A serial killer is stalking young women. Who will be next? I liked the premise of this book, the feeling of history. The author is definitely talented and does a great job with dialogue in particular. I liked the portions in the serial killer's voice the most - since that's mostly what I expected from a book entitled "Secrets of a Serial Killer." I also liked some of the historical nods and references to Jack the Ripper and other serial killers of the past and I found the portions on the dark web especially creepy. Ultimately though as a thriller adrenaline junkie, I found the other narrators (aside from the killer) somewhat less interesting and their portions made the story slower moving with a few too many characters until later in the book when a new victim is taken by the killer - at that point the pace picks up and I got more involved. I also did not love the twist of who the killer was and some of the motivation for the killings, especially in the historical context. Having said that, there was potential here and definitely stuff to like, especially for fans of serial killer history. I will give this author another look as I would love to see what she could do with a book totally narrated by a villain or a book that focuses more on the more crucial characters like the killer and the victim - she definitely has strength in that area of those character voices. I would give this book 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollinsUK and Rosie Walker for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Lancaster has been terrorized by a serial killer for decades and now Helen Summerton’s worst fears have come to pass when her daughter Zoe is taken. Helen will do anything to get her daughter back, but how can she succeed and find a killer the police have been unable to catch for years?https://cayocosta72.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/secrets-of-a-serial-killer-by-rosie-walker-published-by-harpercollins-uk/

A great read well written suspense.Keeps you guessing from start to finish.Leaves you feeling there must be something to follow.Would recommend to anyone who likes crime thrillers.

Thank you Netgallery for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own. I went into this book so excited I thought it would be great but I was disappointed greatly.

Secrets of a Serial Killer is a rather creepy thriller that draws you in and keeps you hooked with it's skilfully written plot. It's one you will not put down once you start it.

A very easy read that I read in one day, It held my interest enough that I wanted to find out what happened but read my like a teen fiction or light reading rather than a “serial killer” book. A nice book but unfortunately not really for me.

I want to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter, and author Rosie Walker for providing me with an ARC of Secrets of a Serial Killer!

This novel will have you on the edge of your seat and flipping through the pages as fast as you can! A serial killer has been terrorizing Lancaster for decades and has been eluding arrest for longer than should be possible. The kills span generations and speculation is high among true crime lovers on the internet. A mother’s worst nightmare comes to pass when her daughter is taken by the killer. As the clock runs down, you start to wonder… Will they save her in time?

I loved the inclusion of elements like a cast of believable and fully developed characters, an abandoned mental asylum, and an unexpected ending. This will make your skin crawl and keep you up as you hear things go bump in the night. I only wish the ending would have been wrapped up and finished a bit more nicely. What a chilling, thrilling, and creepy read, though! Definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to those named above for the chance to read and review this ARC!

This is the type of book which grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go until you turn the final page. I stayed up way too late reading it and then got up early to finish - it's that good.

It tells the story of a serial killer who took on the identity of others to conceal his crimes, most of which are still undiscovered as a result. So skilled is he that many deaths are written off as mere missing persons and having chosen his victims carefully, they're not investigated.

It's not perfect. I hated that the ending was left unresolved. Just one extra chapter would have tied things up neatly one way or another. And there's an anonymous author of blog posts who is never identified, which I found frustrating.

Nevertheless, I loved this so much I want to read it all over again straight away!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

#SecretsOfASerialKiller #NetGalley
A good read.
A serial killer has been terrorising Lancaster for decades, longer than should ever have been possible. The police are baffled, eluded at every turn by the killer whose victims span generations. Speculation is rife among the true crime forums; is someone passing on their gruesome trade?Every local mother's worst nightmare has become Helen Summerton's reality; he’s taken her daughter, Zoe. As the clock runs down so do her chances of survival. Can Helen unearth the secrets of the killer before it’s too late?
Its antagonist is awesome but plot is a bit slow in middle and in end.
Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for giving me an advance copy.

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. With echoes of Cropsey and other such legends from the UK relating to old sanatoriums, it had an eerie feel from start to finish and had me glancing into corners of my bedroom as I read through the night. I kept saying to myself ‘Just one more chapter’ but didn’t get to stop before I finished because it was just a twist at every turn.

The characters are a bit hit and miss- I really liked some of them but found others irritating. With that said, that was kind of the point of them. There are some people who we’re just not going to like, and I suppose that’s what happened here with a few of the characters. However, the children were wonderful, and I found their POV possibly the best out of the whole of them.

The ending of the book is a cracker as well, with a lot left in the air but in a good way, the kind of heart-stopper that you wish had a follow-up but know that’s part of the charm. I do think it should have had maybe another title, but besides that, it’s a great thriller that will keep you turning pages on and on into the night. I really enjoyed this one- it’s a fun read and it gives just the right amount of spook.

I could NOT put this book down!

When I found out that this is Walker’s first book I couldn’t believe it. Walker writes such an incredible, fast-paced, and thrilling story of a county plagued by a mystery serial killer. Police can’t seem to figure it out or even admit that crimes are taking place. “No body, no murder, no crime.” Right?

The relationship between Zoe and her mother, Helen, is very typical teenage daughter to mother relationship but adds to the story that much more. The entangling of the characters story lines adds substance to the story that doesn’t make it seem too far fetched (as I find a lot of thrillers/ crime novels do).

The incorporation of the online blog posts feed into the story so well and really enhance the format. After every post, you learn more about the suspected killer and their history and it just makes this book impossible to put down.

The ending found me jaw dropped!

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter HC for allowing me access to this book before its publish date (July 17th, 2020) for honest review!

** spoiler alert ** There were some interesting bits in this,I liked the articles on the dark web on how to be a serial killer and get away with it.
And someone has been getting away with it for years.
I always enjoy a creepy deserted asylum with left over medical equipment.
I didn't however like the characters of Alexander and Zoe,I found them quite irritating.
Then when we had our killers together,I found them over the top comical rather than scary.

Some wince inducing moments,but as a whole didn't live up to the promise for me.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I will admit, as soon as I saw the cover, I thought, now that looks like an interesting book, and the synopsis definitely made me want to dive in, so I did... unfortunately that is where the love affair ends. I couldn't get into this book at all sadly.

This one didn’t do it for me. The characters were too difficult to keep separate, there were too many of them, and remembering how they were connected took up more space in my mind than the actual story. It seemed very disjointed. Got 50% through and stopped as I no longer could feign interest. So sorry. DNF.

Oh man, I finished this over two days because I couldn’t put it down. The ending is still giving me shivers!

First of all, the characters are really well drawn, the mother/daughter relationship between Helen and Zoe is spot on, which makes everything that happens a million times more intense. Thomas and Maggie are maybe my favourites, and experiencing the events unfolding through Thomas’ young eyes works so well for the story. I think the strong character voices in each chapter are what make this book an overall success because you really care about what happens to everyone.

The setting really drew me in. The abandoned asylum was created so beautifully while keeping it creepy.

And the twists and turns -- loads of those I didn’t see coming, who the killer is and why they do what they do. It all builds up to create a terrifying tableau.

This one is going to stay with me for a long time, and I’m going to go ahead and pre-oder it right now.

I found this book to be really interesting but felt it was a slow burner at the beginning. As the plot progressed it became really interesting and I couldn’t put it down as I wanted to know how the story would unravel.

My favourite parts were the snippets of articles on the dark web and how there were little details throughout the story that helped the main character story develop into the main moment of the novel.

It was a brilliant setting and I also really enjoyed Thomas chapters and his perception of the world and what was happening around him. I also loved Alfie and the part it played in the story. Of course I also loved Helen and Zoe and how well depicted the relationship between mother and daughter can be sometimes.

Although I got answers to most of my questions I would love to read more about the characters and I really hope that there is a second book as I felt I needed more closure from the ending and wanted to know more of what happened to some of the characters future and even past stories.

Overall it was a really fantastic read that kept me turning pages until I figured out what happened. I would recommend Secrets of a Serial Killer to anyone who is a fan of great thrillers and suspense. I will definitely follow Rosie Walker’s work and cannot wait for her future books!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Rosie Walker and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read Secrets of a Serial Killer prior to its publishing date in exchange for a honest review.

Unfortunately this just isn't the book for me I liked the sound of the synopsis but it just didn't grip me at all

So disappointing with this one! It started really well but has failed to keep me engaged. I’m ashamed to say I gave up at 50%