Title: Her Perfect Secret
Author: T.J. Brearton
Published on: 16 December 2021
Genre: Mystery and Thrillers | Psychological Thriller
Emily and her husband Paul are at the cabin to spend a quiet family vacation. Their children Joni and Sean will join them soon.
Joni arrives first, along with Michael. She announces she and Michael are engaged. Emily and Paul know of Joni’s previous love affairs and believe ‘engaged’ is a step too far, even for someone like Joni. But they want to be happy for their daughter.
Emily is a therapist and fifteen years ago, she treated a witness in a homicide case. Tom Bishop was eight when he witnessed the brutal murder of his father in their family home. His mother Laura was finally accused of the crime and sentenced to 25 years of prison. Emily was the consulting psychiatrist in the case and helped Tom conquer his fears and reveal the identity of his father’s killer.
Fast forward to the present, Emily finds a lot of similarity between Michael and Tom. She wonders if the young boy grew up to be a revengeful human being and is here to destroy her family…
Her Perfect Secret by T.J. Brearton is a gripping, mind-numbing and bone-chilling psychological thriller. I could not put down the book till the end!
The story starts with Joni introducing Michael to her parents. Emily cannot get it out of her system as to why Tom Bishop has changed his name to Michael and what does he want from her family? Soon, Emily becomes obsessed with finding the truth about Michael.
Her husband Paul warns her to not get caught in the mess but Emily does what she wants. Meanwhile, one of her patients have killed themselves and Emily wants to go back to her clinic, to grieve. She also revisits the Bishops’ house and also meets the detective who was once in charge of the case. But all ‘clues’ lead to a dead end, until…
Emily and her daughter Joni’s relationship is fragile. She knows learning of Michael past might widen the rift. But she wants to proceed… Then something happens. A breakthrough in the case… or, the beginning of a storm that will devastate lives.
Her Perfect Secret is, no doubt, a gripping and completely mind-blowing psychological thriller. Emily’s frustration and dilemma is well-portrayed – there were times when I wished I could dive into my kindle and tell Emily to calm down. Gosh, her life was no less than a roller-coaster ride without a safety belt. Not just Emily, the readers are sure to reflect on each and every character’s role and choices in the story.
The second half is where things get really tense. The suspense is at an all-time high. I certainly did not see the twists coming – they hit you like a freight train. Speaking of twists, the final twist (just as the story ends) is shocking and unexpected.
Her Perfect Secret by T.J. Brearton is a must-read thriller of the year!
Many thanks to Nina from Joffe Books for sending me an ARC of the book.
The Book Decoder 
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