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If you have ever read an Adele Parks book, you know that her plots are never as straight forward as they may seem. Once Last Secret is a compelling read, with so many twists and turns you will not know if you are coming or going! I loved it. When a book continues to surprise me, it is a good thing as I don't think that I am easily surprised anymore. There are many twists and turns in this story and lots of secrets, the relationships in this story are realistically flawed and jaw dropping. At the funeral, Dora learns fiancé can swim and just let his dad die for torturing her. No one in super wealthy connected family is bothered that she’s a former escort so yay for her. If you want an engaging and wild story, One Last Secret is for you. A thriller that will keep you guessing, until the very end. Daisy and Simon are the featured characters and Simon is the one struggling (and losing) with alcohol. Things are spiraling out of control and there is a terrible incident one night after a party. We get to hear from both Daisy and Simon, so I appreciated hearing both sides of the tale. However, I did not gain any sympathy for either character, I am not sure if this was the author’s intent or just my perception of the book. I did enjoy Daisy’s female friendships and wish that had been more of the story.
Lies come in every shape and size. From a harmless, itty-bitty white lie, to show-stopping whoppers! And as the title would imply, this book has them all! During her career Adele has lived in Italy, Botswana and London. Now she lives happily in Surrey, UK with her husband, son and cat. I don’t want to give spoilers but plenty happens, some of it sad, some a bit silly. There are also some truly bizarre/problematic plot points that the author seems to just skim over. This is told mostly from the first person account of Dora/Teodora, who is a high end escort/sex worker. She isn't ashamed of the way she earns money, but when a client gets too rough she decides it's time to leave the business. Dora can't resist but take one last job as a favor to a client, a weekend away at a luxury home, yet what happens there is not what she was expecting.This book started off with a bang! And I was ooh! This is different! And these days different is as rare as a unicorn sighting! Daisy and Simon are desperate to have children. The turmoil and stress they have to go through as they undergo tests and fertility treatment is horrendous. Finally they have a daughter, Millie. But the stress of having her has taken its toll on them and their relationship. Simon has started drinking. They are starting to drift apart. Then a starting revelation at the fertility clinic changes their lives forever. I loved the start and sarcastic, straightforwardly blunt narration of Theodora/ Dora: thirty years old sex worker/ escort, honestly telling her work life, her clients, her only friend Evan, her struggles in her tough, survival tone. I liked her immediately! This novel started off strong. I felt emotionally connected to Daisy and Simon with their deep hearted struggle to expand their family. When the novels‘ focus turned to Simon’s alcoholism, my connection faded. Alcoholism is devastating and it is depicted quite well through this story. However, I did feel that at several points, it was overdone. Many scenes, descriptions and chapters surrounding Simon dragged on too long. I felt for Daisy but was also quite frustrated with her accepting many of her predicaments as is, instead of fighting for what was right.
The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. As the story developed, I could not believe some of the surprise revelations that Parks includes. At some points I was gasping in disbelief, finding myself re-reading some paragraphs in case I had missed something! There were some clever plot twists that come in the final chapters, so this is definitely a book you need to see through to the end to truly appreciate Parks thrilling narrative. Her fiancé shows up at the murder house. Dora explains little about what happened and her fiancé is confused about his dad. He leaves the room, seeing to agree to MURDER HIS FIANCÉ because his dad says so. Her captor gets drunk and explains everything while her fiancé is out of the room. She stabs dad, who falls into the pool and drowns because she and fiancé can’t swim. Fiancé has overheard drunken dad confession. Dora and fiancé cover up murder and/or self-defense homicide by burning down mansion which was also fiancé’s family summer home. It was abrupt but absolutely necessary! I was about to give 2 stars to this book! But last third changed my mind: at least so many of my questions answered even though they were far fetched explanations! This is a tale of a marriage that has each partner keeping secrets that lead to lies that ultimately poison the relationship and after a tragedy, the marriage implodes. Ms. Parks does an excellent job of keeping the reader engaged with plot twists that can completely change their perspectives. I feel she also does an excellent job of describing the fall from functional alcoholic to nonfunctioning. Yes, most of the problems, except for Simon’s alcoholism could have been solved if they just told the truth as problems occurred, but that does not happen until “The End”.
Maggie Boyd
But Simon and Daisy even with a shattered marriage have one common denominator...Millie, who they both love unconditionally. They will do anything to keep her safe. No matter what that entails. On the surface, Simon and Daisy's marriage looks perfect. He's an architect, she's a teacher, and they are parents to their beloved daughter, Millie, brought into the world after many years of trying to have a child. But looking beyond the perfection, you see the strain. Simon drinks too much, embarrassing Daisy and even Millie, though she may be too young to truly realize it. Their friends typically look the other way, expressing sympathy but not offering much help. Until the night of a friend's party, where things get out of control, and their lives change forever. Adele is on fire with One Last Secret. Deliciously deceptive and darkly satisfying. I loved it' Jane Fallon, Just Got Real An astonishing achievement, Parks gets better and better. The queen of the unpredictable thriller' Gillian McAllister, Wrong Place Wrong Time This was a sultry, suspenseful read. It is quite slow to get going but the tension builds to unexpected revelations at the closing.
A week at a beautiful chateau in the south of France – it should be a straightforward final job for Dora. She’s a smart, stunning and discreet escort and Daniel has paid for her services before. This time, all she has to do is to convince the assembled guests that she is his girlfriend. Dora is used to playing roles and being whatever men want her to be. It’s all about putting on a front. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.With so many lies, can either of them really trust the other to offer up the truth? Could they possibly work through all the falsehoods they have told? For Millie's sake?
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