A book about secrets, I was intrigued when in the first few pages my main character was covered in blood and being resuscitated. This is the first time I am reading this author, so I was completely caught up in the life story of Holly. A shade of darkness to the prose added to the atmosphere when Holly's daughter acted differently. The whole book revolved around it. Two timelines gave me the entire picture of Holly's characterization. The secrets when revealed didn't feel too suspenseful, but that was okay. I liked the process of discovery. A bit slow at places, I could still finish it in good time.

This was a book about family secrets which were slowly revealed as the book progressed. Along the way we had a number of twists.

Whilst this was a good book and overall enjoyable I did find it a bit of a chore to read at points and felt it progressed too slowly at times. Whilst I liked the main character most of the time I did feel some of the other characters were hard to like and had brought some of their problems on themselves.

I do feel the book and the author had plenty of potential but justfelt overall that the book was lacking something but others might get more enjoyment from the book than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for providing a copy of this book for me, for an an open and honest review.

I found this book to be very complicated and confusing . And the big secrets werent as I expected. Sorry this book want for me

A clever book, with multiple twists, but I found the whole thing a bit too complicated. I also found it difficult to care about any of the characters so the whole thing left me a bit cold. I'm sure a lot of other people will enjoy it though.

This isn't my usual type of read at all. I'm not even sure why I chose it. I started reading it on.my phone in my coffee break, mistakingly thinking it would be a quick, light read. How wrong could I be!
Oh my goodness. I was gripped by the first page. The writer has woven a tale with dark undertones. Flipping between the past and the present, there"s a smidgeon of Cinderella here but only a nod. Marley is key. My fears for her didn't pause right the way through. Very good indeed..

This booked gripped me from the very first page. You know that something terrible has happened when the book opens with Holly covered in blood, receiving CPR. I then spent the rest of the book absolutely gripped by Holly’s story, culminating in her ending up on her kitchen floor. This is a book about secrets and sometimes imagining what those secrets are can be worse than knowing. It is also a book about children growing up, overactive imaginations, parents trying to do the right thing and sometimes failing badly. I had all sorts of theories about the characters and what they were capable of. Why they behaved as they did. Trying to find out if I was correct, if Holly’s worst fears would be realised kept me reading this book pretty much non stop until I got to the end.

This book was an OK read, though I felt like the story was leading up to huge secrets and when the secrets were revealed, they felt like a let-down. It centers on Holly, whose daughter Marley starts acting out of character, causing Holly to investigate her relationships and interactions with those around her. There are also flashback chapters from when Holly was growing up.

There were a lot of twists, which made the book fast-paced, but there were almost too many red herrings, leading me to be underwhelmed when the truth finally comes out. I couldn't figure out of some of the characters were horrible people, or just flaky, and didn't really find any of them that likeable.

Overall, not my favorite but definitely held my interest. I was just a little underwhelmed when all was said and done. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book and although I had guessed some of the answers certainly not all. Living in Suffolk the setting of the book was a definite positive but it’s well worth a read whether you know the area or not. I would certainly read more from this author!

This is a book of secrets. Ones hidden from children, by children and by adults too. The story relies on people not revealing these until the end, all the while dropping hints that make you believe that something darker is going on. A fairly basic story made more complicated by the jumping around in the timeline. Not a story that gelled with me. Sorry.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the advance copy of this book.

4.5 stars

A lot of books these days claim to have big reveals and shock twists, yet they’re always disappointing. But The Secret-Keeper’s Daughter by Samantha King kept me guessing (and second guessing).

It plays out in a way that seems really dark and twisted, but I refused to believe my suspicions were true. I assumed the author wanted me to suspect certain people of certain things, so felt smug that I wasn’t falling for it. But as the story continued, I doubted myself. Again. And again. I kept changing my mind about which characters I trusted, which were hiding things and which were telling the truth. This is what I want in a book! I was hooked and read it in one sitting, way past my bedtime.

Characters are well-written and engaging, forcing you to change your view of them continuously. Are they evil, good, or just misunderstood? But maybe they are evil… or just mischievous? Ultimately none of them (except Holly maybe) were at all what I thought. I did guess one of the twists, but it didn’t detract from the story because there were so many I did not expect.

Holly is a loveable and pitiable character, torn between family and friends and trying to make sense of her own childhood, as well as daughter Marley’s. Marley’s perception of events is staggering and yet so believable, it really made the story. While we see the world through Holly’s eyes, we forget what it is to be a child and how things seem very different to how they really are.

A few readers have said the book confused them but I disagree and found it very easy to follow. This book is unique and engaging, with strong characters and plenty of twists, turns and shocks. It’s one that really surprised me, and I look forward to reading more of King’s books.

What a great book, very well told and written. I never saw the ending coming, had plenty of different scenarios in my head about what was going to happen but none of them were right. It was a great guessing game until the end.

This book hints at very dark secrets from the beginning. However, I dislike stories that depend on a character not saying or asking something which would easily solve a problem, or someone starting to say something and then they don't - they either get interrupted or change their mind, or say they will do it later, but then don't. (Amy does this a lot). Holly's relationship with Amy is one of extreme dislike and rivalry at the beginning but then she decides she has always loved her really. Holly's mother and father are both keeping secrets from each other and from the two girls. Holly suspects something is not right but gets it all wrong because nobody tells her anything! All in all I thought it was a mess and the secrets were predictable and not particularly startling.

Absolutely loved this book, fabulous storyline and not quite the ending you are expecting, which is always a good thing. Although I thought in parts the book dragged a little it is well worth reading and a really enjoyable read. Keeps you guessing and changing your mind the whole way through. Definitely worth a place on your reading list.

I wasn't too sure of where this was going when I first started reading but boy am I glad I stuck with it! This book captures you in and makes you question so much only to be wrong...

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this book, the characters and the storyline and would recommend this to other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!
This book was so interesting from start to finish. While the time jumps were a little confusing at first, it was overall easy to follow, and the jumps were necessary to get the full picture of the story. I felt as thought a lot of secrets were unraveling as the story went on— which was fully intended, as per the title— and plot twists left me intrigued until the final page. This isn’t the typical type of book I read, but I’m so glad I gave this one a try. It spooked me in certain places, sometimes inexplicably, and I found myself reading the entirety of the book in one sitting, despite it being a bit long, because I was so interested in the storyline and characters. It is rare for me to be interested equally in the present story and the backstory, as I usually fixate on one, but both stories were interesting and I never felt like the story was going too fast or too slow.

This book was provided to me by HQ HQ digital and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Slow burner that will draw you in, you’ll want to stay until it’s over.

I actually enjoyed it. Although a slow burner and I don’t normally like this it kept me reading even after a busy day at work. You know when you say “just one more page” then it’s 6 chapters later lol! Would definitely recommend

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

This is my first read by this author so I began reading not knowing quite what to expect. I thought this was an ok read, although one that didn’t have me desperate to know more, or have me on the edge of my seat. For me it felt like a very middle of the road read - I didn’t love it but didn’t hate it either. I struggled with most of the characters here - I didn’t really like or take to them and because of this found it hard to become invested in the story. There are such a lot of secrets being revealed, some I had guessed and I felt at times the book was a little to drawn out and my interest dipped. I normally like books with different timelines but I struggled with the moving time lines here and thought they felt very disjointed which made the book a harder read. Just don’t think this one was for me.

The plot of this book really gives reader the royal run around. You’re guided to think one thing, then another, then yet another. It’s a bit exhausting and dramatic. I can’t say I was enthralled with the book, but it wasn’t terrible either. It’s a decent read, but I did tire of all the swirly plot changes.