I read this so quickly - a real page turner.

Ruth the School Secretary in the title has a one night stand. Little does she know that despite him saying he was single and had no children, his wife is the head of the PTA and his children go to the school she works at. When a showdown ensues at the school gates life gets very nasty very quickly for Ruth.

Who would have thought so many nasty and murderous things would happen in and around a school and the secretary who works there. From silly niggles to the prospect of losing her job Ruth spends most of the time on the back front in this mystery. When she's told to grab a snake not by its head, she becomes embroiled in something far more serious than petty squabbling when she decides to fight back. She justifies it as protecting her child, but it begins to get out of hand.

Some of the time I couldn't work out whether the incidents were really happening, or if Ruth was making it up. Interspersed with letters from a prison you know something happened, but just what you are yet to find out. A really gripping, page turning story.

This was a page turner. Some elements of the plot were a bit far fetched.
The characters were well developed and relatable. Some great twists and turns followed by a good ending

Enjoyable read, plenty of twists and turns. A bit of a predictable ending, but enjoyable none the less

Enjoyed it but by the middle found it predictable as to the ending. I guessed and was correct so slightly disappointed. Lots of twists but not as good an ending as it could have been

A gripping read. Lots of twists and turns. None of the characters are very likeable but that adds to the politics of the school gate gang.

Omg wow this book is amazing it's full of twists and turns it will keep you up all night I really enjoyed this book

A tale of malicious school gate politics. Unlikable characters especially the main protagonist Ruth, made it an uncomfortable read.

This dark, gritty thriller was really interesting. School yard gossip told from the inside.

A great read.

Thank you for my copy of “The Secretary”. I enjoyed the plot and the unravelling of the story. Elements of real life school gate politics made it very accurate.

Oooo I did enjoy this. Captivating. If you have been witness to the school mum army and/or worked in a school you’ll get this! But even if you haven’t worked in a school this book tells it like it is! Brutal!

School gate politics at the worst in this book! The school run can be dicey at the best of time but one that involves malicious lies, affairs and a school secretary determined to protect her son - that's another level!

3.5

The Secretary is an intriguing novel from the outset, and it is probably safe to say that nothing is as it seems.

Ruth, the school secretary of the novel's title, is struggling with life.

Her son suffers from crippling anxiety, her relationship with her Mother and ex-husband are strained, and now seemingly everyone at the school she works despises her.

For Ruth unwittingly committed the unforgiveable sin of sleeping with someone else's husband, not only that, but his wife is head of the PTA where Ruth works, and she has an unhealthy amount of influence over the school's headteacher and the rest of the school's staff.

As soon as Ruth discovers that Rob is not single, as he had assured her he was, she attempts to apologise to Janine, but Janine isn't interested in Ruth's apologies, and is instead seems only interested in making Ruth's life a misery.

As her colleagues begin to turn against her, Ruth realises that she must do something to help them see that she just made a simple mistake, and that she is not the homewrecker that she is being labelled as.

She will do anything to protect her reputation, but at what cost?

I thought this was a great story, I really enjoyed it. A few tense moments which made me wonder what was happening.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I did manage to read this really quickly but I didn't enjoy it.

Hated the characters and figured out what was going on quite early on...so no surprises for me there...which was disappointing. I didn't really understand how anyone got in that mess and how Ruth could ever think she was doing the right thing.

Maybe you have to be a mum to get the tone of the book? Never felt excluded from a book before!

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I just couldn't get into it for the life of me, sadly. I liked Ruth's voice but it just took so long to actually get to the crux of the plot, it's a shame really, i love novels about school politics but this one just did not resonate with me at all.

I enjoyed The Secretary by Zoe Lea, it kept me interested. Single mum Ruth has a one night stand with Rob who had said he was single. Imagine her horror to find out not only that he’d lied but also that he was married to Janine the head of the PTA at the primary school where Ruth works as the secretary. This is when problems start to happen. My first by this author but certainly not my last. A fab book.

If you're looking for a bit of escapism, a nice, gentle read that leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling, then step away now! This is absolutely not it. This book made me thoroughly uncomfortable, agitated and frustrated!
The main character, Ruth, appears on the surface to be a wholesome single mother doing her best to raise her son in difficult circumstances. As the book progresses, questions start to emerge about how much of the sympathy we feel towards Ruth is deserved and how much her problems are of her own making. It's tense and all-consuming - an addictive page turner that keeps you guessing.

The Secretary is a dark psychological thriller that shows how one action and its consequences can start to unravel a person’s life. We start with school secretary Ruth who unwittingly reveals she’s had an affair with the husband of head of the PTA in front of both his wife and many people at the school. This then begins a whole chain of events and the two start to fight dirty with both reputations and businesses at stake.

My main problem with this story was the main character of Ruth - nearly every decision she made felt forced and unrealistic. Even the beginning action of yelling at a man she had an affair with who she has just found out is married at the school gates in front of witnesses seemed such a silly thing to do. Although I liked the idea that one action could ruin a person’s life and how Ruth changed her morals to deal with the issue it just seemed so hard to sympathise with her. I spent the majority of the book internally yelling at every stupid decision she made. I felt that if she had been a much more likeable character to begin with, without the violent past and over exaggerated response at the school gates this would have been a much more impactful and cautionary tale.

As the story was told from Ruth’s perspective we didn’t really get to explore or sympathise properly with any of the other characters which only led to more annoyance with Ruth. I did like how the stakes and the pace ramped up as the book went along and parts were truly dark. However, I found the plotting a little odd in places - lots of small pieces that were made to seem really important turned out to be dead ends and the narration from a character in prison didn’t really make sense, even with the end reveal.

Overall, The Secretary is a dark read but is let down by an unlikeable and unrealistic protagonist. Thank you to NetGalley & Little Brown Group UK – Piatkus for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well depicted story and sufficiently tense to make you want to keep on reading! All the characters were pretty unpleasant however the twist at the end was satisfying and I enjoyed!

How long would you go to protect your child. I think, for almost everybody, the answer is clear and made without hesitation: We would go as far as needed and do whatever necessary to see our children unharmed and protected. But what, if it's not clear where the threat is coming from? Or is it OK to use your work position to help? And what if, in the end the betrayal is far worse than you ever imagined?
Good story, with some pretty good twists in the end.