This book just did not grab my attention. There were bits and pieces that intrigued me, but the current day storyline (which was the most important one) was just not for me. Sadly enough!

The characters in this book were very well written and the way that the story unfolded with each chapter kept you guessing where it was going. The use of flash backs was equally well used especially as they often lead you down the wrong thought path - keeping the truth hidden for as long as possible.

It also meant that my opinion of the characters was ever changing as I learnt new things and also questioned what I had thought previously.

An excellent plot.

Trigger warnings - abduction, domestic violence, sexual assault, addiction

Great book. You'll spend the entire read second guessing yourself. An ideal holiday read. I found myself completely engrossed from beginning to sensational end.

EXCERPT: 'Concussion heals, right?' she asks, searching for eye contact with the doctor, impatient for the clinician to lighten her expression.

'It tends to have a more severe effect on children in the short term as their brains are still developing, but yes, it heals.'

'That's good news then, isn't it?' Grace doesn't understand why Dr. Gupta couldn't have said all this to Marcus too.

The doctor sighs and leans against the wall, obscuring a poster on what to do if you suspect a stroke. Act FAST. 'Concussion can cause confusion as well, and I'm trying to work out whether that's what's at play here.'

'She's confused? What about?'

'Kaia told Seb something on the way to x-ray. Then when I asked her about it, she repeated the story. She's showing clear signs of concussion, so she may well have just confused things in her mind. But her claim was very clear, and she sounded so sure.'

'Her claim?' Grace asks. 'What do you mean?'

Dr Gupta shifts round and looks straight into Grace's eyes. 'Kaia claims that her falling out of the tree wasn't an accident. She said her father pushed her.'

ABOUT 'EVERY LITTLE SECRET': From the outside, it seems Grace has it all. Only she knows about the cracks in her picture-perfect life… and the huge secret behind them. After all, who can she trust?

Her brother Josh is thousands of miles away, and he and Grace have never been close – he was always their parents’ favourite.

Her best friend Coco walked away from her years ago, their friendship irreparably fractured by the choices they’ve made.

And her husband Marcus seems like a different man lately. Grace can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something.

But when her seven-year-old daughter makes a troubling accusation, Grace must choose between protecting her child and protecting her secret… before she loses everything.

MY THOUGHTS: Every Little Secret by Sarah Clarke is a rather clever domestic drama that moves into psychological drama territory. It's not a fast paced book, but Clarke's writing kept me interested.

I thought I knew what was happening, thought it was obvious, but was I ever way off base with just about everything! There's a lot more to this story than it first seems.

Set over two timelines, the current when Grace's life is imploding with Kaia making accusations against Marcus, and the past, starting with Grace, Josh, Marcus and Coco as teenagers and moving forward to the current time.

Initially this seems like a pretty ordinary read but Clarke slowly turns up the tension and throws in a few twists which cast doubt on everything I thought I knew.

And then that ending. It's a pretty thrilling ending, but that last paragraph? That's what sent chills down my spine and earned Every Little Secret an extra half star.

I listened to the audiobook of Every Little Secret narrated by Katy Federman. The narration was, for the most part, pretty good, but there were a few places where she dropped the ball with the voices accents.

⭐⭐⭐.6

#EveryLittleSecret #NetGalley

I: @sarahclarkewriter @harpercollins

T: @SCWwriter @HarperCollinsUK

#contemporaryfiction #familydrama #mystery #psychologicaldrama

THE AUTHOR: I love reading psychological thrillers and have always dreamed of becoming an author in the genre, but I took my time getting here. After studying for a degree in Politics & International Relations, travelling the world for 6 years, and completing 5 ski seasons, I moved to London and became a copywriter, wife and mother. In 2018 I enrolled on the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course and finally learned the craft I loved. (Amazon)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio, HQ Digital via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of Every Little Secret written by Sarah Clarke and narrated by Katy Federman for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

The entire time while listening to this audiobook I was thinking: “Do you ever REALLY know someone”? If you must choose between trusting your husband or your child, what would you do?

“Every Little Secret” is a thrilling read, with well-developed characters, numerous plot twists and surprises to keep you enthralled. I absolutely devoured it! I would recommend it to someone who is battling through a reading slump as this will surely get your heart racing again. The story is told via various POVs and timelines, but I found the flow easy to follow – seeing that it basically switches between the ‘then’ and ‘now’ of the four main adult characters.

You will enjoy this book if you enjoy books featuring:

Domestic drama
Mind games
Suspense
Page-turner
Moral dilemmas
This was my first Sarah Clarke book, and I will be looking out/looking forward to more of her books!

I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator, Katy Federman did a brilliant job to deal with the multiple POVs and the fast pace of the book. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio, HQ Digital for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My rating 8/10

Three things cannot long stay hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth."
Buddha

From the outside, Grace, Marcus and their daughter Kaia appear to be a happy family who have it all but, below the surface, secrets lie which threaten to tear their lives apart.

This was a good book to listen to; it started strong, had a few chapters that dragged on a bit but then finished strong. The story is told from 3 timelines and from multiple points of view but whilst I did get lost a few times, this was probably because I was dipping in and out of the audiobook rather than listening to it in big chunks but I soon got back on track.

The characters are strong and well developed and whilst they might not be the most likeable people in the world, I didn't think it mattered too much to me in this particular instance.

The story and plot were interesting and it was a real puzzle trying to work out who was telling the truth and how it was all going to end which I really enjoyed. There are a number of twists and the ending was great.

Overall, a good domestic, family thriller which the narrator did a good job of distinguishing between the characters and keeping you engaged.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book and share my thoughts.

Well when I first started listening I didn't think I was going to enjoy it but the more it gets into it is really good and addictive. Last night I had to stay up late listening to it as needed to know what happened. I know it is a cliche but there was so many twists and turns it was that good. The timelines did work although I usually dont like them, some of the accents were interesting.

What I love about listening to audio versions I am not tempted to fast forward so there are no surprises.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

A gripping storyline that is a little slow to burn at the beginning, but once it gets going it keeps you hooked.
I found following several characters’ timelines a bit confusing, as the story hops back and forth between the individual experience of each the three main characters in 2005, 2011 and 2019. However, this not only fills in the gaps in the listener’s awareness but also allows the story to further unfold to its shocking conclusion.
An interesting and gripping storyline, but I felt the story was let down by the narration. I didn’t like the attempt at a Devonian accent and couldn’t understand how two siblings could have quite such different accents: one sounding like he is talking with marbles in his mouth and one talking in a thick Devon accent. I felt that some intonation was missing a times to stress the change in the story’s atmosphere. However, on the whole and enjoyable audiobook.
I haven’t read/listened to anything by this author before but I enjoyed this book so will definitely look out for other books written by her.

This started out very well but lost me at the half point not every book is for everyone and this was not my taste.
The narration was excellent though

Every little secret is really well done in the audio form. It is a edge of your seat book, with lots of twist and turns. The characters are all interesting and it keeps you guessing along with the story.

I listened to the audio version of this book and really enjoyed it.

Grace lives a normal happy life with her daughter Kaia and husband Marcus, until one day Kaia starts accusing Marcus of hurting her.
Grace does not know who to believe, she knows Marcus wouldn’t hurt Kaia, even though he has a temper, but she can’t think why Kaia could be making this up.

Things start to escalate pretty quickly and with E few very unexpected twist and turns the ending is a real surprise!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Whilst beautifully read in general, the accents were a little off. People I thought were supposed to be posh kept slipping into Bristolian. However I forgive the narrator because the story was great. One of those did he didn’t he stories with a touch of ‘oooo’ and a lot of ‘aaah! I see’
Good read and that’s what’s important to me.

A fantastic read… Had me guessing till the last pages! Plenty of plot twists, red herrings, and misdirection. Kept me in suspense. I loved it!

Really good listen , started off slow but then a few twists came in and made it interesting
A happy family unit is ripped apart when Kia the daughter starts to accuse her father of hurting her but who does Grace her mum believe her daughter or Marcus the husband she has known for years

I found this book took a while to get into, but once I got my head round the time shifts and who was who, I couldn’t put it down. I listened to this book as a audio book given to me by netgalley- it was well worth the read as I didn’t see the ending coming. The characters were very unique and the class divide was dealt with sensitively.
Spolier - I’m pleased it was a happy ending.

This was a surprising little domestic thriller. I had become a little jaded by the genre in recent years but this was a fresh welcome back.

None of the characters are particularly nice in this. They all do stuff that made me dislike them, but the central premise was so fascinating and I think it will stick with me.

This book didn’t follow all the beats I expected, and I really enjoyed it for that. There were red herrings and misleading clues.

I was pleasantly surprised.

I love it; enjoyable and well-narrated book. Was suspenseful from the beginning to the end; I was so stressed for the mother, that no mother should choose between a child and husband. Poor husband, horrible brother and an idiot friend. Everyone should listen to or read this book.

Every Little Secret tells the story of Grace who, on the surface, is living a perfect life - happily married to her childhood sweetheart with a seven year old daughter. But it becomes clear that all is not as it seems when her daughter starts making serious accusations about her Dad.

This was an interesting story and it really is difficult to work out who is trustworthy and who isn't; it certainly kept me guessing. However, I just didn't seem to enjoy the story as much as I had hoped I would. The beginning was good and I was excited to read more, but the story seemed to tail off a bit and I lost my interest in the middle. It picked up again towards the end and I did enjoy the last part of the book.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and HaperCollins UK Audio for this audiobook arc.

What a terrible choice for a mother, believe your husband or your daughter?

Four young teens having a ball, some make terrible choices that follow them into adulthood. Grace faces difficult questions concerning her daughter accusing her husband of abuse. Her best friend Coco, is missing and she needs her to get hold of her to help her through this terrible time. Her brother, Josh the psychologist who she isn't close with, but reaches out for advice. Her husband Marcus, who she starts to doubt.

This book is full of twists. I felt like I could shake Grace at times for putting off trying to uncover the truth. A really good plot line, easy to read and a good ending. The narrator was amazing, could clearly distinguish each voice character. This was my first book from Sarah Clarke, and will definitely not be my last!

I absolutely loved this book! It kept me on my toes the entire time, and had me hooked from chapter one.