A Guilty Secret by Philippa East

 

Five friends swear a pact to never tell exactly what happened one evening in 2003. Sixteen years later someone has unearthed their secret and threatens to expose them, but which of the friends is it?

A Guilty Secret by Philippa East is a tantalising read. There are a number of secrets buried within this story which are frequently hinted at, however, the author does an excellent job of not revealing them, keeping the reader hanging on until the very end.

We have a story told in two time frames. Opening in 2003 we meet a group of five friends, Mae, Serena, Victor, Alex and Carrie, all students at a boarding school in Scotland. From the outset, we know something terrible has happened as the group swears a pact to never tell. Throughout the book we return to 2003, discovering how the friendship group came about and the antics leading up to the fateful night in question.

The rest of the book is set in 2019, focusing on some of the friends discovering that their secret is about to be revealed and desperately trying to figure out who is responsible and track them down. While all of this is happening we are introduced to two new characters, Finn and Mhairi.

Finn and Mhairi are divorced and haven’t spoken for a number of years. It is the unexpected death of a friend in common that reconnects them. Neither can believe that their friend Kate would commit suicide. Being a therapist they always thought of Kate as strong, capable and stable. Disbelief and guilt cause them to dig into Kate’s recent past, trying to find out what caused her to take her own life.

As the two separate groups search for answers the storylines begin to entwine. The two threads circle around each other, frequently giving off hints as to what has happened, but everything is hazy, you can’t quite pin down exactly what has happened and how the two groups are connected.

The title really does spell out the theme of the whole novel; guilt. From the secret shared by the group of friends at the start, to the guilt between Finn and Mhairi. We learn how guilt has had a major impact on many of the life choices the group of friends have made. We also discover that both Finn and Mhairi feel guilty about the events which ended their marriage, alongside this is the guilt they both feel at the belief they ignored their friend when she really needed their support.

A gripping conclusion brings everyone together, revealing the events of 2003 and how they are connected to a tragic suicide in 2019.

A Guilty Secret by Philippa East will be published on 18^th January 2024 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for a review copy.