More than twenty years ago, Ben Harper’s life was ripped apart when his fourteen year old brother was one of two schoolboys brutally murdered by two girls of the same age. The girls had shown no remorse throughout their trial, and had been convicted and imprisoned. Just over ten years ago they had been released with new identities, and under strict injunctions never to revisit the small town in the close hinterland of London in which they had grown up, and where the killings had taken place.

Ben still lives in what had been the family home, and commutes into London when necessary for his work. He is now an investigative journalist working for a leading news website, and is asked by his editor if he will consider writing a piece about what had happened as another anniversary linked to the crime approaches. Initially (and understandably) reluctant, Ben is gradually convinced, especially in the light of a related news story suddenly breaking.

The plot is a bit of a whirlwind ride, with new twists constantly arising, and the field of suspects frequently shifting. Robert Gold catches the feel (almost claustrophobic at times) of a small town very capably, and his characters are all finely drawn. I was initially reluctant to embark on this book, being wary about the hype it seemed to have provoked, but I think that all the plaudits are definitely deserved. ( )

This features journalist Ben, who is pressured by his editor to write a story about the tenth anniversary of his mother's supposed suicide, which in turn occurred ten years after his brother and a friend were brutally murdered by two teenage girls.

This was an unpleasant book - most of the women were being exploited/groomed/raped/controlled by the men in their lives. It was also quite complicated and confusing since every single person in it seemed to have been at school with or given up for adoption by or played rugby with every other character. Madeline for example was linked to absolutely everything and every one. I never understood why the girls didn't just reveal the involvement of the third party at their trial. I didn't really warm to Ben, and Dani was possibly the least realistic fictional police officer I have encountered for a while. ( )

Ten years ago Ben's mother died and now his chief editor wants to use the anniversary with an article that rakes over the details of of the murder of his brother and a friend just ten years before that. Madeleine wants Ben to write the story. She thinks the story will attract new readers to their paper but Ben says he does not want to re-live the past. He believes that nobody gains anything by looking back.

But then he changes his mind. A young woman is murdered, the same way his brother was murdered. An accidental coincidence or is it the murderer himself? Ben decides that his mother would want him to investigate, to follow the threads, to find out what is really happening.

The main narrator of the book is Ben, but we often hear the voices of others, and we gradually learn what happened twenty years ago, through a multi-layered, multi-stranded tale. The plot is clever, devious, and it is not until the last few pages that all is revealed. ( )

I love a book about secrets in a small town setting and Twelve Secrets fits the bill perfectly. Haddley is where Ben Harper's older brother, Nick, was murdered alongside his friend when they were all at school. Now Ben is a journalist and living in his home town alongside people who remember exactly the devastation the murders wrought on Ben and his family, and also on the wider community. New developments mean that Ben must rethink what he thought he knew and look at some of the people who were around then with fresh eyes.

There's a claustrophobic and intense feel to Haddley and its residents. There seem to be so many people interlinked in some way and living in close proximity. That and the childhood crimes storyline were what really drew me to this book and I wasn't at all disappointed. This is a gripping read, a domestic thriller that never let up on pace and surprised me at the end with a conclusion that I really didn't see coming. As the tagline says, I really did suspect every character.

I liked Ben as a character and how he started his own investigation into the past events and those in the present too, and I also liked his unlikely sidekick, PC Dani Cash, and his relationship with his neighbours, Mr and Mrs Cranfield. All the characterisations work really well in this book, with some people who seemed distinctly shady and some who were trying to break free of the past.

Twelve Secrets is an engaging and fast-paced crime thriller. I spotted that this might be the first to feature Ben Harper and I'll definitely be reading more if it turns into a series. In fact, this is exactly the sort of story that would make a brilliant TV crime drama. It's twisty and exciting, and I thought it was an excellent read. ( )

Twenty years ago journalist Ben Harper’s brother, Nick, was murdered by two teenage schoolgirls. The past has come back to haunt Ben in the form of another murder and it appears it is linked to his brother’s. Memories of yesterday motivate Ben to investigate further and a whole can of worms is gradually revealed. How many secrets can one small town keep?

I thought this was an excellent psychological thriller. It had me gripped from beginning to end. I found it quite the page turner. There are plenty of twists and turns which kept me guessing, along with the odd red herring which threw me off track. There are quite a few characters, all believable and well rounded. It did take some concentration to remember them all, though! I love a story about secrets and the effects such secrets can have on those around them, so this book was right up my street. An engaging and captivating mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed and can highly recommend. I believe Twelve Secrets is the first in a planned series - I’m very much looking forward to reading the second instalment. 🤞 ( )