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The Secret at No. 4
One street, ten doors, how many killers?
The street that contains No.4 is a dark place, secrets linger and whispers of a murder haunt it. The residents have learnt to live with its sinister past, but when one of their own returns to hunt for the truth, their welcome is far from warm…
Fifteen years ago, 35-year-old Henry Carr vanished from the yard outside his parents' house, on a run-down street outside Manchester. Today, a cold-case podcast has brought the disappearance to international attention.
A young journalist, Ruth, knows that she might be able to get the locals to open up. After all, she used to be one of them. But returning won't be easy. There are many reasons why Ruth fled, six years earlier.
There’s no evidence, no lead, no body. Yet Henry’s elderly and dementia suffering mother, Marianne, whispers that he was killed and buried on the street they call home.
With anniversary of Henry’s disappearance fast approaching, Ruth has just days to uncover the truth of what happened to the man she once knew. And as the more Ruth learns, the more she comes to understand: you can leave the street, but it’ll never leave you…
The street that contains No.4 is a dark place, secrets linger and whispers of a murder haunt it. The residents have learnt to live with its sinister past, but when one of their own returns to hunt for the truth, their welcome is far from warm…
Fifteen years ago, 35-year-old Henry Carr vanished from the yard outside his parents' house, on a run-down street outside Manchester. Today, a cold-case podcast has brought the disappearance to international attention.
A young journalist, Ruth, knows that she might be able to get the locals to open up. After all, she used to be one of them. But returning won't be easy. There are many reasons why Ruth fled, six years earlier.
There’s no evidence, no lead, no body. Yet Henry’s elderly and dementia suffering mother, Marianne, whispers that he was killed and buried on the street they call home.
With anniversary of Henry’s disappearance fast approaching, Ruth has just days to uncover the truth of what happened to the man she once knew. And as the more Ruth learns, the more she comes to understand: you can leave the street, but it’ll never leave you…
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 6, 2023
51 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 22, 2023
Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Harpernorth and the author S.L McManus for a early copy of her book.
This is a new author, looks a intriguing story.Ruth a journalist who returns to the street where she lived as a child with her father and neighbour's,shes back to write a story of Henry Carr disappeared years ago.what happened to him? The street are keeping secrets,will Ruth uncover them..a great mystery read.My rating is 3.5 rounded to 4 as found the book abit long.the ending was good..
This is a new author, looks a intriguing story.Ruth a journalist who returns to the street where she lived as a child with her father and neighbour's,shes back to write a story of Henry Carr disappeared years ago.what happened to him? The street are keeping secrets,will Ruth uncover them..a great mystery read.My rating is 3.5 rounded to 4 as found the book abit long.the ending was good..
August 27, 2023
I actually surprisingly ended up enjoying this.
Why did I say that?
Well, the beginning was strong enough to get my attention but sometimes my mind wandered as I think the book had some unnecessary repeats in it.
It dipped a bit too. But the latter half picked up and ending was more than satisfying.
I really liked this authors style of writing, easy to follow, they made the characters feel like real people and relatable which I love.
The plot and circumstances were “reality” and you could actually believe this could happen.
So all in all, it was good.
I must say I listened to this on audio and the narrator did a good job with it all in all.
I’d definitely read another book by this author.
Why did I say that?
Well, the beginning was strong enough to get my attention but sometimes my mind wandered as I think the book had some unnecessary repeats in it.
It dipped a bit too. But the latter half picked up and ending was more than satisfying.
I really liked this authors style of writing, easy to follow, they made the characters feel like real people and relatable which I love.
The plot and circumstances were “reality” and you could actually believe this could happen.
So all in all, it was good.
I must say I listened to this on audio and the narrator did a good job with it all in all.
I’d definitely read another book by this author.
July 17, 2023
This was such a gripping book, the fastest I've read a book in a while because I was sucked into Crow Street and wanted to find out the answers to all of the mysteries at the start.
S.L.McManus deftly builds up the world of Crow Street, the characters within and a tense atmosphere. I quickly felt like I was on the street with Ruth and felt compelled to keep reading to uncover the truth.
The twists and turns of the story towards the end were cleverly done and genuinely left me surprised, but also made complete sense in retrospect.
I also want to praise the author's compassionate handling of some sensitive subjects, not least of all giving voices to a working class northern community across the lifespan. It really felt unique to me in that way and I believe the story and it's characters will stay with me for some time.
S.L.McManus deftly builds up the world of Crow Street, the characters within and a tense atmosphere. I quickly felt like I was on the street with Ruth and felt compelled to keep reading to uncover the truth.
The twists and turns of the story towards the end were cleverly done and genuinely left me surprised, but also made complete sense in retrospect.
I also want to praise the author's compassionate handling of some sensitive subjects, not least of all giving voices to a working class northern community across the lifespan. It really felt unique to me in that way and I believe the story and it's characters will stay with me for some time.
August 31, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
This book had me guessing right to the end! It was so twisty and I thought it was going to go in a complete different direction with the characters involved but I was actually wrong!
It was a great pace to follow, and even with the multiple POVs it was easy to follow.
This book had me guessing right to the end! It was so twisty and I thought it was going to go in a complete different direction with the characters involved but I was actually wrong!
It was a great pace to follow, and even with the multiple POVs it was easy to follow.
October 27, 2023
A very promising debut novel. I loved that this was set in Manchester and the author perfectly drew on the sense of the community that can definitely be felt in the northern towns.
August 31, 2023
I really enjoyed The Secret at No. 4. It’s a good mystery with a bit of gritty northernness thrown in. The crime at the heart of the novel has enough intrigue and twists and turns to keep you guessing right until the end. The end comes together very well and the multiple pov approach really shines at this point.
The main character is a plucky young journalist with a career to make. This could have slipped into a cliched trope but the angle of her returning to her childhood home and knowing those under suspicion helps to avoid that, instead taking the reader deep into a complex web of relationships and history.
The main strength of the story is the character work and the empathy with which they’re portrayed. Elements such as poverty and dementia are approached with care and there’s always a sense of dignity when, so often, these things can slip into cliche or parody. By the end of the novel, I was thoroughly invested in the cast of characters, feeling deeply for their plight.
Overall, The Secret at No. 4 is a strong, well-handled debut with enough about it to suggest McManus can force her way into the saturated crime market and offer something different.
The main character is a plucky young journalist with a career to make. This could have slipped into a cliched trope but the angle of her returning to her childhood home and knowing those under suspicion helps to avoid that, instead taking the reader deep into a complex web of relationships and history.
The main strength of the story is the character work and the empathy with which they’re portrayed. Elements such as poverty and dementia are approached with care and there’s always a sense of dignity when, so often, these things can slip into cliche or parody. By the end of the novel, I was thoroughly invested in the cast of characters, feeling deeply for their plight.
Overall, The Secret at No. 4 is a strong, well-handled debut with enough about it to suggest McManus can force her way into the saturated crime market and offer something different.
February 18, 2025
I listened to the audio book and I don't know if this is what ruined it for me. The narration was awful with no character differentiation or accents which meant it was 9hrs of the same person! It made identifying characters and building an image of them really difficult. I found I focused on the poor narration more than the story at times - emphasising wrong words in phrases etc.
However, the story was ok. I did get frustrated with Ruth's sense of self entitlement - questioning why she wasn't told about so many things that happened when she was a child etc.
I changed my mind about the ending about 3 times and was pleasantly surprised in the end.
It's not a gripping "who dun it" story for me, but it was OK.
However, the story was ok. I did get frustrated with Ruth's sense of self entitlement - questioning why she wasn't told about so many things that happened when she was a child etc.
I changed my mind about the ending about 3 times and was pleasantly surprised in the end.
It's not a gripping "who dun it" story for me, but it was OK.
January 3, 2025
This a solid, interesting read. Well paced with a great understanding of the complexity of small communities. Investigating a missing person case alongside the main characters history in the location builds a strong sense family.
Showing the multiple viewpoints of the main protagonists gives the plot momentum. I did feel that there was a certain amount of reliance on a medical condition to hide actions and developments which led me to fall out the story on occasion.
Good debut novel and I'd be happy to read what comes next.
Showing the multiple viewpoints of the main protagonists gives the plot momentum. I did feel that there was a certain amount of reliance on a medical condition to hide actions and developments which led me to fall out the story on occasion.
Good debut novel and I'd be happy to read what comes next.
August 30, 2025
A slow paced crime based psychological drama
As I read this book one thing niggled me the whole way through and that's the fact the characters involved in covering up the truth of what happened 15 years ago still lived on the same street they grew up on together as kids. Even though they had married and had kids of their own.
Usually when adult kids marry they move into their own houses to raise their families.
Also I can't be 100% sure but I think I may have read this book before. Or I've read something very similar.
As I read this book one thing niggled me the whole way through and that's the fact the characters involved in covering up the truth of what happened 15 years ago still lived on the same street they grew up on together as kids. Even though they had married and had kids of their own.
Usually when adult kids marry they move into their own houses to raise their families.
Also I can't be 100% sure but I think I may have read this book before. Or I've read something very similar.
October 27, 2024
4/10 - girl comes home to investigate the man next doors disappearance from 15 years later in the lead up to the anniversary - so unnecessary long and descriptive, so much waffle. So much repetition of the same facts and characteristics (we get she has dementia). Boring and the most predictable book I’ve read in a while I knew the ending pretty much from the beginning. The story was silly and unrealistic
August 19, 2025
I can't remember how I came about this book, but it has been sat on my Kindle for a while.
I absolutely loved this!
I love books from multiple POVs, but it can be hard to follow each of them, but this author absolutely nailed it, making it easy to follow whilst having various stories going on.
I was certain I had found out the twist, but they kept on coming right up until the end!
I highly recommend this book, and I will be keeping an eye out for another by this author 😃
I absolutely loved this!
I love books from multiple POVs, but it can be hard to follow each of them, but this author absolutely nailed it, making it easy to follow whilst having various stories going on.
I was certain I had found out the twist, but they kept on coming right up until the end!
I highly recommend this book, and I will be keeping an eye out for another by this author 😃
December 31, 2024
A cold case being reopened as the 15th anniversary approaches. Ruth, a journalist, grew up on the street, knew the people living there and is keen to get to the bottom of it, she returns full of questions. What will it take to get the residents to open up? How many secrets can one street hold?
July 11, 2023
I enjoyed the story and the characters. Couldn’t put the book down as I wanted to find out the answers!
Hopefully there’ll be more to come from some of the characters on the street 😀
Hopefully there’ll be more to come from some of the characters on the street 😀
July 29, 2023
Brilliant
August 13, 2023
4.5 ⭐️ rounded up, thoroughly enjoyable.
January 31, 2024
I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller.
It kept me guessing till the end.
Will definitely be looking for more books from this author.
It kept me guessing till the end.
Will definitely be looking for more books from this author.
March 5, 2024
A good story.
I thought the writing was good if occasionally a little too emotionally charged. Overall I enjoyed the suspense and it's certainly a page turner.
I thought the writing was good if occasionally a little too emotionally charged. Overall I enjoyed the suspense and it's certainly a page turner.
May 27, 2024
It's such a wonderful piece of writing that draws a reader into a small community as if we were a part of it. Twists everywhere.
August 12, 2024
Good story but I think the questioning went on for too long and at times became quite repetitive.
December 27, 2024
Enjoyed the Manchester setting - reveal nothing to write home about
April 27, 2025
DNF - really couldn’t be bothered with this book club read
August 16, 2025
kinda guessed the ending but a good read all the same.
August 30, 2025
really enjoyed this book. characters where great. never guessed the ending . 1st class book. looking forward to more books from the author.
October 22, 2025
Really enjoyed this! Loved getting to know all the characters on the street
November 14, 2023
BSR November Read - A House on the Cover
“The Secret at No. 4” is an enjoyable murder mystery set in the north, with a resolution that left me feeling thoroughly entertained. The main character, a young journalist, returns to her hometown, which adds another layer of complexity to the story due to the historical element, eager to solve this cold case.
The author handles sensitive topics with dignity, and the development of the characters and multiple points of view are written well.
Overall, this is a strong debut that stands out in a crowded crime fiction market, and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. I recommend reading this to all fans of this genre or anyone looking for a new, talented author.
This book is out now!
“The Secret at No. 4” is an enjoyable murder mystery set in the north, with a resolution that left me feeling thoroughly entertained. The main character, a young journalist, returns to her hometown, which adds another layer of complexity to the story due to the historical element, eager to solve this cold case.
The author handles sensitive topics with dignity, and the development of the characters and multiple points of view are written well.
Overall, this is a strong debut that stands out in a crowded crime fiction market, and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. I recommend reading this to all fans of this genre or anyone looking for a new, talented author.
This book is out now!
November 24, 2023
Considering this was the author’s debut novel, I thoroughly enjoyed it. McManus went above and beyond with the descriptions of characters and their surroundings. I could pick tire quite a few of them in my head. It had me guessing who the killer was right up until the end. The twist in the epilogue also surprised me. However, the one thing that let it down was they the same phrases in descriptions were used too much, like “mismatched family”. Apart from that, it was an awesome debut and I look forward to reading more of their work soon.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews