I’ve tried a few times to read this book and I just can’t seem to get much further. I wanted to live it as the synopsis is so unusual but this one is a “bit for me, but may be for you”

This was a nice easy read, but not particularly gripping for me.
It was very interesting in places, and didn't take the direction I expected it to. I'm not sure I'd read anything else by this author to be honest

Firstly I would say I am not sure knowing this was the author, Kate Harrison, who wrote one of my fav series of books ever ‘The Secret Shopper’ etc helped or hindered! The author has changed her pen name as this is a totally different genre, as say not sure if knowing was a good thing!!

Georgia is a court room artist, you know when you see the sketches on the news where the press are not allowed in, usually well drawn and you cast your eye and sometimes make a judgement on the person by that picture, well she is one of those, got to say that part of the book was fascinating and interesting to learn her feelings re who she was drawing.......Georgia also has a past ( naturally ) but one that will shock you ( the beginning of the book that deals with this is brilliantly atmospheric )
Georgia then gets involved,all rather quickly, in a complex story re a ‘hero’ Dad who saved 2 of his family in a fire that was started by his son!
She also starts having hallucinations
Then she has to deal with her own past and as it turns out her scary present
You then are taken back and forth with the various plots and storylines and all this whilst carrying on her job at the court which is a harrowing rape case, a lot for her and at times a lot for the reader to take in
The book was thorough on detail both character and story but every so often I felt almost overwhelmed by it all as it veered off into its various directions
I kinda liked Georgia, mostly, although her more than occasional self pity I skimmed over in the end as ‘had heard it all before’ from her
The endings ( for the various storylines ) all came together in a believable ( if not guessable for a couple of the plotlines ) way
I did enjoy the book but at times found it more hard work than I wanted it to be
A great author who I look forward to reading the next book she writes ( under either name!! )
6/10 3 Stars

Georgia is a courtroom artist with a gift. Georgia can see through people to the evil inside. No this is not some para normal malarkey. This is one hell of a read. A crime thriller with a twist. Okay like I said before she has this gift but has she ever got it wrong?
This is fast paced and i was hooked from the first page. I just had to keep on reading and read this book in one sitting. This book was not what I was expecting OMG it was so much more. If you are looking for a read that will grip you, have you turning the pages faster and faster, play at being a detective and in my case got it so wrong. Oh did I mention the twist WHAM !!!! definitely not what I was expecting. I loved it. This book is a must read and Highly Recommended.

Georgia Sage has a gift: she can see evil in people. She works as a courtroom artist using her skills to help condemn those who commit terrible crimes. We learn what happened in Georgia's past and the reasons why she doubts her own sanity. The first part of the book covers a rape trial which is where we learn just what being a court artist entails. Georgia starts to see mysterious figures, the first being a young boy, that no one else can see. Then she gets caught in investigating a series of crimes miles from her home in the Forest of Dean.

The first chapter of this book grabs your attention and does not let up until the book is finished. I liked Georgia and the insight that we get into courtroom artists. The story is told from Georgia's point of view. This is quite a pacy read. It's hard reviewing this book as there are so many spoilers that I could unintentionally give away. It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. It's well written and thought out.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bonnier Zaffre and the author Kate Helm for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent debut novel and I can't wait to read more - really unusual premise delivered skilfully and with a resolution which, unusually, took me by surprise. Great read.

Looking forward to more from Kate Helm, this intriguing storyline has a distinct difference from other crime thrillers in as much as a look at life through the eyes of a courtroom artist. This takes you on a twisting journey of lies and deceit. Leading to a final culmination of the story. A great read.

There is a great deal of information to take in with this book. There are plots on plots on plots, giving the book a great amount of depth and complexity.

It took a while to get to grips with how things fitted together and it was all from Georgia's point of view.

We have what happened in Georgia's past, her current work as a courtroom artist, the reasoning behind why she is doubting her own sanity, and a couple of cases that are told in depth.

For most of the first half of the book we see the court proceedings of a big rape trial, which introduces us to just what a courtroom artist does, as well was Georgia's ex - Oli - and a very realistic if not traumatic telling of what happens at one of these trials.

Having read previous books by Kate Harrison, Kate Helms, last author name, I knew she was able to write books that would grab me. In this her crime book, she has found some new angles to the genre and told a complex story,.

I was always a few steps behind Georgia in this, and never really had a concrete theory, but even while events are being explained and secrets are being told, its a book that will definitely keep your interest and you guessing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zaffre for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I found this book very interesting. The story of a court artist's life made for an interesting insight into a pretty unknown area. It was a different story and I enjoyed it.
Very unusual

The Secrets You Hide is an unusual and perceptive thriller. Georgia is a courtroom artist who sees behind the facades of the people she is asked to portray. But the trauma she suffered as a child impacts on her adult life and when she is commissioned to illustrate a book of notorious villains she has to return to that childhood event, a devastating fire and the hero who saved two children's lives. Georgia herself was once called Suzanne, the daughter of a murderer who spared her, and as the novel progresses all the secrets are revealed.

A fascinating read that explores Charles Bonnet Syndrome which took this thriller into a different league. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Not my usual genre but this book had me gripped throughout. Will be looking out for more of the same!

The Secrets You Gide is a gripping crime and thriller book and the debut novel from Kate Helm.
As soon as I started reading I was hooked and I was eager to learn more about the characters and how the events which happened years ago, actually came to that .

The whole story was written very well and the flow of the book was so easy to read.
Kate Helm also brought into the book the struggles people have with Charles Bonnet syndrome. My late grandfather suffered with this, seeing Victorian people, and I was fascinated to learn more about it and actually understand what someone goes through with this. This part brought back memories and brought a tear but gave me a clearer look of the diagnosis.

Anyone wanting to read a book that you want to gripped with, make you think and be a detective, you’ll love this. And I wasn’t expecting that twist at the end. Well done Kate.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers 👌👌

This was a really good read too. Georgia is a courtroom artist who feels like she can see evil in people. She suffered a terrible trauma in her childhood and this has impacted her as an adult. She is forced to re-look at a conviction from early in her career and begins to question whether she might have helped put an innocent person in prison. The really fascinating thing about this thriller for me was the way it made me think about how I might look at a person and judge them. The novel really makes you question how often judgements are made when the person in question could be completely innocent. This is a thrilling novel that will keep you guessing right until the end, it’s such an engaging read and I recommend it!

She is not the person everyone thinks she is.

Georgia Sage is a professional court artist and attends prominent court cases to illustrate the hearings because cameras are banned. The point of her work is to capture people as they really are – to reveal the secrets they thought they had hidden from view. Can sin write itself across a person’s face? If you have a vice, does it show itself in the lines of your mouth, the droop of your eyelids, the mouldings of your hand? Georgia is a very talented artist – in her portraits she builds up layers of the people, to reveal the secrets they hide even from themselves. Her pictures paint a thousand words. Once she has made a man look guilty, there is no way back.

She is commissioned to paint a portrait for a book that features artists in the criminal field. She must return to her first big case and paint a portrait, not of the villain who started the fire but of the hero who saved two children from a burning house –Jim Fielding. A portrait is not like a photo - it’s layered and every time you look at a painting you see something new about the person - their kindness, sense of humour, their sadness. Portrait sittings often take on the air of a confessional – is it only possible to be honest with a stranger? Is Jim the hero that everyone thinks he is? If you’ve been lying to yourself for years, you need a stranger to hear your confession.

But Georgia used to be Suzanne, her father murdered her mother and brother but spared her. Can you outrun madness when it runs in your family? Something shifts inside when you become a victim. You realise that the idea that we have any control over our lives is an illusion – you will never be the same. So, she has tried to protect herself and others from harm – turned her back on friendship and love, lived alone, lived a lie, obliterated all trace of the girl she once was - to get away from what her father was and what he did.

I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpse into the world of a court artist and the author very cleverly shows how many people are not what they seem on the outside. Many of us hide secrets deep inside from everyone who knows us and even from ourselves. I also learnt something new about Charles Bonnet Syndrome and Best Disease and will be giving my grade 11 class a research project about them next year. This is a book that I highly recommend.

Saphira

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

A very intense thriller with some wonderful suspense and world building. I was very intrigued by the story, and wanted to read on to find out what happened.

Warning-This book broke me in the nicest possible way. It was one of those 'go to bed reading, dream about, get up and read till it's done titles'.
Normally I can juggle a few titles and spend equal time with them, but not 'The Secrets You Hide', it demands your full attention!
This is the story of a haunting, forgiveness and reconciliation. Georgia Sage is a court appointed artists who renders those brought before judicial courts with a swift movement of her pencils. Employed by the BBC she is able to capture details that most others would ignore, to the annoyance of her nearest rival, Maureen, a horrible character who delights in the misery of others-especially Georgia.
Both women have been approached to contribute to an upcoming art book either by revisiting a case that has never really left them/made their names or updating a picture that resonates (either victim or criminal can be picked as long as they consent).
Georgia picks the father of a family whose house was set on fire by his teenage son-he was able to save his two children but not his pregnant wife.

As she struggles to handle the demands of a high profile court case as well as this commission, Georgia is inextricably drawn back to the events of her childhood , and begins to doubt her ability to differentiate between truth and justice. At the same time she begins to see the figure of a small child from the corner of her eye, a child who should not be there....
A wonderfully depicted novel of love, loss, guilt and survival of trauma with several skilfully handled mysteries at its heart, this is a book which deserves rave reviews and huge success. I hope I have been able to do it some justice here, will review more fully on my blog.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre Books for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review.

My thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read THE SECRETS YOU HIDE.
Georgia Sage is a court artist with an unusual gift. She can see the evil in the people she paints. She uses her drawings to condemn those she thinks are guilty, many of whom have committed dreadful crimes. But Georgia is not an ordinary court artist. She has a bloody secret of her own.

When she is offered the chance to submit a painting of a trial she has covered in the past to be included in a book of court paintings she is taken back to a trial at the very beginning of her career, one she was convinced about at the time, but since realised not everything was as it seemed.

The Fielding family have thrown Georgia into torment, making her question her own experiences...and her sanity. Is it what happened when she was a girl haunting her, or is it something far more terrifying?!

This novel has a real quality about it. I loved the premise because I love art of all kinds and I thought Georgia Sage's background was very unique. Georgia is a loner because of what happened to her family, yet she seems strong, as though she has accepted who she is and gets on with it. Building her whole life on a lie finally catches up with her resulting in a story full of twists and turns which I love. I was intrigued by her visions, and the ending was a surprise. Kate Helm's writing hooked me from the get-go and I would definitely read more. Recommended *****

Georgia Sage is a court room artist who takes her job very seriously. She had a troubled childhood and events in her past make her passionate about ensuring that she can portray the guilty in the dock through her pictures to try and ensure justice is served.

It’s rather ironic that Georgia considers she is able to separate the guilty from the innocent considering that everything about her is a lie. Her names not even really Georgia. She has built her adult life upon layers of lies and even those close to her don’t know the real truth.

The story very much centres around Georgia and as a lead protagonist I found her very likeable. She has all the hallmarks of a character you want to get behind. She is broken, troubled and struggling to come to terms with past events. She is a character that you want to succeed and triumph in the end. The way the author develops Georgia’s character took me as the reader on Georgia’s personal journey of discovery alongside her. Georgia finishes the book as a very different character to the one she started out as.

As with all thrillers, regardless of the specific genre of thriller you are reading, this book finishes with a last shock revelation which is brilliantly crafted throughout the book with tension building gradually as I read through. Whist I would primarily classify this book as a psychological thriller, there is also a large element of personal discovery which is the sort you would find in say, general fiction.

I very much enjoyed this debut thriller from the author and I think it’s the start of a promising career in this genre for her.

I was drawn to this book by the blurb and whilst it was a very good read I just didn’t find it exciting enough to give it that wow factor. I felt the story dragged a bit in places
But other parts were excellent .

What a stunning debut novel from Kate Helm. Immediately I was hooked and fascinated with the array of characters and possible scenarios throughout the book. I thought I had certain aspects figured out but that wasn’t the case and the whole story was so well written and a delight to read. The author enabled me to become so invested in Georgia’s character, I found myself feeling genuinely emotional at parts of the story and I hope there is some way Kate Helm can continue Georgia’s story in a follow up novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.