This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - the thoughts and opinions are mine

I love Christobel Kent's work so was thrilled to be able to read this

This is the 2nd book in a series - I have not read the 1st and feel I have missed out really - more because I admire Ms Kent's work - I feel I should read the 1st one and this again and then would get a better feel for the characters and story

This was a slow starter for me but I am wondering if its because I haven't read the 1st book. I'd like to give this another try before making an absolute decision on the book - but I can say I did enjoy it,

It has some great twists to the story so it kept me interested

Still, a great holiday read

This one wasn't for me. It confuse me at times and I didn't care for the characters at all. It was dull in places and I didn't finsh it sadly.

A Secret Life sounds like a great book until you start reading it and meet Georgie. Georgie the middle aged mother who can’t handle alcohol and can’t remember anything about her night out with her friends. Georgies inner voice is infuriating, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a character more. I had to put this down around 20% of the way through. It isn’t worth my time,

I received an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.


I used to really love this author, but this one and her last one we’re very hard to get through. I did not like or enjoy any of the female characters, and the subplot with Frank didn’t suck me in either. I found myself finishing not to find out whodunit, but just to get through it to write my review. I don’t think if I had bought a copy I would’ve finished it and I almost always finish every book I start. Just a bunch of unpleasant people in unpleasant situations without any real entertainment.

Do better.

Georgie is a mother who jumps at the chance to go on a rare night out with her friends, Cat and Holly, without her husband and child. When she wakes up the next day in her dreary hotel she only has a a vague recollection of what went on, and a gnawing fear that she was missing something.

But what emerges is an entertaining novel. I was left questioning whose secret life we were delving into? Georgies? But that wasn’t secret she had just forgotten events as she was apparently more drunk on the night out than she thought.

Her husband Tim’s? But he is just an accountant. Rather unpleasant character; not a nice husband and father, but still an accountant.

Or her friend Holly’s?

There are two narrators made it interesting. Tess and also the barman at the nightclub Frank. But what is the connection between them?

The writing style is unusual, however which for me took a while to get used to. Georgie also seems quite naïve, but when she needs to step up to the mark she does which redeemed her in my eyes.

spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars

Quite the slow burner this one.
A plot filled with just enough twists to make it not too predictable,but neither so twisty that you're just rolling your eyes at every new development.
I've read a few books by Christobel Kent,and as with this one,all solidly entertaining.
She took an ordinary night out and turned it into a rather large crime... or two.

This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and my review is exactly the same. Took an age to get into, didn’t connect with any of the characters and found it a little messy and disjointed. Maybe this author style of writing is just not for me because the actual story was ok.