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The Darkest Secret: A Novel
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Published:
Penguin Publishing Group 2016
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Available from OverDrive
Description
“If there has been a better mystery-suspense story written in this decade, I can’t think of it . . . transcend[s] the genre.” —Stephen King
“A cruel and cunning mystery . . . Plot-twisting, mind-altering and monstrously funny.” —The New York Times Book Review
The latest gripping psychological thriller from Edgar Award winner Alex Marwood

When a child goes missing at an opulent house party, it makes international news. But what really happened behind those closed doors?
 
Twelve years ago, Mila Jackson’s three-year-old half-sister Coco disappeared during their father’s fiftieth birthday celebration, leaving behind her identical twin Ruby as the only witness. The girls’ father, Sean, was wealthy and influential, as were the friends gathered at their seaside vacation home for the weekend’s debauchery. The case ignited a media frenzy and forever changed the lives of everyone involved.
 
Now, Sean Jackson is dead, and the people who were present that terrible night must gather once more for a funeral that will reveal that the secrets of the past can never stay hidden. Perfectly paced all the way through its devastating conclusion, The Darkest Secret is one that fans of Gillian Flynn and Liane Moriarty won’t be able to put down.
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
08/30/2016
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781101992685
ASIN:
B0191ZL2LK
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Alex Marwood. (2016). The Darkest Secret: A Novel. Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Alex Marwood. 2016. The Darkest Secret: A Novel. Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Alex Marwood, The Darkest Secret: A Novel. Penguin Publishing Group, 2016.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Alex Marwood. The Darkest Secret: A Novel. Penguin Publishing Group, 2016.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 19:55:37
Date Updated:
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OverDrive Product Record

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fullDescription
“If there has been a better mystery-suspense story written in this decade, I can’t think of it . . . transcend[s] the genre.” —Stephen King
“A cruel and cunning mystery . . . Plot-twisting, mind-altering and monstrously funny.” —The New York Times Book Review
The latest gripping psychological thriller from Edgar Award winner Alex Marwood

When a child goes missing at an opulent house party, it makes international news. But what really happened behind those closed doors?
 
Twelve years ago, Mila Jackson’s three-year-old half-sister Coco disappeared during their father’s fiftieth birthday celebration, leaving behind her identical twin Ruby as the only witness. The girls’ father, Sean, was wealthy and influential, as were the friends gathered at their seaside vacation home for the weekend’s debauchery. The case ignited a media frenzy and forever changed the lives of everyone involved.
 
Now, Sean Jackson is dead, and the people who were present that terrible night must gather once more for a funeral that will reveal that the secrets of the past can never stay hidden. Perfectly paced all the way through its devastating conclusion, The Darkest Secret is one that fans of Gillian Flynn and Liane Moriarty won’t be able to put down.
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        June 13, 2016
        In Edgar-winner Marwood’s compulsively readable if not wholly satisfying psychological thriller, real estate magnate Sean Jackson throws himself an elaborate 50th birthday bash in the posh British seaside town of Bournemouth one summer weekend in 2004. When Sean’s touchy second wife, Claire, fires the nanny before the weekend, the couple take charge of their three-year-old twins, Coco and Ruby. Then Coco disappears overnight from the room she shares with Ruby at the Jackson holiday home and is never seen again. Twelve years later, Sean is dead of a heart attack, discovered handcuffed to a bed with a woman who isn’t his fourth wife. Mila, one of Sean’s daughters by his first marriage, reluctantly identifies the body and later agrees to accompany Ruby to Sean’s funeral. The toxic Jackson family air soon envelops the half-sisters amid the lingering questions surrounding Coco’s disappearance. Marwood (The Killer Next Door) shifts time periods effortlessly and creates a noxious cast of characters, but keen readers may predict the final twist. Five-city author tour. Agent: Laetitia Rutherford, Watson, Little (U.K.).

      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        June 15, 2016
        For readers who prefer their psychological thrillers dark, twisty, and filled with loathsome people, Marwood serves up the perfect dish in this story of very rich people, a missing twin, and an ill-fated weekend.When 3-year-old Coco Jackson disappeared from a huge, expensive mansion in one of Britain's toniest neighborhoods, she left behind an enduring modern mystery. The daughter--one of a pair of twins--of Sean Jackson, a millionaire land developer with a tendency to shed wives like old shoes, Coco vanished from her bed during her father's 50th birthday party, but the weekend was difficult even before that. Claire, Sean's wife and the mother of twins Coco and Ruby, fired the nanny in a jealous fit of pique before the party got rolling and spent most of her time feuding with her wandering spouse. Add in an unwelcome surprise visit from Camilla and India, the daughters from Sean's first marriage, and a mishmash of characters who include a teenager with an unhealthy crush on the birthday boy, and Marwood sets up a gathering that's unlikely to be remembered fondly by anyone present. The story shifts from the weekend Coco vanished in 2004 to the present, when the grown-up and still belligerent Camilla is notified that her father has been found dead in a hotel room, handcuffed to the bed. Camilla traces her difficult relationship with her dad while the flashbacks examine the hard-partying and irresponsible scene Sean and his friends indulged on the weekend Coco disappeared. Marwood introduces a boatload of characters early in the game, making for a bit of character soup, but she's a skilled writer who eventually turns a meandering narrative into a cohesive story. Marwood's tale proves unsatisfying and unsettling in equal measures.

        COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        May 1, 2016
        The abduction of three-year-old Coco Jackson haunts everyone who was at her father Sean's fiftieth birthday party the weekend she disappeared. Twelve years later, Sean's death brings all the players back together. Coco's twin has grown up in a remote village, fiercely protected by her mother. She's escorted to the funeral by Camilla, a daughter from a previous marriage who has been out of touch with her father and his other children for years. Chapters leading up to the funeral alternate with details about the weekend Coco disappeared. As the book progresses, it becomes chillingly clear to the reader that at least one person at that party knows more than what they're saying. The reader's heart sinks and pulse races as the author (The Wicked Girls, 2015) teases out the true story. Marwood is emerging as a first-rate teller of twisted tales and don't let it be so suspense. Think Minette Walters and Barbara Vine with a little Gillian Flynn thrown in.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        March 15, 2016

        After one of real estate mogul Sean Jackson's three-year-old twins vanishes at the glittery 50th birthday party he throws himself, Jackson is not the only one whose name is permanently tarnished; party attendees, dubbed the Jackson Associates, are regarded skeptically as well. Accusations are traded when they gather 12 years later for Sean's funeral, which ends with mayhem and a shocking discovery. Marwood's career has so far been resplendent; her debut, The Wicked Girls, won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, while the follow-up, The Killer Next Door, won a Macavity and has been optioned for film by James Franco. With a five-city tour.

        Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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“If there has been a better mystery-suspense story written in this decade, I can’t think of it . . . transcend[s] the genre.” —Stephen King
“A cruel and cunning mystery . . . Plot-twisting, mind-altering and monstrously funny.” —The New York Times Book Review
The latest gripping psychological thriller from Edgar Award winner Alex Marwood

When a child goes missing at an opulent house party, it makes international news. But what really happened behind those closed doors?
 
Twelve years ago, Mila Jackson’s three-year-old half-sister Coco disappeared during their father’s fiftieth birthday celebration, leaving behind her identical twin Ruby as the only witness. The girls’ father, Sean, was wealthy and influential, as were the friends gathered at their seaside vacation home for the weekend’s debauchery. The case ignited a media frenzy and forever changed the lives of everyone...
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