REVIEW: Secrets Between Friends by Tracy Buchanan

Secrets Between Friends by Tracy Buchanan

Genre: Psychological Suspense

Read: 12th March 2023

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 25th October 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The old house hides her darkest secret—and there’s no running away this time…

Twenty years ago, Liz left Easthaven to escape the memory of one tragic night at Lakewell Manor. Only she and her best friend Tamsin saw what really happened, and in the aftermath they drifted apart. Now she’s forced back after a nasty divorce, with two daughters in tow, the shadows of that terrible night lurking on every corner. With a custody battle looming, she’s one wrong move away from her life falling apart completely.

So when news arrives that Tamsin, too, is returning to Easthaven, Liz fears their reunion will bring the awful truth spilling out into the open. But when she finally meets Tamsin, now mistress of the clifftop house whose locked gates have guarded the friends’ secret all these years, she’s in for a surprise. Tamsin looks different, and she doesn’t remember Liz, let alone what happened that night…

Something is clearly wrong. But confronting Tamsin means reliving the nightmare Liz has been running from for twenty years. Can she risk exposing what happened that night, knowing that the truth will destroy everything?

MY THOUGHTS:

The old house hides her darkest secret...and there’s no running away this time...

Twenty years ago, Liz formed an unlikely friendship with the introverted Tamsin, finding herself drawn to the two women who live in Lakewell Manor. She yearns for the mother/daughter relationship that Tamsin and her mother share - something she has never experienced - spending most of her time at the Manor with Tamsin and Dorothy.

And then young, wealthy and handsome Gabe turns up in Easthaven, both girls drawn to his charm and good looks. But beneath his friendly exterior, lurks a sadness. And soon the trio become inseparable with luncheons and lazy days by the pool in their own coming of age.

But then Gabe disappears and the secrets they share threaten to come between the two friends. Disrupting their lives so much that Tamsin and her mother moved away, leaving Lakewell Manor standing dark and silent once more.

Now, having left Easthaven behind them two decades ago, Liz has returned to the seaside village after her career as a journalist failed, along with her marriage. After her divorce, Liz returns to where it all started...living with her cruel and harsh mother once again, this time with her two daughters Ruby and Mia. Her career as a journalist in tatters, she is now a postal worker delivering the mail to the seaside village she grew up in.

Then one morning on her rounds, Liz is surprised to find Lakewell Manor opening its doors once again, her old friend Tamsin having returned, now a successful poet, and with a handsome fiance in tow - who is the image of Gabe. They exchange a little banter and reminisce on the summer that changed their lives before promising to catch up again. But then the day after when Liz returns to deliver a package of Tamsin's latest publications, something strange is afoot. Tamsin has changed. Not just in appearance, but in behaviour also. And almost at once Liz knows that this is not Tamsin, despite the woman's claims to the contrary. Her suspicions are only confirmed when fake-Tamsin leaves the opened package of her newly published poetry book on the garden wall in the rain. Days later, the same package remains now a pile of mush. There is no way Tamsin would leave something so precious to her out in the weather as if it were rubbish.

Something is afoot and Liz decides to investigate. Unfortunately, her reputation precedes her and she is soon exposed as a nosy interfering busybody, hung up on an old friendship that died years ago. Added to that, is her link to Gabe, the teenager who disappeared twenty years ago, also being publicised for the village to see. But the deeper she digs into the past, the deeper the hole she digs for herself. And soon she is faced with the prospect of losing custody of her two young daughters to the father. 

In a search for answers that takes her to London, Liz uncovers another death linked to Tamsin's new fiance as well as some suspicious goings-on whilst making a new friend along the way. But can she unmask the imposter prancing about the village posing as Tamsin and uncover what she is really up to before it's too late? Liz is certain that something has happened to her friend and will stop at nothing from uncovering the truth...but to what detriment? 

The past has come back to haunt her in a big way as some secrets refuse to remain buried.

SECRETS BETWEEN FRIENDS is a wonderful thriller mystery with such an atmospheric setting and sweeping coastline, coloured row houses and an abandoned manor house on the cliff. Coupled with the poetic prose in the prologue right up to the beautiful and stunning climax, this tale is filled with tension and mystery than is all-encompassing and enthralling from beginning to end. I could almost hear the crashing waves as I devoured each line. And I love the dual timeline narrative. That's always a winner for me. I love being transported back to the past as its story slowly entwines with the present, and Tracy Buchanan does it wonderfully.

There was so much mystery and intrigue along with secrets hidden within the pages that we had to chip away at them until they were at last revealed. The twist at the end was a bit of a nice surprise but the villain wasn't. 

Everything was wrapped up nicely in a satisfying conclusion...all but one tiny piece. Liz's mother, who was horrible from start to finish. Which begs the question - why? Why did she blame Liz for ruining her life? Why did she hate the Lakewells so much? What did she know about them that made them so much more contemptuous in her eyes? And why was that Liz's fault? My suspicion which I had throughout was that Liz was fathered by Tamsin's father, as it was mentioned that he had had an affair but her mother forgave him. On the other hand, Liz had grown up fatherless. It would make sense to me that that's why Liz's mother hated the Lakewell's so much. Because of Tamsin's father leaving her high and dry and returning to his family while she was left, both figuratively and literally, holding the baby. It is all supposition and was never actually addressed in the book...but that is my thought which I think makes the most sense. Otherwise, Liz's mother's behaviour and cruel treatment of her makes no sense whatsoever. (this is not a spoiler because it wasn't actually addressed or revealed in the story)

This is the third Tracy Buchanan novel I've read and I find they fall into a mixed genre - part contemporary, part mystery, part thriller. It's not one of those genres but a combination of all three. I have enjoyed the previous two I've read - "The Girl on the Beach" and "Wall of Silence" (both of which had a real thriller vibe to them) - and I thoroughly enjoyed their atmospheric prose. Buchanan has a way of really creating an atmosphere - of pulling you in and keeping you intrigued till the very last page.

Overall, SECRETS BETWEEN FRIENDS is all-encompassing and emotional read on many levels as well as being a thoroughly entertaining mystery. I really love the epilogue and how everything came full circle...as if it was meant to be. Highly recommended.

I would like to thank #TracyBuchanan, #Netgalley and #LakeUnionPublishing for an ARC of #SecretsBetweenFriends in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Tracy Buchanan lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, their little girl and their puppy, Bronte. Tracy travelled extensively while working as a travel magazine editor, and has always been drawn to the sea after spending her childhood holidays on the south coast visiting family, a fascination that inspires her writing.

She started her career writing heart-breaking book club fiction reads with her distinctive page-turning darkness at their core. She then went on to write darker suspense novels, most recently publishing the Forest Grove series, the first of which has been optioned to be made into a TV series. As well as hitting Amazon, Kobo and Apple Books #1 spots, Tracy was one of the ten bestselling ebook authors of 2015.

Her latest book, Secrets Between Friends, is a standalone novel. She is currently working on an even darker, even more gripping crime novel. Watch this space...! She now dedicates her time to writing and procrastinating on Facebook.

Social media links:

Wesbite | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan (ARC)

Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan

Genre: Domestic thriller, Noir

Read: 24th July 2020

Goodreads

Amazon

(published: 1st April 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Her children have a deadly secret. Can she uncover it before the police do?

Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving.

One evening, Melissa arrives home to the unimaginable: her husband lies stabbed on the kitchen floor, their children standing calmly around him…With horror, she realises that one of them is to blame. But which one? And why would they attack their own father?

Her loyalties torn, in a split second she decides to protect her children at all costs—even if that means lying to the police. But when someone in the neighbourhood claims to know more than they should, Melissa discovers that some secrets are beyond her control…

Can she find out the truth of what happened before the rumours spread? And can the family unite to escape the spotlight of scandal—or are none of them as innocent as Melissa insists?

MY REVIEW:

Does the perfect family actually exist? Well, that's the image the residents of Forest Grove have of the Byatt family. That and the fact that the residents of Forest Grove also live in the perfect village, perfectly carved out at the edge of a thick forest, that had never existed up until a couple of decades ago. But when a tragic incident occurs and as the cracks start to appear, it soon becomes clear that nothing is what it seems in this close-knit community.

Melissa Byatt returns home one evening to a scene which could only be described as a nightmare. Her husband Patrick is lying unconscious on the kitchen floor, having been stabbed with the knife still at his side, and her three children standing wordlessly around him. They claim to have found him like that but after Melissa rings the ambulance she sees the knife has disappeared. The only people in that kitchen were her three children. Did one of them remove it? Or was she imagining things?

The police ask the usual questions and without a second thought, Melissa jumps in to back up her children. There was no knife at the scene; the attacker must have taken it with him. All the while asking herself just exactly what did her children do and how much did they know about the attack?

As the minutes pass into hours and the hours into days, Melissa begins to suspect her children know a lot more than they are letting on but each time she tries to question them, a wall of silence goes up between them and they refuse to tell her what they know. Going out of her mind with worry, Melissa is certain one of her children did it as who else could it have been? But how can she help them if they won't tell her?

Patrick's parents, Bill and Rosemary, are on hand immediately to take Melissa and the children in whilst their home remains a crime scene, all the while offering tea and platitudes. Rosemary insists on being by Patrick's side whilst Melissa is determined to get to the truth of what really happened. Her in-laws fail to understand who could do this to Patrick as he is loved by everyone...nor do they understand why Melissa spends most of her time traipsing through the forest when she should be at her husband's side.

Then the rumours start. Melissa has been having an affair with long time friend and forest ranger, Ryan Day. And the perfect village begins ripping the perfect family to shreds.

But this village has its own share of secrets. Secrets, deceit and lies that will rip this family apart at the seams as wild accusations abound causing Melissa to question everything she ever thought she knew about the man she has loved since she was 15 years old.

And then after nine days, Patrick wakes from his coma and everyone waits with baited breath as to who he will identify as his attacker.

WALL OF SILENCE is one wild ride. There are so many red herrings, twists and secrets that will make your head spin. Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? And what really happened to Patrick Byatt? And what are the residents of Forest Grove really hiding?

The story cleverly unfolds through the diary excerpts of one of the children whose identity remains unknown, a third person narrative from Melissa's perspective as she endeavours to uncover the truth and pretentious Facebook group chats that become vicious taunts between villagers as they turn on each other.

There are so many layers to this story that goes back several years. Throughout the unfolding narrative the reader learns about Melissa's childhood, her parents and how she came to meet Patrick. Her friendship with Ryan is also ruminated on growing up in the forest and how the village once referred to Melissa as "that feral child".

In the midst of the many characters within WALL OF SILENCE, I love how the forest is a character all of its own. I was reminded of the Scandanavian noir thriller "Jordskott" some years back where the forest played an important part in that story, just as it does here. It has an element of creepiness about it as if the answers somehow lay at the foot of the great oak tree at its heart, where Melissa often sought and found refuge. But will the great oak tree give her the answers she seeks now? Who stabbed Patrick? And how to get the truth from her children?

While I guessed the "who" in the whodunit fairly early, I was still left questioning my belief throughout as the author weaved a web of deceit that became a tangled mess of secrets and lies. As I was to discover, and you will too, that it's not the "who" so much as the "why" that is important.

I really cannot convey just what WALL OF SILENCE does within a few paragraphs. One has to read it to experience it themselves. And I do recommend doing so. It is a different thriller, but it is a twisty journey filled with secrets and lies that will leave you breathless.

A domestic thriller with a touch of noir for something different!

I would like to thank #TracyBuchanan, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishingUK for an ARC of #WallOfSilence in exchange for an honest review.


MEET THE AUTHOR:

Tracy Buchanan lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, their little girl and their puppy, Bronte. Tracy travelled extensively while working as a travel magazine editor, and has always been drawn to the sea after spending her childhood holidays on the south coast visiting family, a fascination that inspires her writing. She now dedicates her time to writing and procrastinating on Facebook.


SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Girl on the Beach by Tracy Buchanan (ARC)

The Girl on the Beach by Tracy Buchanan

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Read: 5th February 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

★★★★ 4 stars

** Firstly I have to say, I pity any book I started after the last one I read. It was never going to live up to that one, so my apologies. **

First of all, let me begin by saying that THE GIRL ON THE BEACH and THE FAMILY SECRET are one and the same, published in UK and Australia as the latter and in the US as the former. As many have asked this question, as I did at first also, I felt it needed to be cleared up.

So, THE GIRL ON THE BEACH is the first book by Tracy Buchanan I have read and I had high hopes for it as the synopsis drew me right in. It started off with promised then I found it plateaued out a little to be a little unexciting and then it became edge-of-your-seat stuff with a whopper ending that even I didn't see coming!

It begins with a Prologue of a girl on an icy loch falling into its icy waters with someone looking on, just watching. It has that real menacing feel to it that gave the story promise and I couldn't wait to find out what happened to her. While the rest of the book has timestamps throughout, the Prologue doesn't, so we don't know whether it's past, present or future.

From there we meet Amber Caulfield, a woman who has known loss and disappointment in her life. When she was a young child she lost several fingers of her left hand to frostbite and then years later, her only daughter of four to meningitis which lead to the breakdown of her marriage to her doctor husband, Jasper.

Then one morning whilst opening up her beachside gift shop and bickering with her mum and aunt, Amber sees a lone figure on the beach with no shoes and no coat. It is cold and the wind off the sea is icy as Amber hurries to the girl and wraps her in a warm blanket. The girl is dazed and confused with no idea who she is or what she is doing here. The only clue is a notebook she carries in her back pocket, filled with wildlife drawings and notations.

The story then goes back in time to 1989 and a woman called Gwyneth, and as her story progresses so does the timeline. At first I was puzzled about the part Gwyneth played in it all. What did she have to do with the story unfolding with Amber? As there was 20 years between the two I wasn't sure how it related...at first. And then it started to dawn on me...in part. But it was only a small part that I figured out - the rest wasn't revealed till the end which I never saw coming! But, yes, how it made sense in the end.

However, I must admit I preferred the present day storyline with Amber and the girl with its mystery and poignancy to Gwyneth's past. I didn't like the McClusky family with whom Gwyneth found herself with at Christmas 1989. They held too many secrets and the mother was overbearing in my book. Then Gwyneth's romps with Dylan. Really? After 2 days. They sounded shallow and unbelievable. It made Gwyneth seem like a slapper in my book. But they parted though I knew it didn't end there. I really didn't like this part of the story. Sex in an icy forest. Sex in a barn. Sex in the front seat of a truck. Really? I thought I'd picked up a mystery thriller, not a Mills and Boon romance. It made me like Gwyneth even less. Then when the secret the McClusky's held was revealed it all felt a little anti-climatic. I can't believe all that had happened over that secret. Was that really worth more than someone's life?

The mystery girl brings out Amber's maternal instinct as she tries to find out what happened to her, and helps her unravel the mystery of her identity. As she does, the journey takes the two to Scotland and there the truth is uncovered. But it's not until they return to Winterton Chine that the real secret is finally revealed, surprising them all.

As the story moves between 1989 and 2009, the descriptions of each setting was so rich in detail that I felt like I was there in icy cold Winterton Chine, to the freezing highlands of Scotland and the artic Iceland.

I enjoyed this book, particularly as it began to pick up pace (and Gwyneth stopped jumping into bed with Dylan) as the race to find out the mystery girl's identity heightened. I loved the mystery it held. It was spellbinding - filled with emotion, mystery and new beginnings. It's about misundertanding, loss and learning to trust again. It's about human frailty.

The best part about THE GIRL ON THE BEACH was the ending. WOW! I loved how it all came together. As Gwyneth stepped off that train I began to realise just how it all fit - and it was genius!

Whilst I didn't like every part of THE GIRL ON THE BEACH, and found some aspects unnecessary to the story, I did enjoy it and do recommend it. That ending was worth the read.

Thank you to #TracyBuchanan, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlOnTheBeach in exchange for an honest review.