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Book Review: Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold


 

Book: Twelve Secrets 

Author: Robert Gold 

Pages: 448

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~4 hours 

Plot Summary: The day his older brother was murdered was the day Ben Harper's life changed for ever.


In one of the most shocking crimes in national history, Nick and his friend were stabbed to death by two girls their own age. Police called the killings random, a senseless tragedy.

Twenty years on Ben is one of the best true crime journalists in the country. He has left the past behind, thanks to the support of his close-knit hometown community. 

But when he learns about a fresh murder case with links to his brother's death, Ben's life is turned upside down once more. He soon finds himself caught in a web of lies, one that implicates everyone around him. And on his quest for answers, Ben discovers one very important truth:

Everyone has secrets.
But some secrets are deadlier than others.


Things I Liked: 

1. Old crimes. Old secrets. Unravelling past mysteries. That is what this book is all about and every aspect of the book is perfectly executed! So, so, happy to have stumbled upon this fast-paced, thrilling, taut thriller. With a very interesting premise and some very likeable characters, this is a thriller that checks all the boxes. 

2. Ben Harper's brother, Nick, was killed twenty years ago at the age of 14 by two girls from his class for no good reason. A ritualistic killing for which Nick and his mate, Simon, were chosen randomly. Ben (aged 8 back then) and his mum somehow put the pieces of their broken lives back together and moved on with great difficulty. Ten years after Nick's murder, Ben's mum died, seemingly jumping in front of a train. Ben still lives in his childhood home and in the same town, where many people have hidden many secrets about the two girls and the reasons behind the murder of the two boys. 
So, this book delves into multiple cold cases- the murders of Nick and Simon, the death of Ben and Nick's mum, the death of one of the girls who'd killed Nick and some other older crimes and with so much happening, there is never a dull moment. 

3. Really liked the investigative process and the gradual unravelling of the secrets in this book. Ben, helped by police constable, Dani Cash, start looking into the past crimes, meeting residents of the village and finding out new information related to these crimes. 

4. There are nice red herrings and the killer/s and motives are not very obvious, which is always a nice thing when you read so much of the genre and are a bit jaded! :) 

Rating: 5/5 
Highly recommend! Do read this book! 

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