Secrets Between Friends by Tracy Buchanan
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Read: 12th March 2023
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:
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.
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