Dead Secret by Noelle Holten

It's my stop on the blog tour for Dead Secret, the brand new book from  author and blogger Noelle Holten. This is the fourth book in the DC Maggie Jamieson series which I have read and loved from the beginning. Dead Secret can also be read as a standalone. I'm delighted to share my review below. Huge thanks to Sarah Hardy at Book on the Bright Side for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy which I received via Netgalley.

 

The Blurb

‘Enthralling from the first page to the last. Devoured in one sitting. Noelle Holten has become one of my must-read authors’ Angela Marsons, bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone series

Psychopaths can take root in the unlikeliest soil…

DC Maggie Jamieson crosses paths once again with Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood when a domestic violence survivor stumbles into her new refuge, unable to speak, desperate for help.

Then another case hits Maggie’s desk. A young man has been murdered, and a curious constellation of black dots has been inked onto his cheek.

That’s when DCI Hastings goes missing and Maggie uncovers a shocking connection that turns the case on its head.

Every family may hide secrets, but not every family buries them…

Dead Secret was published by One More Chapter on 25th April 2021. 

My Review

As mentioned above, Dead Secret is the fourth book in the Maggie Jamieson series following Dead Inside, Dead Wrong and Dead Perfect. You will enjoy it as a standalone - previous cases are mentioned but there is enough information given for new readers - so don't let not having read the others put you off. But I always feel that with a series you have a better reading experience if you start at the beginning. And they're all great books! 

In Dead Secret, Maggie finds herself dealing with two different cases - a murdered young man and her missing boss - whilst struggling with her private life. Nearby, Lucy Sherwood is getting ready to open her new women's refuge when a deaf and beaten young woman turns up on the doorstep. 

I really like Maggie but she does frustrate me a bit, lol! She's very dedicated to her job, it's clear that she loves it, and is often able to view things differently from her colleagues making her a valuable member of the team. But she doesn't always think things through and will sometimes make rash decisions  which could jeopardise the case. Or worse. I wish she would sometimes take a breath before jumping in! I love her relationship with her immediate boss Nathan, who used to be her colleague - there's respect there but also an easy going camaraderie, they know each other well. And outside of work seeing Maggie attracted to someone who irritates the hell out of her was a joy to read. 

There is something going on pretty much all the time in this book as three seemingly unrelated cases begin to come together as we race towards the finale. There is some twisted thinking here from Holten and her antagonist is a truly nasty piece of work! I love it when a character gets me all riled up and this one certainly does! We find out about the private lives of some of Maggie's colleagues in this book, more so than in the previous ones, if I remember correctly. Just the right amount of information to serve the story but not too much to detract from the tension. And it helped to flesh out the characters. Holten deftly weaves the individual plot lines together, throwing in the odd red herring here and there. There is a good amount of tension with a bit of danger thrown in. 

Dead Secret is a solid, well researched crime novel. The author's background in probation serves her well as does her knowledge of sexual abuse (I have heard her speak about this). Her novel is real, gritty and full of great characters struggling to make sense of difficult situations. A fab addition to the series. 

The Author

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at
www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog. Dead Inside – her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.


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