READ THE ABOVE AGAIN. THAT is how conFUSING this plot was!! (I haven't actually proofread the paragraph because I really couldn't care less about this book tb honest.) When you’re not writing you work for Penguin’s sales team. How has it been to experience the other side of the publishing process?

Well this book took me completely by surprise. In a good way. a very good way. I’m not sure quite what I was expecting when I started reading, but what I found was a story that was compelling from the off, my interest well and truly piqued as we are introduced to journalist Ben Harper. It’s clear from the very beginning that his family history is not that of your run of the mill journalist, and when he is asked to produce a personal piece for his paper on the anniversary of his mother’s death, he agrees to do so, but only on his own terms. For Ben’s brother was murdered and his mother died in very difficult circumstances, but something inside of Ben is telling him there is far more to the story than the tragedy that the world has so far been told. And boy is there. Some of the chapters follow other characters too, but a lot of the novel is from Ben’s perspective. How close to Ben did you feel during the writing process? Is there any of yourself in him? Well this book took me completely by surprise. In a good way. a very good way. I'm not sure quite what I was expecting when I started reading, but what I found was a story that was compelling from the off, my interest well and truly piqued as we are introduced to journalist Ben Harper. It's clear from the very beginning that his family history is not that of your run of the mill journalist, and when he is asked to produce a personal piece for his paper on the anniversary of his mother's death, he agrees to do so, but only on his own terms. For Ben's brother was murdered and his mother died in very difficult circumstances, but something inside of Ben is telling him there is far more to the story than the tragedy that the world has so far been told. And boy is there. I wrote Twelve Secrets during 2019 and then found an agent at the start of 2020. It was the second half of 2020 by the time I agreed a publishing deal with Hachette whose preference was to then wait to publish the book in early 2022. We completed the editorial process around April or May last year and very sadly my dad passed away at the end of April. It meant he never got to read Twelve Secrets, so for me on a personal level that has been the most challenging thing. I know my mum feels the same sadness that he didn’t get to read the book, but I have dedicated it to him, and readers will see I find a small way to bring him into the story itself. With Ben's help the person escapes, only to flee the scene before they can be identified. Now the small town of Haddley is abuzz with rumours. Was this an accident, or arson?

THE RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK FOR DECEMBER 2022

I adored TWELVE SECRETS - It was so much twisty-turny fun and I loved the characters and how their secrets unravelled. It's a fast-paced, utterly gripping thriller - a definite twelve out of ten! -- VANESSA SAVAGE Nathan - adopted, son of murderer, potential child of rape (this one isn't explicitly said is rape but it is implied and sounds like it to me) Ben - Brother died, best friend died, mother died, surrogate mum is a serial killer, best friend being raped Top Five Tuesday: 5 books that I’m thankful for in 2023 #Top5Tuesday #TuesdayBookBlog @MeeghanReads#TopFiveTuesday November 21, 2023

The book was consistently good throughout. We had a great start, plenty to satisfy in the middle and a rewarding end. This was such a dream of a thriller I was completely hooked throughout and I have to say I was suspecting everyone! Twelve secrets and slowly they are revealed but nothing is given away easily and for the life of me I just couldn’t guess who was who and who did what. Full of twists this a clever tale and the suspense never lets up and the superb writing by Robert Gold made it completely unputdownable I had to keep reading as I badly needed to know the ending and for me that’s what made this book so brilliant. 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: A pacey thriller full of twists and turns. You won't be able to put TWELVE SECRETS down until the very end. -- KARIN SLAUGHTER Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life” by Helen Fisher – Book Review @RandomTTours #BlogTour #BookReview @simonschusterUK #JoeNuthinsGuideToLife @HFisherAuthor November 20, 2023Il finale devo ammettere che mi ha un po' fregata e un po' no: avevo indovinato qualcosa... ma non tutto. Four years ago, I was sat in a bar in Frankfurt, Germany, with a group of colleagues when I said I had an idea for a book called Twelve Secrets. It would be written in twelve parts with a secret revealed at the end of each part. It wasn’t too long after the TV series Broadchurch had been a huge hit here in the UK and my idea was to create a close-knit community, where everybody knew everybody – or thought they did. Twelve Secrets was an uneasy, suspenseful, tense, claustrophobic, menacing, character-driven psychological thriller. What a debut! The novel successfully conveyed a deliciously creepy sense of being watched – a killer living, and hiding in suburbia is one of my favourite mystery tropes. As is domestic noir incorporating cold cases. Oh, and thrillers with a ‘woods’ setting. There were so many phenomenal twists, subtle hints and uncovered clues, and cliffhangers, but it was the emotional aspect that raised my stress levels, especially the closer it got to the end. The amount of rape in book is actually uncomfortable. It is used constantly to give reasons why women are miserable or continue to be miserable. I shouldn't be able to count on more than one hand how many characters in your book were raped or were rapists. Women can feel unhappy or have trauma that isn't linked to rape. Let's say it again WOMEN CAN FEEL TRAUMA WITHOUT BEING RAPED. There is no greater point being made, there is no discussion about rape culture. This is simply rape for rapes sake. I think I knew even as a kid, it was difficult to just say I wanted to be a writer – I had to earn a living somehow – so I set my heart on becoming a journalist. I went as fat as interning at CNN in Washington DC, and I completely loved it.

La scrittura dell'autore è chiarissima e super scorrevole, non c'è un momento morto durante la narrazione: le riflessioni sono acute, i colpi di scena sorprendono, i personaggi sono ben strutturati (anche se avrei preferito un maggior approfondimento di alcuni di quelli secondari). Ben is further traumatised when his mother commits suicide stepping into the path of an oncoming train. The killings were huge news in the media and it’s coming up to the ten year anniversary of his mothers death.Twelve Secrets is a smart, satisfying, one-of-a-kind thriller that entertained me from start to finish. It examines the confluence of family loyalties and dark secrets while keeping the plot boiling. -- JAMES PATTERSON Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures Goodness me! There is SO MUCH awesome crime fiction out there right now and this is another goodie! If you like tv series like Broadchurch, then I think you’ll enjoy ‘Twelve Secrets‘ too.