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    Our Little Secret
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    Our Little Secret
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    Our Little Secret
    Ebook257 pages3 hours

    Our Little Secret

    By Roz Nay

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    For fans of In a Dark, Dark Wood and All the Missing Girls comes Our Little Secret, a compulsive and thrilling debut about a missing woman, a tangled love triangle, the secrets we keep and the secrets we share.

    The detective wants to know what happened to Saskia, as if I could just skip to the ending and all would be well. But stories begin at the beginning and some secrets have to be earned.

    Angela is being held in a police interrogation room. Her ex’s wife has gone missing and Detective Novak is sure Angela knows something, despite her claim that she’s not involved.

    At Novak’s prodding, Angela tells a story going back ten years, explaining how she met and fell in love with her high school friend HP. But as her past unfolds, she reveals a disconcerting love triangle and a dark, tangled web of betrayals. Is Angela a scorned ex-lover with criminal intent? Or a pawn in someone else’s revenge scheme? Who is she protecting? And why?

    Twisty and suspenseful, Our Little Secret is an intense cat-and-mouse game and a riveting thriller about the lies we tell others—and ourselves.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateJun 6, 2017
    ISBN9781501142864
    Unavailable
    Our Little Secret
    Author

    Roz Nay

    Roz Nay is a bestselling author whose debut novel won the Douglas Kennedy Prize for best foreign thriller in France and was nominated for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Mystery and the Arthur Ellis Best First Novel Award. Having lived and worked in Africa, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, she now lives with her husband and two children in Canada.

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    Reviews for Our Little Secret

    3.5/5

    77 ratings19 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Roz Nay’s suspense thriller Our Little Secret begins with Angela Petitjean in a police interrogation room being questioned by a homicide detective named Novak. Someone named Saskia is missing, and Angela is a prime suspect. But who is Saskia? And, more importantly, who is Angela and why has she become the focus of Novak’s investigation? Angela narrates her own story, answering these questions and more, starting with a childhood spent moving from town to town to accommodate her father’s work. Finally, the family settles in Cove, Vermont, for Angela’s high school years. This is where she meets Hamish Parker, who goes by HP. The two become devoted friends and, just in time for graduation, lovers. Highly protective of each other, Angela and HP spend much of their time in each other’s company and with each other’s families. Then real life intrudes. Angela reluctantly heads off to Oxford, England, for college. HP stays in Cove and works at various things. A pivotal moment in Angela's narrative occurs while Angela is in England. HP visits, and at a dance he meets Saskia, an Australian snowboarder: tanned, blonde and fit. Angela has also met someone, a student named Freddy, who becomes a close friend and confidante, though not a lover (not for lack of trying on his part). Needless to say, Saskia's presence causes friction between Angela and HP, and after everyone relocates back to the US, it all goes sideways for Angela, and HP ends up married to Saskia. To give away more of the plot would be unfair but suffice to say that before the midpoint of the novel we begin to suspect that we can’t take everything that Angela tells us at face value. Our Little Secret holds the reader’s attention, mostly by keeping us in the dark about characters' motivations. Angela is an engaging if not particularly endearing narrator: cocky and abrasively over-confident at the outset, but near the end snivelling and despairing. By her own account she lacks self-control, acting impulsively, with little regard for consequences. Worryingly, she is often her own worst enemy. Central to the story is her unwillingness or inability to let go of the conviction that she and HP are "soul-mates" who belong together. But as the story unfolds our sympathies become seriously divided. How can we cheer her on when her obsession with HP has grown so unattractive? In the final pages the narrative seems to unravel, and we're left wondering somewhat uncomfortably if anyone in this story gets what they truly deserve.
    • 5/5
      I sort of began to wonder about 3/4 of the way through this cleverly written novel----and what a little secret there was to be discovered...by the reader. I thought I knew where things were heading but somehow things shifted and I must admit, I was surprised with what happened.
    • 4/5
      What a remarkable page turning first book for this author. When a local detective places Angela in a room and grills her for 16 hours, the story she tales is quite remarkable. Highly intelligent, Angela truly believes she is in charge of the situation during the entire inquisition.Her high school love surprisingly left her for an Australian lady he met while visiting Angela in England. Wanting to escape the backwoods of rural Vermont, Angela decided to go to Oxford for a term or two. While longing for her first and only love, HP, she leads Freddy, a very rich young man, on a string. Returning back to Vermont, it is most difficult for Angela to see HP's pregnant wife.Angela's story is a complex one in which she portrays herself as the victim. HP's wife is dead; her body is found at the bottom of a local lake. She leaves behind HP and their darling five-year old daughter. Before her disappearance, for a few years, HP and Saskia encouraged Angela to stay with them in their beautiful house on the lake.Why a current wife and her husband would cultivate a continued relationship with Angela is strange in deed. However, when Angela shows her true colors, she is told to leave. What a surprise to her -- she thought she could manipulate the situation so that she could go back in time and continue the intense relationship she had with HP. Continuing to led Freddy along, while obsessing about HP, Angela's sociopathic mother and Freddy play a major role in the ending. Tragic, sad and compelling, I read this in one sitting. This is quite an intense psychological thriller!!
    • 4/5
      My Takeaway

      “The detective wants to know what happened to Saskia as if I could just skip to the ending and all would be well. But stories begin at the beginning and some secrets have to be earned”.
      Our Little Secret

      Our Little Secret, is twisted, unexpected and clever. Once I began reading, I did not want to put it down. The characters in this thriller are complex and at times quite eccentric (with a splash of cuckoo). The narrator and protagonist, Angela, is intelligent, a bit over the top, and obsessive — not a good combination. I agree with some readers, a few of the events are a bit farfetched, but in this case, I feel it works. I finished the book a few nights ago, yet I’m still thinking about the book’s abrupt ending. I believe it was Nay’s intention to throw me off and confuse the crap out of me (she gets extra points for it). I read this novel super-fast and I think this is the best way to capture the essence and spin of the story. This is Nay’s debut novel, but I can’t wait to read additional work from this promising new voice.
    • 4/5
      Finally, finally, FINALLY was able to get to the library (first time since I broke myself in February, though I've been a regular visitor to the online catalog for ebooks) and headed straight for the new books section as is my habit. I ended up taking several books, each from a different genre. This was my choice for suspense/thriller/mystery, and it was a good one. I liked the way the story unfolded, even if I couldn't exactly become fond of any of the characters (though I did feel incredibly sad for pretty much all of them.) That's probably the main reason I didn't round up from 3.5 stars-- for 4 stars, I'd like to at least feel good about one character. I wonder what other secrets the villain was keeping hidden away.
    • 4/5
      Received this an ARC - well-written, easy read. Held my interest through the entire book - ending was a little disappointing but over all a good read!
    • 2/5
      I'm having a very hard time trying to figure out what to say about this book. One of the blurbs on the back states "this thriller is an intense cat and mouse game of lies". I must have been reading a different book because this is not a thriller.I never connected with the characters.
    • 5/5
      I won this book and I am so glad I did!You can read what the book is about in the synopsis, so I won't waste your time repeating it here.I knew by the end of page one that I was going to enjoy this book, I just didn't realize how much. I first fell in love with the writing itself. Roz Nay has a wonderful way of turning a phrase. That alone would have kept me reading, but along the way I starting falling in love with the characters. I felt that I was sitting across from them watching them interact at times. I even enjoy that the bad guys, if there are any, are legitimate as well. I was suspicious at various points, convinced at others, horribly sad at times, and deeply touched at others. This book has it all. I will read it again and recommend it to everyone! Don't hesitate....go get it now!
    • 4/5
      We meet Angela Petitjean aka "LIttle John" in the local police station as she is describing her relationship with a missing woman, who happens to be the wife of her first and only love. While the police are conducting an investigation into the whereabouts of the missing woman, we are taken back in time through Angela's stories to how she and HP met in school, became best friends, fell in love, had a relationship that ultimately ended when HP met and then married Saskia, the missing woman. However, that was not the end of Little John and HP, and as strange as it seems, it was acceptable to Saskia until it wasn't. There are some very interesting twists in this tale that proves obsession is not love.
    • 5/5
      This book was a wild ride! I devoured it over the course of a 24 hour period, reading it every chance I got. I'd definitely call this suspenseful book a page-turner. I will be on the look out for future books by this author. It's a gripping, psychological thriller. Fans of that genre should enjoy this and I do recommend giving it a read.I did receive an Advanced Reader edition from the publisher, St. Martin's Press.#ShareOurSecret
    • 4/5
      Finished a weight read so gave this a try.New author and a quick and compelling read that you don't like to put down. Nothing complex in terms of switching people, times, and other stuff you need to stay on your toes about. It's an unusual premise - essentially a woman goes missing and another woman is brought in for questioning, and she's 'different', and she basically tells the detective her life story! Twist at the end and unsure what the end was. Enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      This was a pretty easy read. It wasn't over the top suspense, mainly a mystery but it held my attention. Felt a little YA to meAngela (LJ) sat detained while she told her story to Novak, the detective on the missing persons case of her ex-boyfriend's wife.What happens to a person that is unable to let go of the past?
    • 4/5
      a promising first novel and a good escapist read for summer
    • 3/5
      I think this was a fairly good book, kind of a thriller but not as intense as I'd hoped. The love triangle between LJ, HP and Saskia was pretty messy and I really enjoyed it. You really feel sorry for lots of the characters and really gets you thinking. I also felt dislike for many of the same characters.

      I did like the narrative of LJ telling the whole story in the time she was in the interrogation room.

      Thanks to St. Martin's Press for sending me this early readers edition in exchange for my honest review.
    • 2/5
      A woman is questioned by police after her ex-boyfriend’s wife disappears. Lots of great reviews for this book, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. The story lacked suspense, and the characters didn’t grab my attention. I usually enjoy unlikable or unreliable characters, but not so much this time. I couldn’t understand the reasoning behind many things the characters did or said. Maybe if I was clearer about who the “our” was in the title, and also which “little secret” it’s referring to. I liked the final twist though.
    • 2/5
      The story grabbed my attention from the first page but there were some annoying errors throughout:

      * Ivy League is a group of premium American universities. Oxford is in England and has nothing to do with the American group.

      * And, having lived with the family for a period of time, how could the main character not have yet worked out where plates lived and what the towels looked like?

      * Why did she spill her guts to the police officer without a lawyer present? Why did the police not caution her before she did so? Nothing of what she said up until being charged could be used in court.

      * The "Australian" character used mainly New Zealand expressions in her dialogue. I'm sure any Australians who read this will be a bit confused.

      I can't think of when a New Zealand pinot noir producer last used corks in their wine.

      Some better research and editing may have helped but the whole story is just a waste of time when you read the ending. How annoying.
    • 3/5
      Young love… first love, sets the stage for this author’s debut novel. The story goes to show that we may not always know people as well as we think we do...what they are really capable of…and to what ends an entire town would go to protect them. If you are an avid true crime fan you will really enjoy this book.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      Roz Nay's debut, Our Little Secret, opens with lead protagonist Angela Petitjean being questioned by the local police in the disappearance of a woman named Saskia. It is not until Detective Novak starts interrogating her that she begins telling him about her tangled history with Mr. Parker, aka HP, and an interesting, and somewhat disturbing, picture begins to emerge.

      Angela's family moved around quite a bit for her father's job and when they settled into Cove, VT when she was 15, she was a bit of a social outcast until HP befriended her. Thick as thieves and extremely close, the two were inseparable until after high school graduation. HP remained in town whereas Angela felt pressured by her parents to go to Oxford for a year of university. This decision is a HUGE turning point in both her and HP's lives and unexpectedly leads straight to why she is suspected in the disappearance of Sakia.

      I have to confess that I initially felt very sympathetic toward Angela. Her relationship with her parents is rather strained and her mother is pretty horrid. The frequent moves made it difficult for Angela to maintain friendships and their move to Vermont occurred at a critical point in her life. HP was a lifesaver when he stepped in and became her friend, so it is no surprise she feels rather territorial and protective of what they shared.

      It is not until after the situation in Oxford plays out that my empathy for Angela's plight took a nosedive. Had she made other decisions,everyone's lives would have turned out for the better. She refused to see (and accept) what was staring her in the face and she made choices that put her and everyone around her on a collision course with disaster. Even knowing this, the novel's ending took me off guard and I was a little stunned to discover the truth about what happened to Saskia!

      An impressive debut by Roz Nay, Our Little Secret is definitely a page-turner even though readers might be a little hard-pressed to like the characters. The storyline is compulsively readable and I was genuinely surprised by the novel's somewhat stunning conclusion.
    • 5/5
      I really liked this book. It was told by Angela Petitjean, aka LJ, to a detective. The detective is investigating what happened to Saskia. It is a mesmerizing tale, you are drawn into hearing the story of LJ's friendship with HP, and their intertwined lives over the next several years.