#BlogTour-‘The Secretary’ by Renee Knight

Welcome to my blog tour entry for the fantastic ‘The Secretary’ by Renee Knight from Transworld Publishers, courtesy of Anne Cater from  Random Things.

About the Book…

Look around you. Who holds the most power in the room?

Is it the one who speaks loudest, who looks the part, who has the most money, who commands the most respect?

Or perhaps it’s someone like Christine Butcher: a meek,
overlooked figure, who silently bears witness as information is shared and secrets are whispered.

Someone who quietly, perhaps even unwittingly, gathers together knowledge of the people she’s there to serve – the ones who don’t notice her, the ones who consider themselves to be important.

There’s a fine line between loyalty and betrayal. And when someone like Christine Butcher is pushed to her limit, she might just become the most dangerous person in the room . . .

WOW! Literally WOW! Held spellbound by this second book by Renee Knight from front page to last, this book left me shaken!

Christine is a complex character, she has underlying issues from her childhood and her role as a temp, seemed to me, an effort to try and find her niche, try on different shoes, Cinderella style, till she found the perfect fit.

Witness/survivor to an accident that killed her mother at the age of 8, with an elderly father, husband and daughter relying on her, it is no wonder that in Mina Appleton that she found a place to make her own.

Mina, heir apparent to an ethical grocery business selling locally sourced fruit and vegetables is keen to get out from the shadow of her father. She hires Christine to temp for her and catches her out with almost a test type situation to assess her potential loyalty.

Passing successfully, Christine then insuinates herself into Mina’s work and home life making herself indispensable as both women’s personal lives come crashing down. Part character study interspersed with a courtroom drama wherein you are not entirely sure who is on trial for what, this reminded me of ‘All ABout Eve’. 

As a reader you are constantly wrong footed by Christine as an unreliable narrator-or is she?- contrasted with Mina whose motives are viewed only from Christine’s warped perspective.

It is only when you reach the end that the very last line echoes neatly back to the beginning and you feel that the story has ingeniously come both to a satisfying conclusion whilst allowing the mind of the reader to ponder ‘what next?’ It takes real talent to create such a suspenseful narrative which explores toxic friendships, manipulation by big corporations,and nation al issues such as land sales and decrease in local production. It’s a web of intrigue ,shock and counter shock as a cat and mouse game spins out of all control.

Highly recommended, I absolutely devoured it and cannot wait to see what Renee Knight does next!

‘The Secretary’ is out NOW in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats from all good bookshops.

About the Author..

Renée Knight worked as a
documentary-maker for the BBC
before turning to writing. She is a
graduate of the Faber Academy
‘Writing a Novel’ course, and lives
in London with her husband and two
children. Her widely acclaimed
debut novel,’Disclaimer‘, was
a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller. The
Secretary is her second novel.

Twitter @annecater

@DoubledayUK

@TransworldBooks