#BlogTour-‘Your Guilty Secret’ by Rebecca Thornton

About the book…

You know Lara King. 

The top billing of the showbiz pages, you’ve seen her every morning; over your breakfast, on your commute to work. You know everything about her; you’ve dissected her life. 

Her perfect relationship with film-star Matthew Raine.
 Her beautiful six-year old daughter Ava. 

And so when a terrible incident shatters the family’s carefully constructed facade, a media frenzy ensues. 

What happens when the perfect woman begins to unravel? When her whole life is really just a lie? One she will do anything she can to stop you from finding out?

My thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for my gifted copy of ‘Your Guilty Secret’ by Rebecca Thornton.

What a book!

I honestly cannot believe the quality fo the debut novels I am so fortunate to read this year …and it’s only March!

‘Your Guilty Secret’ is a tour de force of information dangling, reveals and tantalising titbits which are teased out of the story of a celebrity whose child has gone missing.

Cleverly swapping between the narrative of mother, Lara King, international superstar and a blog/website called ‘ryan’s world’ , the self proclaimed ‘Number 1 fan’ of Lara and her daughter Ava, we , the readers, get to see both sides of the missing child investigation .

Lara and Ava were going to make a great announcement that had the eyes of the world upon them-but what did Ava see in the pool house that afternoon?

What happened to Lara in England before she got famous? Does she really not know who her daughter’s father is?

Whose secret is being kept, and is Ava’s disappearance after stopping at a roadside for her to answer a call of nature whilst her mother answers the phone, real or manufactured?

And who is behind ‘ryans world’?

What is going on?!

I cannot reveal any spoilers, other than that this book will keep you on the edge of your seat as you flip the pages with bated breath, hoping for a good outcome for Ava at the same time as Rebecca deftly juggles the multiple plot lines and time frames, leaving nothing smashing to the floor just superbly spinning plates.

I particularly like the inclusion of the comments section of Ryan’s site, as the investigation continues, it gives the story a very real life feel, as well as adding a layer of voyeurism to the plot. On the one hand the first person narrative makes it feel as though Lara is talking directly to you, whilst the website makes you feel like you are trawling online.

It gives the whole story such a ring of truth, right from the start as multiple people lay into Lara, from behind their keybords as her 911 call is released…

This is a brilliantly twisty thriller that keeps you hooked from page one, I really enjoyed it and would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and Rebecca Thornton for having me on the blog tour.

About the author…

REBECCA THORNTON is a journalist and runs an online advertising business. Her work has been published in Prospect magazine, the Daily Mail, the Jewish News, and the Sunday People. She was acting editor of an arts and culture magazine based in Jordan, and she’s reported from Kosovo, London, and elsewhere in the Middle East. Rebecca is a graduate of the Faber Academy and The Exclusives is her first novel. She lives in London.

Twitter @rebs_web

@BonnierZaffre