The Darkest Secret

A Novel

By: Alex Marwood

Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Real estate mogul Sean Jackson is throwing himself a splashy 50th birthday party, but trouble starts almost immediately: His ex-wife has sent his teenage daughters to the party without telling him; his current wife has fired the nanny; and he's finding it difficult to sneak away to his mistress. Then something truly terrible happens: one of his three-year-old twins goes missing. No trace of her is ever found. The attendees of the party, nicknamed the Jackson Associates by the press, become infamous overnight. Twelve years later, Sean is dead. The Jackson Associates assemble for the funeral, together for the first time since that fateful weekend. Soon the barbed comments and accusations are flying. By the end of the weekend, one will be dead. And one of Sean's daughters will make a shocking discovery.

©2016 Alex Marwood (P)2016 Tantor

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If I say anything it will ruin the fun. Just read it!!! It is well worth it

12 hours I can't get back

What a SLOW start to a predictable, boring, drawn out story. I only kept listening in hopes that it would pick up & something would happen to make my time invested worthwhile. I was extremely disappointed. The narrator annoyed me on top of it all. I would look elsewhere for a book to listen to.

Surprisingly satisfying!

Any additional comments?

First I wasn't familiar with the narrator Beverley A. Crick, she did an outstanding job with the various characters' voices and I will definitely listen to her again. The book overall kept me interested although I thought some of the characters could have been fleshed out a little more. I went into the listen thinking I knew what to expect, i.e. your typical "missing child" mystery ...boy was I wrong, there was lot more going on here and that made the listen interesting. With lots of twists and turns right up to the end, I gave it 4 stars and will look for more from this author.

The darkest secret

Way to slow but powered thru till the end. Should have just skipped to the end.

Great writing....dark humor and tragic at the same time

Love the snarky, the cynical narration. The narrator nailed the feel of the book. The dark, yet comical absurdity of it all.
I felt a range of emotions reading this book. Empathy, anger , frustration, and I was completely entertained. I guess it’s my type book. It may not suit everyone, but it hit the mark for me. A bunch of insipid, self centered, shallow characters getting raked over the coals is just what the Dr. ordered.;-)

Colorful Characters

Where does The Darkest Secret rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Hmm...I'd say somewhere in the middle.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I honestly liked the story, but I would have enjoyed it more if the flow from past to present had been more obvious.

What does Beverley A. Crick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great narration, enjoyed her voice and ability to change characters.

Any additional comments?

I thought the story was good, but in my opinion it does not make for a great "audio" experience. I don't mind a story jumping back and forth in time, but I found on more than one occasion I was wondering whether it was present day or past.

excellent book that keeps you guessing

loved this story! from the characters, to the preformance, i was pleased, and powered through it...i was only sad when it was over. loved the main character! great read!

Decent book ...

Somewhat of a spoiler ... I absolutely did NOT like the ending! That is all.

Left Me Wanting More

But not in a good way. There were a lot of unanswered questions, when presented properly, were fine. But, despite understanding what the author was trying to accomplish...I didn't like that many of the characters walked away never knowing the truth. I wouldn't have minded a little more "meat" in this story.

Ripped from the headlines!

What did you love best about The Darkest Secret?

Great ending

Who was your favorite character and why?

Maria. I liked her control

What does Beverley A. Crick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Love those clear Brit accents. She did some emoting but for the most part just read it. Clear and understandable.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When they gave all the children medications to knock them out. I can't imagine what a Mother could be thinking to allow it.

Any additional comments?

Started off like a crime case that everybody knows and then took off. I wondered if the author had just been thinking about that famous case and thought "hmmmm....what if?" Very surprising book.