Tell Me Your Secret by Dorothy Koomson: A gripping page-turner full of spine-tingling menace, claustrophobic intensity, and jaw-dropping twists and turns - book review -

Deep, dark and disturbing new thriller which features two psychologically scarred women in a race against time to find a ruthless, manipulative serial killer.
Tell Me Your SecretTell Me Your Secret
Tell Me Your Secret

"There is only one thing you must do – keep your eyes closed… for 48 hours you must not open your eyes. If you do open your eyes, I will end you.’

These are the chilling words of a man calling himself The Blindfolder, a man who kidnapped women, abused and tortured them, and warned that if their eyes opened just once, he would kill them. The years have passed and now he’s hunting down those who survived… and killing them, one by one.

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‘Queen of the big reveal’ Dorothy Koomson puts her readers through the emotional wringer in her deep, dark and disturbing new thriller which features two psychologically scarred women in a race against time to find a ruthless, manipulative serial killer.

Tell Me Your Secret is one of Koomson’s most powerful and unsettling stories yet… an unflinching exploration of the long-lasting trauma for violent crime victims, and a gripping page-turner full of spine-tingling menace, claustrophobic intensity, and jaw-dropping twists and turns.

Pieta Rawlings has a secret. Ten years ago, she was kidnapped by a man calling himself The Blindfolder who said he wouldn’t kill her if she kept her eyes closed for 48 hours. She never told anyone what happened to her and vowed to move on with her life.

Now Pieta is a single mother to her son Kobi and works as a reporter on a weekly news and lifestyle magazine in Brighton. Every day she reminds herself ‘I am still here’ but those terrible events have left her vulnerable and too emotionally involved with the people behind the stories.

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But now The Blindfolder is hunting down his past victims and killing them, and a woman’s body has been dumped in a park in Brighton. Pieta has been assigned to interview one of The Blindfolder’s survivors, who is willing to talk, and she realises that she may finally be forced to tell her deepest secret to stay alive.

Meanwhile, London Detective Inspector Jody Foster also has a secret. Fifteen years ago, she made a terrible mistake that resulted in The Blindfolder escaping justice. When Jody discovers journalist Pieta survived an attack by him, she realises she may finally have found a way to catch him and to ‘make things right.’ But that would mean endangering innocent people.

The Blindfolder is striking on every sixth Monday and the race is on to find him before he kills again. Will telling all save or sacrifice Pieta and Jody?

Koomson, author of bestsellers like The Ice Cream Girls, My Best Friend’s Girl and The Brighton Mermaid, is a master of suspense and Tell Me Your Secret is a serpentine tale of dark secrets, shocking twists, and revelations that will have readers holding their breath.

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Written through the alternating accounts of Pieta and Jodie, the plot weaves between past and present to unlock some terrifying truths while the clock winds down relentlessly and the tension builds to boiling point.

Brimming with Koomson’s keen eye for drama and pin-sharp characterisation, this is an electrifying rollercoaster of a story with a final flourish that will take your breath away. Don’t miss the ride!

(Headline Review, paperback, £7.99)

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