This was an enticing thriller which follows DI Croft. Although this is the second book in the series, you could read this as a stand alone. This was a well developed thriller. The story is tense which kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed Croft and would like to read more about him and his future cases.

The Secrets lives up to its title! Dark subject matter, loads of twists and a fascinating plot! Trust me you don't want to miss out on this one! I inhaled this in one sitting and if you pick it up I think you will too! 5 out of 5.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

The Secrets By Jane Adams is the second book in the DI Mike Croft series and it got my attention from the start and it was a brilliant read. This was previously published under the title of “Cast the First Stone”
I am looking in reading the new book to DI Mike Croft series

I would Highly recommend this book. Brilliant read.

The Secrets was received as an ARC by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

THE SECRETS by JANE ADAMS After the first chapter the story was slow going and seemed a bit disjointed. Due to the subject matter some parts of the book were difficult to read.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This is a dark, intense and fast paced thriller from Jane Adams, full of twists, suspense featuring DI Mike Croft. Croft is handling the case and legal appeal of a convicted paedophile, Fletcher, who has mentioned the existence of a powerful child porn and abuse ring, but failed to provide any further information. A teacher, Eric Pearson and his family has recently moved into a quiet cul-de-sac, but is facing a huge battery of abuse, hate and intimidation. Pearson is a hard man to like, filled with bitterness, and claims to have in his possession a journal by the late Simon Blake JP, with details of a paedophilia, and child abuse. In the woods, the body of a abused teenage boy is discovered. As Croft races against time to uncover the truth, he finds himself in a case that brings memories of his personal trauma and brings him great dangers. A disturbing and unsettling piece of crime fiction.

The Secrets is a fabulous book that hooked me from the first chapter. I had to finish it in one sitting. Well written and good characters.

Please note this book was first published as "Cast The First Stone".
Book one The Greenway had slightly spooky goings on but this second DI Mike Croft story is much harder hitting and I absolutely loved it! Keeping the great partnership of Mike with ex DI John Tynan is a real winner as the older man has a wealth of wisdom and local knowledge, It is lovely to Mike in a relationship with Maria, the psychiatrist doctor he met previously.
Croft is given the unenviable task of working through a past case, that of Fletcher, a paedophile whose conviction is coming up for appeal. He has previously claimed to know the names of influential people involved in a child pornographic ring although he has never revealed the names, preferring to believe that his contacts will rescue him rather than be implicated themselves. Eric Pearson, a teacher who escaped similar charges, has had to move his family out of the religious group home he and his brother had lived at for years in disgrace, and has been rehoused several times after local residents have found out who he is. This time at Portland Close is no different, and he claims has a journal written by the late Simon Blake JP exposing powerful people in the abuse ring, stating that Fletcher stole the journal and gave it to Pearson as insurance. Sadly Pearson is such a horrible bitter person that no one even wants to believe or help him.
Then comes the horrifying discovery of the body of a teenage boy who has been seriously abused and dumped in a rubbish bag in the woods. Both the case and the mob threatening Pearson turn very nasty as it seems that anyone who might be able to expose the truth is in mortal danger. There is a real race on to discover the truth before there are no witnesses left. This is a great story, although the subject matter is always a difficult one, and I think the author has done well through her discussions between Mike and Maria to portray some theories behind it. There is lots going on the book but it was never overcomplicated and the characters are so well described that I came to know them very quickly. The ending was very satisfying and I can recommend this book. I have already just had to order books three and four in this series!

My second book by Jane Adams, and her character DI Mike Croft. With its fascinating plot that keeps the reader interested from beginning to end. I found the book difficult to put down an devoured it in just over a day. Loved all the twists and turns. But the ending was such a let down an really rushed with no explanations for a lot of details you would expect to be explained further. Such a pity as such a page turner up until then.

My first book by Jane Adams. I found the book difficult to put down. Love all the twists and turns. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.

My first introduction to the author Jane Adams, and her character DI Mike Croft. A great story with a fascinating plot that keeps the reader interested from beginning to end. Looking forward to more from this author!

This is book 2 in the Mike Croft series but does work well as stand-alone.

An old case comes back to haunt Mike as he is asked to investigate the Fletcher case. Fletcher was imprisoned several years ago but many involved went free amid rumours of police corruption.

This is a fast paced thriller with child paedophile rings being the main part but many side stories are running in tandem before all linking together in an edge-of-your-seat ending you will not anticipate.

The case is difficult for Mike as it brings back memories of his lost son but that makes him even more determined to get justice for the abused and murdered children.

I like how Mike's character is developing and the insight into his personal life. I also love Price I think the two make up a very effective team and I love the humour Price brings to the book.

An excellent read and I love this series already - next book please

Why have the Pearson family been rehoused so many times? Why has a prisoner hung himself in his cell just after being visited by two detectives and what is in the journal?
I was hooked from the first page, this is a real page turner. It is gritty and hard hitting. So many secrets and the corruption runs deep. A distasteful subject matter but written with heart. I read this book in one sitting and it kept me reading late into the night I HAD TO KNOW and the climax was explosive.
This is the second book I have read by this author and she is now another of my favourites. An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, Joffre Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Please note this book was first published as “Cast The First Stone.”

DI Mike Croft and his team are back investigating a case they thought was long over.

Eric Pearson and his family are being tormented and intimidated and bullied in the home they have just moved into. They're receiving threatening phone calls and smash windows. It seems like everyone is out to get them.

Eric Pearson claims he is being persecuted because he has the journal of the late Simon Blake JP, which exposes a child pornographic ring that could topple powerful figures.

And then the body of a young boy wrapped in a black trash bag is found. When this gets out, people immediately rush to judgment, some of them almost rabid in their hate.

But is Pearson guilty of what he was accused of ... even though he was never charged? Or does he really have the proof that this scandal and shame reaches those higher up in business... even law enforcement?

Second in the series, it does read easily as a stand alone. There are some hints about what has happened recently, so I would highly recommend starting at the beginning.

It's well written with memorable characters.... especially Mike Croft. There are some twists and turns and the ending is quite a surprise.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Netgalley / Books n All Promotions for the advanced digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This book was an interesting though disturbing mystery centered on missing children that are sexually abused and murdered by some very bad people. Detective Inspector Mike Croft must sort through lies and deception all tied to an odd family that seems to have a way of getting into trouble with their neighbors wherever they go. Suspicion follows the husband particularly and though he has been accused of terrible crimes, claims that he has hard evidence to prove that some very upstanding citizens may just be involved in abducting, abusing, and murdering children. Great story with twists and turns.

Second in the series with a good set of characters who work well together. Fast paced story with a few surprises.

This wasn’t a most inspired choice. I wasn’t especially wowed by Getaway, the first book in Mike Croft series and I’m not a fan of series as a format in general and yet, it was an easy choice, because Getaway was decent enough, its sequel was readily available on Netgalley and I wasn’t in the mood to make decisions. This one, however, just didn’t grab my attention at all. Wherein Getaway was a perfectly serviceable procedural of a sort that would make a very nice BBC adaptation, this tale of a small community with dark secrets was about as bland as its title. Child abuse and peado perversions and strange communes should have made for a more compelling drama and frankly I’m not quite sure why the book didn’t work for me and I’m willing to admit it might have been my mood at the time. But on the off chance it wasn’t, it might be down to the fact that it just wasn’t a very thrilling thriller…too tepid, too underwhelming, too sedate. Nothing to really go crazy over. It was a quick read and probably also quick to fade from memory. Not even the entertaining supernatural undertones of the first one. Nothing really to recommend itself, outside of being surprisingly mild for such strikingly horrid crimes against children. Pass. Thanks Netgalley.

WHAT DOES HE KNOW? Threatening phone calls, smashed windows, physical intimidation. Eric Pearson and his family have only just moved into a new home in a sleepy cul-de-sac, but they already have dangerous enemies.

How could a respectable family become the focus of such hatred? Detective Inspector Mike Croft knows the Pearson family well. Eric Pearson claims to own a journal which gives evidence of a horrifying ring of abusers. If true, it would be a high stakes case for DI Croft, and expose awful secrets that the town has buried deep. But no one wants to believe the dark conspiracies of this friendless and bitter man. Then a body is found on the edge of Bright’s Wood, wrapped in a black bag. DI Croft must confront evil which threatens to rip apart everyone in the community.

First of all a BIG thank you to Jane Adams for the Glossary of English Slang for U.S. readers. This is the ONLY time I have ever seen this. It sure helps to follow the story. I enjoyed The SECRETS. Not an easy subject to write about, but it was done. It kept me until the end. All around good book.
Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the advance copy for review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Secrets, the second novel to feature DI Mike Croft, originally published in 1996.

Mike is busy dealing with Eric Pearson, a persecuted man with big secrets and investigating the appeal of a convicted paedophile when he is sent to investigate a body found in a field. It is up to Mike to make the links.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Secrets which is a fast moving procedural with a few surprises. I must admit, however, to being surprised at some of the praise in the blurb as it is not a particularly profound novel. It tries to touch on the effects of sexual abuse on the victims but is more interested in the plot which centres on Eric Pearson and his persecution and Mike Croft’s efforts to solve the murder. It seems to me that the novel is very much a reflection of the preoccupations of the time.

I like the way the author builds her plot with hints of Eric’s problems and Mike nibbling at various questions as it arouses the curiosity and keeps the reader intrigued and only gradually unveiling the secrets. I loved the big twist at the end but was disappointed with the police investigation which seemed to tail away with a whimper rather than the expected bang.

I found the period detail fascinating as we have come so far in the past twenty years that 1996 seems like the dark ages with film negatives and no mobiles, DNA or computers. How did we get by?

The characterisation is not very strong except Eric Pearson who is disintegrating mentally in the grip of an obsession. It is an interesting portrayal in light of another character dismissing him as a nobody and it made me wonder about his motivations and truthfulness. This is a subject I could discuss much further but won’t as it would involve spoilers.

The Secrets is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

suspensful, drama-filled, great read.

good characters, good plot. hooked from the start!