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Tell Me No Secrets
You can bury the past but it never dies.
'This book will creep under your skin and have you thinking about it in the small hours. You won't want to put it down.' Sun
An unputdownable thriller for fans of Jenny Blackhurst and Clare Mackintosh.
You can bury the past but it never dies.
They say that everybody has a secret. Mine lies underground. Her name was Rose and she was nine years old when she died . . .
Grace lives in a quiet, Scottish fishing village - the perfect place for bringing up her twin girls with her loving husband Paul. Life is good.
Until a phone call from her old best-friend, a woman Grace hasn't seen since her teens - and for good reason - threatens to destroy everything. Caught up in a manipulative and spiteful game that turns into an obsession, Grace is about to realise that some secrets can't stay buried forever.
For if Orla reveals what happened on that camping trip twenty-four years ago, she will take away all that Grace holds dear . . .
A tense psychological thriller with an instantly familiar domestic backdrop, this exciting debut will leave you with the chilling feeling that this could happen to you.
'This book will creep under your skin and have you thinking about it in the small hours. You won't want to put it down.' Sun
An unputdownable thriller for fans of Jenny Blackhurst and Clare Mackintosh.
You can bury the past but it never dies.
They say that everybody has a secret. Mine lies underground. Her name was Rose and she was nine years old when she died . . .
Grace lives in a quiet, Scottish fishing village - the perfect place for bringing up her twin girls with her loving husband Paul. Life is good.
Until a phone call from her old best-friend, a woman Grace hasn't seen since her teens - and for good reason - threatens to destroy everything. Caught up in a manipulative and spiteful game that turns into an obsession, Grace is about to realise that some secrets can't stay buried forever.
For if Orla reveals what happened on that camping trip twenty-four years ago, she will take away all that Grace holds dear . . .
A tense psychological thriller with an instantly familiar domestic backdrop, this exciting debut will leave you with the chilling feeling that this could happen to you.
372 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
36 people are currently reading
852 people want to read
About the author
Julie Corbin
15 books117 followersJulie Corbin was born and grew up in Scotland. She studied at Edinburgh University and has been working for over twenty years as a nurse in various specialities including neurosurgery and school nursing. She began writing seriously when her three sons were teenagers. She lives in East Sussex, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
July 21, 2016
This was an interesting quasi thriller; I thought the premise was innovative and liked the main characters but felt much of it was long winded and pages upon pages of conversations sometimes dragged on too much. The ending could have been written fifty or even a hundred pages sooner in my opinion.
Grace has a secret, and only her childhood friend Orla knows it. When Orla suddenly returns into her life after twenty plus years, Grace is terrified her world is about to be blown apart. She fears for her marriage, her children and her sanity.
I enjoyed the character of Grace, she is a flawed individual but perhaps that what makes her more relatable than if she had been the perfect wife and mother. Orla is just plain bizarre, I struggled to understand her from the very beginning.
I wouldn't necessarily class this book in the thriller genre, however I will shelf it as such because that seems to be the general consensus. It felt to me more like a drama; whilst not a criticism it's just a personal observation.
An okay read for the summer. I wouldn't rush out to read another of the authors books, but if the synopsis caught my attention I would probably give it a chance.
Grace has a secret, and only her childhood friend Orla knows it. When Orla suddenly returns into her life after twenty plus years, Grace is terrified her world is about to be blown apart. She fears for her marriage, her children and her sanity.
I enjoyed the character of Grace, she is a flawed individual but perhaps that what makes her more relatable than if she had been the perfect wife and mother. Orla is just plain bizarre, I struggled to understand her from the very beginning.
I wouldn't necessarily class this book in the thriller genre, however I will shelf it as such because that seems to be the general consensus. It felt to me more like a drama; whilst not a criticism it's just a personal observation.
An okay read for the summer. I wouldn't rush out to read another of the authors books, but if the synopsis caught my attention I would probably give it a chance.
March 2, 2018
Really enjoyed this book and had to keep reading to find out who did what. Jumped back and forth a little but was easy to follow and not lose track. Psychological thrillers are not really my cup of tea but this one had me gripped so will be looking for more books by this author.
September 17, 2015
Terrific psychological thriller. I loved it!
December 13, 2012
As simply a straightforward novel of suspense I found Tell Me No Secrets gripping and the setting in a fishing village near St Andrews charming. And this is an excellent study in the corrosive effects of guilt. For twenty four years Grace, the narrator, has been haunted by her belief that when she was fifteen she was carelessly responsible for the drowning of a nine year old at Girl Guide camp, and her husband Paul had been the girl's father. Her teenage friend Olga has returned to Scotland after a long absence and threatens to make the whole story known.
Unfortunately I found Grace a vacillating and indecisive character whose concern for the survival of her marriage is undercut by a long affair with her childhood boyfriend Euan, who is also married and also quite a weak character. I'd hoped that as the villain Olga would turn out to be more interesting but I think that the author made her up into too much of a monster. So the two elements I most look for, interesting and memorable characters and engaging relationships, are both absent.
The style is readable and facile and I plan to give Julie Corbin's other books a chance, but I hope for characters we can care about.
Unfortunately I found Grace a vacillating and indecisive character whose concern for the survival of her marriage is undercut by a long affair with her childhood boyfriend Euan, who is also married and also quite a weak character. I'd hoped that as the villain Olga would turn out to be more interesting but I think that the author made her up into too much of a monster. So the two elements I most look for, interesting and memorable characters and engaging relationships, are both absent.
The style is readable and facile and I plan to give Julie Corbin's other books a chance, but I hope for characters we can care about.
January 30, 2018
I loved it! I couldn’t put it down! It was suspenseful, original and gripping in all the right places! I found this book in a charity shop and I’m so very pleased I picked it up!
It really gets you thinking of what if’s and living with guilt! I’ll be looking out for this author !
Top read!!
It really gets you thinking of what if’s and living with guilt! I’ll be looking out for this author !
Top read!!
October 1, 2012
What a great debut novel.
Grace has tried all her life to put her past behind her but it keeps on catching up with her. Jumping back and forth from present to past with great ease, the story of the death of a young girl which has repercussions as sure as the ripples in the deep pool in which she died builds tension right from the start.
The lead character Grace is deeply flawed by circumstances and follwoing her involvement in the death of young Rose when Grace was a teenager is something which still haunts her. Living in a small Scottish fishing community means that many of the people she meets on a daily basis are people she grew up with and all have their own secrets to be kept.
But when her childhood friend Orla suddenly reappears on her radar, alarm bells sound loudly. Orla was manipulative as a teenager and she knows the truth behind the lies and with them has the power to destroy Graces fragile stability forever. Even though Grace is doing a pretty good job of this herself with her poor decisions, flaky nature and tenuous grasp on keeping herself and her family together she is desperate to prevent Orla ripping her life apart.
Tense and thought provoking this is a psychological chiller of the very best kind which has you reading on into the night.
I'm very much looking forward to reading this authors next book - a real find.
Grace has tried all her life to put her past behind her but it keeps on catching up with her. Jumping back and forth from present to past with great ease, the story of the death of a young girl which has repercussions as sure as the ripples in the deep pool in which she died builds tension right from the start.
The lead character Grace is deeply flawed by circumstances and follwoing her involvement in the death of young Rose when Grace was a teenager is something which still haunts her. Living in a small Scottish fishing community means that many of the people she meets on a daily basis are people she grew up with and all have their own secrets to be kept.
But when her childhood friend Orla suddenly reappears on her radar, alarm bells sound loudly. Orla was manipulative as a teenager and she knows the truth behind the lies and with them has the power to destroy Graces fragile stability forever. Even though Grace is doing a pretty good job of this herself with her poor decisions, flaky nature and tenuous grasp on keeping herself and her family together she is desperate to prevent Orla ripping her life apart.
Tense and thought provoking this is a psychological chiller of the very best kind which has you reading on into the night.
I'm very much looking forward to reading this authors next book - a real find.
January 5, 2013
I really liked this. It is a gripping novel about guilt, betrayal and family relationships, with a huge amount of suspense. The writing is straightforward and without pretension (hooray!). The story is well-plotted and, yes, it does revolve around the lead character's domestic situation, but that's part of its charm. The only small negative was one particular 'almost' sex scene (the one where she asks Euan when he was circumcised), which seemed oddly out of step with the rest of the book, especially when the other sex scenes are well written and relevant. Just a small point that but otherwise a fabulous first novel. Looking forward to reading more by this writer.
June 6, 2014
Interesting plot. It was nice to see the truth being unravelled. Couldn't quite connect to the main character, though... probably because I'm still a teenager while she's already a wife. I loved how the novel showed that there are really different kinds of love; the one Grace felt for Euan (which I felt was realistic) and the one she felt for her husband, Paul. Relationships must be built in honesty, indeed. And oh, Orla is such a bitchy character. Hated her.
January 30, 2010
Although the prose is strangely WYSIWYG, with almost no figurative language, and few signs that anything on the page was ever intended to achieve more than one thing at the same time, the plotting really kept this novel afloat. I saw on Amazon that other readers really liked the 'domestic' side of things, but to me this was a profound set back and gave the thing a mumlit feel in places.
But having said this, I read it in two sittings, and while I was reading, was eager to know what would happen. If it hadn't been for the tedium of domesticity and so many pointless descriptions of scenery and weather, I'd have happily given this a higher mark. I will definitely look for her next one, and suspect she will be a household name in years to come.
But having said this, I read it in two sittings, and while I was reading, was eager to know what would happen. If it hadn't been for the tedium of domesticity and so many pointless descriptions of scenery and weather, I'd have happily given this a higher mark. I will definitely look for her next one, and suspect she will be a household name in years to come.
December 22, 2017
This book manages to eke out over a good many pages a fairly basic premise. The author is skilled at conjuring a sense of menace and threat and I kind of appreciated the lack of twists and red herrings as I think these have become somewhat overdone and gratuitous in this genre. But, ultimately for me, the central thrust of the novel - what is Grace's former friend, Orla, going to reveal about the past and what effect will it have? - is dangled before us for too long and with too little payback.
August 29, 2017
This book started out quite gripping, the characters were real and Corbin has an engaging style of writing. I did feel that the tension waned a little after the big secret is told to the reader, about half-way though. Don't worry, I won't elaborate and spoil it for anyone;-)
All in all, this was a good suspense novel, not amazingly gripping, but solid. I'll be looking for other books by Corbin in the future.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
All in all, this was a good suspense novel, not amazingly gripping, but solid. I'll be looking for other books by Corbin in the future.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
October 4, 2016
Listened to in audio format.
This book was a slow burner but it was gripping once the story got going.
In 1984 best friends 16 year olds Grace and Orla were helping out a girl guide camp. One night Grace and Orla have a huge row because Orla had sex with Grace's childhood friend Euan. A girl called Rose interrupts their row to tell Grace something but she pushes her away. The next day Rose is found dead, drowned in the river. Orla is upset and tells Grace she must of pushed Rose in the water, Orla says they will get into trouble and must tell no one what happened....
In the present day Grace is married to Rose's father Paul and they have twin daughters. Euan is an architect and he shares office space with Grace. Grace has been guilt stricken for years about Rose, and she has suffered from depression and anorexia. Out of the blue she receives her a call from Orla. She wants to join a convent but before she enters she wants to tell Paul what happened to absolve herself. Grace has never told Paul her part in Rose's death and will do anything to stop her..
The story is split between 1984 and now so you understand what happened. This book was excellent and shows how corrosive secrets can be. I did not feel sympathy Grace although she loved Paul in her own way. I would of liked to know what caused Orla's drug abuse and why she tried to kill her husband. A good debut by Julie Corbin.
This book was a slow burner but it was gripping once the story got going.
In 1984 best friends 16 year olds Grace and Orla were helping out a girl guide camp. One night Grace and Orla have a huge row because Orla had sex with Grace's childhood friend Euan. A girl called Rose interrupts their row to tell Grace something but she pushes her away. The next day Rose is found dead, drowned in the river. Orla is upset and tells Grace she must of pushed Rose in the water, Orla says they will get into trouble and must tell no one what happened....
In the present day Grace is married to Rose's father Paul and they have twin daughters. Euan is an architect and he shares office space with Grace. Grace has been guilt stricken for years about Rose, and she has suffered from depression and anorexia. Out of the blue she receives her a call from Orla. She wants to join a convent but before she enters she wants to tell Paul what happened to absolve herself. Grace has never told Paul her part in Rose's death and will do anything to stop her..
The story is split between 1984 and now so you understand what happened. This book was excellent and shows how corrosive secrets can be. I did not feel sympathy Grace although she loved Paul in her own way. I would of liked to know what caused Orla's drug abuse and why she tried to kill her husband. A good debut by Julie Corbin.
September 10, 2013
Grace lives in a small Scottish village with her husband and two daughters, enjoying her daily routine of wife and mother. Then one day she receives a call from her old school friend, Orla, and Grace fears that her family are about to discover her secrets.
What initially attracted me to this psychological thriller was its theme and setting: the happy domesticity of everyday life threatened by our darkest secrets. The novel gets off to a good start, a first-person narrative, that's well paced and convincing.
The writing style is accessible, and has some good characterisation. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Grace and Orla' friendship, their teenage loves and jealousies, and the secret that overshadows it.
Unfortunately, about half through the book the story starts to dwindle. The characters and the plot feels hurried, and Orla, who for the most part is the most interesting characters, becomes contrived and borders on cliche. The ending twist is a clever idea, but like so many thrillers its become predictable, and could have been handled better.
What initially attracted me to this psychological thriller was its theme and setting: the happy domesticity of everyday life threatened by our darkest secrets. The novel gets off to a good start, a first-person narrative, that's well paced and convincing.
The writing style is accessible, and has some good characterisation. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Grace and Orla' friendship, their teenage loves and jealousies, and the secret that overshadows it.
Unfortunately, about half through the book the story starts to dwindle. The characters and the plot feels hurried, and Orla, who for the most part is the most interesting characters, becomes contrived and borders on cliche. The ending twist is a clever idea, but like so many thrillers its become predictable, and could have been handled better.
the-book-club
June 15, 2013They say that everybody has a secret. Mine lies underground. Her name
was Rose and she was nine years old when she died ...Grace lives in a
quiet, Scottish fishing village -- the perfect place for bringing up
her twin girls with her loving husband Paul. Life is good. Until a
phone call from her old best-friend, a woman Grace hasn't seen since
her teens -- and for good reason -- threatens to destroy everything.
Caught up in a manipulative and spiteful game that turns into an
obsession, Grace is about to realise that some secrets can't stay
buried forever. For if Orla reveals what happened on that camping
trip twenty-four years ago, she will take away all that Grace holds
dear ...A tense psychological thriller with an instantly familiar
domestic backdrop, this exciting debut will leave you with the
chilling feeling that this could happen to you.
was Rose and she was nine years old when she died ...Grace lives in a
quiet, Scottish fishing village -- the perfect place for bringing up
her twin girls with her loving husband Paul. Life is good. Until a
phone call from her old best-friend, a woman Grace hasn't seen since
her teens -- and for good reason -- threatens to destroy everything.
Caught up in a manipulative and spiteful game that turns into an
obsession, Grace is about to realise that some secrets can't stay
buried forever. For if Orla reveals what happened on that camping
trip twenty-four years ago, she will take away all that Grace holds
dear ...A tense psychological thriller with an instantly familiar
domestic backdrop, this exciting debut will leave you with the
chilling feeling that this could happen to you.
August 5, 2015
Really enjoyed the book, and as a debut novel will be looking to read more of this author.
The book is set in a small village in Scotland, and features a wife and mother called Grace, who is married to Paul and has two teenage daughters. All is happy in Grace's life until the phone rings one day and it is an old friend of Grace's called Orla.
Grace is terrified, we are transported back in flashbacks to Graces life before, when Orla and Grace were friends, and the terrible secret that binds them together.
We meet Euan, Graces boy-next-door best friend, and his wife Monica, and their roles in the past secret.
The book is easy to read, and a very good story, as the heroine of the novel, Grace doesn't really do herself any favours, and I suppose we are left to wonder how would we have behaved in the same situation.
The book is set in a small village in Scotland, and features a wife and mother called Grace, who is married to Paul and has two teenage daughters. All is happy in Grace's life until the phone rings one day and it is an old friend of Grace's called Orla.
Grace is terrified, we are transported back in flashbacks to Graces life before, when Orla and Grace were friends, and the terrible secret that binds them together.
We meet Euan, Graces boy-next-door best friend, and his wife Monica, and their roles in the past secret.
The book is easy to read, and a very good story, as the heroine of the novel, Grace doesn't really do herself any favours, and I suppose we are left to wonder how would we have behaved in the same situation.
January 24, 2017
I had a less favourable impression from this than from two other novels by this competent author. Firstly there was not a lot of development, though this was disguised by the incessant switching to and from among about four to five times, the point mainly being made through amplificatio, ie, doing something again that had been done already. Second it seemed to fizzle out a little in the ending, ie there were quite a lot of pages devoted to a slow epilogue, while the denouement amounted to something of a bathos. Still, there was a satisfactory confirmation of the developing theme that not only was the expected villain villainous. In all, it is about the unreliability of memory of traumatic events, although in this case the narrator remembered perfectly her version, merely being deflected by the inputs of less than well-wishing associates.
November 28, 2013
Imagine having the perfect life, with your husband, twin daughters and best friend, only to have it all threatened, by a long buried teenage secret.
Orla comes back to town, threatening to spill teenage secrets of a tiny Scottish town, where young Rose died, whilst on camp. How did this happen and who is responsible?
My favorites part of this story were the sense of place, and the relationships between the characters. None were perfect, and some bordered on cliche, ie baddie Orla. Some parts were a little far fetched, and I rolled my eyes a few times, but that was because I put myself in the main charscter's eyes, and what I would do. That's a win for the author.
Orla comes back to town, threatening to spill teenage secrets of a tiny Scottish town, where young Rose died, whilst on camp. How did this happen and who is responsible?
My favorites part of this story were the sense of place, and the relationships between the characters. None were perfect, and some bordered on cliche, ie baddie Orla. Some parts were a little far fetched, and I rolled my eyes a few times, but that was because I put myself in the main charscter's eyes, and what I would do. That's a win for the author.
June 13, 2012
A very good book, especially considering this is the author's debut novel. It's not the type book that you really enjoy, as it is very heavy and emotionally wrought. I actually felt quite depressed every time I picked it up, but this was only because the author was extremely clever at setting you on edge, and weaving an atmosphere of anticipation and dread.
It was a very interesting plot, with a variety of flawed characters that were all interwoven to a create a good thriller that kept me reading well into the night.
It was a very interesting plot, with a variety of flawed characters that were all interwoven to a create a good thriller that kept me reading well into the night.
April 12, 2014
I loved this book. Would recommend for fans of Nicci French. If it's not already been dramatised (and if it has, I've missed it), then I'm wondering why not - it would fit perfectly in the Monday evening on ITV @ 9pm crime drama slot. I initially started it because of the location (Scotland) and length (it's quite a short audio book), but I got very immersed and was particularly drawn to the characterisation (the "heroine" is probably one of the characters in literature that I've rooted for most, whereas her "opposite" is one of the most odious literary characters).
May 24, 2015
Enjoyed it, but did feel that the 'threat' of Orla was overused and thought perhaps it could all have come to a head a little sooner. I also wasn't convinced that, as an adult, Grace would sincerely believe her crime would land her in jail for something that was effectively an accident.
Having said that, the plot was well thought through and I didn't see the complexities that the ending brought, which was executed with skill. A good read, and I'm planning to see what else the author has written given this was her debut.
Having said that, the plot was well thought through and I didn't see the complexities that the ending brought, which was executed with skill. A good read, and I'm planning to see what else the author has written given this was her debut.
March 28, 2010
Well I can get on with some housework at last - I've just finished this one and I thought it was fantastic, a simply written psychological thriller that gets its claws in at the start and never lets go. Wonderful domestic setting, key events told in flashback and their impact shaking the present. I'm going to miss Grace - flawed as she is - and her family and friends. And this is a first novel? Quite unbelievable - superb stuff!
October 7, 2013
Tell Me No Secrets kept me guessing until the end, I thought I knew what was going to happen but I was only half right.
I didn't particularly like any of the characters but I do think that is a good a thing as i'm not sure they were supposed to be portrayed as likeable. I'd have liked the book to explore Orlas mental health problems a bit more or at least have explained them and the motives behind her behaviour in slightly more detail.
I will be looking out for more books by this author.
I didn't particularly like any of the characters but I do think that is a good a thing as i'm not sure they were supposed to be portrayed as likeable. I'd have liked the book to explore Orlas mental health problems a bit more or at least have explained them and the motives behind her behaviour in slightly more detail.
I will be looking out for more books by this author.
October 26, 2015
I almost rated this 2 stars as I thought it was a little bit badly written in the first few chapters, and that it would be badly clichéd. However, I did find myself struggling to put the book down. It turned out to be quite a griping storyline, with different twists in the plot which I didn't expect.
Overall, I actually really quite enjoyed it. It was really easy to follow, I couldn't quite bring myself to rate it more than a 3 though.
Overall, I actually really quite enjoyed it. It was really easy to follow, I couldn't quite bring myself to rate it more than a 3 though.
November 19, 2016
Starting this book I didn't know what to expect, I've never read something like this before. I was pleasantly surprised however the characters were really easy to connect with, which made it a much more enjoyable read. The main character Grace annoyed me at times when she had the affair, it didn't make sense how she was trying to be better but all the same cheating on her husband. Orla was a great character and I really enjoyed her wreaking havoc. All in all a great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2012
Set on the east coast of Scotland in Fife the story follows Grace and her family and a secret she has kept from childhood and the accompanying guilt she has carried. It was a good read of betrayal and the destructive forces of carrying guilt. A bit unbelievable in places. Some of the characterisation was a bit weak but as a first novel not too bad. Would look out for others by Corbin.
June 11, 2015
Какой ладненький роман с крепкой интригой и хорошим языком, а.
February 7, 2017
4*
Good pschological thriller . First book I've read by this author and will continue to read her others.
Would recommend this book. Good storyline and an easy read.
Good pschological thriller . First book I've read by this author and will continue to read her others.
Would recommend this book. Good storyline and an easy read.
June 17, 2017
• 3.5 stars •
*re-read*
*re-read*
June 24, 2017
Love for a childhood friend, Euan, waned. Love for a husband, Paul (or a family), never shrunk.
June 2, 2017
On the whole I enjoyed this book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews