Book review: All My Secrets by Sophie McKenzie

Only days after finishing her GCSE exams, Evie Brown is staggered to learn that she is about to inherit £10million... but the money comes with some shocking revelations.
All My Secrets by Sophie McKenzieAll My Secrets by Sophie McKenzie
All My Secrets by Sophie McKenzie

Until this moment, the teenager’s life has unknowingly been ‘a riddle… bound tightly by a lie’ and discovering who she really is turns out be more dangerous than she could ever have imagined.

Sophie McKenzie, award-winning author of a range of teen thrillers, blends mystery, suspense and romance in a gripping novel which moves from suburban Hertfordshire to the wilds of a remote Scottish island.

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Inspired by her own memorable visit to the Isle of Skye as a teenager, McKenzie conjures up the rugged coastline and untamed beauty of an enthralling Celtic landscape in this contemporary twist on a classic adventure story.

Why would anyone, least of all a woman she has never heard of, leave ordinary Evie Brown a £10million fortune? The answer is that the late Irina Galloway was Evie’s ‘real’ mother, and for the last fifteen or so years her parents have been lying to her.

And when they remain reluctant to talk, Evie decides to make her own enquiries, including travelling alone to Scotland and meeting up with her dead mother’s brother.

With her life and emotions in turmoil, Evie is persuaded by her parents and her new uncle, Gavin, to spend a few weeks of the summer holidays at Lightsea House, a centre for teenagers coping with trauma, which sits on its own remote island off the west coast of Scotland.

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There she meets a five other youngsters, all with problems of their own, including Kit, the boy with the celebrity good looks who sets her heart fluttering. But Lightsea, Evie soon discovers, is reputedly haunted and before long, she becomes embroiled in even darker secrets which threaten everything she holds dear... including her life.

Using a tantalising mystery, some high-tension action and her trademark talent for inventive plotting, McKenzie springs more than a few surprises as Evie uncovers a web of lies and some dramatic revelations.

McKenzie’s portrayal of youthful angst is always acutely observed, and the emotions, experiences and romantic tribulations of her cast of troubled teens are certain to strike a familiar chord.

The perfect launch pad for a summer of reading…

(Simon & Schuster, paperback, £7.99)

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