This is a great thriller, told through a range of characters all with their own secrets. Ben's brother and his friend were brutally killed by two teenage girls twenty years ago. Many of the other teenagers and teachers at the time are still living locally. Ben's mother has also quite unexpectedly taken her own life which has compounded his trauma. As an investigative journalist himself he tries to find out the truth about what happened before someone else tells his story. The novel twists and turns full of both unlikeable and sympathetic characters. The end is a shocking surprise.

Journalist Ben Harper is the younger brother of someone who was brutally murdered. The twentieth anniversary of Nick Harper's killing is looming. Nick and his best friend, Simon Woakes were both fourteen when they were found in Haddley woods, murdered by two girls, Abigail Langdon and Josie Fairchild; Ben was only eight. Twelve years later, when Ben was 20, his mum, Clare apparently killed herself, and his boss, Madeline wants him to write an article about it called Remembering Clare Harper for their news website. Ben is reluctant but when one of Nick and Simon's then-teenage killers is found dead, Ben reconsiders and he chases a big crime exclusive, his own life story. In a complex narrative, close attention is required as the vast array of characters that form the Haddley and St Marnham community and their lives weave an intricate web of connections to Ben and the tragedy all those years ago. Most harbour secrets in this fascinating tale. The first of a series, the creation of the central protagonist, Ben Harper, is an achievement by Robert Gold. There is suspense and tension galore in this wonderfully plotted story with its terrific cast of characters. Dark and captivating I found Twelve Secrets an enthralling début and I intend to follow this promising series. A special thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Sphere, Robert Gold, NetGalley and Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read. This review is my unbiased opinion.

When Ben Harper was eight his fourteen year old brother Nick and Simon, his best friend, were brutally murdered in the woods near their homes in Haddley, a fictional small town on the SW edge of London. Ben had found the bodies after he saw the boys sneaking off with two local fourteen year old girls and followed them. The girls were jailed and Ben and his mother, with the help of the local community, carry on with their lives despite the horror. Even when the girls, now women, were released into the community with new identities, Ben and his mother weathered the further heartache and carried on with their work and home lives. At least that was what everyone, including Ben, believed until she committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Now, ten years after that event, Ben is an investigative reporter for an on-line news agency and is asked by his boss, Madelaine, to write an article based on the ramifications of the suicide. He refuses, but circumstances affecting the released prisoners and a possible association with his mother force him to start reopening the memories kept by members of the community. That community forms the background, and indeed backbone, of the book. Is anyone, even friends and neighbours he has known all his life, who they seem? What are the connections with the inter-school rugby final that Nick’s team had won shortly before the murders? Are the family from the big house quite as aloof from the town as they appear? Where are the girls now? The questions pile up and the secrets start to explode. The story is very well written and constructed from two viewpoints, Ben’s, told in the first person and providing the narrative timetable and most of the historical details, and the omniscient viewer’s, told in third person, of course, and providing information about the other characters, their histories and interactions. This is a lot of information – the book is over 400 pages and almost every page provides an item contributing to the complexity of the plot and the crossing timeframes – so the reader needs to be on top of their game. I thought at various points that I’d solved the mysteries, but I didn’t fully get them all until almost the end (and even then there was a solution to a minor mystery than I hadn’t really noted was a mystery). Books this good are very rare. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

What a great debut! An excellent, crime mystery, which I'm pleased to see is the start of a series featuring Ben Harper. He is a true crime journalist. In this book, after being pressurised into writing an investigative article about his brother's murder and Mum's consequent suicide, he unravels the eponymous twelve secrets. Gripping stuff! Truly unputdownable! Many thanks to Pigeonhole and Robert Gold for the chance to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a gripping start to a new series! Meet Ben Harper, an investigative journalist. This novel sets the series up brilliantly, introducing the variety of many characters in the small town of Haddley, making up the tight-knit community, all knowing the background to and supporting Ben. The plot, a new murder, reflects back onto the murder of Ben’s older brother twenty years before. And so the story starts to draw in people and their role in the current community, and the questions and the pace picks up. I was involved from the start, following all the threads and clues and felt I was on the trail of solving the mystery. Nope! How wrong was I? The tension and the urgency are, at times, quite palpable. Another brilliant read and one I would strongly recommend, looking forward to following this series and rejoining Ben and his friends for another exciting investigation.