What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secrets You Keep
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wrong Man and Eyes on You comes a harrowing new psychological thriller about a successful self-help author who suddenly finds her life spiraling dangerously out of control.
What would you do if you realized that your new husband, a man you adore, is keeping secrets from you—secrets with terrifying consequences?
Bryn Harper, an accomplished self-help author, already has plenty to deal with. She’s still recovering from a devastating car accident that has left her haunted by recurring, smoke-filled nightmares. Worse still, she can’t shake the ominous feeling her dreams contain a warning.
In the beginning, Bryn’s husband Guy couldn’t have been more supportive. But after moving into a new house together, disturbing incidents occur and Guy grows evasive, secretive. What the hell is going on, she wonders? Then, a woman hired to cater their dinner party is brutally murdered.
As Bryn’s world unravels—and yet another woman in town is slain —she must summon her old strength to find answers and protect her own life. Her nightmares may in fact hold the key to unlocking the truth and unmasking the murderer.
With unexpected, riveting twists, The Secrets You Keep is an utterly compelling psychological thriller that once again showcases Kate White’s extraordinary storytelling talent.
What would you do if you realized that your new husband, a man you adore, is keeping secrets from you—secrets with terrifying consequences?
Bryn Harper, an accomplished self-help author, already has plenty to deal with. She’s still recovering from a devastating car accident that has left her haunted by recurring, smoke-filled nightmares. Worse still, she can’t shake the ominous feeling her dreams contain a warning.
In the beginning, Bryn’s husband Guy couldn’t have been more supportive. But after moving into a new house together, disturbing incidents occur and Guy grows evasive, secretive. What the hell is going on, she wonders? Then, a woman hired to cater their dinner party is brutally murdered.
As Bryn’s world unravels—and yet another woman in town is slain —she must summon her old strength to find answers and protect her own life. Her nightmares may in fact hold the key to unlocking the truth and unmasking the murderer.
With unexpected, riveting twists, The Secrets You Keep is an utterly compelling psychological thriller that once again showcases Kate White’s extraordinary storytelling talent.
368 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 2017
1933 people are currently reading
17999 people want to read
About the author
Kate White
53 books2,818 followersKate White is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen novels of suspense: eleven standalone psychological thrillers, including The Last Time She Saw Him (2024), and eight Bailey Weggins mysteries.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business, eventually running five national magazines. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved her magazine career, she decided to leave eleven years ago to concentrate full-time on another passion: writing suspense fiction.
Kate’s first mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business, eventually running five national magazines. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved her magazine career, she decided to leave eleven years ago to concentrate full-time on another passion: writing suspense fiction.
Kate’s first mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,288 reviews
April 4, 2017
DNF at 30%. I tried my best... but the main character Bryn wow she got on my nerves. I caught myself rolling me eyes already 10-15 times in the first 20 pages. I just couldn't do it and I payed 9.99 for this damn it!!! Reminded me of the Breakdown and same storyline (wife is paranoid because her husband is hiding something). I just realized that I definitely can't read these types of books anymore where the sole focus is paranoia.
September 12, 2017
EXTRACT: 'I wake to the smell of smoke.
It's faint, but enough to rouse me, and I jerk up in bed, eyes wide open. For a few seconds, I freeze there, propped on an elbow and trying to make sense of it. What's burning?
I start to shove my legs out of bed, but the top sheet fights me. I have to wrench it loose from the mattress so I can force my feet to the ground.
As my eyes adjust to the dark, I realize that I 'm not at home. I 'm in a hotel room. I 've been traveling on business. ..yet I can't remember where. The burning smell intensifies, boring into my nostrils and propelling my head back. Panic surges through me. Fire, I think. Fire.....'
THE BLURB: What would you do if you realized that your new husband, a man you adore, is keeping secrets from you—secrets with terrifying consequences?
Bryn Harper, an accomplished self-help author, already has plenty to deal with. She’s still recovering from a devastating car accident that has left her haunted by recurring, smoke-filled nightmares. Worse still, she can’t shake the ominous feeling her dreams contain a warning.
In the beginning, Bryn’s husband Guy couldn’t have been more supportive. But after moving into a new house together, disturbing incidents occur and Guy grows evasive, secretive. What the hell is going on, she wonders? Then, a woman hired to cater their dinner party is brutally murdered.
As Bryn’s world unravels—and yet another woman in town is slain —she must summon her old strength to find answers and protect her own life. Her nightmares may in fact hold the key to unlocking the truth and unmasking the murderer.
With unexpected, riveting twists, The Secrets You Keep is an utterly compelling psychological thriller that once again showcases Kate White’s extraordinary storytelling talent.
MY VIEWS: Ultimately, The Secrets You Keep by Kate White was a disappointing read. In the first chapter, which should have engendered a sense of fear and urgency, it felt heavy and unwieldy, mostly I think because of the author's choice of words. Who tries to 'shove' their legs out of bed in an emergency? I would fling or at least swing mine out, tangled in the sheet or not. I would 'shove' my feet in my boots, or even perhaps my slippers. Similarly, I found the phrase 'so that I could force my feet to the floor' another odd one. Personally, my feet would be flying across that floor to the door whether I knew where I was or not. It felt like the author was trying too hard and, as a result, missed the mark completely.
Once I got past the first chapter, I actually started to enjoy the book, finding it holding my interest until just before the halfway point where it took an extremely predictable turn that just killed it for me. After that? It just failed to re-engage me.
The plot and characters both suffer from a lack of development. There is no real depth to either. I'm afraid that I found this book neither compelling nor thrilling. At 2.5☆ there was nothing to encourage me to look for more to read from this author.
Thank you to Canelo via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Secrets You Keep by Kate White for review. All opinions expressed in this review are personal and entirely my own. Therefore if you enjoyed the extract, I encourage you to go ahead and read this book. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page for an explanation of my ratings.
This review and others are also available on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
It's faint, but enough to rouse me, and I jerk up in bed, eyes wide open. For a few seconds, I freeze there, propped on an elbow and trying to make sense of it. What's burning?
I start to shove my legs out of bed, but the top sheet fights me. I have to wrench it loose from the mattress so I can force my feet to the ground.
As my eyes adjust to the dark, I realize that I 'm not at home. I 'm in a hotel room. I 've been traveling on business. ..yet I can't remember where. The burning smell intensifies, boring into my nostrils and propelling my head back. Panic surges through me. Fire, I think. Fire.....'
THE BLURB: What would you do if you realized that your new husband, a man you adore, is keeping secrets from you—secrets with terrifying consequences?
Bryn Harper, an accomplished self-help author, already has plenty to deal with. She’s still recovering from a devastating car accident that has left her haunted by recurring, smoke-filled nightmares. Worse still, she can’t shake the ominous feeling her dreams contain a warning.
In the beginning, Bryn’s husband Guy couldn’t have been more supportive. But after moving into a new house together, disturbing incidents occur and Guy grows evasive, secretive. What the hell is going on, she wonders? Then, a woman hired to cater their dinner party is brutally murdered.
As Bryn’s world unravels—and yet another woman in town is slain —she must summon her old strength to find answers and protect her own life. Her nightmares may in fact hold the key to unlocking the truth and unmasking the murderer.
With unexpected, riveting twists, The Secrets You Keep is an utterly compelling psychological thriller that once again showcases Kate White’s extraordinary storytelling talent.
MY VIEWS: Ultimately, The Secrets You Keep by Kate White was a disappointing read. In the first chapter, which should have engendered a sense of fear and urgency, it felt heavy and unwieldy, mostly I think because of the author's choice of words. Who tries to 'shove' their legs out of bed in an emergency? I would fling or at least swing mine out, tangled in the sheet or not. I would 'shove' my feet in my boots, or even perhaps my slippers. Similarly, I found the phrase 'so that I could force my feet to the floor' another odd one. Personally, my feet would be flying across that floor to the door whether I knew where I was or not. It felt like the author was trying too hard and, as a result, missed the mark completely.
Once I got past the first chapter, I actually started to enjoy the book, finding it holding my interest until just before the halfway point where it took an extremely predictable turn that just killed it for me. After that? It just failed to re-engage me.
The plot and characters both suffer from a lack of development. There is no real depth to either. I'm afraid that I found this book neither compelling nor thrilling. At 2.5☆ there was nothing to encourage me to look for more to read from this author.
Thank you to Canelo via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Secrets You Keep by Kate White for review. All opinions expressed in this review are personal and entirely my own. Therefore if you enjoyed the extract, I encourage you to go ahead and read this book. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page for an explanation of my ratings.
This review and others are also available on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
January 13, 2023
Bryn Harriet, a successful self-help author, has been having a rough go of her personal life. Three months ago, she was in a devastating car accident that resulted in the death of a colleague. Ever since, she has been experiencing terrifying nightmares filled with smoke and flames that, with the help of a therapist, Bryn has been trying to decipher fearing that they contain a warning. When her husband Guy suggests they go to Saratoga Springs for the summer so she can recover both mentally and physically, she jumps at the chance.
After hosting their first dinner party in their rental house, however, Bryn’s caterer Eve is found horrifically murdered. To make matters worse, someone is behind the scenes trying to involve Bryn and Guy in the police investigation. When Eve’s death is compounded by a second murder that’s even closer to home, Bryn must rediscover her former strength in order to find the answers. Utilizing her researching abilities as well as following clues that her nightmares may hold, she hopes to reveal both the truth and the killer. If she doesn’t put together the clues in time, however, she may pay with her life.
After reading both The Fiancée and The Second Husband, also by Kate White, I had high expectations for The Secrets You Keep. Unfortunately, though, it didn’t live up to either one. While it was a very enjoyable story about learning to trust and rediscover one’s self again (under the guise of a supposed psychological thriller), I found it instead to be a Hitchcock-like melodrama. Centering around an unreliable narrator, Bryn’s anxiety allows her to get swept up by doubt and panic taking her mind in illogical directions, but I found myself having a hard time connecting with her character.
Straightforward and relatively predictable (I accurately guessed who the murderer was about halfway through), there were plenty of people to suspect, although perhaps the clues were a tad bit obvious. Additionally, I found it gripping from the first sentence. Sadly, though, it let off of the gas for a good 70% of the novel, leaving me to follow a plot that wasn’t really driven by a quick pace or ratcheting suspense.
Overall, I did enjoy this quick, easy read, but...I don’t know, perhaps my expectations were too high? With an anticlimactic twist and whiplash-inducing conclusions drawn by Bryn, it just didn’t connect with me like the other two books I’d read by White had. And I was left wanting a little more from both the plot and the characters. This leaves me to ambivalently recommend this book, so give it a try if the synopsis sounds intriguing to you (and if you haven’t read the other two books i mentioned earlier, I strongly recommend them). Rating of 3 stars (just).
Trigger warning: fatal car accident, infidelity, stalking
After hosting their first dinner party in their rental house, however, Bryn’s caterer Eve is found horrifically murdered. To make matters worse, someone is behind the scenes trying to involve Bryn and Guy in the police investigation. When Eve’s death is compounded by a second murder that’s even closer to home, Bryn must rediscover her former strength in order to find the answers. Utilizing her researching abilities as well as following clues that her nightmares may hold, she hopes to reveal both the truth and the killer. If she doesn’t put together the clues in time, however, she may pay with her life.
After reading both The Fiancée and The Second Husband, also by Kate White, I had high expectations for The Secrets You Keep. Unfortunately, though, it didn’t live up to either one. While it was a very enjoyable story about learning to trust and rediscover one’s self again (under the guise of a supposed psychological thriller), I found it instead to be a Hitchcock-like melodrama. Centering around an unreliable narrator, Bryn’s anxiety allows her to get swept up by doubt and panic taking her mind in illogical directions, but I found myself having a hard time connecting with her character.
Straightforward and relatively predictable (I accurately guessed who the murderer was about halfway through), there were plenty of people to suspect, although perhaps the clues were a tad bit obvious. Additionally, I found it gripping from the first sentence. Sadly, though, it let off of the gas for a good 70% of the novel, leaving me to follow a plot that wasn’t really driven by a quick pace or ratcheting suspense.
Overall, I did enjoy this quick, easy read, but...I don’t know, perhaps my expectations were too high? With an anticlimactic twist and whiplash-inducing conclusions drawn by Bryn, it just didn’t connect with me like the other two books I’d read by White had. And I was left wanting a little more from both the plot and the characters. This leaves me to ambivalently recommend this book, so give it a try if the synopsis sounds intriguing to you (and if you haven’t read the other two books i mentioned earlier, I strongly recommend them). Rating of 3 stars (just).
Trigger warning: fatal car accident, infidelity, stalking
March 21, 2017
An automobile accident, a book that can't seem to get written, a new home, a murder, and unsettling questions Bryn had about her new husband.
Bryn was recovering from an accident with the total support from her husband starting to wane after three months. Was he tired of her fragility? Was he doing things behind her back? What else didn't she know about her new husband's current and past life?
All of this uncertainty also caused Bryn to not be able to focus on the new book she was to be writing. Her writing kept her busy, but the inspiration just didn't materialize.
What did materialize was the brutal murder of the chef who catered the dinner party Bryn hosted at her home and things getting worse for her in every aspect. The visits and questions about the murder from the police were very disconcerting, and Bryn wasn't even sure she could trust her husband.
When another murder occurs, my mind immediately went to one of the characters as being the same person who murdered the chef.
THE SECRETS YOU KEEP was quite a good mystery with most characters not being trustworthy and others who were caught in the middle of the deceit.
THE SECRETS YOU KEEP kept me awake longer than usual and kept me in suspense as have all of Ms. White's books.
Ms. White did it again with another splendid mystery that was well written and had plenty of intrigue.
I enjoyed the storyline and trying to guess who the real murderer was.
ENJOY if you read THE SECRETS YOU KEEP. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation in return for an honest review.
October 15, 2017
Boring.
Nothing happens in this book. I kept waiting for the action to pick but it didn't. Even after a character is murdered with an ax I was still bored. By the midway mark I didn't even care who the murderer was. Also the ending was rushed and made no sense at all.
No rec.
Nothing happens in this book. I kept waiting for the action to pick but it didn't. Even after a character is murdered with an ax I was still bored. By the midway mark I didn't even care who the murderer was. Also the ending was rushed and made no sense at all.
No rec.
March 29, 2017
This was not what I expected.
What I expected was fast-packed, action filled drama thriller.
And what I got -
May be I read this wrong - because author doesn't spend anytime a murder mystery. A chef murdered brutally and author goes like - who cares?
[image error]
Let me just chase my husband because you know what! he is betraying me and I'm going to question his loyalty, and while I'm doing that - let's make some iced tea because who doesn't like it? and let me check my emails thousand times - and oh look! my husband is cheating again - let me get glass of wine and sip it casually in patio because that's what is expected from me...may be lady, but not in murder mystery book. *sigh*
I literally wanted to stop reading this at around 40% but then I might not be that invested in the story but I definitely wanted to know who murdered the chef and why? If you are looking for some house hold drama this is book for you but if you are looking for fast paced thriller then it is a disappointment.
What I expected was fast-packed, action filled drama thriller.
And what I got -
May be I read this wrong - because author doesn't spend anytime a murder mystery. A chef murdered brutally and author goes like - who cares?
[image error]
Let me just chase my husband because you know what! he is betraying me and I'm going to question his loyalty, and while I'm doing that - let's make some iced tea because who doesn't like it? and let me check my emails thousand times - and oh look! my husband is cheating again - let me get glass of wine and sip it casually in patio because that's what is expected from me...may be lady, but not in murder mystery book. *sigh*
I literally wanted to stop reading this at around 40% but then I might not be that invested in the story but I definitely wanted to know who murdered the chef and why? If you are looking for some house hold drama this is book for you but if you are looking for fast paced thriller then it is a disappointment.
May 8, 2017
Oh my goodness. This book is so B-O-R-I-N-G and S-T-U-P-I-D that it makes my top five list of worst books ever.
I read the first sixty pages, found nothing happening, speed read the next sixty pages, then went to the beginning pages of each chapter – still same stuff going on – and finally went to the end of the book to see how it ended.
SPOILER ALERT:
Bryn doesn’t like Eve; Bryn does like Derek (not her husband); Someone stole money ($160) from Bryn’s office; Bryn accuses Eve; Eve gets murdered; Bryn suspects Guy (her husband); Guy’s assistant gets murdered; someone else did the murders (for VERY weak reasons); oh yeah, and all the way through, Bryn is paranoid.
What I don’t understand is how so many readers (76%) could give this book five stars on Amazon. I’d give it zero stars if that were possible.
I read the first sixty pages, found nothing happening, speed read the next sixty pages, then went to the beginning pages of each chapter – still same stuff going on – and finally went to the end of the book to see how it ended.
SPOILER ALERT:
Bryn doesn’t like Eve; Bryn does like Derek (not her husband); Someone stole money ($160) from Bryn’s office; Bryn accuses Eve; Eve gets murdered; Bryn suspects Guy (her husband); Guy’s assistant gets murdered; someone else did the murders (for VERY weak reasons); oh yeah, and all the way through, Bryn is paranoid.
What I don’t understand is how so many readers (76%) could give this book five stars on Amazon. I’d give it zero stars if that were possible.
July 25, 2017
2.5 to 3.0 Stars
This book had a lot of potential, but for me it just didn't make it. When I first put this book on my TBR it had mainly 4 and 5 star reviews and it sounded really good. I'm not sure if I would choose it over other books based on it's reviews now. It was a fast read - started it last night and finished it this morning. I did do a little skimming as there were a number of places where the book dragged and I skimmed to keep the story moving along.
When a book is in 1st POV, the narrator needs to be interesting. And Bryn, the narrator, is the cliche weak narrator and another cliche - she has a missing time frame. Bryn was in a car crash in which she was injured and the driver was killed. There is a mystery surrounding the crash that she starts to remember in bits and pieces via dreams. This part felt like the standard unreliable narrator that seems to be popping up all over the place. I really don't like mysteries that are based on unreliable narrators.
Prior to her accident, Bryn and her spouse, Guy had a commuter relationship due to jobs in different cities. During the summer she moves to where Guy has been living and it's the first time in the 2 year marriage where they are actually living together full time. After a business dinner that they had catered, the caterer is murdered. As the cops start to question both Guy and Bryn, questions surrounding her husband and other people start to bother Bryn.
Apparently everyone Bryn has come into contact has not been fully honest. No one is a reliable or trustworthy. And that every one is keeping secrets or is potentially doing something got to be too much. For me there were too many undeveloped characters with too many relationships, but no one is developed. They are just names on a page that didn't feel fleshed out.
For most of the book (or seemed like most of the book), Bryn is trying to determine if her husband was cheating on her which actually got old really fast. Plus I don't like cheating spouse books.
There just seemed to be a lot of subplots in this book with a lot of undeveloped characters and it felt a little all over the place. I didn't feel vested in the plot. Everything is lightly touched on, but nothing was given any weight.
I do appreciate that Bryn matured during the book, but...
This book had a lot of potential, but for me it just didn't make it. When I first put this book on my TBR it had mainly 4 and 5 star reviews and it sounded really good. I'm not sure if I would choose it over other books based on it's reviews now. It was a fast read - started it last night and finished it this morning. I did do a little skimming as there were a number of places where the book dragged and I skimmed to keep the story moving along.
When a book is in 1st POV, the narrator needs to be interesting. And Bryn, the narrator, is the cliche weak narrator and another cliche - she has a missing time frame. Bryn was in a car crash in which she was injured and the driver was killed. There is a mystery surrounding the crash that she starts to remember in bits and pieces via dreams. This part felt like the standard unreliable narrator that seems to be popping up all over the place. I really don't like mysteries that are based on unreliable narrators.
Prior to her accident, Bryn and her spouse, Guy had a commuter relationship due to jobs in different cities. During the summer she moves to where Guy has been living and it's the first time in the 2 year marriage where they are actually living together full time. After a business dinner that they had catered, the caterer is murdered. As the cops start to question both Guy and Bryn, questions surrounding her husband and other people start to bother Bryn.
Apparently everyone Bryn has come into contact has not been fully honest. No one is a reliable or trustworthy. And that every one is keeping secrets or is potentially doing something got to be too much. For me there were too many undeveloped characters with too many relationships, but no one is developed. They are just names on a page that didn't feel fleshed out.
For most of the book (or seemed like most of the book), Bryn is trying to determine if her husband was cheating on her which actually got old really fast. Plus I don't like cheating spouse books.
There just seemed to be a lot of subplots in this book with a lot of undeveloped characters and it felt a little all over the place. I didn't feel vested in the plot. Everything is lightly touched on, but nothing was given any weight.
I do appreciate that Bryn matured during the book, but...
October 26, 2019
Okay, the title intrigued me. Plus I was hoping to get some dark Halloweeny scary vibes. Yet, nothing but annoyance.
The Secrets You Keep was honestly a pretty annoying murder mystery. In it, you will meet Bryn Harper and her husband Guy. We don't know that much about Guy other than he's a very secretive guy with a mysterious past. Of course, some of it does come to light but Bryn unfortunately ends up in an accident and doesn't remember a thing.
Luckily for her, and I guess us?, she starts to slowly remember things. It doesn't help that it comes in nightmares from time to time but she always has this feeling that something is truly off in her world. She rarely thinks it's because of Guy but mostly thinks it's the people surrounding them. Whether it's people he works with or whoever was invited to the random dinner party they had. It was never him on her mind until it was sort of too late - ya know?
In the beginning, I was invested. I wanted to know who was murdering these wonderful people but at one point - I lost interest. I just couldn't care anymore because Bryn was annoying the fudge out of me and Guy was just being a mysterious asshole who lies. The twists, if you can even call them that, were lackluster to me. I wanted more and expected it from a thriller but was just disappointed with the overall book.
The Secrets You Keep was honestly a pretty annoying murder mystery. In it, you will meet Bryn Harper and her husband Guy. We don't know that much about Guy other than he's a very secretive guy with a mysterious past. Of course, some of it does come to light but Bryn unfortunately ends up in an accident and doesn't remember a thing.
Luckily for her, and I guess us?, she starts to slowly remember things. It doesn't help that it comes in nightmares from time to time but she always has this feeling that something is truly off in her world. She rarely thinks it's because of Guy but mostly thinks it's the people surrounding them. Whether it's people he works with or whoever was invited to the random dinner party they had. It was never him on her mind until it was sort of too late - ya know?
In the beginning, I was invested. I wanted to know who was murdering these wonderful people but at one point - I lost interest. I just couldn't care anymore because Bryn was annoying the fudge out of me and Guy was just being a mysterious asshole who lies. The twists, if you can even call them that, were lackluster to me. I wanted more and expected it from a thriller but was just disappointed with the overall book.
September 5, 2017
I definitely didn't have an issue getting into or finishing this book, but it wasn't amazing either. It was a solid 3 ⭐️, probably a 3.5 if we were allowed half stars. I didn't expect the ending either although it sounds like a lot of other people were able to see it coming (shocker). I did think the book was a bit too wordy and rambling at times, and probably could have been more like a 250 page book as opposed to 353. Overall a good book though.
Random thought: I have never seen "clapboard house" used so many times in a book before.
Random thought: I have never seen "clapboard house" used so many times in a book before.
June 29, 2021
This is not my first book by Kate White and it will certainly not be the last one. I read it while having breakfast and then again while having lunch and then again before falling asleep, it's difficult to put it down! It's as difficult as guessing who did IT, because all the characters seem guilty in one way or another.
The fact that the main character is a clueless self-help book writer, IMO adds some kind of weird sense of humour to the plot. But if you think about what may prevent an educated woman from seeing the truth... you may (or may not) be closer to finding out who the culprit(s) was(were).
I strongly recommend leaving this book for one of those days you have no errands to run.
www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com
The fact that the main character is a clueless self-help book writer, IMO adds some kind of weird sense of humour to the plot. But if you think about what may prevent an educated woman from seeing the truth... you may (or may not) be closer to finding out who the culprit(s) was(were).
I strongly recommend leaving this book for one of those days you have no errands to run.
www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com
March 21, 2017
4.5/5 stars
The Secrets You Keep is a standalone psychological thriller/mystery. It is my first book by this author.
I really enjoyed this book. But I am so happy that I did not read the book blurb right before starting this book. While it doesn't give away most of the amazing twists, IMO it gives away a lot of key plot points that were amazing to uncover by reading the book. I actually don't think that I would have enjoyed this book as much if I had known so much of the plot in advance.
The things that I think it's okay to know upfront: The book takes place in Saratoga Springs, NY. The narrator of the book is 38 year old Bryn Harper. The book is written in 1st person narration. Her husband is Guy. Bryn was recently in a car accident. She is a popular non-fiction author.
I am slightly obsessed these days with psychological thrillers and mysteries. This is currently probably my favorite genre. The Secrets You Keep was a captivating and gripping thriller. I enjoyed this book so much.
Bryn is having some issues as a result of her accident. I thought that the author did a good job of telling the story, yet also taking us back to the accident and what happened.
The mystery in this book was very good. There were so many characters and so many suspects. Overall I really enjoyed the story and how the author got us to the thrilling ending. I especially enjoyed the snippets of Dr. G (Bryn's therapist). This book was a great thriller!
Thanks to edelweiss and Harper Paperbacks for allowing me to read this book.
The Secrets You Keep is a standalone psychological thriller/mystery. It is my first book by this author.
I really enjoyed this book. But I am so happy that I did not read the book blurb right before starting this book. While it doesn't give away most of the amazing twists, IMO it gives away a lot of key plot points that were amazing to uncover by reading the book. I actually don't think that I would have enjoyed this book as much if I had known so much of the plot in advance.
The things that I think it's okay to know upfront: The book takes place in Saratoga Springs, NY. The narrator of the book is 38 year old Bryn Harper. The book is written in 1st person narration. Her husband is Guy. Bryn was recently in a car accident. She is a popular non-fiction author.
I am slightly obsessed these days with psychological thrillers and mysteries. This is currently probably my favorite genre. The Secrets You Keep was a captivating and gripping thriller. I enjoyed this book so much.
Bryn is having some issues as a result of her accident. I thought that the author did a good job of telling the story, yet also taking us back to the accident and what happened.
The mystery in this book was very good. There were so many characters and so many suspects. Overall I really enjoyed the story and how the author got us to the thrilling ending. I especially enjoyed the snippets of Dr. G (Bryn's therapist). This book was a great thriller!
Thanks to edelweiss and Harper Paperbacks for allowing me to read this book.
July 18, 2017
This was a pretty entertaining read, but, my oh my, so poorly edited. At first it was just some grammatical errors and messy sentences. Then on page 103 one of the characters fretted about her unfounded fear of the cops opening her car trunk and finding "bags of heroine" inside. I almost quit reading then but I finished it, even after reading on page 187, "...took the cash and left the money." It was supposed to say left the matches, which was one of the cruxes (feeble as it was) that the mystery was based on.
Kate White is a former editor and she acknowledged her editor, Laura Brown calling her absolutely wonderful. Maybe she should've read the final draft of her book first.
Kate White is a former editor and she acknowledged her editor, Laura Brown calling her absolutely wonderful. Maybe she should've read the final draft of her book first.
August 23, 2023
This was pretty slow, but that ended up being what I wanted at the time, so I didn't mind. I didn't really like the reveal, but this book was fine. Not great, not terrible. 2.5 stars.
November 28, 2016
BOR-ING. The book suffers from too much: too many pages, too much exposition, too many red herrings, too many times returning to the same thing; it also suffers from too little -- too little focus on the elements that could make it truly interesting, and too little sense on the part of the main character, Bryn. This psychological thriller could have been much better, if the author had focused on just one of the stumbling blocks for Bryn: surviving a significant car crash, where the driver died; her stultifying lethargy; spending the summer in upstate New York with her new husband, with whom she has had only a commuter relationship until now; the murder of a local caterer; writer's block; the intrigues of the arts community in the town. All together, it makes for a muddy mess.
August 31, 2020
This is a gripping, intense, well-written, entertaining psychological thriller, which is set in an interesting locale. Its suspense, intrigue, mystery and secrets kept me engaged from the beginning to its surprising ending.
May 4, 2021
This got worse and worse the longer it went on.
January 31, 2019
3.5 stars. I liked and enjoyed this book. It entertained me, although, it didn't captivate me.
The Secrets You Keep is about an author who is recovering from a recent car accident. She has just moved in with her husband full-time, as they were previously a commuting couple. The brutal murder of a local woman coupled with odd things that keep piling up send our self-help author into a state of self-doubt and paranoia. Are her concerns valid? Is she safe?
I did notice that the author went out of her way to make justifications to the reader. At first, I liked this... But as the justifications grew in number (not need), I wondered 'should the reader really be noticing this'? It seemed more like the author was calling herself out too often on justifications that didn't really need to be made.
Many reviewers have stated that they could see the end coming. I would like to humbly (embarrassingly?) admit that I did not. It was a shock to me, for this reason, the 3.5 was rounded up instead of down!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and kept me guessing the entire time.
The Secrets You Keep is about an author who is recovering from a recent car accident. She has just moved in with her husband full-time, as they were previously a commuting couple. The brutal murder of a local woman coupled with odd things that keep piling up send our self-help author into a state of self-doubt and paranoia. Are her concerns valid? Is she safe?
I did notice that the author went out of her way to make justifications to the reader. At first, I liked this... But as the justifications grew in number (not need), I wondered 'should the reader really be noticing this'? It seemed more like the author was calling herself out too often on justifications that didn't really need to be made.
Many reviewers have stated that they could see the end coming. I would like to humbly (embarrassingly?) admit that I did not. It was a shock to me, for this reason, the 3.5 was rounded up instead of down!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and kept me guessing the entire time.
September 8, 2017
This book really surprised me.. it is fast paced tangled web of lies! really enjoyed it and look forward to more by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for a copy of this book to read and review.
July 6, 2017
I'm not sure why I continued to read this book ... it started out with what seemed an interesting premise but there were so many editing and grammatical errors, not to mention a writing style that seemed to reflect the author's desire to prove to her writing instructor that she paid close attention to the use of "expressive adjectives" that I should have picked up on these as warning signs that this might be a "Harlequin Romance" type of book. The only thing missing was a picture of Fabio on the cover from my perspective. But still I plowed on.
None of the characters ever really "gripped" me and it was hard to understand how the protagonist of the book could be as dumb and naive as she acted. Plus the background of the main plot (an unexplained accident that our heroine can't quite recall) was sketchy and all mention of it seemed written to lead you to believe something nefarious might have caused it.
There were enough potential villains to choose from. Actually, just about everyone she met in the book, with the exception of the very unfriendly and stand-offish policewoman detective, seemed to be a candidate for the evil person who was stalking our heroine and even killing people along the way.
The ending of the book was the worst though ... the author took about 20 pages (I was reading in e format on my Android phone so paging is not quite as accurate as in hard cover) to finally explain the entire story, including ... at the very end ... the cause of the accident that resulted in her amnesia. And if you can say or spell "trite," that's the word to describe the cause. Not only that, but to spend 20 pages "wrapping up" the entire story (presented as a conversation during a picnic with her supposed romantic interest) so that every "T" was crossed and "I" was dotted told me that the author hadn't done a very good job of telling the story and revealing clues as she went.
The crowning piece for me was the fact that the character who was supposed to be a "romantic" interest for the heroine was, himself, one of the candidates for possible villain, based on his secretiveness and a number of activities in which he participated as the story unfolded. Needless to say, I was trying to figure out why we should care if the two of them ever got together.
I've never read anything by this author before. I won't be in a hurry to pick anything else up.
None of the characters ever really "gripped" me and it was hard to understand how the protagonist of the book could be as dumb and naive as she acted. Plus the background of the main plot (an unexplained accident that our heroine can't quite recall) was sketchy and all mention of it seemed written to lead you to believe something nefarious might have caused it.
There were enough potential villains to choose from. Actually, just about everyone she met in the book, with the exception of the very unfriendly and stand-offish policewoman detective, seemed to be a candidate for the evil person who was stalking our heroine and even killing people along the way.
The ending of the book was the worst though ... the author took about 20 pages (I was reading in e format on my Android phone so paging is not quite as accurate as in hard cover) to finally explain the entire story, including ... at the very end ... the cause of the accident that resulted in her amnesia. And if you can say or spell "trite," that's the word to describe the cause. Not only that, but to spend 20 pages "wrapping up" the entire story (presented as a conversation during a picnic with her supposed romantic interest) so that every "T" was crossed and "I" was dotted told me that the author hadn't done a very good job of telling the story and revealing clues as she went.
The crowning piece for me was the fact that the character who was supposed to be a "romantic" interest for the heroine was, himself, one of the candidates for possible villain, based on his secretiveness and a number of activities in which he participated as the story unfolded. Needless to say, I was trying to figure out why we should care if the two of them ever got together.
I've never read anything by this author before. I won't be in a hurry to pick anything else up.
August 7, 2017
Hi, I'm Bryn, a successful and somewhat famous writer. I met my husband and married him and have had a commuter relationship with him all in the span of two years. If you press me on the subject, I'll tell you I don't really know much about his past at all *tee hee* but don't tell my readers that, as it might ruin my reputation as a self-help writer.
I was in a terrible car accident that killed a colleague, my pelvis was shattered and I was badly injured, so instead of staying in NYC with world class healthcare and a circle of support, I followed my husband upstate where we rent a giant house that is noisy. It's noisy. It's noisy. Did I mention the house is noisy enough?
Rather than focus on my own recovery, I berate myself for how often I need to rest and my low energy level. I know I must be disappointing my husband, with all my resting and low energy and broken pelvis making me unable to please my husband the way he is used to. The same husband who treats me like a roommate and is always rushing out of the house and coming home late.
We host a small dinner party for some of his work colleagues and I don't like the caterer lady. Eww, cleavage. And someone stole $160 from my desk which is probably nothing to a bestselling author who maintains THREE residences, but I stomp my elitist ass around town demanding to know who took my $160. It was probably those bum waiters. Screw those poor people in the service industry, right?
**********
I think the best thing I can say is that I liked this one better than the last Kate White book I read. I got this one from the library on accident, not knowing it was hers.
I was in a terrible car accident that killed a colleague, my pelvis was shattered and I was badly injured, so instead of staying in NYC with world class healthcare and a circle of support, I followed my husband upstate where we rent a giant house that is noisy. It's noisy. It's noisy. Did I mention the house is noisy enough?
Rather than focus on my own recovery, I berate myself for how often I need to rest and my low energy level. I know I must be disappointing my husband, with all my resting and low energy and broken pelvis making me unable to please my husband the way he is used to. The same husband who treats me like a roommate and is always rushing out of the house and coming home late.
We host a small dinner party for some of his work colleagues and I don't like the caterer lady. Eww, cleavage. And someone stole $160 from my desk which is probably nothing to a bestselling author who maintains THREE residences, but I stomp my elitist ass around town demanding to know who took my $160. It was probably those bum waiters. Screw those poor people in the service industry, right?
**********
I think the best thing I can say is that I liked this one better than the last Kate White book I read. I got this one from the library on accident, not knowing it was hers.
March 14, 2017
I am a complete sucker for a domestic thriller; I love the way they suck me in. I love the way they string me along. I love the way they play with my head. The Secrets You Keep by Kate White was no exception to these feelings. Fast-paced and fun, this one had my absolute attention
The novel opens with Bryn Harper moving into cottage country with her husband, still reeling from an accident. She begins to adjust to her new life. But, after a dinner party goes terribly wrong, leaving a woman dead and dragging Bryn into the investigation, she finds her life spiralling out of control and her husband keeping secrets from her, with terrifying consequences.
White does an awesome job at hooking the reader in, eluding much plot and then throwing in enough red herrings to keep anyone guessing. This was my first novel by White and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. This one was a perfect beach read; not too elaborate or deep, just entertaining to read. This one could easily be read in a few sittings.
My only complaint about this novel was the final few pages; they sum up a minor plot line and didn’t seem to “fit” with the rest of the story.
If you are a fan of novels like Before I Go to Sleep with characters that are unreliable, then you will thoroughly enjoy this one! I gave it 4/5 stars.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Edelweiss for the digital copy of this book; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.
The novel opens with Bryn Harper moving into cottage country with her husband, still reeling from an accident. She begins to adjust to her new life. But, after a dinner party goes terribly wrong, leaving a woman dead and dragging Bryn into the investigation, she finds her life spiralling out of control and her husband keeping secrets from her, with terrifying consequences.
White does an awesome job at hooking the reader in, eluding much plot and then throwing in enough red herrings to keep anyone guessing. This was my first novel by White and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. This one was a perfect beach read; not too elaborate or deep, just entertaining to read. This one could easily be read in a few sittings.
My only complaint about this novel was the final few pages; they sum up a minor plot line and didn’t seem to “fit” with the rest of the story.
If you are a fan of novels like Before I Go to Sleep with characters that are unreliable, then you will thoroughly enjoy this one! I gave it 4/5 stars.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Edelweiss for the digital copy of this book; it was my pleasure to provide an honest review.
January 5, 2017
If I fall asleep at work today, it is all your fault, Kate White. I could not put this book down. I read until the wee hours of the morning when I finished it. I am happy to see that she has written plenty of other books that I can indulge myself in.
March 24, 2017
Review to follow.
January 28, 2018
Started out as a strong 4 stars however as good as the reader was there were certain words that were pronounced as though she had a really really bad case of constipation. Words including “murder” and “murderer” that became beyond annoying. That brought it down to 3 1/2 stars.
What brought it down to 3 in my opinion was the ending. I listened on audio and listened to the last 3 tracks 5 times and if someone could please explain to me why Paul drove the car over I’d love to hear it. I still don’t know 🤷♀️
Otherwise the story was good, the reader was good except for her occasional constipation and it definitely kept my attention.
What brought it down to 3 in my opinion was the ending. I listened on audio and listened to the last 3 tracks 5 times and if someone could please explain to me why Paul drove the car over I’d love to hear it. I still don’t know 🤷♀️
Otherwise the story was good, the reader was good except for her occasional constipation and it definitely kept my attention.
November 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this on as an audio book. The story kept me wanting to know more and wanting to know what was going on. I thought the added mystery of her dreams and what happened during the accident was a good underlying story and one that I also was glad to know the conclusion to.
Even if some parts were obvious, I thought there were enough red herrings to keep one guessing.
I enjoyed it
Even if some parts were obvious, I thought there were enough red herrings to keep one guessing.
I enjoyed it
January 1, 2018
3.5
A short mystery/thriller with more potential than the one explored. It started with the nightmares of the main character and I would have loved to have seen the author develop these dreams more. At the end, it was wrapped up nicely and all the questions I had were answered. I enjoyed it.
A short mystery/thriller with more potential than the one explored. It started with the nightmares of the main character and I would have loved to have seen the author develop these dreams more. At the end, it was wrapped up nicely and all the questions I had were answered. I enjoyed it.
June 27, 2017
UGH. So hokie and contrived. It felt like the author was trying too hard to make the main character seem like a cooler chick than she was. 2 stars instead of 1 because the mystery element was interesting. The ending though? UGH.
April 14, 2023
A great thriller mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Lots of twists and turns that keep you interested in the story. You really want to find out all the secrets that there are and who is keeping them.
November 18, 2025
**Spoiler Alerts**
This book was a quick read, crammed with cliches. Can we get a murder mystery where the main character is not an author, especially not a generic version of Brene Brown? Can we get a murder mystery where not every single supporting character is a suspect? It takes the fun out of it when everyone else starts acting suspiciously and it becomes more like work than the escapism that I consider reading. I start trying to remember times of foreshadowing that was important and keeping track of details to lend to the case my brain is building to figure out the whodunit. That is exactly what "The Secrets You Keep" turned into for me and it became a bit tiresome. At times I felt the author was a bit inexperienced and provided a bit too much useless information, so I was extremely surprised to find out she was once the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine as well as a New York Times bestselling author. A few of the circumstances that took place in the book seemed a little out of place. For instance, Eve and her attitude from the beginning with Bryn felt inappropriate and excessive. Eve seemed very angry with Bryn for no real reason. The matches in the drawer felt like a desperate attempt to get some sort of stalking and revenge plotline started, that just never fully materialized. This takes me to the antagonist. I will not name any names, but I did not feel like the villain lived up to the hype. Crazy or not when a murderer admits things were done that were “just for fun” the entire motive loses steam.
It sounds like I did not like this book, but I did…kind of. Things I kind of liked was the Bryn character overall. She did not seem to shy away from taking the bull by the horns or doing her own research. She was braver than I expected and that was a pleasant surprise. One of my favorite things was the husband’s character arc. Even though Guy was not the murderer, he was still not redeemed at the end of the book. The last thing this novel needed was all the other characters built up to the level of a suspect and then in the end redeemed. Although we all knew immediately Derek was going to be a potential love interest, if not also the villain.
There was a point in this book when I even started to suspect Bryn of being insane and carrying out these acts herself. This helped me connect a bit more with her and struck my empathy cords. I was glad in the end she was not responsible.
I gave this book 3 stars because while I think it could have been fine-tuned a bit, I still did not put it down for hours. I am not going to write this author off, pun intended, just because of this book. I will try to read one of her "best sellers".
Also-the girl put a card in the welcome basket. Did she go so far as to make fake business cards? Or did I miss something around this?
This book was a quick read, crammed with cliches. Can we get a murder mystery where the main character is not an author, especially not a generic version of Brene Brown? Can we get a murder mystery where not every single supporting character is a suspect? It takes the fun out of it when everyone else starts acting suspiciously and it becomes more like work than the escapism that I consider reading. I start trying to remember times of foreshadowing that was important and keeping track of details to lend to the case my brain is building to figure out the whodunit. That is exactly what "The Secrets You Keep" turned into for me and it became a bit tiresome. At times I felt the author was a bit inexperienced and provided a bit too much useless information, so I was extremely surprised to find out she was once the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine as well as a New York Times bestselling author. A few of the circumstances that took place in the book seemed a little out of place. For instance, Eve and her attitude from the beginning with Bryn felt inappropriate and excessive. Eve seemed very angry with Bryn for no real reason. The matches in the drawer felt like a desperate attempt to get some sort of stalking and revenge plotline started, that just never fully materialized. This takes me to the antagonist. I will not name any names, but I did not feel like the villain lived up to the hype. Crazy or not when a murderer admits things were done that were “just for fun” the entire motive loses steam.
It sounds like I did not like this book, but I did…kind of. Things I kind of liked was the Bryn character overall. She did not seem to shy away from taking the bull by the horns or doing her own research. She was braver than I expected and that was a pleasant surprise. One of my favorite things was the husband’s character arc. Even though Guy was not the murderer, he was still not redeemed at the end of the book. The last thing this novel needed was all the other characters built up to the level of a suspect and then in the end redeemed. Although we all knew immediately Derek was going to be a potential love interest, if not also the villain.
There was a point in this book when I even started to suspect Bryn of being insane and carrying out these acts herself. This helped me connect a bit more with her and struck my empathy cords. I was glad in the end she was not responsible.
I gave this book 3 stars because while I think it could have been fine-tuned a bit, I still did not put it down for hours. I am not going to write this author off, pun intended, just because of this book. I will try to read one of her "best sellers".
Also-the girl put a card in the welcome basket. Did she go so far as to make fake business cards? Or did I miss something around this?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,288 reviews