Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain #Review #NetGalley @SpainJoanne #DirtyLittleSecrets @QuercusBooks

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain

Published by Quercus

Publication Date: 7 February 2019

Genre: Mystery & Thriller/Crime

416 pages

Book Description:

Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead.

In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people's lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege - the residents have it all. Life is good.

There's just one problem.

Olive Collins' dead body has been rotting inside number four for the last three months. Her neighbours say they're shocked at the discovery but nobody thought to check on her when she vanished from sight.

The police start to ask questions and the seemingly flawless facade begins to crack. Because, when it comes to Olive's neighbours, it seems each of them has something to hide, something to lose and everything to gain from her death.

The new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Confession, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty.

My Review:

What a brilliant concept for a book! The prologue manages to encapsulate the overall plot for the book and yet tell you nothing about why or how what happened came to pass.  The horror of realisation of what must be hidden behind Olive Collins' front door is related as her neighbour sees a huge cloud of bluebottles rising from the chimney.  The author then gives us a hint of what relationships were like between the residents of the prestigious Withered Vale gated community. The police are going to have their work cut out solving this case.
Frank Brazil is due to work this one last case before retirement, with the help of his colleague Emma. They work their way round each of the neighbours' properties interviewing everyone - even needing to ask the younger residents a few questions about their relationships with Olive and it soon becomes obvious that any one - or more - of the neighbours could have reason to assist in Olive's demise.  There are certainly some eye opening things going on behind the gates of Withered Vale, things which certain residents thought they had managed to keep concealed from their neighbours. But the curtains of the Vale have been twitching, and some things are not as secret as those involved would hope. Yet how come nobody noticed Olive's absence for 3 whole months?

The reader gets to follow not only the police interviews, but the conversations which happen between residents once the detectives have moved on. Interspersed with Olive's own take on the events leading up to her death we gradually build up a picture of what has been going on. 

All Olive wanted in life was to be part of a close, friendly little community but unfortunately she was not able to achieve this during  her time in the Vale. Maybe that would be her legacy to her neighbours once she had departed. But whose fault was it that she didn't quite fit in - hers or her neighbours? And did any of them have sufficient gripe with her to go as far as to end her life or was an outsider involved? I really had no idea 'whodunnit' virtually all the way through the whole book.

Despite Withered Vale being a rather elite gated community I can't say I envied or particularly  liked any of its residents.  The detective duo are constantly given potential motives for murder at each of the properties they visit, only to reach a dead end each time. This is a very well written novel which reads very much like a game of Cluedo as evidence is presented, explored and added to the case file.  It will have you mulling over what you know and the questions you want answering right up to the end.  And the end will surprise you. Nothing which had gone before prepared me for the conclusion to the book which I felt reflected Olive's place in the community rather well.  On the one hand I felt a little sorry for her but I could also understand the viewpoint of her neighbours and their reluctance to be too involved with the spinster at number 4..

Certainly a book I would highly recommend. Read it - and please let me know if you worked it out any less than 90% through the book!

About the Author:

Jo Spain's first novel, top ten bestseller With our Blessing, was one of seven finalists in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition. It was named as an Irish Times crime fiction book of the year by Declan Burke. Beneath the Surface (2016) and Sleeping Beauties (2017), the second and third in the DI Tom Reynolds series followed, to further critical acclaim. Her standalone thriller, The Confession, released in January 2018, became a number one bestseller and sold in multiple territories. Jo is releasing the fourth Tom Reynolds, The Darkest Place, in 2018 and a new standalone Dirty Little Secrets in 2019.

Jo also writes for TV and is the co-writer of new series Taken Down.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and their four young children. Jo previously worked as a policy advisor in the Irish parliament and as vice-chair of the business body InterTrade Ireland.

Jo’s debut novel is set against a background of the infamous Irish Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby homes. The author’s own father was born in one such home in Dublin and the novel’s backdrop was constructed based on the in-depth research she undertook while attempting to trace her family roots.

Her favourite writers include Pierre LeMaitre, Fred Vargas, Louise Penny, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, B.A. Paris, Elizabeth Haynes and Agatha Christie.