I Know Your Secret

Loved it!

I really enjoyed this book! I think other readers will like how it alternates between both women’s points of view, and how twisted the plot becomes. Both of the main characters are complete opposites in many ways too, so its refreshing that they are more different than they are alike. Beth seems to be the more cautious, timid, dependent, and needy character, while Danielle seems to be more of an independent, strong willed (however nicely disguised), and secretive character. They do share some similarities though...but which one of them is the liar? Or are they both liars? It has a much deeper plot than that of a woman seeking revenge. Not only are you waiting to find out why, but the way the author put all the pieces together so unexpectedly made for an awesome story! I will definitely be looking into other books she has written! Thank you Netgalley, Ruth Heald, and Bookouture for allowing me the opportunity to review this copy for free. My review is voluntary, and is my honest opinion. I highly recommend it! Initially it just seems like two women with completely different stories to tell and their own unique set of problems, but the end results are much greater than you’d expect. I love how everything came together the way it did at the end.

Plot: Beth’s marriage was already falling apart, but she’s still shocked when her husband announces that he wants a divorce. She feels heart broken that she was willing to keep working on their marriage after he was the one who had had an affair. Although she was angry at him, she still loved him and clung to the hope that they would be able to work things out. She immediately finds out how hard it’s going to be doing everything on her own because she struggles to take care of their 4 year old son on her own while working full time too. Richard, her soon to be ex husband, is still involved in their lives because he wants to continue to be a big part of Charlie’s life (their son) and also because they need to sell the house they were living in. Beth is a counselor who works primarily with couples for marriage counseling in a spare room at her home specifically for her sessions. She loves what she does, but she has a questionable past. She was previously fired from her job as a teacher, and spent a good amount of time at a psych hospital in the years before she met Richard. While in college to become a counselor she met Richard when he was one of her teachers. The further along things move in their separation/divorce, the more Beth talks about the only other man she ever loved; Nick, who died tragically before she met Richard. As the days go by, Beth finds herself teetering on the edge of sanity more and more every day...evidence of her being a risk to her son starts to mount, and she’s starting to feel paranoid and delusional again (the same that she did when she first admitted herself to the psychiatric hospital). Is she seeing things and being too paranoid? Is there someone following her? Is she putting Charlie at risk? Is history repeating itself with her mental anguish the same way it did after Nick died? At what point is she confusing reality with paranoia, depression, and delusions?

Danielle: Danielle and her husband Peter have been having problems for a while, so Danielle decides to seek the help of a counselor for marriage counseling. The first few times she comes to Beth’s for counseling, her husband doesn’t come. Beth decides to let Danielle start therapy with her on her own to see if she can help her, despite her husband not coming, because she’s obviously dealing with trauma resulting from extreme facial burns, but also because she’s admitted to having a bad childhood. Beth genuinely feels sorry for Danielle because she has suffered from such traumatic burns to her face with scars that are very obvious. Aside from her husband, Danielle doesn’t have any close friends or relatives either to lean on for support. Beth can relate because she doesn’t have any close friends or relatives either. When Danielle frantically calls Beth asking for help one day, Beth feels trapped into helping her because she is afraid of the consequences Danielle may face if she doesn’t help her. Against her better judgement, she continues the counseling sessions with Beth because Peter abruptly starts showing up for counseling too. Danielle has wanted a baby so badly for so long, but Peter is confident that he doesn’t want a baby because of Danielles “anger problems.” This is a surprising revelation to Beth because she never saw any evidence of anger problems with Danielle, and Danielle had seemed so honest in wanting help and never mentioned problems with anger either. She had pointedly claimed that Peter was the one with anger problems. Who is telling the truth? Then Danielle and Peter share some news that makes Beth question her husbands unfaithfulness even more. Beth was informed of Richard cheating on her when she received anonymous pictures of him with another woman. Could this other woman be Danielle? Although their personalities are completely different, Danielle also starts to worry that someone is following her, and is also paranoid about things that could happen to her. She’s an attorney who defends clients as a charity. Although she believes her clients have justifiably done the things they’ve done, could one of their victims be following Beth to try to get revenge? Who is really following who?

Is Beth genuinely going to therapy because she is seeking help, or does she have ulterior motives? Is Beth honestly trying to help, or is she intentionally trying to cause friction in Danielle’s life?

The beginning of the book starts off with a fire...but who was involved in the fire? Was that the accident that caused Danielle’s injuries? Was it a fire set by one of the women as a final tipping point in seeking revenge again the other? Had someone else been following them, and set a fire in an attempt to kill one of them?
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