Each character in this coruscating, twisting and turning drama is drawn to absolute perfection and the smart and sassy Dora proves to be one of her most memorable protagonists yet… a realist and a survivor, she has a backstory that unfolds revealingly amidst the menace that threatens to overwhelm her on her secret last fling. Told in the first person, primarily from Dora’s perspective, the story is engaging and evocative throughout. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/ MIRA for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

One Last Secret — Adele Parks One Last Secret — Adele Parks

And she was the central character in If It Bleeds, a novella in the 2020 collection of the same name.Dora expects she’ll continue in her line of work indefinitely—until the day a client beats her badly enough to send her to the hospital. Just My Luck, Lies Lies Lies, and Woman Last Scene, were amongst some of my favorites BUT after reading One Last Secret, this one instantly became my most favored of all.

A Juicy Domestic Thriller: Read Our Review of One Last Secret

He needs a pretending girlfriend urgently and Dora knows him so well, she’s the only one who can make his friends believe in their relationship! We learn about her lifestyle and how she came to work as a high classed escort until one encounter leaves her bloodied and bruised. With a plot that is far from conventional, complete with an alluring main protagonist, a suspect outer cast and a flashy setting, One Last Secret will keep you guessing until the bitter end. I think it’s an honest one – and a respectful one – but the ABCs of sex work do not an exciting thriller make.I was equally into the both the present and past sections of lead character Dora's life and the twists were enjoyable and surprising. I didn’t really guess any of the twists (except for what was going on at the chateau – and even then, I was only partially right). Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA, HCC and Netgalley for the gifted e-ARC to read and review.

One Last Secret (Audio Download): Adele Parks, Kristin One Last Secret (Audio Download): Adele Parks, Kristin

Contradictions are part of humans but couldn’t explain how a woman who rejects to terminate her pregnancy then let her child go to her mother. It should an easy piece of role-play for the experienced Dora, but one of the guests is known to her and he poses a danger more deadly than she could ever have imagined.

One Last Secret by Adele Parks is engaging and twisty, this psychological thriller will hold your attention that’s for sure! As the book progresses, we see how a typical day unfolds from Dora’s perspective and this was quite the eye opener. The audiobook recording wasn’t great so that perhaps didn’t help - from the awful Serbian accents to the odd male voices the female narrator put on. Dora and fiancé cover up murder and/or self-defense homicide by burning down mansion which was also fiancé’s family summer home.

Book review: One Last Secret by Adele Parks - Debbish

The horrible experiences she suffers at the château are repetitive and go on too long, but vibrant, intelligent Dora, who reveals with Scheherazade-like skill telling details about her past, proves more than equal to the life-threatening struggle she's forced to face. Dora can’t resist taking one last job - escorting a regular to a French château and pretending to be his girlfriend. I would like to thank both Netgalley and HQ for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. The last third of the book – where everything starts to come together – was definitely a roller coaster. As a ‘lady of the night’, Dora’s frank, blunt narrative is very honest and it felt like she was talking directly to me as a reader.When she’s beaten by a dangerous client, she’s more than a little shaken and her millionaire boy best friend offers her an out.