Little Secrets in Aussie Readers

Oct 06, 2017 Brenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, thriller, arc, own-read, 2017-release, aussie-authors, net-galley, mystery, read-on-kindle

As the local courthouse burned in the small town of Colmstock in country Australia, the shock of the police and fire crew turned to desperation – there was someone inside and there would be no getting them out alive. Was it arson?

As Rose Blakey’s time for moving out of the only home she’d known all her life moved closer, her desperation at the continued rejections from newspapers all over the country heightened. She had wanted to be a journalist for as long as she could remember. The waitressing ...more

35 likes · Like · see review

Dec 14, 2017 Bree T rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-version, netgalley, arc, psuedo-mystery, crime, australian, aww2017

I found this book very unsatisfying, despite all of the hype around it and the praise I’ve read.

There are several things happening here – firstly there’s an arsonist in the small town of Colmstock and the latest fire claimed the life of a young boy. Then residents start finding small doll’s on their front steps, which look eerily like their young daughters. And Rose Blakey, 25, is desperate for a break that will kickstart the career she so desperately wants – journalist. She sees opportunity whe I found this book very unsatisfying, despite all of the hype around it and the praise I’ve read.

There are several things happening here – firstly there’s an arsonist in the small town of Colmstock and the latest fire claimed the life of a young boy. Then residents start finding small doll’s on their front steps, which look eerily like their young daughters. And Rose Blakey, 25, is desperate for a break that will kickstart the career she so desperately wants – journalist. She sees opportunity when knocked back on yet another application. She’s in a unique position to bring what’s happening in Colmstock to the wider community and there’s not much she wouldn’t do in order to get what she wants. The time is ticking and Rose is on a deadline.

The premise intrigued me and the set up was quite good. Snoekstra does a good job of nailing a dying town. The unemployment is high, there’s a meth problem, the local newspaper has closed and families are struggling to get by. Rose’s own mother works long hours at a chicken production plant and her stepfather is gone days at a time supposedly driving trucks. Rose still lives at home although her stepfather has made it clear that it’s time she moved on. They need the room, he and her mother have three young kids of their own. Rose herself works at the local pub pulling beers for the local police community and anyone else that might wander in to blow the week’s wages.

The arson is very dramatic and the dolls seem very creepy so I think I was probably enjoying this for the first third or so but then….it kind of loses its way for me. Pretty much everyone is horrible in this book and there are some episodes of gross behaviour from so many. Rose is actually a big disappointment as a main character although perhaps she really has picked the most perfect career that she could, given her actions in this novel. I am not sure if what happens with her getting published would be likely but her articles all felt ridiculously Daily Mail-esque with terrible writing. Her friend I had some sympathy for in the beginning as her life seems very difficult and it’s clear she needs some stability. She’s quite willing to throw Rose under the bus in order to get it though. The behaviour of the local police force is abominable in a myriad of ways without even the most basic of understanding about what the difference between homosexuality and pedophilia is. They’re a sad portrayal of a country police force but to be honest, I didn’t have to stretch my imagination too far in order for it to seem credible but I feel as though it went a bit too far after the first incident. The second one was just bizarre.

My biggest problem was that a lot of the resolutions were just…..lackluster. The build up had been good for a while but it was only in the last few pages that one important aspect of the story was resolved and it actually made me laugh when I read it (and not in a good way). It just seemed so silly. Also the book was littered with inconsistent characters (Rose’s stepfather being the primary one) and there were 4 or 5 threads going on that it felt as though none of them could really be done properly.

A disappointing read unfortunately.

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for the purposes of a review** ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2017 Kathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

Set in a slowly dying town in Australia, Little Secrets by Anna Snoekstra is an intriguing mystery that begins with arson and quickly moves to the creepy porcelain dolls being left for the townspeople's children.

Rose Blakey's mom and stepfather are forcing her to move out of the family home and she is counting on a cadetship with a newspaper to help her realize her dream of becoming a journalist. In the meantime, her hometown of Colmstock is plagued by a series of fires and unfortunatel 3.5 stars

Set in a slowly dying town in Australia, Little Secrets by Anna Snoekstra is an intriguing mystery that begins with arson and quickly moves to the creepy porcelain dolls being left for the townspeople's children.

Rose Blakey's mom and stepfather are forcing her to move out of the family home and she is counting on a cadetship with a newspaper to help her realize her dream of becoming a journalist. In the meantime, her hometown of Colmstock is plagued by a series of fires and unfortunately, the latest fire claimed the life of thirteen year old Ben Riley. When a porcelain doll is delivered to her home that bears an eerie resemblance to her younger sister Laura, Rose is shocked to discover a few other children have also received similar gifts. In an order to jumpstart her journalist career, Rose writes a sensational story that is published by a tabloid. Under intense pressure, the police investigation fails to uncover any leads. Rose's subsequent articles ratchet up the town's fears but they lead to unintended consequences.

Rose and her best friend Mia are working dead end jobs at the local tavern. While Mia seems resigned to remaining in Colmstock and marrying a local, Rose is ambitious and cannot wait to leave the economically depressed town behind. Growing desperate following numerous rejections for her articles, she eagerly takes advantage of the uneasiness of the town's residents following young Ben's death and the deliveries of the frightening dolls. Rose also exploits the cops who visit the tavern to get insider information for her titillating articles. As events begin to spiral out of control, how far is Rose willing to go in her pursuit of her ambitions? How many people will suffer the consequences of her actions?

Little Secrets is a rather slow-moving novel and quite frankly, none of the characters, including Rose, are particularly likable. The storyline is interesting and the town's decay, the townspeople's fears for their safety and their economic struggles are palpable. Despite the unlikable characters, the bleak setting and the story's slow pace, Anna Snoekstra brings the novel to a twist-filled conclusion that very neatly ties up all the various story arcs loose threads. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 22, 2018 Tanya rated it really liked it

Rose dreams of escaping the small town she has spent her whole life. A young boy is killed in a fire, and young girls start receiving dolls that look like them. Rose starts writing freelance articles for a tabloid, and her hopes of becoming a journalist and starting her own life being to take form.

Look, I've got to be honest, this isn't a 'nice' story. It's depressing and hopeless and actually quite disturbing in a few parts. But, it is also addictive. Even though parts of the story made me feel ...more

Like · see review

Mar 20, 2020 Josie rated it really liked it

This is the 2nd novel of Anna Snoekstra's that I have read and I love being taken back to the heat and remoteness of the locations she bases her books on.
She is definitely an author I am enjoying, her clever plot twists and the layers and dimensions she puts into her plots make for a very enjoyable journey of suspense and drama that will press you to read it at a relentless pace, until you have reached the unveiling end.
I look forward to reading more of her books in the future. ...more

Like · see review