Our Little Secret by Roz Nay
Our Little Secret was another book on Goodreads summer thriller list that interested me, and the fact that Ruth Ware, one of my favorite authors, backed it, it seemed like a no-brainer. Unfortunately for me, this Goodreads summer thriller list just keeps getting worse and worse. We all know I was not thrilled with I Know Who You Are, but mostly for the disgusting factor. Our Little Secret just fell completely short and felt like I was just wasting my time.
Angela has found herself in a police interview room and being peppered with questions about Saskia, her ex's wife, who has gone missing. Why would Angela know anything about her whereabouts? She cares about H.P and his wife, even if he is the one who got away. As Angela tells Detective Novak the entire story of her and H.P., Angela feels that she is making it obvious that she is not involved, but Novak feels differently. There has been plenty of betrayal and jealousy in their eleven years of friendship, but Angela swears it is all behind them. So then if Angela did not hurt Saskia, what happened to her?
Okay, so this book is totally believable, but that does not mean that it is not stupid. If I read a news article about this, I would think the person is an idiot and clearly needed help long ago. Angela and H.P. became friends in high school, and briefly dated for the summer between their senior year and going away to college. My first issue came relatively early (well, it was not my first issue, it was my second, but I'll get to that later). So Angela is a senior in high school and has never kissed anyone; that's believable, I'll buy that. There is nothing wrong with not kissing someone in high school. No, the part that I do not understand is that H.P. suddenly realizes he wants to be with Angela, and Angela goes from never having kissed anyone to having sex with H.P. in the back of a pickup truck. A couple of pages ago, she feels that you should not waste kisses on people who don't matter, but now because some guy has finally noticed you, you are going to give away the ice cream truck for free? No, I don't buy it. At this moment, I actually had to double check that the book was written by a woman because I could easily see a man writing this part, but I could not believe that another woman would make such a blatantly stupid plot point. That is just not how it works.
But okay, so they had sex even though it does not really make sense, but now you would think that they would be officially together. No. They just sort of are. And then problem number three-Angela never tells H.P. that she has been accepted to Oxford for a one year study abroad, and she completely hates this idea because she cannot live without H.P., even for eight months. H.P. finds out a week before she leaves and says that they should not be together while she is away, even though they haven't really been together. While in Oxford, Angela only makes one friend because she is too busy obsessing about being away from H.P. Her dependence on him is terrifying. H.P. comes to visit in the spring, and this is when he meets Saskia. Through a series of events that lead to a bunch of misunderstandings, H.P. ends up with Saskia, and they eventually marry and have a child. Angela never recovers from this. She never dates anyone, she does not attempt to make friends. But she is friends with H.P., Saskia, and their daughter Olive and they are this weird little family. But this entire time, she pines for H.P. and wishes Saskia were anywhere else but here.
Ninety percent of the book is Angela telling this whole story, and this ties into my first problems. The only reason the police are going to let you ramble on with a completely pointless story is because you are the number one suspect and they are just gathering every bit of information they can to pin even more things to you. Before the book even starts, you know the ending.
Issue number four is that the title of the book does not make sense. None of the characters have a secret. I kept trying to figure it out. Maybe Angela is keeping the identity of Saskia's real murderer a secret and is just going to take the fall. Maybe Angela and H.P. have secretly been together all along. Maybe Angela agreed to keep a secret for Saskia and it ended up getting Saskia killed. Maybe Angela was able to actually put it all behind her and Saskia grew to trust her enough to say "Hey Angela, I actually hate my life, I'm going to run away and go into hiding, don't say anything." But no, no one has a secret.
All of the characters are one dimensional. Angela says that she doesn't understand why anyone like Saskia because she is "vanilla," but if you ask me, everyone in the book is just some stereotype or another. Angela never got over her high school sweetheart; H.P. marries the foreign, exotic girl instead; Angela's parents live vicariously through her because they feel they failed at their own lives; Saskia is the girl next door that everyone loves. Even in scenes where Saskia finally starts to stand up against Angela, she never really has a true gumption moment.
I was happy when the book was over and left wondering why I continued with it. When I started it, by chapter three, I was already thinking I should DNF it, but told myself it was short so I would power through. Your first instinct is almost always right; I should have listened to myself.
Rating: 2/10
Author: Roz Nay
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Dates Read: June 10-12, 2019
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| (Source: Kelsey Darling) |
Okay, so this book is totally believable, but that does not mean that it is not stupid. If I read a news article about this, I would think the person is an idiot and clearly needed help long ago. Angela and H.P. became friends in high school, and briefly dated for the summer between their senior year and going away to college. My first issue came relatively early (well, it was not my first issue, it was my second, but I'll get to that later). So Angela is a senior in high school and has never kissed anyone; that's believable, I'll buy that. There is nothing wrong with not kissing someone in high school. No, the part that I do not understand is that H.P. suddenly realizes he wants to be with Angela, and Angela goes from never having kissed anyone to having sex with H.P. in the back of a pickup truck. A couple of pages ago, she feels that you should not waste kisses on people who don't matter, but now because some guy has finally noticed you, you are going to give away the ice cream truck for free? No, I don't buy it. At this moment, I actually had to double check that the book was written by a woman because I could easily see a man writing this part, but I could not believe that another woman would make such a blatantly stupid plot point. That is just not how it works.
 |
| (Source: Giphy) |
Ninety percent of the book is Angela telling this whole story, and this ties into my first problems. The only reason the police are going to let you ramble on with a completely pointless story is because you are the number one suspect and they are just gathering every bit of information they can to pin even more things to you. Before the book even starts, you know the ending.
 |
| (Source: Giphy) |
All of the characters are one dimensional. Angela says that she doesn't understand why anyone like Saskia because she is "vanilla," but if you ask me, everyone in the book is just some stereotype or another. Angela never got over her high school sweetheart; H.P. marries the foreign, exotic girl instead; Angela's parents live vicariously through her because they feel they failed at their own lives; Saskia is the girl next door that everyone loves. Even in scenes where Saskia finally starts to stand up against Angela, she never really has a true gumption moment.
 |
| (Source: Giphy) |
Rating: 2/10
Author: Roz Nay
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Dates Read: June 10-12, 2019
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