Thank you so much to the publisher, the author, and netgalley for sending me an e-ARC to read. I gave this book 3 stars

I no longer have an interest in reviewing this title but would like to thank the publisher and author for the opportunity, it is now far past the publication and archive date. I have awarded 3 stars to keep this review neutral.

**Thank you, Netgalley and publisher, for giving me an electronic ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

This book was more about grief than it was a thriller. I was really ever interested in the fact that Mia was being haunted by her dead friend and about the haunted house. I really didnt like the insect part of the book, that was the only really bit that freaked me out.

I don't think Here Lie the Secrets is the "tense psychological thriller" it was advertised to be, but instead a story of a girl grieving a loss.

Mia is visiting her aunt over the summer and never planned on meeting Rav or spending time with him investigating potential hauntings - something Mia knows all too well about. She is already being haunted by the death of her best friend.

Here Lie the Secrets didn't hook me from the beginning, but was more of a slow burn and definitely peeked my attention eventually with some twists and turns. There were some characters I didn't connect with , and I did expect to connect with them, but nonetheless, I did enjoy this book.

Mia has gone to visit her aunt in New York for the summer, partly to escape the “ghost” of her best friend who died five years before. She meets Rav, her aunt’s new lodger, who is a parapsychology student and ropes her into getting involved with some studies.

This book is billed as a “tense psychological thriller” which I didn’t think it was at all.

The first half was boring and nothing really happened, the second half had slightly more going on but not much. There was potential for more of a chilling atmosphere in the second half but I felt the book lacked that.

The whole book was just underwhelming and felt very flat. The characters were vapid and other than Mia thinking she was haunted by her friend, there wasn’t much more to her.

It was an easy and thankfully quite short read, but the story just didn’t grip me at all.

The idea behind the plot was something different but it didn’t work for me.

1.5 stars rounded to 2.

Thanks to Little Tiger Group and NetGalley for a copy for review.

Gripped me right from the start. I would 100% recommend to fans of this genre. It definitely won’t be my first time and only time reading it!!

This book is promoted as a tense psychological thriller. It’s not. However, it’s a thought provoking story about guilt, loss, grief and forgiveness, which I enjoyed very much. Quite an emotional read.

It didn’t hook me straight away, rather a slow start, then Young introduced some twists and turns towards the end of the book.

There were a few difficult topics covered which Young wove into the plot sympathetically, including bullying, domestic/child abuse, alcoholism, mental illness, loss, grief and visual hallucination. The core of the story was really about the exploration of grief, loss and guilt intertwined with paranormal events and hallucination. Quite a mix. With a little bit of a ghost story thrown in; dealing with ghosts of the past.

Mia lost her friend Holly at the age of 13, a very difficult experience and ever since Holly has haunted Mia, turning up at every opportune moment. Is she a real ghost or just an hallucination. Mia went to New York to stay with her aunt Sadie, to catch up with her firmed Tamara, not realising that she had a lodger, which was a little disconcerting.

The lodger Rav, was a parapsychology student and he persuaded Mia to take part in a study in why people see ghosts and then involved her in investigating Halycon House, which was assumed to be haunted by a poltergeist. You have to read the book to find out what happens. Quite an interesting result.

Young’s research into para-psychology was detailed and the knowledge she shared was really powerful. And what did attract my attention was the mention of an Art Illustration ‘Here lie the secrets’. Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery are invited to write their secrets on paper, to then place them into the grave.

I would recommend this, especially if you want a quick and interesting read around paranormal activity.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Little Tiger Group for this ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

I was interested in reading this book because I loved all 3 of the books that were in the description ("ONE OF US IS LYING, A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER and THIS LIE WILL KILL YOU") - however this just didn't grab me in the same way as those books. I think the psychological/spooky elements just weren't right for what I wanted in the story. However I'm sure this will appeal to plenty of people, especially those who like paranormal and emotional books.

A fascinating ghost story about a young girl haunted by her dead friend, who meets a group of professional, academic ghost hunters. I loved it!

It has a slow start, as Mia heads to New York, to her cool aunt's apartment. There she gets pulled into Rav's world of professional ghost hunters. The tension slowly and steadily builds beautifully throughout the book, as she gets more and more absorbed in this world. While she does, there are constant hints about a ghost who's haunting Mia, her dead friend, and there are so many secrets there that unfold magnificently through the story.

I loved the scientific basis for the ghost hunting, and thought that worked really well combined with the psychological horror elements. Mia was definitely a character I connected well with, and the emotional punches of the novel left me reeling.

Here Lies the Secrets is clever, haunting and emotional.

When Mia was thirteen, her best friend Holly died. But to Mia, Holly isn’t truly gone, though she’s never admitted that to anyone else. Years later, Mia is spending the summer in New York, when she meets Rav, a parapsychology student and ends up involved in the investigation of a haunted house. While Here Lie the Secrets is about ghosts and mysteries, it ends up being much more about self-discovery, dealing with trauma and growing up. It is a wonderful example of YA truly written for a teenage audience. Mia undergoes such a journey of growth over the course of the book that will resonate with many young people reading Here Lie the Secrets, and struggling with the changes coming with finishing school and starting a new part of life. The book as a whole is charming and compelling, and I do recommend getting yourself a copy.

A tale of ghosts, grief and guilt
It hooked me from page one with it’s absolutely intriguing story. Character development really was strong, with
lots of emotional twists and turns making me truly invested in the story! Lots of scares, chills, thrills, and shocks with the Parapsychology Research Institute. A real page turner !

Trigger warnings: domestic/child abuse, alcoholism, loss of a friend, grief, visual hallucinations
Representation: unidentified mental health involving visual hallucinations

This is one of the rare books in which it is exactly what the synopsis says it is. That is, if you ignore the line about it being a psychological thriller (it is not) and comparing it to One of Us is Lying and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (not even CLOSE).

Here Lie the Secrets is an exploration on grief, as well as where the worlds of the paranormal and the explainable blend together.

I enjoyed the story. The ongoing talk about the potential explanations that can be involved in parapsychology was interesting. It was an easy way to make the story feel unique and keep the reader guessing about what was a result of various environmental factors, versus the truly "supernatural".

But overall, I felt the story was pretty flat and single dimensional. This was particularly true when it came to the characters.

Our main character is dealing with a heavy amount of grief throughout the book, something which is a core component of the story's plot. This is done in an interesting way, as it is intertwined with paranormal events and family hallucinations. Outside of this narrative, however, the main character lacks any depth beyond what is minimally required for the story line.

Overall, this was an okay read using a story line that isn't often explored.

I really enjoyed diving into this quieter, emotional paranormal mystery. A key theme of the book is grief and loss, in so many ways and the way that Young utilises this devastating experience to really draw you in and connect to as a character is brilliant.

The exploration of grief is shown in a variety of ways and reactions, emphasising its nuanced and tricksy nature. In this way, it is the perfect theme to link to elements of a ghost story. In Here Lie The Secrets, we focus on the shadows of memories we’d rather stay buried, those ones that pull you from sleep early in the morning as our ghosts, embodiments of our baggage and trauma. Only by letting these ghosts go can we truly find ourselves and, without giving anything away, Young explores this theme in a really clever way.

I absolutely loved getting to learn more about para-psychology and it was evident that extensive research had been conducted on this topic by Young. The whole idea of ghosts really fascinates me, as well as the psyche behind those who investigate them, so I liked how the mystery was more character-driven and went spent more time probing their thoughts & backstories. This helped make the cast of characters feel more fleshed out and realised, appearing as three-dimensional beings rather than caricatures.

This is a thought-provoking mystery that will intrigue you from the very first page and leave you wondering about the world about and what may lie beyond.

This book has a fantastic concept and the tagline saying it's perfect for fans of One of Us is Next and Good Girl's Guide to Murder had me sold, I love both of those books.

The story is an intriguing tale of grief, guilt and ghosts! Mia has been haunted by grief and the ghost of her best friend Holly, who passed away when she was 13 years old. She's travelled to New York to stay with her aunt, Sadie and to see her friend Tamara whilst she's there. She wasn't expecting her aunt to have a lodger, nor was she expecting the lodger to be a parapsychologist investigating hauntings. Whilst Mia's trying to escape her ghosts, it would seem her ghosts don't travel too far away.

I was expecting this book to be great with plenty of suspense and a real spook factor. I felt a bit let down in that department. I don't know if my expectations of the book stopped me from enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I think I was expecting to be needing to sleep with the lights on and didn't feel at all creeped out. It's more of a book about grief and emotions, rather than the mystery I was expecting.

There's a lot of information about the parapsychological aspects of the book. It's obvious that the author spent the time to get her information but I don't think it all necessarily needed including in the story.

I wanted to be on the edge of my seat wanting to find out what happened and I just didn't get what I wanted. In books like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, you're constantly kept wanting more and with this, I wouldn't mind pausing and leaving it. I still enjoyed it and it was easy reading despite the subject matter being centred on grief.

Overall, it's a light read despite contending with some difficult subjects. It's less of a ghost story and more of a grief story. It has good characters and an enjoyable plot.

This is being sold as a psychological thriller and I think the pacing is too slow to be a thriller. We have 276 pages of set up and then the last 100 are similar to a thriller. I just don't think it has the pacing to be a true thriller. Maybe a taste of a thriller, but I don't who that be for. Maybe not all 12 years olds just buy adult thrillers from their local supermarket.

Mia's big problem is that she has survivor guilt and the whole book is her finally dealing with it.

This book does deal a lot with psychology. Well, psychology students hunting ghosts. We get a few hunting scenes. I'm so jaded that I can't tell if a normalie would find them scary or not. One is definitely horrifying in concept. An effect is made to be scary. If you're like me and have consumed a lot of horror media from a young age, then you won't find this one very scary at all. Unless you have a thing about insects

This book is told in the first Point of view of Mia. She's a semi-unreliable Narrator, but nothing is really done with it.

Good points is this book has no active romance and is purely about friendships. Not well-defined friendships, but friendships. It does feel underdeveloped for being such a large part of this book. Mia has three best friends, only one who actually appears in this book and Mia spends very little time with her.

Holly's death is treated as a Mystery. There are reveals and its all very underwhelming. Losing a friend like that would be traumatic and I do think Mia finally overcoming her survivor's guilt is a good subject for a book. It's just the emotion of the book doesn't go with the plot of the book. It should in theory but it's just not mashing together. It could also be that I was expecting something far worse, I have read worse in YA before.

I don't think it helps that it is set in New York meaning that automatically I'm comparing it to two other books set in the same setting that deal with ghosts are a lot better. The setting seems a bit random until the end. This book does deal with Ghosts completely different.

Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars for Random Sand. I like books about ghosts, the supernatural and the psychological one but this didn't scratch either itch. While the main character is 18, this reads on the young side of YA in how subject matter is treated. While having dark subject matter, it's just not very dark. Maybe that's odd criticism to give, but I've read so many beautiful YA Books that stab you in the heart. This might be a good book for whose only interested in the possible science behind ghosts, rather than ghost stories.

Mia sees her best friend Holly everywhere: in class, in the street, in her bedroom. The problem is, Holly died when they were thirteen. When she goes to stay in New York, Mia hopes to lay Holly's ghost to rest, but she becomes involved in a parapsychology study and the investigation into Halcyon House, supposedly the site of a poltergeist haunting which caused the death of a young girl.

I thought this was an okay read. Although the characters were well-written, I didn't really feel drawn into the story until they reached Halcyon House when things picked up a little. I find ghost hunting a really interesting subject and I don't feel that it was explored to the greatest potential. Also the ending was a bit of a disappointment for me, I felt it was too neatly finished just when things were getting interesting. Overall, it was an intriguing read, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Little Tiger Group / Stripes Publishing, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Sadly not for me. I struggled to relate to the main character which meant I found it hard to enjoy unfortunately

Eighteen-year-old Mia is spending the summer in New York with her aunt and American best friend Tamara before returning to England to begin her psychology degree. What most people don't know, is that Mia hasn't stopped seeing childhood best friend Holly - even after Holly died right in front of her,

In New York, Mia meets Rav, a parapsychology student. She decides to take part in his study to find out if she really is seeing Holly's ghost or if it's all in her head.

This was a quick, enjoyable read with some decent heightening of tension at the right moments. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more when I was in my early teens as it reads a bit like a 'Point Horror' or 'Point Thriller' book, which I loved reading back then.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has just finished a heavy series and wants a quick thrill, as there was the odd moment, reading this alone in the dark - where I had to make sure my feet were covered so that nothing would leap up and grab my toes!

First off I want to thank NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Here Lie the Secrets is about a young woman named Mia who lost her best friend at the age of 13 and it haunts her, literally. Mia decides to spend her summer in New York with her aunt Sadie and meets Rav, a student of parapsychology who ropes her into his study looking at ghosts and the reasons why people see them.

First off, the premise for this was fascinating. I studied parapsychology in university and when I found out that there was an aspect of this in this book, I was excited. To give credit where it is due, it felt as if the author really did do their research into the subjects included in this story in order to make it seem more realistic, but somehow it all fell flat for me.

I found myself actually skimming through a lot of the first part of the book - I was bored. Nothing much was happening, it was a lot of talk and background and setting up the main bulk of the plot and I didn't enjoy it. I didn't care much about Mia or any of the characters, I didn't care really about what truly happened to Holly. I just wanted to know why she was haunting her. I contemplated DNFing this book at about the 30% mark, but I persevered because of my interest in parapsychology and it wasn't until around the 70% mark when I became interested in what was happening. The spooky stuff that I had been waiting for. However, it quickly got boring again. I found that the climax of the story ended too quickly, everything happened then we had an answer and it was done. The End. I was left feeling 'meh' and like I had wasted my time.

I expected more spooky, more psychology. I wanted more haunting, more scares, more intrigue. Then I wanted more theories on apparitions, science behind 'the paranormal' and I felt I didn't get any of that. I wasn't scared, I wasn't on the edge of my seat and I wasn't intrigued to read the resolutions. It was a slow-burn book about unresolved feelings and not a paranormal/parapsychology story - that's more of a plot to enable Mia to come to terms with her friends death. Not a slow, creepy, horror-like story that I was after.

The only thing I liked was the Art Instillation mentioned in the book. I just want to know all the hidden secrets it holds.

2 Stars.

I went into this book with a certain idea of what it was going to be like and it was completely different to what I’d expected. That being said I found the book ok and you can tell the author clearly had done their research. Just because this book wasn’t for me does not mean I think it bad and would encourage anyone looking into this book to check out the 4-5 star reviews!