Book Review: "The Secrets of Us" by Lucinda Berry

Yes it's another Lucinda Berry novel and it's not just because they are on Kindle Unlimited mostly, it's also because I might actually be addicted to them. From an episode of Desperate Housewives on steroids to one of the most shocking books about CSA I have ever read and through even to the 'perfect' child who is not even remotely perfect, Lucinda Berry's thrillers are terrifying and twisted. The Secrets of Us starts off with a phone call received by Krystal, a lawyer. She's been informed that her sister is in the hospital after a house fire, as is her brother-in-law. Oh, and before I forget to mention it: the police have every reason to believe it was her sister who started the fire to kill her husband.

The problem is her sister isn't simply in the hospital, she's in the psychiatric hospital and is displaying symptoms of psychosis. The police found Nichole (the sister) having exited the house fire and singing on the lawn whilst her husband was barricaded inside. The lighter was in her pocket and her clothes were coated with gasoline. Krystal cannot believe it and when she goes to visit the husband in the hospital, the whole family is there. Nichole's mother-in-law confronts Krystal stating that their past is no longer a secret - Krystal and Nichole may have been found out. Foster children? Probably. But what of this third child they grew up with? Why is it she was beaten up at school, barely smiled and scowled constantly every day of her life? And why is it that she locked Nichole in a barn one horrible day? Lucinda Berry uses the narrative of Nichole, every now and again, to reveal tiny details complete with emotional turmoil. It is absolutely heartbreaking for everyone involved and instils fear in the reader as we feel just as Nichole and Krystal do.

However, as we get more and more into the narrative we see that Krystal is lying about the fact that Nichole hasn't suffered anything in her life. After a nightmare situation in which Nichole screams and slaps Krystal in the psychiatric ward, stating that there are other things at play in the situation, Krystal still implies there has never been anything wrong with Nichole. But as we look into the past and realise that Nichole and Krystal learnt to survive whilst living alongside this very strange third child who terrorises them with fake shampoo and conditioner that eventually makes Krystal's hair fall out and then locks Nichole in a chest for hours on end. There's definitely something more here. Honestly, the past is absolutely terrifying. Lucinda Berry writes it in a way that there's a darkness about the past that nobody wants to investigate but in order to move towards the future, we must confront this frightening past. Especially now that the police might charge Nichole with murder if her husband's organs shut down and he dies.

But what if we are paying attention to the wrong person? What if there's something we missed about who we should really fear? These are the questions that don't leave our brain as a horrific accident turn the novel upside down. The bigger question though is: what really happened to Alice and how did she die?

I'm not going to lie, this turn of events made a lump rise in my throat, I genuinely could not put the book down. Nichole's narrative reveals so much more than what we initially realised. Maybe Nichole and Krystal are not as close as Krystal's present narrative would have us believe. Or maybe there's something seriously wrong with Nichole. Lucinda Berry's careful narrative rises in tension and explodes brilliantly.

So, what of this third child? Who is she really and what does she want? Why does she terrorise the two sisters so and when Nichole is suspected of burning her house down with her husband locked inside, how does this story come flooding back to Nichole and Krystal in droves? We can only imagine the nightmare fuel that awaits in the paranoid darkness, we can only ponder on the demonic voices that pulsate through the eardrums of the main character as she flails and attempts to kill. And, we are finally met with a car hitting a girl on the road...as someone attempts to cover it all up. Lucinda Berry has done it again and given us a near-perfect thriller.