Kate White | The Secrets You Keep

Hallelujah for a three day weekend! I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Memorial Day with those you love. As it was my birthday weekend, I really had a great time spending time with my family and kicking back...but a bloggers job is never done! I started "The Secrets You Keep" last night by Kate White and had to fight to stay up too late finishing it. 

I knew I was in for it when Jessica Knoll described it as the type of book that kept her up past her bedtime. I follow her on Instagram and quickly pick up any book she recommends, so after checking out the plot this was a no-brainer for me...and I'm so glad I did! Oh, and check out that gorgeous cover.

Plot:

What would you do if you realized that your new husband is keeping secrets from you—secrets with terrifying consequences?

Bryn Harper, an accomplished self-help author, already has plenty to deal with. She’s still recovering from a devastating car accident that has left her haunted by recurring, smoke-filled nightmares. Worse still, she can’t shake the ominous feeling her dreams contain a warning.

In the beginning, Bryn’s husband Guy couldn’t have been more supportive. But after moving into a new house together, disturbing incidents occur and Guy grows evasive, secretive. What the hell is going on, she wonders? Then, a woman hired to cater their dinner party is brutally murdered.

As Bryn’s world unravels—and yet another woman in town is slain —she must summon her old strength to find answers and protect her own life. Her nightmares may in fact hold the key to unlocking the truth and unmasking the murderer.

Review:

This is my first book by Kate White and I really enjoyed her style of writing. There was plenty to keep you guessing, and I loved that every chapter ended with a cliffhanger. It's one of those things that really helps me continue to read a book.

Kate White does a fantastic job of introducing characters with such intensity and personality that you really don't feel overwhelmed or ask yourself "wait, who is that?" at any point in this book. Bryn was a bit of a mess for me and I guess I would consider her an unreliable character as she struggles with the car accident she was in and this serial killer stalking Saratoga Springs. 

Side note: If you've never been to Saratoga, you NEED to. It's one of my favorite places in New York.

What I think sets this apart from other books I've read is that while we quickly are introduced to our first victim and White literally shoves an ax into their face, we are surrounded by not only red herrings, but also potential victims. With other mystery/thriller/suspense novels I've read, it's a death or a disappearance and then I am baffled by the amount of red herrings, but with this one it was different...and in a good way. The male-to-female ratio of characters really kept things tense in the back of my mind as I realized these beloved three-dimensional characters could either die very quickly or be potentially the fictitious killer that will be ensuring I double check my locks tonight.

The plot is so intense that I was quickly diving into this headfirst with no distractions or care for how long it took me to read. While I didn't intend on having distractions, it just so happened that I did, otherwise this could've been devoured in one sitting. Scenes jump from mysterious to claustrophobic to intense so much that I had a hard time putting this down just to refill my coffee cup or water tumbler. 

No book is perfect, but this one does come very close! At times the dialogue did feel forced and some of  the characters actions felt overreacting to build tension. At a whopping 350 pages, I only felt myself skim a few times and it was over some minor details that I didn't feel I needed to know about. Is this due to bad writing? Not one bit. This is because the plot was so fantastically done, that I wanted to get to finding out who was the guilty party...

As for the ending, I was completely caught off guard and felt that White did a phenomenal job of wrapping up a larger storyline as well as some other things mentioned throughout the book that I won't give away. I was honestly bummed when I read the last sentence.

Overall, I would highly recommend this. It's a perfect beach read or a lighter thriller for people who get easily frightened. While the tension is there, it's not that violent and it's more of a psychological thriller than anything. Plus, it just goes by so fast. I would also recommend this for a flight or even lounging by the pool and kicking off your summer reading!

Rating: 4/5