Book Review: Every Single Secret | Emily Carpenter

This is one twisty-WTF-suspense novel that is full of secrets and will have you questioning everything!!!

Emily Carpenter is a new-to-me author and I’m so glad I was given an opportunity to read and review this book! This was a Traveling Sisters read and though everyone had a slightly different take on it, we all felt the ending was a *WOW* moment! This book takes a few chapters to get into, because the character dynamics are untraditional. But once you’re in, prepare to be questioning everything and everyone in a slow-building suspense novel with a thrilling conclusion!

About the Book

Daphne has finally found her own person to call her family…

Daphne was raised in foster homes and a girls’ ranch, and has had no family to speak of her whole life. But Daphne is a survivor—strong and intelligent, and scrappy as all-get-out. When she met Heath, she instantly knew she had found her partner. Heath and Daphne fell hard and fast, and are engaged to be married. Sounds perfect, right? There’s a catch: Daphne and Heath have an agreement to never discuss their pasts. But what happens if the past comes out?

Heath needs help processing his past demons…

Despite their agreement, Heath’s past can’t be ignored any longer. Wracked with horrible nightmares, Heath knows he needs to work through his issues to finally be free. When Heath asks Daphne to attend a week-long couple’s retreat with the esteemed Dr. Cerny to delve into his past, Daphne is understandably hesitant. The retreat involves camera footage of the couple taken most of the day and evening, and intensive therapy sessions to work with Dr. Cerny. But Heath needs this, and Daphne reluctantly agrees, on the condition that she will not be doing the therapy, and will only be there to support Heath.

They arrive for the Retreat, only to find that all may not be as it seemed…

As they settle in, Daphne quickly becomes curious about Dr. Cerny and his methods. Stealing around the house and grounds, Daphne begins to question everything. Are the cameras really turned off at the designated times? And why isn’t she allowed to befriend the other couples on the Retreat? And most importantly—if Heath’s past comes out, will hers have to as well???

Reflection

Initially I found Daphne and Heath tough to connect with, because they are very nontraditional. They live in the present and future, and are both terrified of dark pasts. I enjoyed learning about each of their pasts as the book went on, through some clever plot mechanisms that allowed it to be revealed to the reader. I am a communicator, so their lack of communication drove me nuts! But that is the point of these two characters. They saw their counterpoint in the other, and it works for them.

The creepy house, and the premise of the retreat were so intriguing to me. I loved the descriptions of the grounds and the house itself, as well as of the characters. And what a cast of characters this book has!!! You may not like them all, but I dare readers to try to find a boring character among the lot! The theme of secrets and hidden pasts really carried this book. There was always the sense from every single character that you don’t have the full story, and it kept me reading to want to know more.

As for the ending—I found it so satisfying! A total “Wtf?!” ending! It certainly was a twist I didn’t expect, and there was enough plot remaining after the BIG TWIST to wrap the loose threads up in a way that I left the book feeling like I got closure and enough answers. I highly recommend this book to suspense-lovers! Particularly to those who like the psychological aspect to mysteries. This one is a doozy and has its own enigmatic psychologist to go along with it!

Thanks to Brenda and Norma for including me in their Traveling Sisters read! And thanks so much Nikki, Susanne, Kaceey, Diane, and Melisa for the awesome discussion! We all had a great time discussing this book, and are so excited to share it with other readers!

Publication Date: 5/1/2018

Many thanks to Emily Carpenter and Lake Union Publishing for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.