“A true psychological thriller that will leave you breathless.” —Wendy Walker, bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten and Emma in the NightEmotionally guarded Daphne Amos always believed she’d found a kindred spirit in her fiancé, Heath. Both very private people, they’ve kept their pasts hidden from the world, and each other, until Heath’s escalating nightmares begin to put an undeniable … begin to put an undeniable strain on their relationship. Determined to give their impending marriage the best chance of succeeding, Heath insists that Daphne join him on a seven-day retreat with Dr. Matthew Cerny, a psychologist celebrated for getting to the root of repressed memories. Daphne reluctantly agrees—even though the past is the last place she wants to go.
The retreat’s isolated and forbidding location increases her unease, as do the doctor’s rules: they must relinquish their keys and phones, they’ll be monitored at all hours by hidden cameras, and they’re never to socialize with the other guests.
One sleepless night, Daphne decides to leave her room…and only then does she realize that the institute is not at all what it seems—and that whatever’s crying out from Heath’s past isn’t meant to be heard. It’s meant to be silenced.
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This fast past thriller had me hooked from the first page to the last. I was tense as I turned the pages – wanting to find out what happened next but afraid to find out. The setting was fantastic and made the story even more intense.
Engaged couple, Daphne and Heath go away to a couples retreat because Heath has been having nightmares and they want to find out why. They are total soul mates and appear to have a fantastic life together despite the fact that they both keep secrets about their past. They claime that the past didn’t matter and that their future together is all that matters. Daphne refuses to go through the program but goes to a deserted retreat to help Heath as he goes through intensive psychological treatment. Daphne is uneasy about the entire set-up with cameras in the rooms and not being allowed to talk to the other participants in the program. As the week goes on, her unease continues to grow and what happens at the retreat will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.
This is a creepy thriller that will keep you tense through out the book. It’s Emily Carpenter at her best.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Emily Carpenter begins Every Single Secret on a creepy premise: couples therapy in a remote mountain resort, where every room has eyes — hidden cameras watching every move. Buckle up because this is one hell of a ride, a rocket-paced, edge-of-your-seat story you’ll want to devour in one sitting. A knockout, easily one of my favorite books of the year.
My favorite book so far by Emily Carpenter. All of her books are great though. I highly recommend this book and her other books!
I love all of Emily Carpenter’s books that I’ve read so far, but this one really stands out. It starts with such a unique premise–a couples therapy retreat in the mountains in an spooky house–and ends with such a twist that I went back and reread the last few chapters to make sure I’d read it properly the first time. The book’s switching of scenes between different times really increased the suspense and kept me up all night. Even after I finished it, I couldn’t fall asleep because I was so afraid Heath was watching. I can’t wait for her next book!
Emily Carpenter begins Every Single Secret on a creepy premise: couples therapy in a remote mountain resort, where every room has eyes — hidden cameras watching every move. Buckle up because this is one hell of a ride, a rocket-paced, edge-of-your-seat story you’ll want to devour in one sitting. A knockout, easily one of my favorite books of the year.
This book surprised me I could not put it down! I always like to make sure that I review a good book right away so it’s fresh in my mind this book jumped around a lot but it was very good
A thoroughly enjoyable domestic thriller.
This book pulled me in and on a scary psychological ride. I am not giving it 5 stars as it left me feeling a bit off….more later.
This is definitely an homage to Heathcliff and his tragic life and love. The two main characters are Daphne and Heath, deeply in love and planning their wedding. Both are introverts, great at business, not too many friends but happy. Until Heath starts having nightmares or night terrors yelling about breaking mirrors or glass and hitting his head till it bleeds.
Then you have a creepy, isolated, decrepit home where a Dr. Cerny treats people. Supposedly 3 couples will be taking in depth
counseling from the good doctor. Oh, no cell phones, no communication from outside, no mingling with the other couples. Daphne refuses to be put under the microscope so she spends her trying to meet the other guests, find a way to get her cell phone or her tablet and being nosey.
Tension builds slowly and you hold your breath and try and put the book down. Because there are some big flaws that I noticed and thought, don’t keep reading it.
Cameras, people not seen, breaking into areas but never getting caught…really?!!!
I can’t say too much except both Daphne and Heath have secrets, deep secrets and the fear is it will keep them from being happy…..so very not true. The surprises come left and right and the very final pages bring resolution…..but at what price. Dr. Cerny, Lucus, Cecelia and the rest all play a part as does Heath and his beloved.
The ending left me unsettled and a bit unhappy that I had kept reading…as the flaws were there and yet I kept on. If you like mind games, drama, creepiness and cameras watching your every move…then bunker down and enjoy the ride, have treats around as you too will not move from the book. I just wished I enjoyed the ride more and felt better afterwards…..because I am feeling remorse for the hours I lost…still
An captivating story with a complex plot and brilliant characterization. The book dares you to put it down.
Daphne and her fiancé Heath knew they were soul mates from the moment they met. From across a crowded room, they were captivated by a familiar darkness that they recognized in each other’s eyes. Daphne cannot have asked for more in a fiancé, their romance is all consuming and Heath agrees with the one caveat that Daphne needs in a relationship: the past stays in the past. However, on the night of their engagement, Heath begins to have nightmares that Daphne cannot ignore. With the strain of the nightmares and Heath’s new distance, Daphne reluctantly agrees to attend a couples retreat to get to the bottom the whole tumultuous situation. As days tick by at the isolated retreat in the mountains, Daphne begins to question the intentions of the psychologist in charge. She becomes increasingly aware that things at this retreat may not be what they seem to be. As the truth unravels and their pasts are revealed, will it be too late for her and Heath to move forward?
Carpenter’s character development in this novel was brilliant. The story, for all intent and purposes fails to identify a clear protagonist. Every character feels like an antagonist to the plot and in the end when the real villain is revealed, Carpenter has gotten the reader so invested in the complexity of the storyline that it feels like betrayal to “hate” them. That, indeed, is the true psychological thrill in this book. Great read. Highly recommended. 5 stars
not run of the mill. it was very different and complex!!
Will Daphne and Heath’s relationship survive a week at a couples retreat?
When Daphne’s boyfriend, Heath, asks her to attend a couples retreat with him, she is hesitant to say yes. They both had difficult, challenging childhoods and have agreed not to share their pasts with each other. This odd scenario is working for them, so Daphne doesn’t understand why Heath is suddenly suggesting therapy. If she agrees to go, how will it affect their relationship? Will they decide to share their secrets? If so, how will knowing these secrets affect their relationship? Will it survive, and will they still want to marry each other? Find out in this dark, captivating tale with twists that just kept coming and coming and coming!
Great thriller that I simply could not put down.
WOW! Loved this book! I had the audible version and the narrator was great too which can make or break it. Found myself wanting more!
We never really do know everything about those around us. We just see what they want us to see. And this book drives that point home in a BIG way as an engaged couple attends an unconventional couples retreat.
On a personal note, the big reveal of the story was more shocking than I thought it was going to be, and so I have decided to never date anyone… People are scary!
Want to know what is cool about this book? Two things. First, Emily Carpenter takes the mad scientist trope and turns it on its ear. And second, Scooby Doo. Before you call me crazy, bear with me a moment. In the character of Daphne Amos she takes the Daphne trope, that of the attractive girl who always needs rescuing in the creepy houses in Scooby Doo, and creates a fierce heroine capable of saving herself.
When Daphne accompanies her troubled fiancee to a couples retreat in the isolated Georgia mountains she already fears what might happen. He’s holding secrets, but she has a past that haunts her and has no desire for the charming Dr. Cerny to coax it out of her. She knows she is playing with fire. And, as we say down here in Dixie, it’s about to het up. What she doesn’t know is her fiancee, Heath, is smuggling TNT.
The spooky house, hidden cameras, fictictional participants, all lead down a road to something much, much worse than Daphne’s secret will unleash. Something she could never imagine. And when Heath reveals what he is hiding her life becomes the hottest of hot messes. I am not sure which is more disturbing: Dr. Cerny, whose quest to repair a psychopath shows him to be more psychopathic than his subject, or the outcome of the experiment itself. Both explode Daphne’s existence and after a life of trauma she galvanizes into her own hero.
And that’s what makes this 21st century Bronte-esque gothic novel work. Instead a flailing helplessly like her Scooby Doo counterpart this Daphne faces her darkness, the fear of the monster inside her, and kicks ass. She is fierce in overcoming her fears, in banishing the demons of a traumatic childhood and while this book could serve as a cautionary tale about psychotherapy it becomes a story of transformation. From helpless, neurotic victim to determined survivor.
There is a Daphne in all of us. While we might not battle demented scientists or sociopaths masquerading as everyday people we encounter things that terrify us. That we want to nope out of and never look back. We can wait for rescue, or kick them in the teeth. Take it from me, saviors often become worse monsters than the ones you fear. Choose the latter and don’t look back.
4 stars
It’s official; I will read anything that Emily Carpenter writes. She is 3 for 3 and I just can’t get enough of her books.
Every Single Secret kicks off with a bang, set 6 days into the future. You are then brought to the present where things start to get dark and creepy and then it never stops. Carpenter is the queen of Southern Goth and I am #fangirl. Not only does she set an incredibly dramatic stage, she digs DEEP into her characters and when it all combined, well, there just isn’t anything else like it.
There is no need for me to go into any kind of synopsis for you. Everything you need to know is in the book blurb and then you need to buckle up and get ready for one dark, twisted, disturbing read. This book kept me up way past my bedtime because I just knew that I wasn’t going to stop until I got to the end.
I highly recommend this book to lovers of domestic drama, dark gothic and psychological thrillers. You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for my copy of this book via NetGalley
WOW!! This book blew me away. It had so many twists that I started thinking everyone was guilty of something. It’s an edge of your seat thriller for sure. It will make you cringe and cry in parts. It will hold your attention to the very last word on the very last page. It was that good.
Daphne started out life hard. He mother was a drug addict and would just up and leave her alone when she was just a little girl. When she grows up she meets Heath and they get engaged. He has a past that causes him much distress also. He wants to take her away for a week couple retreat and although she does not believe in therapy she agrees to go.
Once settled she becomes very suspicious of the place. The cameras that are on them most all the time. The secrets she finds. It’s all a bit much and she wants and needs to get away.
Heath has many secrets that he has kept from Daphne and she has secrets of her own. But she does not want to share her life secrets and thinks if they can just go home all will be ok. But will it. Can Heath get over the things he went through and make a life with Daphne? Or will he choose another way?
This book will hook you from the very first page and won’t let go even after you read the very last word. It’s one that you will truly enjoy reading and won’t want to skip a word. It’s wonderfully written with believable characters. Believable story. It’s definitely one of my favorites this year.
I loved The Honeysuckle Girls by the same author and this one. Now I can’t wait to read more by this awesome author. You have to read this book. It’s wonderful. It will dig down into your deepest recesses. It won’t let go.
Every Single Secret was a dark, creepy and twisted ride! It kept me guessing til the end!! I will be picking up other books by this author!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.
This awesome very creepy Thriller kept me guessing to the end and I had a hard time putting it down.
The writing grabbed me from the very beginning and kept me rightly the end and the plot was over the top excellent!
The characters were mysterious and somewhat creepy and very damaged I loved the way they were written!
This book gets a 5 star rating from me and I want more from this author!
Favorite Quotes:
I am what people call guarded. I don’t blog. I don’t post. I don’t share. I don’t love people in that beaming, open-armed way you’re supposed to, but there is a good reason for it. Dark things vein through me, the way precious metal shoots through the heart of a mountain. Dark things that should stay hidden, embedded deep within the rock. It is for the greater good that I stand guard over my mountain, over my past.
He’s a locked door, Daphne. And he doesn’t like it if you knock too hard.
I can’t afford to be driving you gals into town for this, that, and the other. Around here, if you get a fever, we call the preacher ’cause he lays on hands for free.
It hadn’t taken me but a week at the ranch to figure out that Mrs. Bobbie was the ringmaster and Mr. Al was the clown that cleaned up the elephant poop.
My Review:
I quickly fell into this tautly written, captivating, and intriguing tale that essentially held me hostage and on edge from the first sentence to the last few pages. The storyline was unpredictable, fascinating, horrifying, cringe-worthy, and brilliantly crafted. I didn’t want to put my Kindle down and essentially abandoned all plans for the day and left my phone unanswered. Ms. Carpenter must have completed a massive amount of research, as she was spot on with her peculiar and warped characters’ particular oddities, quirks, and disorders, and better yet, still allowed them to be endearing and alluring despite their diabolical tendencies. I was so absorbed by her flawlessly transportive writing I felt myself holding my breath and even bracing for impact more than once. This clever author has cunning and guile and deftly put me right beside her characters in every scene with lush and evocative details. I think she may be onto something with this writing hobby.