How could I resist? When I requested this book it had no title, no author, no cover and no descriptive blurb - it just said Can You Keep a Secret? A secret book - how fun! Then once I received the galley I was instructed to go ahead and read it but not to talk about it anywhere until Halloween. I was even more intrigued and excited. Definitely a good piece of marketing!

As she recalls long buried childhood memories and fears that include a bizarre fairy tale involving a pear drum her stepmother used to tell her, Caro unearths forgotten family secrets, losing her tenuous hold on her sanity at the same time when she uncovers the truth of her origins.

During her career Adele has lived in Italy, Botswana and London. Now she lives happily in Surrey, UK with her husband, son and cat. Adele Parks does it again. She's already proved she can write a sparkling rom com, a moving love story and a lovingly researched historical novel, now she's taken on the domestic thriller genre and nailed it. Tightly plotted, brilliantly conceived and totally gripping This quote right here gives me the chills and really sets the tone of the story of the pear drum, a musical instrument that was often times the nightmare of Caro’s dreams. The story of the pear drum really holds such a significant impact on Caro and as the story progresses the meaning behind the pear dream becomes very clear and very frightening. The story of it is based on an old folktale about two little girls who are promised a reward if they behave badly, but with any story like this there are consequences. Caro’s story along with the two little girls from this particular folklore converge and I can see parallels between the two. It was such an interesting and eerie concept that was added to this story. I loved the book for the first quarter or so - I felt like the author did a great job setting the stage, and making the book atmospheric. I was intrigued about the odd occurrences that were happening at the house Caro was staying at, and was looking forward to getting some answers.

This book made me laugh, caught at my heart and then broke it. The story is clearly building to something but I didn't know what - I won't spoil it but this is definitely not one for public transport * A Case for Books *Always in for a good bit of story telling with Adele Parks and this book doesn't disappoint. Dealing with the sensitive issue of taking the wrong babies from hospital this spans 15 years before the truth comes out. Really well written, Adele manages to tell the tale while creating good believable characters and throwing in a few twists along the way. We're asking you to be brave and request this book without knowing the title or the plot. If you're approved, you'll get to read a brand new psychological thriller and we ask that you keep everything secret until Halloween 2018 when we'll reveal all... A thrilling cross-generational love story. We can't think of many authors who create more flawed and loveable characters * Glamour * The ending is decent, not a sappy happy ever after but darker than the entire narrative that came before it.

The final quarter of the book did increase the suspense and tension but the revelations as they came along were rather unrealistic and all in all I found the whole story tedious and nowhere near as dark as billed. I found the bulk of the book to be really slow. There is a whole lot of action crammed into the last part of the book but for most of the book, it didn't feel like a whole lot happened. We spend a lot of time in Caro's head thinking about all the things she doesn't know and I hate to that it got old pretty fast. I did wonder if Caro would prove to be an unreliable narrator simply because she seemed so clueless about so many things. The way that the author creates tension around the house was very effective and I was curious to see how it would all play out. A noise draws her up to the attic where she finds Elizabeth’s “Pear Drum”. Why does the musical instrument terrify her? Why is there so much of her childhood that she cannot remember? And can it really be coincidental that the book of fairytales she is illustrating contains the same story of a Pear Drum that her stepmother used to scare her with when she was misbehaving?After the death of her stepmother, Caro moves into the country house to sort through personal belongings and tidy up any loose ends while awaiting probate to be finalised regarding their father's estate. Unbeknownst to Caro, there is one loose end somebody else has been waiting to tidy up for many years. Along with the house, comes a number of outbuildings and an attached cottage with a sitting tenant, Craig, with whom she forms more than just a casual friendship. The characters are vibrant and easy for the reader to get to know and fool the reader as well ( well they did me ) No one has any redeeming qualities, is neither interesting or likable or even bad enough to enjoy the fun of disliking.

Second, once again, we have a weak and overwrought female who needs a man in her life to feel special and valued. Let me tell you I was not disappointed. This was a really good psychological thriller that drew you in, kept you hooked and kept you wondering what was going to happen next. It was tense, creepy, and well-written - what more could you want?In brief - If you define a book by the fact that you say "I'll just read one more chapter" and you read 3 or 4 this is not a bad read. The notion of Caro returning to her childhood home in Derbyshire after her stepmother dies unexpectedly is also a great hook, especially as Caro starts to uncover memories of why she didn't practically enjoy growing up there. Picture the scene,I was scrolling through Netgalley (as most book addicts probably do every day) when I came across this book. It had no synopsis,no title,it didnt even have a cover yet. Very intreguing and mysterious and being a person who can't resist books that are intreguing and mysterious,I just had to request it. Sometimes taking a risk on something works and sometimes it doesn't. In this case the risk was most definitely worth it. Two sisters that have lost touch are reconnected after their stepmother dies unexpectedly. Neither of the girls has seen Elizabeth in years, and neither seems to be heart-broken over her death. Steph—the oldest sister—moved out of the house at 16 and landed in the States, while Caro stayed in the UK, living near London to pursue a career as an illustrator. The writing here isn’t bad. The characters are believable; the dialogue, realistic. I did take issue with the commission Caroline was hired to complete. The title of the volume of fairy tales was The Pear Drum and Other Dark Tales From the Nursery. The reader learns that a pear drum was an object that played an important role in Caroline’s childhood. As I’ve never heard of a pear drum, I found this coincidence beyond believable. Perhaps somewhere there is a community of pear drum fans who see these every day and play them with regularity. For those readers, the coincidence may very well be one that rings true, but for those of us more pear drum naive, it was too much to believe—and I wanted it to be too much for Caroline as well. Her refusal to even discuss or consider the fact that a pear drum played such a negative role in her growing up and then it suddenly surfaces in a series of tales that seem to strangely reflect her own experiences is worthy of a face palm. Another thing that fell apart for me was the conclusion. Without spoilers, suffice it to say that I wanted more answers about the characters’ motivations and intent, as I felt unable to discern the final truth amidst the misdirections and lies. The shallow approach to drawing this story to a close was cheap and rushed. I invested the time in the reading and wanted to feel like there was some sort of payoff for my investment. Instead, it was hollow and unresolved.