Keep Her Secret by Mark Edwards
| Keep Her Secret by Mark Edwards | |
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| Category: Thrillers | |
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Reviewer: Kerry King
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| Summary: Will a deadly secret turn Matthew and Helena's fledgling romance from first flush to untimely end? The new suspense-filled, fast paced psychological thriller from Mark Edwards is quite simply a MUST read! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 333 | Date: May 2023 |
| Publisher: Thomas & Mercer | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1662508936 | |
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Matthew and Helena are in Iceland, rekindling their university romance, some twenty-odd years after they first met. The alien-landscape of the lava fields and black beaches is breath-taking and Helena seems intent on getting the perfect photograph to encapsulate the joy she is feeling in this moment, even if it kills her… which it nearly does when the edge of a ravine gives way and Helena finds herself clinging to the rockface with just the snagged strap of her rucksack between her and a 500 foot drop to certain death below. Convinced she is going to die, Helena purges herself of the shocking secret she has been keeping and makes a panicked, cryptic declaration to Matthew. Just moments later their heroic Icelandic tour guide swoops in and hauls Helena to safety and Matthew is left wondering what he just heard.
When the couple return to London, Matthew loses his job and though their relationship is still very new, they both take the decision that Matthew should relocate to Sussex and move in with Helena into the huge beach-house she owns. Matthew knows there are some important questions Helena needs to answer following her brush with death, but he is smitten and has fallen in love with her. In a well-intentioned bid to be honest and forthcoming – for how can this new relationship hope to survive if they have secrets – Helena unravels the story of the intervening years since university and Matthew is struck by the realisation he doesn't really know Helena very well at all.
I loved this book. I read it in one sitting – well, two… the flight to Spain and then at every possible moment between passport control and the final page of the book! It was thoroughly compelling and I really liked Helena. For me, Matthew was a bit wet; a bit of a puppy dog though I do realise that was probably Edwards' intention. Matthew can't really believe his luck when he gets back with Helena despite the fact it had been he who had somehow caused their earlier relationship to be dashed on the rocks. Helena however, is a very accomplished and capable person; the sort of girl you need in a crisis and who is not prone to making hasty, poorly devised decisions. I found her considered and likeable which, if you are like me when you get thoroughly invested in a story, is crucial to the enjoyment and immersion in the plot.
In summary, if you like a home-grown thriller featuring ordinary people – and not some special forces survival expert beefcake who kills evil third-world leaders, catches all the bad guys and saves the universe whilst seducing the most beautiful women, with a semi-automatic machine pistol in one hand and the detonator to a nuclear warhead in the other – then this book is an absolutely must read for you. I loved the plainness of the setting (obviously Iceland isn't plain but that part of the story is just a fraction of the tale) and how ordinary people can have extraordinary circumstances and situations to deal with. It made it more believable which meant I was able to submerge myself in the plot.
Edwards does deliver a good twist in the tale… more than one, actually and it did keep me guessing – I had an idea of the route the story might take but I wasn't 100% sure and actually wasn't 100% correct and effectively the author managed a good double bluff!
I found myself comparing the storyline of Keep Her Secret to Can You Keep a Secret? by Karen Perry and, without wishing to give too much away about the greater plotline of Keep Her Secret, Keeper by Jessica Moor which is a haunting and mesmerising read. Go and buy this book. You won't be sorry.
We at Bookbag would like to thank the publishers for providing this copy for us to review.
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