![The Children's Secret by [Nina Monroe]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51h4JJAfJmL.jpg)
THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS ASKING.
BUT THEY’RE NOT TELLING . . .
At a children’s party . . .
Nothing ever happens in a sleepy American town like Middlebrook. Until the shocking events of one hot Saturday afternoon when, at a back-to-school party, nine children sneak off to a barn. And one child is shot by another.
In the media storm that sweeps the nation . . .
The press are asking questions. About the type of parents who let their children play unsupervised in a house with guns. About how damaged a child must be to commit this kind of atrocity.
In the ensuing police investigation . . .
Two questions are the most urgent, and the most baffling. Of the nine children who were present in that barn, which one actually pulled the trigger?
And why are the others staying silent?
Incredibly gripping and gorgeously written, this is a spellbinding novel that asks how far we’ll go to protect our children, and how we can come together when so much divides us.
No. of pages:- 400 pages
Publisher:- Sphere
Date published:- will be published on September 7th 2021
Genre:- Suspense
I am having mixed feelings about this book.
Plot – the plot was interesting and intriguing, which is the main reason why I chose and requested for this ARC. Ten children were at a party and they were inside a stable when one of the children fired a gun, leaving another child in coma. The story basically tells about the effects of after shooting.
Let’s start with good things
–I like the diversity in this book–from all American families to Pakistani and British immigrants living in the small town of Texas.
–As I mentioned earlier, the plot was interesting and intriguing
–The first few parts of the book was interesting and left me hanging in some parts.
Now the bad things
— Though the writing was good, too much repetition in certain parts that left me bored with the book.
—The characters are all bland to me and I found Priscilla’s character so annoying. I do understand the distraught and distress she is in, considering the fact that it was her daughter who got shot and is in coma but come on, she didn’t have to turn this into a political agenda (oopsy, a bit of a spoiler here)
—400 pages is a lot for a story like this one. 200-300 pages would be more sufficient. Lot of unnecessary stuff that would leave the reader slightly bored
Nonetheless, I did enjoy this book and found this book more a family drama sort of thing than a mystery/thriller
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
THE CHILDREN’S SECRET is my first novel under my pen name, Nina Monroe – you can find my other novels, both for adults and young adults, under Virginia Macgregor.
I was born in Germany, spent my toddler years on the island of Corsica and moved to Oxford in England at aged five where I realised I had to learn English pretty fast if my five year old friends were going to understand a word I was saying!
I went to school and studied at Oxford before becoming an English teacher and working in boarding schools around the UK. Working with teenagers inspired me to write my YA novels, WISHBONES and AS FAR AS THE STARS. I still dream of writing a boarding school novel one day – those communities are filled to the brim with stories.
While I was teaching, I spent every spare minute I had – early in the morning, at weekends, on holidays – writing. When I met my husband he told me to take a year out to write and to see whether I could make it as a published author. I never looked back.
In 2016 I moved to New Hampshire in the US with my husband, my two year old daughter and our two cats. Living here inspired me to write THE CHILDREN’S SECRET: I wanted to explore the rich, complex and difficult issue of gun control through the lens of a small New Hampshire community. I now have three children and four cats and live in a lovely light blue house in Concord, New Hampshire and yes, my kids how have an American accent and you might, occasionally, find me saying diaper instead of nappy.
You can find my other novels under Virginia Macgregor: WHAT MILO SAW, THE RETURN OF NORAH WELLS, BEFORE I WAS YOURS, YOU FOUND ME, WISHBONES & AS FAR AS THE STARS.
Do look up my website for more about my books, information about my latest events and you can also a sign-up for my newsletter: http://www.virginiamacgregor.com.
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