“The Killer Next Door is even better [than The Wicked Girls]. Scary as hell. Great characters.” —Stephen KingWinner of the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel and nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Paperback OriginalAlex Marwood’s new book, The Darkest Secret, is available now from Penguin BooksEveryone who lives at 23 Beulah Grove has a secret. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be renting … Grove has a secret. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be renting rooms in a sketchy South London building for cash—no credit check, no lease. It’s the kind of place you end up when you you’ve run out of other options. The six residents mostly keep to themselves, but one unbearably hot summer night, a terrible accident pushes them into an uneasy alliance. What they don’t know is that one of them is a killer. He’s already chosen his next victim, and he’ll do anything to protect his secret.
Alex Marwood’s debut novel The Wicked Girls earned her lavish praise from the likes of Elizabeth Haynes, Laura Lippman, and Erin Kelly and received the Edgar Award. Now, Marwood’s back with a brilliant, tightly paced thriller that will keep you up at night and make you ask yourself: just how well do you know your neighbors?
“Taut, assured and reminiscent of Ruth Rendell’s psychological novels, Marwood’s second book more than lives up to the promise shown in her splendid debut, The Wicked Girls.” —The Guardian
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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The twists and turns keep coming at you in this book about a houseful of strangers, one of whom is a serial killer. It could be any one of them but which one? There’s the girl on the run from the mob, the teenage runaway who can’t pay her rent, the middle eastern seeking asylum, the guy in the attic who seems to have it all together, the quiet musician that sneaks about, the old lady downstairs who has tenancy security, or the creepy landlord who shows up at odd times and comes into the young girls rooms uninvited.
The story line is interesting and even at times somewhat funny. The characters are as well developed as they should be for this particular story, and there are definitely some interesting and sometimes humorous (to me) twists. The biggest twist is the ending, which I did not see coming at all.
Definitely a book to pick up and read in a couple of days.
A rundown boarding house in London is home to jaded, toxic tenants and appalling secrets.
As the characters’ lives crumble before our eyes, Marwood slowly reveals the hideous secret that gives this compelling book its title.
One of the most chilling books I’ve read in years.
This is my favourite of the Alex Marwood books – I literally could not put it down. Every character written was so intricate, she really brought them to life and the setting of the house they all shared.
I am a massive fan and cannot wait for her next novel to be released.
The story of a group of neighbors sharing a building in London, and one of them is a serial killer. We get to know each of the characters and their unique situations, the challenges they face, and what brought them together. A horrific event bonds them in covering up a crime, and everything unravels from there. I like how we are drawn into each character’s conflict in an empathetic way. I haven’t finished the book yet, but am nearing the climax. Very interesting and worth a read.
Well written, I loved all the characters except the ones I was supposed to hate and I Loved the ending. I’ll be reading this one again, for sure!
Summer page turner with great characters. Not for the squeamish! This story of intersecting lives -and missing – body – parts is a different kind of whodunnit.
Others in my book group didn’t like it, but I loved the characters. The women who were all in some way trapped, and used their ingenuity to get out of it.
I enjoyed the story line and the characters. Nice little twist at the end. The only negative was that the story takes place in England and many references were unfamiliar so I had to stop alot to look them up.
Creepy stuff. We like creepy.
The joys of bedsit land where the tenants crave anonymity, the landlord is dodgy and that certain something blocks the drains.
This was black comedy as much as thriller – more gross factor than scare factor – but with lots of spirit and compassion, and three feisty, adorable heroines with nearly as much to hide as the serial killer. It was an enjoyable take on the suspense genre.
Lots of twist and turns. Nothing was predictable in this story. Loved the characters. Meat of the story could be made into a movie.
Excellent book, keeps you interested, quirky characters, most enjoyable!
Good reading. Good characters. Creepy
It took a couple of chapters to realize just how cleverly the author was actually telling the story. The hints, dropped almost casually, gradually built until you knew what was happening but it was not graphically laid out until much later, once you had come to the realization that someone was seriously psycho and then the challenge really became figuring out who.
Once who became known, how the perpetrator was discovered became fascinating and a bit scary.
In the end, the author totally grasped how relatively innocent people might have a need to conspire to fight for survival and to keep the law out of it.
It was a very smooth progression from tension to horror. Well done.
This is a dark story filled with danger and suspense. The characters are well-developed and engaging. It was easy enough to figure out who was the killer, but the end was a bit unexpected. There is some pretty gruesome stuff in here – if you are squeamish, you might want to avoid it. However, if you liked Wicked Girls by Marwood, you will probably enjoy this one.
Good read. enjoyed the Brit English format. I am an American and I love to read mysteries, especially ones that take place abroad. Interesting plot, good whodunit.
Too creepy for words.
I liked the book but felt it was too long for the plot
The writing was fine. It was a little to creepy for me.
It was boring and I had a hard time finishing it. I did like the ending but it took far too long getting there