Mary Picken's Reviews > The Neighbour's Secret

I do love a good Sharon Bolton psychological thriller and this one is a cracker. Partly that’s because Sharon Bolton has a way of plotting her books with myriad twists and turns, a whole heap of misdirection and a belting way of building suspense until the reader feels as if their breath is caught and they are unable to take a breath until the scene is over.

You will get all this and more from The Neighbour’s Secret – a title with more than one meaning, as it turns out.

Anna Brown has recently moved to the small rural village of St Abel’s Chapel in the northern Lakes where she has opened a bakery and café below her living space in a row of adjoining cottages. The divine smells emanating from the café are enough to ensure the success of her new business.

St Abel’s Chapel is usually a quiet place, though scenic, nestled in by the lakeside. Now though, it is bustling as the annual gathering of a religious congregation takes place every summer which brings many families to the area. They keep themselves to themselves, but the economic prosperity that so many worshippers bring to this ‘summer camp’ style event is enough to keep the locals happy and limit their curiosity.

Our introduction to Anna comes through the first-person narration of her next-door neighbour, who is a clearly a busybody of massive proportions. I really enjoyed the voice of this character which is so well done. Not at all likeable, but strangely compelling as we see Anna and her activities through her neighbour’s eyes. Our dislike is enhanced by the knowledge that Anna is being spied upon pretty much 24/7 as the walls in these cottages are so thin that sometimes it is just paper that’s over the lath and plaster cracks.

Anna is interested in the fact that no-one is curious about these summer visitors, especially when she is warned off a right of way by some pretty heavy security when she heads out to go wild swimming. Her curiosity is further stirred when Connie, a young teenage girl from the camp turns to her for help. What she learns suggests that this gathering has more of a cult feel to it than an established religion and she’s determined to find out more.

The Neighbour’s Secret has a dual timeline which moves between this narrative and the story of 17-year-old Jago Morgan, a teenager with deep psychological problems. We meet him when he is first attending a psychiatrist after a violent episode at his private school. His parents are hoping that a diagnosis of mental health problems will help stop his expulsion.

These two threads make up the basis of this explosive psychological thriller. As Anna is driven to investigate the ‘Ingathering’ which is what the annual event is called, she has more questions about the strange events taking place there and the heavy security which surrounds it. Anna is fearful that something very bad is happening at this gathering; something that will bring harm to the Connie who was so desperate to get away from this place and who needed Anna’s help

Verdict: This is a twisty and unpredictable story, full of secrets, lies and some very dubious characters. It’s not at all easy to work out who the good guys are and Sharon Bolton brilliantly keeps all her plates spinning until the action-packed, revelatory end.

You may need to suspend some disbelief, but when the story telling and characterisation is as good as this, it’s very well worthwhile.