The Secretary by Renee Knight #BlogTour #BookReview @DoubledayUK @annecater

Author: Renee Knight

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Format: Hardcover 304 pages

Release Date: 21 February 2019

Publisher: Doubleday

My huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to join in this Blog Tour and to the publisher for the copy of this book provided to me for review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Synopsis

Look around you. Who holds the most power in the room? Is it the one who speaks loudest, who looks the part, who has the most money, who commands the most respect?

Or perhaps it’s someone like Christine Butcher: here to serve – the ones who don’t notice her, the ones who a meek, overlooked figure, who silently bears witness as information is shared and secrets are whispered. Someone who quietly, perhaps even unwittingly, gathers together knowledge of the people she’s consider themselves to be important.

There’s a fine line between loyalty and betrayal. And when someone like Christine Butcher is pushed to her limit, Paula Hawkins, author of engrossing study of twisted dynamics she might just become the most dangerous person in the room . . .

My Thoughts

From the very first chapter in this book I could feel the tension simmering away that something bad had happened but I just didn’t know what. That tension didn’t let up the whole way through the story. To say I was on the edge of my seat reading this book is a bit if an understatement!

Christine’s character could be anyone, she could be you, she could be a friend you know, at the beginning she is just a completely normal uninteresting individual. Which is why I think it was so riveting to read along and find out how her life took all these seemingly inconsequential turns that led her down the path she took.

There were times when I felt really sorry for Christine, and then there were times when I wanted to shake her and scream ‘why are you doing this?!’. She is definitely a character that evokes some emotions whilst reading.

Like all good psychological thrillers there is a twist at the end and it is not one I saw coming! I was rushing through the pages towards the end eager to find out how this story would finish. This is an intelligently plotted psychological thriller and one I would not hesitate to recommend.

About the Author

Renée Knight worked as a documentary-maker for the BBC before turning to writing. She is a graduate of the Faber Academy ‘Writing a Novel’ course, and lives in London with her husband and two children. Her widely acclaimed debut novel, Disclaimer, was a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller. The Secretary is her second novel.

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