Book Review: The Secret, by Katerina Diamond #KeepTheSecret

Publisher:  Avon Books UK (Harper Collins)

Publication date:  20th October 2016

Are you familiar with Katerina Diamond’s debut, The Teacher? No? Well, you ought to know that she’s not shy where plot grimness is concerned, pushing her characters beyond the reasonable limits of day-to-day normality. The Secret is no exception, only this time she gives ’em a damn good shove until they’re teetering on the edge.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the return of the emotionally isolated Miles and Grey, and here they are – the detective duo with more issues than Reader’s Digest. They wear their poker faces 24/7 to ensure their vulnerable sides are never exposed and any relationship they engage in is frenetic, brooding or fractured. They have an endless supply of sarcastic retorts to suit every occasion, and both halves of this exclusive team spot the early warning signs when they have breached each other’s personal space.

Yes indeedy, Miles and Grey are back and I love them to bits for their spectacular faults, wisecracks, and the bad luck fired at them by the bucket load.

The Secret is a tricky bread crumb trail of lies, and it was fab to delve deeper into the dynamics of the latest criminal fraternity VS law ensemble to decide where to place my trust, which wasn’t easy as there’s some serious deviousness going on! The main focus leans toward the enigma that is DI Imogen Grey. During the current investigation to find a missing woman who has links to her old partner, Grey’s past trickles to the surface including the quirks of her mother’s hoarding, the life challenges that made her as hard as nails, and the near fatal hideousness of a previous case forcing a move from Plymouth Constabulary to Exeter touched on in book one. A LOT of stagnant water rushes under the bridge for Grey in this one, dragging the truth with it to rage like a torrent throughout the pages.

This case leads us into the realms of some truly abhorrent crimes. Not only do we hear accounts of the missing woman’s imprisonment in a place where the concept of time and reality has left the building, there’s one hell of a HUMONGOUS revelation for Grey and potential trouble brewing for Miles’s ex-wife too. And I mustn’t forget the intermittent monologues of a depraved and insecure individual. These moments shine a light into their mind as they develop their private recreational activities in the name of twisted gratification. But life just wouldn’t be the same without a creepy oddball living out their dream while discreetly losing their mind, would it?

The Secret rarely strays out of the dark. Pretty much anything goes, and what does go is often explored in lurid detail. It’s extreme, wicked and disturbing – and I’m THOROUGHLY looking forward to the next one…

Rating:  4/5

(I received an advanced digital copy of this title from the publishers via NetGalley with my thanks, and this is my unbiased review.)

(Courtesy of Amazon UK)

‘Diamond is the master of gripping literature.’ EVENING STANDARD

The Queen of Grip-lit is back… All hail the new Queen of Crime!’ HEAT

‘A web of a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. This formidable debut is a page-turner, but don’t read it before bed if you’re easily spooked!’ SUN

Can you keep a secret? Your life depends on it…

Bridget Reid has a secret, one that could get her killed… If she can escape the man who is keeping her locked in a basement bedroom.

DS Imogen Grey is good at keeping secrets – truths she’d never reveal to her colleagues at Exeter Police. She worked hard to get where she is – she nearly died for it. Now her past is catching up with her…

As DS Grey and her partner DS Adrian Miles search for Bridget, they uncover a terrifying web of abuse, betrayal and murder. And they realise that some secrets are better left buried…

BUY THE BOOK

(Courtesy of Amazon UK)

Katerina Diamond was born in Weston in the seventies. She moved to Thessaloniki in Greece and attended Greek school where she learnt Greek in just 6 months. After her parents’ divorce, they relocated to Devon. After school, and working in her uncle’s fish and chip shop, she went (briefly) to university at Derby, where she met her husband and had two children. Katerina now lives in the East Kent Coast with her husband and children.

Her debut novel, The Teacher, was a No.1 bestseller in ebook, and a Sunday Times bestseller in paperback.

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