Name: Here Lie the Secrets
ISBN: 9781788950343

Emma Young

Mia's best friend Holly died when they were thirteen. But years later, Holly still hasn't left her. Spending the summer in New York, Mia is hoping to escape the visions of Holly that haunt her life at home. There she meets Rav, a parapsychology student, who convinces her to take part in a study into why some people see ghosts. Soon she is caught up in the investigation of Halcyon House, which is reputed to be haunted by a poltergeist. As Mia confronts her fears, what she learns about the house and herself will change her life forever.

Here Lie the Secrets

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[domestic/child abuse, alcoholism, loss of a friend, grief, visual hallucinations (hide spoiler)]

This is one of the rare books in which it is exactly what the synopsis says it is. That is, if you ignore the line about it being a psychological thriller (it is not) and comparing it to One of Us is Lying and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (not even CLOSE).

Here Lie the Secrets is an exploration on grief, as well as where the worlds of the paranormal and the explainable blend together. 

I enjoyed the story. The ongoing talk about the potential explanations that can be involved in parapsychology was interesting. It was an easy way to make the story feel unique and keep the reader guessing about what was a result of various environmental factors, versus the truly "supernatural". 

But overall, I felt the story was pretty flat and single dimensional. This was particularly true when it came to the characters. 

Our main character is dealing with a heavy amount of grief throughout the book, something which is a core component of the story's plot. This is done in an interesting way, as it is intertwined with paranormal events and family hallucinations. Outside of this narrative, however, the main character lacks any depth beyond what is minimally required for the story line. 

Overall, this was an okay read using a story line that isn't often explored. 


  Note: Review copy received via NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.


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Happy reading! ❤

Isabella Stocka

This book is brilliant! I've expected it to be pretty obvious what it is about, but boy was I wrong. I like how the plot twisted during the second part of the story and when it was about so much more then what you may expect.
So many diverse and great characters, maybe too many at some point. F.e. I would have loved to get to know MIa's aunt better.
The main question of the plot is "How do you live on when you know you may be guilty of something that you cannot undo?". Mixed up with a supernatural background this book will keep you reading until you have finished and leave you with a satisfying ending which could have go on for at least a page longer.

Here Lie the Secrets

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