The Secret Within: A totally gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist

Name: The Secret Within: A totally gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist
Rating: 3.5714285373687744 (7 reviews)

Lucy Dawson

Jan 2021 · Bookouture

3.6

7 reviews

Ebook

350

Pages

Eligible

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About this ebook

‘Nail-biting suspense… had me gasping in surprise and clinging to the edge of my seat! WOW.’ Book Lover’s Best, 5 stars

Feeling sick and shaky, I switch on the TV and the headlines begin. And there I am, addressing the audience directly: ‘If you are watching and you know anything at all about where my child is, please help us…’

Julia puts her two children onto the train with a kiss and a promise of something special for dinner that evening. She doesn’t like them going alone, but she tells herself it’s only to the next town and her daughter Cass can be trusted to look after her little brother. But when darkness falls and only one child comes home, Julia realises she’s made a terrible mistake.

Her past has finally caught up with her, but can she save her family in time?

Utterly twisty and completely unputdownable. This insanely gripping page-turner from bestselling author Lucy Dawson is perfect for anyone who tore through Friend Request, Gone Girl or My Lovely Wife.

What readers are saying about The Secret Within:

‘The nail-biting suspense kept me hanging on to every word… impossible to put down!... Filled with jaw-dropping twists… a mind-blowing experience that kept me spellbound and captivated, and the explosive ending left my mind reeling! WOW! Lucy Dawson NAILED IT!’ Book Lover’s Best, 5 stars

‘Totally addictive, twisty and unputdownable.’ Erin Kelly, bestselling author of He Said, She Said

‘This book was fabulous. I was glued to the story, unable to stop turning page after page… Spectacular story!’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars

‘Wow just wow!... full of edge-of-the-seat drama… the ending will just blow you away.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars

‘A tense rollercoaster of a read… An addictive, chilling, twisty thriller of a read that keeps you guessing until the end!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

'I flew through this and absolutely loved it.' SJI Holliday, bestselling author of The Last Resort

‘Twists and turns to keep you hooked... Loved it!' Amanda Jennings, bestselling author of The Storm

‘Fantastic!! Deliciously dark, twisted and dangerous. Filled with lies, deceit and jaw-droppingly shocking behaviour…This book had me gripped and the epilogue sent shivers down my spine!! Would definitely recommend!!’ Stardust Book Reviews, 5 stars

Ratings and reviews

3.6

7 reviews

Marnie Harrison

January 26, 2021

Like so many people Julia is looking for a fresh start. While she understands that it’s probably not possible, she wants to leave the past behind, most of all the aftermath of the choice she made. Sometimes no matter how great our intentions, the right thing to do may just turn out to be the wrong thing. I loved the sound of this story and not having read a book from Lucy Dawson before, I jumped at the chance to read this when the opportunity presented itself. Full of tension, suspense and twists and turns, The Secret Within is an exciting read. Ok, now for the characters…I don’t think I have read and detested two male characters more than Hamish and Nathan! My word they are so horrible and vile but, have been perfectly created and written to make you feel these emotions. I did really like Julia’s character and her strength to be able stand up and do the right thing. Lucy Dawson has a very easy style and does a great job of keeper the reader engaged and wanting to keep flicking those pages. The pace for the first half of the book is on the slower side but, things do pick up making for a more thrilling second half. All up The Secret Within is a gripping and tense psychological thriller and has been a great introduction for me to Lucy Dawson’s work. I will definitely be reading more from her. It was a pleasure to read and review The Secret Within which I recommend.

Linda Strong

May 23, 2021

Her perfect life .... isn't. Julia, her husband Ewan, and their two young children move to this small town in order to put their past behind them. No more threatening letters ... no more secrets and lies. Julia gets the ideal job at the local hospital, the kids are settling in a good school. She's meeting people, making friends. But then tragedy .... A day trip to the coast ends in tragedy when her youngest child is reported missing. Her new friends crowd around to help – searching the desolate clifftops for a sign. But Julia can’t help but wonder if she’s once again placed her trust in someone deadly… BOOK BLURB: In a town this small, how could nobody see what happened? And who can she turn to when anyone around her could be telling lies? In running away to this new beginning, has Julia unknowingly put her family in even more terrible danger? This well-executed plot contains suspense from start to finish. The solidly defined characters dwell within the page-turning story that leads to a totally unpredictable conclusion. This is the first I've read of this author .. and it certainly won't be my last. Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Nilufer Yenidogan Ozmekik

February 2, 2021

Hmmm, what a roller coaster ride with so much impressive, whirlwind twists that you barely see them coming to fool you at least twice! Shame on me! This book is great approach to the gender inequality at work: especially the women doctors’ problems: hypocrisy, mansplaining, extra patronizing, biased manners, unfair attitudes against the work ethics! After being banned from the hospital she’s been working, Julia needed a clean slate with her educator husband , two kids by moving a new place, getting a new job! It seems like she made the right impression and affected the decision makers ( even though they were men, they seemed like easy going guys who don’t care her about the public humiliation she endured thanks to the media outlets’ vicious intrusion to her life! ) to give her a new job! But now her kids are missing and wherever she goes her past never leaves her alone, dragging her into more trouble she can handle! I mostly liked Frank as soon as I start reading his POV! He’s my favorite kind of crazy antihero and it was too much fun to see how he gets more unstable, freakier! I enjoyed the gripping story but there are so many details slow down the pace especially Julia’s family parts and kids were unnecessarily long! This book could be more fast pacing, exciting, action packed, medical thriller meets domestic drama! It’s still four starred twisty, surprising, jaw dropping read with original plot line but it could be five blazing starred thriller with lesser pages! But I’m still happy this book put the author on my radar. I’m looking forward to read more works of the author!

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