flat. They are both very different to each other but it is clear from the beginning that there is something in their past that is haunting them and tensions between the two soon begin to spill over. We also know that Louise’s son, Archie is harbouring a big secret and this fuels the suspense as the plot develops.

I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as I was reading this book. I was very interested in the lives of both of the characters and what it was in their past that had gone wrong. One of the most enjoyable parts of the novel I found was seeing the relationship grow between Archie and Alice. Louise begins to leave him with her sister in the mornings and in the evenings due to her work commitments. Instantly I was struck by her attitude towards her son and placing her job above her family. I immediately disliked her and this for me didn’t change. The more Archie is left with Alice, the more you begin to see the effects their relationship has had on them as they have grown up. It is in these moments, between Archie and Alice, that really gets Alice thinking about her sister and what is going on in her life.

The story also flicks back to when the two girls were growing up. K.L. Slater gradually unpicks their relationship as the story moves forward and I did find that I began to see a different picture than the one which I thought was the case. The revelations that come towards the end are surprising, especially when we finally learn the truth from Archie about what he has been hiding since the beginning.

There is some strong character development in this book, especially in Alice and Louise, I thought the way in which K.L. Slater explored their relationship was done really well and it kept me intrigued. If you enjoy twisty, character-driven psychological thrillers, then I highly recommend The Secret, you won’t be able to put it down until you have finished. Thank you to Kim Nash at Bookouture for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for providing me with a copy of the book to review.

I received a free e-copy of The Secret by K.L. Slater from NetGalley for my honest review.

Louise and Alice are sisters but they are not very close. Alice has been looking after Archie, Louise's son. As she spends more time with him she discovers he is keeping a secret. Now she is trying to find a way to get him to tell her the secret he is not supposed to tell anyone. The secret he is keeping is hurting Archie. It is affecting his mood as he is angry and he is withdrawn.

This psychological thriller kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down. Even when I thought I had this book figured out, it took another twist. Loved that it kept me guessing.

Another great thriller from KL Slater! Fast paced with unexpected twists and turns. Believable sinister characters and an unlikely heroine.

This is the 6th book I've read by this author and I wasn't disappointed, yet another gripping read. Pulled me in from the first page and I devoured it in one sitting.

Looking at the cover and reading the description above, I wonder if I read the same book. The cover looks like the child is very young, probably a girl, and from the description was harmed or abducted by Louise’s sister. This is not at all the case. Louise is an apparently wealthy woman who works in an important job. She dresses well and is always bustling off to meetings and leaving her son with her sister Alice. Archie is 8 years old and rather obnoxious at the start. Alice, having cared for her mother until her death 2 years earlier, lives alone in their flat, suffering from anxiety and rarely going out. Alice seemed older at first, having suffered some sort of tragedy a few years earlier. She seems like the matronly old-maid Aunt. My view of the characters changes as we learn more about them. They were and still are a dysfunctional family. Louise spent her life jealous of her sister Alice and being mean to her. I just wanted to smack her into tomorrow throughout the book. I felt sorry for Alice, paralyzed by her anxiety, and was glad she started going out. Poor Archie had a terrible home life and kept an awful secret. It’s no wonder he acted out in school. It was nice to see him develop a loving relationship with Aunt Alice. A lot of this book was slow but I kept reading to find out all the secrets everyone seemed to have. The ending was suspenseful and surprising. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

What an amazing book. Slater knows how to write in a way that grabs the reader so hard, it could be a choke hold. This book made you wonder exactly what everyone was hiding right away and why. It also left me shocked. I think Slater is very good at building the suspense and keeping the reader reading and needing to know what's going to happen. Will be using as a challenge and highly recommending in Chapter Chatter Pub!

Heart-stirring from start to finish!

When I want to get lost in a book, I can't think of anything more addicting than K.L. Slater's psychological novels, and this one did not disappoint (my fourth one). The Secret is full of sneak peeks into other people's lives and motivations for doing some less than honorable things. I did not see the end coming, and it couldn't have been more perfect!

The author created some unique characters with distinct personalities with the two sisters Louise and Alice. Louise always looks picture perfect in her shiny heels and blown-out hair, but Alice senses that more is going on with her than meets the eye. Louise has always thought of her sister as a "Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes" and has accused her of being favored by their late mum.

Alice develops an interest in a man on a tram that travels past her flat every morning.  He smiles and waves up at her ( we could say she is his girl in the window) and she begins to  wonder if they could meet someday.  When she confides in Louise about him, she calls him her fancy man on the tram.  Do you think they'll have a chance encounter? I really want to spill, BUT I can't!

I really became invested in the characters, including  Louise's son, Archie. He is only eight years old, but has a secret that could change the happily ever after ending. Ding dong.

Loved every second of this pacey, twisty page-turner!