“The Secrets He Kept” by Jackie Walsh is a fast paced psychological thriller that I throughly enjoyed.
The chapters are short, yet full of information leading to the next one.
There are many hidden secrets in this book causing the reader to discover them one by one.
Highly recommended.

It's a normal day at the hair salon for Sally...until her first client shows her a family photo and points out her boyfriend's dad. There's just one problem: that man is Sally's husband...

I loved the premise for this and was really looking forward to getting stuck in. Unfortunately I found the book disappointing from the start. I just didn't enjoy the writing style at all, and the dialogue in particular was laboured and awkward. The characters were all like cardboard cutouts with absolutely no depth or nuance to them and they were universally irritating. Tom in particular was just hateful, which made the book unbelievable to me - I just found it preposterous that Sally would keep believing in him, and keep giving him chances, when he was so slippery and untrustworthy. I'd have loved to have seen a more realistic relationship between the two of them - as it was, there was absolutely no reason for Sally to stay with him, no sense of the history they might have shared, or that things were good between them once. They don't even appear to like each other, let alone love each other, and there was nothing redeeming about Tom at all, he was just an awful, awful character, so the reader is left questioning why Sally wouldn't have left long ago, even without the lies and deceit.

I just found everything about the storyline forced and over the top, and the ending was frustrating as well.I don't like giving negative reviews, but I can honestly say that if I hadn't been reviewing this one for NetGalley, I wouldn't have finished it - I love thrillers, but this one was so flat and silly, the only thrill I got was when I'd finally finished it. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review - sorry it wasn't a better one!

Sally is a hairdresser who has three children with her husband Tom. Amber is fifteen and the twins three. We know something has gone on in the past but not what which means that Sally is the main breadwinner and despite wanting to spend more time with her family, she is forced to keep the wolf from the door- something she blames Tom for.. One day at work, a walk in customer shows Sally a picture of her boyfriend with his father- a man who very much looks like Tom in a shirt she remembers buying with him. Has Tom had another child just before they met and why is he suddenly being so secretive all of a sudden? Sally is finding more questions than answers. This is one that has twists and turns along the way. When Sally thinks things can’t get any worse than they already area- of course there is something else just around the corner. One part wasn’t answered (the cyclist-I’m not giving anything away) and in some ways we never got to know the real Tom as most of the book is focussed on Sally. I enjoyed this but didn't quite get that sense of anticipation as I did when reading Familiar Strangers (One of Jackie’s other books). That said it that kept me within its pages and was a fast paced, different, interesting read.
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The Secrets He Kept by Jackie Walsh is a fast-paced read that kept me fully engaged from beginning to end. This one will have you guessing until the very final page.

Sally is a wife and mother who is working as a hairdresser in order to pay off her husband's debts. One day, a client unwittingly blows Sally's world apart by revealing a photo of her boyfriend's father, a man who happens to also be Sally's husband. This is only the beginning of the nightmare and Sally must question just how well she really knows her spouse, the man with whom she has shared so much of her life. Sally is certainly an empathetic character who fights to keep her family together in the face of one domestic crisis after another, while husband Tom makes a compelling case for remaining forever single. This is a riveting and twisty tale that will have you racing to get to the bottom of it all.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books for this ARC.

Wow.

I love this book, i devoured it in three sittings. With this story is felt like I was with sally every step of the way. I admire the strong women the author created.
It's fast paced and keeps to plot. If your looking for intriguing characters, a strongoing leading female character this is the book for you.


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I read this book in a day as I was totally involved in the nightmare that Sally found herself in. A normal wife, mum and hairdresser dealing with the ups and downs of family life whilst coming to terms with the financial mess her husband has left them in. She is stoically supportive until it is revealed that husband has a secret son... The story is full of twists and turns and kept me hooked throughout- even when I was questioning why such a strong character put up with her flaky spouse - I never felt that they were very much in love, more settled with domestic ties. A good read that will have you flying through the chapters to see how it will all unravel. Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to immerse myself in the perfect Sunday read.

Sally had been working as a hair stylist for a long time. At 37, she has twins (3 years old) and a daughter, Amber, 15y years old. Sally's husband works to recoup money from a bad deal.

While at work, a 16 year old walk-in customer, Charlie, comes in,for a special hairdo for a party. Sally is assigned to her. The two get to chatting and Charlie shows Sally pics of her boyfriend. That is just the beginning!!!

Fantastic read! Great plot that grabs you from the very beginning. A masterful story that keeps you endlessly intrigued.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Many Thanks to Hera Books and NetGalley for a wonderful read!

This story was definitely a gripping one. From the beginning, there isn't really a break from the fast paced action.
When you live with someone for 16 years and have children together, get through a lot of ups and downs in life, you expect to know the other person and don't doubt him for anything.
A chance encounter or not , reveals that actually Tom has lived a double life and hide it all along.
I liked how Sally was portrayed in the story and it's understandable why she chooses to give him credit and believe his lies .
What I didn't liked though, where all the lies that Tom kept telling her, all the hiding and odd behaviour. They never sat down to talk like adults as it's expected for a married couple and at times it looked like he wasn't worth her time at all. They didn't act like a caring couple towards each other, they just felt like two strangers living in the same bed but with no attraction, no real life together.
Overall,the book it's great but with some unnecessary twists in my opinion.
It's gripping, holds your attention all the way throughout the story and many people will definitely enjoy it.

I found this book easy to read and it did keep me engaged until the end. Sally, the main character, was sympathetically portrayed but I found her relationship with her husband unconvincing. There seemed to be little interaction apart from shared child care and it was difficult to feel any sympathy for her. There were some interesting twists and turns and I will look out for other novels by this author.

The mystery in this story was engineered by incorporating an interesting twist to a classic trope. Unfortunately, this twist left a huge plot hole. No explanation was ever given as to how it could have been possible. (Sorry—avoiding spoilers) The fact that Tom, Ellen, and Sally's dad hid this secret for years seemed unlikely. The story was very predictable and the manufactured drama was unnecessarily drawn out. It was difficult to connect with any of the characters. Sally was too harsh and Tom was too weak. It simply wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hera Books, and Jackie Walsh for an ARC of 'The Secrets He Kept' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Sally, who works as a a hairdresser, is shown a photo of a client's boyfriend with his father. The father is Sally's husband, Tom. The opening concept is gripping, but then Sally spends a lot of time angsting about confronting Tom and failing to do so, and then as Tom begins to admit incremental bits of information, the author comes up with more and more elaborate ways to account for the fact that Tom and Sally never sit down and have a reasonable conversation about the situation.

I liked the relationships Sally had with her colleagues at the salon and with her neighbours, but her relationship with Tom seemed fake somehow. I never believed that had been happy together for 15 years; there was no warmth, no intimacy, no in-jokes, no sharing. They were like two strangers who handed off childcare to one another. It was all too easy to assume Tom was lying. What was Tom's job? Why was he not paying off his debts, rather than Sally?

On the one hand, this novel kept my interest, but on the other, it all seemed by the end like a lot of fuss over nothing. I didn't understand why every one (and especially Tom - why make up the elaborate story about the cyclist?) had felt the need to keep secrets in the first place and certainly not latterly.

What a fabulous read loved all the twists and turns kept me guessing! I really enjoyed this read it in one sitting!