This story started strong and immediately you are in the school playground experiencing the fall out. I did find that I wanted the story to conclude at around 60%, I kept going and the ending was rather good.

Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for the copy in exchange for a honest review.

School secretary Ruth Clarkson is divorced from Will, and they have an eight-year-old son, Sam. Ruth has a fling with Rob, the husband of Janine Walker, the head of the PTA at the primary school where Ruth works. Following an altercation at the school gates with Rob and Janine which is witnessed, so begins a catastrophic spiralling of events for many, though especially Ruth.
The Secretary was a riveting, fast-paced psychological thriller that I couldn't put down. I was desperate to find out what would happen next as Ruth made one terrible decision after another in the wake of the threats, hostility and rumour being heaped on her. Although I cannot claim to like any of Zoe Lea's characters in this novel, they all had their respective parts to play within the commanding plot. Ruth, for me, was the most developed cast member and with every incident the shock value intensified as the story winged its way to the startling, dramatic denouement.
I'm now keen to read another of Zoe Lea's novels, If He Wakes, as well as eagerly anticipating what she has in the pipeline, next.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Little, Brown Book Group UK/ Piatkus via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Ruth has recently become the secretary in a primary school. The hours are good for her as she has an eight year old son who has some difficulties fitting in & making friends. One morning she is shocked to see Rob, a man with whom she had a regrettable one night stand, dropping off his children at the school. She is furious as he had told her he was single & shouted at him in the playground- unfortunately this was heard by Janine, his wife, who becomes so angry with Ruth that she throws her mobile phone at her, injuring her head. Unfortunately Janine is not a person you want to fall out with. Head of the PTA, giver of treats, fundraiser etc. Up to this point the reader has some sympathy with Ruth, but for me this didn't last long! Suspension of belief is often needed when reading a book & that was certainly the case with this one- I wanted to shake some sense into Ruth as she seemed to spiral from one bad decision to the next. All this should have made me more critical but it was a bit like watching an accident- I couldn't stop reading!

Being a retired teacher I've been in many schools, but none of them staffed by the awful people in this staffroom thank goodness! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book that I couldn't help giving five stars!

I was invited by the publisher to read this book and I'm so thankful, because I had a really good time with it!
The Secretary follows single mum Ruth, who works as secretary at the school her son goes to, and whose life starts to get hard after she discovers she had a one-time fling with the husband of Janine, head of the PTA of the school. Suddenly not only Janine, but also the other mothers and her ex husband Will become her enemies, but Ruth won't go down without a fight.
The author did a great job making the reader sympathize with Ruth. From the start I felt a lot for her and for her difficult situation with her son, who has anxiety problems and is also bullied at school. Despite the fact that Ruth does some highly questionable things, and sometimes the author makes the reader wonder if her version of events is believable, I was always on her side. I could understand her actions and I really rooted for her.
The plot was also well done, with few slow parts and with tension and danger building as the story went on. The ending was unexpected, even if not completely original, and it worked quite well.
I will keep an eye on Zoe Lea in the future!

If you are a parent then how far would you go to protect your child ?

Ruth is the secretary at her 8 year old son’s primary school. All is going well in her job but Sam, her son is finding it hard to settle at school.

One morning in the school grounds Ruth comes across Rob, who seduces her at a valentines singles night and failed to contact her after. It soon transpires that Rob lied to her and he is in fact married to Janine, the chair of the school’s PTA, despite saying he was single.

Janine is popular with the parents and staff at the primary school and after an altercation with Ruth everything is twisted and exaggerated to the extent that Ruth is soon out on her own.

What follows is a very quick downward spiral for all concerned. Who is out to get who and what are the repercussions for those involved.

This is a brilliant twisty story of what a parent will do to protect her child. I am hoping this is not the normal but maybe it is, be aware when you are on the school run !! This had me quickly turning the pages to find out where it all leads !! But then I was so disappointed for it all to end !!

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

A book full of twists and turns, wonderful characterisation and a fantastic plot. Definitely worth a read for all thriller lovers!

There are innumerable things that can go wrong at the school gate, but bumping into a one-night stand has to be mortifying.

When single mum Ruth has a brief fling with Rob, she discovers that 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. 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. Even murder.

There was something addictive about this book with Ruth trying her best to provide some semblance of normalcy for herself and her eight-your-old son, while also helping him manage his limited developmental abilities. It is when knowledge of the fling is displayed to the entire school that all normalcy vanishes, leaving only survival and revenge in its wake.

This is a dark tale, weighted down by psychological play, made even more chilling with the involvement of a mother and child. As your heart reaches out to them, the twists keep the pages turning. And when you near the end the shock is heart-stopping intense.

Who knew a one-night stand amidst PTA-runs and classroom competition could lead to murder? Perfect for fans of dark, grim, thrillers. Parents of young children to read at their own risk.

This ARC courtesy of Netgalley and Piatkus Books, an imprint of Little Brown Book Group, UK.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I liked this book but did not love it, the storyline was okay as was the characters. Worth a read but not the best.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Really enjoyed this
Lots of twists and turns
Highly recommend for those who love a thriller

Sorry I have been able to get to this book yet, but unfortunately due to this years troubling events my reading mojo has deserted me. Once it returns I will certainly be reading this book and updating my review.

Ruth a secretary at her son's school has a brief affair with out the knowledge that he is married but not only that but to a very powerful PTA at the school.
When Ruth finds out at the beginning of the school run with everyone watching her life turns upside down.
Every so often in the book you hear from someone who is in prison writing to someone unknown and this is very intriguing and had be baffled throughout but in a good way.
Really enjoyed this book.

Oh what a twisty little number this one is! Working in a school myself I am very glad that our school secretary is nothing like Ruth but have to admit that the behind the scenes stuff was often spot on! It was difficult to like Ruth as a character-I often wanted to shake her and shout “ What do you think you are doing?!” at her, especially with one scene that shocked the hell out of me!! But nowadays, parents are different to how they used to be and this tell tale sign probably showed quite a realistic portrayal of how mums think they can act!
Zoe Lea has delivered a clever book with an intriguing storyline that kept me guessing till the end. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

A mother's love for her child is what makes this story more emotional than thrilling. Its a classic thriller with cheating husbands, backstabbing friends and how far petty gossip goes. I found myself rooting for Ruth, irrespective of the games and scheming. Lea gives emotional depth to this story and that really stood out for me.

Ruth Clarkson ( the eponymous Secretary) had a one night stand in a moment of drunken madness, with a complete stranger who introduced himself as Rob. She was mortified after she sobered up, it wasn’t the sort of thing she did, and besides, she didn’t even like him, and furthermore, it turns out that Rob is married to Janine, head of the PTA at the school where Ruth is a secretary. However, feeling mortified will be the least of Ruth’s problems, as there is the mother of all nightmares awaiting her following that eventful (or uneventful) night!

When social politics at the school gates come into play, it can be a nightmare if you’re on the outside looking in - when you’re not part of the mums ‘clique’, indeed in some ways, the parents are more childish than their offspring, and for Ruth, the consequences will be truly shocking, when she upsets queen bee Janine, by revealing that she’d slept with her husband (although Rob had told Ruth that he was single).

Ruth begins to receive threatening texts - she becomes public enemy number one, and nobody wants to associate with her at school, (except for school teacher and best friend Becca), who was with her the night she met Rob, and things become very sinister, when the ‘playground mafia’ begin to circle their prey, however, when it starts to affect her 8 year old son Sam, who attends the same school, Ruth realises it’s time she started to take a little action of her own - after all, she’s only doing it for Sam - isn’t she?

They say revenge is sweet, but just how far is too far? Well, if you choose to read The Secretary, then you’ll find out, and it’s not pretty!

The storyline pulled me in right from the start, and although some aspects of it weren’t totally believable, it didn’t spoil my overall reading experience. The playground politics were spot on, the characters were ones that we’d all recognise, and there were some great twists and turns, leading to an unexpected conclusion! All in all a great read.

The Secretary by Zoe Lea publishes 20th August and I highly recommend it!

This was a story about a school secretary and how dangerous it can be to make enemies at the school gates. It deals with a mother’s love and the lengths we go to for our children.

This was a fantastic thriller and one that had me staying up late to read more and more of the story; you could see how someone might fall into the traps that were laid and how easily it would be to miss the signs.

As a mother reading this - I couldn’t help but see Ruth’s decisions as being choices I’d have to make, and asking the question - would I do/ feel the same? We would do anything to protect our children, but is it ever too much? Too far?

A really enjoyable read. Thanks @netgalley and @piatkus of @littlebrownuk

I greatly enjoyed this book, thank you for giving me a preview copy. The plot was interesting and fast paced and I sympathised with the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I hope it will not be the last!

The Secretary is an excellent psychological page-turner. Ruth is an overprotective single parent and secretary at a primary school. One morning she sees the father of one of the children and recognises him from a one night stand she had. All hell breaks loose for her when it is discovered he is the husband of the Chair of the PTA, the glamorous Janine and the alpha mums and teachers ostracise Ruth until both her job and the safety of her son are at risk.

A dark and thrilling tale which I thoroughly enjoyed. In the packed market of psychological thrillers The Secretary stands out. Many thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Group for the opportunity to read and review this book.

There are unreliable narrators, but then there are narrators you are mentally shouting at ....'don't do it!!' I wanted to shake some sense into the main character, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. There were 2 surprises for me that I didn't guess; the person writing the letters from prison and the actual killer. As I read a lot of thrillers, that counts as high praise. Infuriating but so readable.

The blurb:

The teachers thought they knew her. They were wrong...

A page-turning and deeply compulsive psychological thriller about a school secretary and how dangerous it can be to make enemies at the school gates. For fans of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and The Rumour by Lesley Kara.

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.

Even murder.

Love, lies, betrayal. I could not warm to any of the characters in this book, although I did feel sorry at times for Ruth.. I was alternately worried, and gobsmacked at this story. 4*

Ruth is a Secretary at a school who falls foul of the school gate alpha Mums when she sees at the gate a man that she once had a one nightstand with and realises he is married with children when he told her he was single .From then on she is ostracised by the staff and parents alike and her job is in jeopardy.This book is full of lies ,deviousness ,disgusting actions and vandalism and at times Ruth sems quite scary and out of control but she will fight like a tigress for her son even when it seems all the world is against her .The story has plenty of action and a very surprising ending .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest revue .