I've loved previous books by Christobel Kent and had high hopes for this one too. I really liked the plot premise but I struggled with the book until the final part, where it really picked up. Unfortunately the preceding three quarters didn't grip me as I expected.

I have read another of Christobel Kent's books and really enjoyed it, so I was keen to read this one.

Married Georgie, a mum to daughter, Tabitha, goes on a night out with friends, intending to let her hair down like she used to. She's taking the train to London and an overnight stay in a hotel is booked. Happily married to Tim who she has known for fourteen years, thirty-seven-year-old Georgie is looking forward to her night but her excitement is tinged with anxiety. Then she has one drink too many...

In a novel brimming with secrets and danger and loaded with emotional drama Christobel Kent's characters are real though not particularly personable, however, this did not deter me from enjoying the story. With a steady pace, the tension gradually built as it climbed towards a cracking crescendo. So well written, I was afforded strong feelings of apprehension and unease throughout as I tried to determine whodunit.

In A Secret Life, Christobel Kent demonstrates that she knows how to write dark, enticing and gripping novels. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Little, Brown Book Group UK, Sphere via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I struggled through this book and hate to say but couldn’t wait to finish it. Sorry but a boring read .

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
I have read other books by Christobel Kent and really enjoyed them. A Secret Life was very slow to become of interest, in fact it was only the last quarter of the book that held my attention. Then the story suddenly and unexpectedly took off and was really interesting.
I will read other books by the author in the future and look forward to reading and reviewing them.

Dark tense chilling so well written a compulsive read. So well written,A psychological thriller that keeps you guessing on the edge of your seat.A unique thriller highly recommend #netgaley#asecretlife

Married mother of one, Georgie has a night out with two old friends but it doesn’t pan out as expected. Could’ve been a very enjoyable read but it was disjointed with a lot of unsavoury characters. As for Georgie, what a limp lettuce she was, subservient and weak with not an ounce of get up and go in her - absolutely pathetic. So much so I was relieved to finish the book simply to escape from her! The idea was ok, but nothing that hasn’t already been done before.

When Georgie is persuaded to join two old friends for Ladies' Night, she intends to have fun, to behave like the Georgie she was before marriage and motherhood changed her life. But one drink too many and Georgie's not sure what happened the night before. Now she's starting to wonder just what she's invited in to her life.

Firstly, I am going to start by saying this is more of a two star rating but the ending saved it enough to boost to three. The reason for my lack of enjoyment is the very confusing and jolty way this is written. It is not clear what is happening, especially at the beginning. Instead of having the effect of ensuring I wanted to keep reading, it had the opposite and made me want to put it down. More confusion arises when a new character is introduced with no explanation and again it put me off.

All of this is such a shame as the plot is quite good. Full of secrets, danger and twists. The ending, as I have briefly mentioned is astonishing and does not fit with the rest of the book due to the sudden clarity and excitement we have. If only the rest of the book had been like this.

Character wise, this is okay but there is no-one really special who I warmed to. Actually my favourite character was probably Tabs. The characters did aid enjoyment but they are forgettable.

'A Secret Life' is enjoyable with some obvious twists and some that are not so obvious. The book would have been dramatically improved had it been clearer and not so confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sphere for an advance copy.

Georgie seems to have a perfect life - loving husband, young daughter, nice house - but when she wakes up after a night out with her friends with blurred memories things start to unravel. Then one of those friends is found murdered and Georgie starts to have flashbacks of that night.
Kent has many fans of her novels, the middle-class mother in a psychological domestic thriller, and they will lap this book up. I really liked her first novel but subsequent ones have felt more and more formulaic. This is no exception. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with it, it will please the masses but it's nothing new or original.

I liked A Loving Husband - Liked, not loved. It was alright. it wasn't my favourite, but it was ok. So I thought I'd give this a try; the description sounded amazing and thrilling and totally unputdownable. but yet again, I felt like I found another ok book. Just ok. Meh.

3 for neutral. While I tried on multiple occasions to read this book, as I’ve heard amazing things about the author and may have even read earlier works, I just could never get into it enough to get close to finishing. Because I’m such a moody reader and really didn’t see anything wrong with it, I do not feel right giving a 1 star review. Will update if able to get into and finish.

My thanks to Netgalley and Little , Brown group for a copy of A secret Life for an honest review.

I enjoyed Christobel Kent’s previous book, and thought the description of this book sounded really interesting.Unfortunately It didn’t live up to my expectations. I found it really slow and I didn’t find the storyline flowed very well..Just an average read.

his book was an average read. I had been expecting more but it was still an ok book.
Writing style and pace were of average quality
An ok book

You HAVE to read this. Oh my goodness, the end was gripping. I stayed up till the early hours to find out how the end finishes. This has to be the best (and my favourite) Christobel Kent book.

Two different narratives (Georgie and Frank) which come together on a couple of occasions. The tension just builds and builds until the explosive end.

What did you do last night? You can't remember due to drinking too much but it slowly comes back to you and it's more complicated than you think.

Don't miss this explosive read!

This is the first book I have read by this author so I have no other works to compare it with.
The synopsis sounds great, but the actual book fails to deliver and I was failing to see the point of the whole book. It was not until about 80%of the book that the story became interesting. Had I purchased this book, rather than been reading it for review purposes, I would have given up way before the 80% mark.
I am sorry to say this really was not one for me, I did not enjoy the storyline, the style of writing or like any of the main characters. The two stars is given for the final fifth of the book which became more interesting.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book sounded good but didn't live up to the description. I didn't finish it.This one's not for me .

Compulsive reading, this is an addictive suspenseful psychological thriller like no other.

The plot is unpredictable with lots of twists and turns along with solid engaging characters.
There is also a sense of dread as the story deals with the deep and dark corners of the human psych.

I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone!

Entertaining quick thriller I enjoyed. It wasn't the most original, but still it was a light read for summer.

Thanks a lot Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting premise, however I did not enjoy as much as I thought I would based on the blurb. Definitely a good read though!

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.