Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lake is Louise Douglas at her brilliant best' Tammy Cohen, author of The Broken As well as the mystery, Louise Douglas drew me in to the Sicilian way of life and the landscape. The setting is stunning. Villa Alba in its decline felt authentic with whispers of its past echoing around the rooms.

I must admit to enjoying the author's writing style. I have had more success with her earlier works, but I continue to give the new ones a try just because of the way she introduces the people and the surroundings. Maddalena Borgata pleads for April to come to Sicily to help prove her father Enzo’s innocence in his wife’s disappearance 35 years ago. The case has been reopened by a dogged, sensational seeking popular tv host who stops at nothing to take his targets down. Louise Douglas has made some great, intriguing characters, and when the story starts, poor Enzo is still being accused of murder thirty five years after the event, even though there was no supporting evidence to prove it. This is where April comes in. A former policelady, she is asked by her old estranged childhood friend to help them to clear his name. They had fallen out years ago over a man and never spoken till now. This shows how desperate Maddalena is to clear her father's name and give him some peace in his later years. A crime investigation show is also highlighting this case, and it seems the host, Milo Conti, has already decided Enzo is guilty!. There are HUGE surprises in 2003 that we later find out more about in Irene’s narration. Halfway through, my jaw was hanging open and I’m thinking wow, this changes EVERYTHING!

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You get a sense of so many things not being said. I struggled to pinpoint what exactly happened and who was responsible. Of course, I made guesses based on what I knew but in all honesty? I had no idea what happened to Irene in that bleak landscape at the side of the road. TV showman and true crime aficionado Milo Conti is Italy’s darling, uncovering and solving historic crimes for his legion of fans. When he turns his attention to the story of the missing Irene Borgata, accusing her husband of her murder, Enzo’s daughter Maddi asks her childhood friend, retired detective April Cobain, for help to prove her father’s innocence. But the tale April discovers is murky: mafia meetings, infidelity, mistaken identity, grief and unshakable love. As the world slowly closes in on the claustrophobic Villa Alba, and the house begins to reveal its secrets, will the Borgata family wish they’d never asked April to investigate? And what did happen to Enzo’s missing wife Irene? Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lakeis Louise Douglas at her brilliant best’ Tammy Cohen, author of The Broken I couldn't help but feel sad for all the parties involved in this mystery, from Irene to Enzo to Maddie to Donatella and her family. Whatever happened - it wasn't anybody's fault, per se. Just two sad people who thought they could lead a happy life but didn't expect the surprises that life had in store for them.

April finds a challenging situation. She pursues various leads and fights to save a man who’d been kind to her when she was so much younger and Maddie’s best friend. Enzo’s daughter, Maddalena, enlists the help of an estranged best friend, April Cobain, to help find out what happened to Irene all those years ago and to clear her father’s name. He is being ‘accused’ publicly of Irene’s murder by a true crime TV presenter and the stress is making him ill. April is a retired DI and although she fell out with Maddalena, she was always fond of Enzo. With mention of Mafia connections to the family, April has many avenues to follow. The story is divided into two parts. The past is Irene's recollection of the events as they happened. The present ranges from Milo Conti's TV show to April's sleuthing to Enzo's refusal to speak out the truth.

The BRAND NEW new novel from Number 1 bestselling author Louise Douglas.

The Secret of Villa Alba is set up with really good characterisation throughout and sound storylines. The cast list is relatively small, which helps when keeping up with the who’s who in the villa. Yes, there were elements which I thought predictable, but these were served up with some perfectly plausible twists which made the novel compelling reading. In fact so much so that I read it in two sittings, racing way past my bedtime on one occasion! I would have liked a little more descriptive scenery, but the flow of dialogue made up for this. The secrets at the heart of Villa Alba entwine and tell a tale of a love so strong, nothing can stand in its way. I loved it! Though I like paranormal elements, I want them to be more than just ‘feelings’. We have quite a few references to ghosts and stuff, which go nowhere in the plot. This seems more like an attempt to create an atmosphere. It’s not necessary and only causes a distraction (I kept wondering if something will come out of it).