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.

Let's be honest here. If I had noticed 'school run revenge' I would never have picked this book up. I didn't even know that such a genre existed. But the opening is a letter from prison. The story has murder and disturbing psychological stuff. I'm okay with that.

Most of the story centres around petty gossip, spiteful actions, wide eyes and blanching, but the deeds become more menacing as the book progresses. The Secretary has a one-night stand with the husband of one of the parents of the school where she works. That betrayed parent also happens to be head of the PTA and very popular amongst the other parents and staff.

Both the eponymous mother and her eight-year old son suffer from extreme anxiety, low self-esteem and bullying, as well as other psychological issues from the past. This serves to hinder any attempts to deal with the current situation and at times it appears that the mother and her son are their own worst enemies.

The story is written in the first person, informal, raw and authentic, fast-paced and fairly believable in some instances. Ultimately this easy to read book is full of suspense, unpleasant, immature characters - and the perfect revenge trope. The inserted letters from prison are a great touch.

This is one of those books which is quite believable, which kind of scares me even more!

It’s Ruth and her son, Sam, against the world after her husband left them. Ruth makes the mistake of sleeping with a man and that mistake comes back to haunt her and she will go to any length to protect her son.

Ruth was a tricky person to have as a main character - I swung between really disliking her and rooting for her - mostly during the latter stages of revenge. What that says about me I'm not sure... but this is a roller-coaster ride for any die hard thriller fans!!

A fast paced story with a twist at the end that I did not see coming!I
I did find Ruth a bit of a strange person with the decisions she made, and a couple of the other characters seemed almost unbelievable, but overall the story was good, and like I said the end twist really got to me!
How far would a parent go for their children.
Thank you netgalley

Dark and twisty! Ruth has a perfect job as a school secretary. She is respected and hardworking until one day a situation brings personal and professional life together with drastic results. What follows is a story of revenge, secrets, whodunnits and scenarios erupting out of control. I didn't know if I was rooting for Ruth or not who was intent on keeping her son safe from the world. There were certainly worse characters... Really gripping and a stunning ending.

Very well written, realistic, and unique even though it’s a plot done many times! I didn’t have to suspend believe to understand, as I feel everything that took place, could defiantly happen in real life! The characters were well done, developed in a manner that made me want to finish their story! Lots of shocks, chills, thrills, and suspense! Definitely recommend this quick read that’s sure to grab your attention!

Will buzz up and review using low Amazon reviewer #!

This was an enjoyable thriller to read quickly. I liked the plot, the suspense and the characters.
Would read from the writer again.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

When single mum Ruth has a brief fling with Rob, she's mortified to discover that he lied to her. He lied to her, because he's married. Worse still, he's the husband of Janine, head of the PTA at the primary school where Ruth works as secretary, and when the truth of their fling is discovered, Ruth suddenly has a lot of enemies at the school gates. Threatening texts begin to arrive, rumours abound and the staff room becomes hostile. But when it also starts to affect her son, a student at the school, Ruth realises you can do anything if you convince yourself it's for the sake of your child.

As my blunt description of this states, I found this read very unlikeable. The plot is childish, from the description I thought it sounded childish but I was not prepared for how the adults behave throughout. There are moments where I liked the plot but they were fleeting and it soon returned to the ridiculous state. The plot is obvious as well which was a real shame. I keep saying this recently, but I want a thriller to be shocking and have something to make me sit up and take notice, sadly I saw the twist coming a mile away. To be honest, I debated rating this 2 stars but there was something that kept me reading this so I opted for the higher rating.

As well as the plot being unlikeable the characters are not likeable either, especially Ruth. I can handle some characters being unlikeable, I could even handle all of them being unlikeable if there was something to make me root for one of them, however this read had none of this. I did not care about any of them, I was not rooting for any of them and I did not really find them to be realistic either. Without going into details, there was a character I thought I would like but they were utterly wasted. I finished reading this and immediately thought what was the point of them, I feel Lea could have done so much more with the characters.

'The Secretary' follows a bunch of adults as they behave like children. I was very disappointed and cannot think of positives. If you want a thriller that borders on the ridiculous, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy.

Poor poor Ruth. She’s just trying to make her and her son’s life easy by making friends in the school playground (it’s what every mum tries to do and it’s not easy) … but she made a mistake… with drastic consequences and what follows is the fallout…

But Ruth is offered a stick to defend herself and boy does she use it. Janine and her clique have poked Ruth and she’s reacted. She’s protecting her son as any parent would and the lengths she goes to are ingenious and rather vindictive, given the hard time they’re both getting. And as events escalate, Ruth becomes more questionable and unreliable.

This is one of those books which is quite believable - although that would be rather worrying. Ruth was a difficult person to have as a main character - I swung between really disliking her and cheering her on - mostly during the latter stages of revenge. What that says about me I'm not sure, but I did quite enjoy the book, when I wasn't yelling at it.

The Secretary by Zoe Lea

I was invited to read this book by the publisher, and after reading the description I couldn’t say no. Also, this is my first book from this author.

The Secretary is a fast paced, well written, psychological thriller that I couldn’t put down. After reading the opening chapter I was desperate to find out what had happened, especially as the book open with an anonymous letter from a prisoner at the HMP Westmorland Prison. From there we follow Ruth a single mum who works as a secretary at her son’s school. Ruth’s life is then turned upside down with events that spiral out of control after a one night stand. Just as you think you know what’s going to happen the direction changes and you’re back to guessing what could happen next. However, saying that I did manage to work out part of the ending, which if was quite obvious a few chapters before the end, but I was definitely not expecting the final twist at the end.

Although the plot was great and the characters were well developed I can’t say that I personally liked them. At times I found their actions a little petty and ridiculous, but at the same time I have witnessed some of the behaviours while having both worked as a volunteer at several schools and while dropping off and picking up my nieces and nephews at school.

This was a very addictive read and it really got me thinking about how far a parent would go to protect their child. And trust me after reading this book you’ll really learn how far they are willing go!!!

Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fast paced psychological thriller!!!

A big thank you to publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I nearly gave up on this book at about 40% but read some reviews so kept on going. I’m sorry but I didn’t grow to like it any more and feel I could have spent those three hours more productively. None of the characters are likeable and the main protagonist is totally ridiculous and unbelievable. The motivations are spurious at best and downright incredible at worse. This story had the bones of a good psychological thriller but was handled clumsily and the ending was trite.

I really enjoyed this book, I read it in a couple of days as I was reading it every time I could. Really great and strong characters, well written and definitely recommend! Superb!!

I enjoyed this book. Ruth is the school secretary at the primary school her son attends. She is a single parent and has a very troublesome relationship with her ex husband. After a one night stand with a guy called Rob, who tells her he is single, she discovers that he is actually married to Janine, the chair of the PTA. When it becomes common knowledge what happened, Ruth finds herself the target of staff and other parents at the school. It also becomes obvious that she herself is a bit unhinged. A good page turner, though I felt the ending was a bit contrived. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

What an amazing, unputdownable read, I was utterly gripped, the ending was just amazing. Definitely 5 stars from me!

Fast paced
Unpredictable
Addictive
Plenty of twists and turns
And a plot that keeps you guessing
What's not to like
Would I recommend it
Definitely

Thank you netgalley, Zoe Lea and Little, Brown Book Group UK for allowing me to read and review this book

The Secretary opens with a letter from HMP Westmorland Prison, you don't know who is writing the letter, who it is to or what they have done but it grabs your attention - you then skip to seven months before the letter and into the lives of Ruth and Sam. Ruth is a single mum working as the secretary at Sam's school as she wants to be closer to him as he suffers from anxiety. Ruth's life is turned on its head when she comes face to face with her one & only one night stand in the school car park. Events quickly escalate and spiral out of control, and the chapters are interspersed with more mystery letters from prison.

Just as you think you know where the story is heading it changes direction, and you are kept guessing as to what has happened until the very end.

A very addictive read.

I was given a copy of The Secretary by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an honest review.

The Secretary is a fab thriller that shows you that no matter what you will do anything to protect your child.
Ruth is a single parent to Sam and is a secretary at his primary school, she was married to Will but he had an affair and the relationship ended, life is lonely for Ruth and gets cajoled into going to a valentines night where she meets Rob, he’s single, good looking and she has a one night stand with him. Time passes and Ruth finds out that Rob is actually married to Janine, the most popular mum at the school and head of the PTA. Janine finds out and Ruth’s life goes into freefall. Trying to protect her son from a classroom bully and herself from Janine and all her friends doing awful things to her sees her life get out of control and when Will says he’s going to apply for custody of Sam, Ruth sees herself getting deeper into trouble.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.