Dirty Little Secret by Jonathan Peace

Release: September 10th 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Crime Publishing Network
Source: Zooloos Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon UK, Amazon US

Ossett, West Yorkshire. March, 1987.

A town of flower shows, Maypole parades and Sunday football games. But behind all the closed doors and drawn curtains are hidden truths and shameful lies.

Discovering the body of a young girl dumped into a phone box at a local beauty spot, WDC Louise Miller’s first case as detective in her hometown is made harder by the sexism and misogyny of small-town policing. But her four years on the force in Manchester have prepared her for this and along with ally WPC Elizabeth Hines, the pair work the case together.

As their inquiries uncover the town’s hidden secrets, psychologist Karla Hayes offers insights into the troubled psychological problems of the victim, revealing dark truths that could lead to the identity of the killer.

But when a second girl goes missing, Louise realises that some secrets should stay hidden.

Including hers.

About the Author:

Jonathan Peace is a husband, cat-dad and author of the WDC Louise Miller novels.

A Yorkshire lad at heart, Jonathan sets his novels in a fictionalised version of his hometown of Ossett during the late ’80s and ’90s. His first crime novel, DIRTY LITTLE SECRET, book one of the WDC Louise Miller series, landed him the Peter James Bursary from the Crime Writers’ Association, resulting in full membership to the CWA.

He is currently writing the second in the series.

DIRTY LITTLE SECRET will be published by Crime Publishing Network in September 2021 and is available now to pre-order.

He now lives and works out of his home in Derbyshire, where he shares his writing office with his author wife, Lucy, and their three cats.

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Dirty Little Secret Review:

“Dirty Little Secret” is a gripping crime fiction novel that slowly grabs on to you.

The author takes some time to get into the mystery, but I did not mind. I enjoyed reading about Louise and the various reactions she had to deal with regarding her co-workers and being stereotyped. Louise is a charismatic character and stands out because of her self-confidence. It was interesting to see how Louise dealt with the investigation and handled working with her team.

The mystery is also exciting and slowly grabs you. Louise and her team initially don’t know much except for the dead girl they find with her eyes sewn shut. I particularly liked Manby. He is harsh around the edges, and initially, he has trouble working with Louise. But you can see how he grows to respect her as the story progresses. I also liked the level of detail the author added to the plot. Some scenes unnerved me, especially in the beginning when Joanna sees the shadow man or when we see Alan and the gruesome image of the cat. Even characters like Craig Johnson were mysterious and creepy.

I also liked how the author portrayed the 80s timeline, where Louise listens to cassettes in her walkman. The author paces the story wonderfully in the second half whee which leads to a gripping climax. I particularly like the storyline arc between Lindsey and Terry.

However, I felt the author could have avoided a few details. For instance, the scene where the drunk man accuses the shopkeeper did not add much to the storyline.

Apart from that, “Dirty Little Secret” is an entertaining crime fiction novel that I enjoyed reading.