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The Hidden Truth

The gripping and suspenseful story of love, heartbreak and one devastating confession

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The suspenseful new novel from the million-copy bestselling author of Thursdays in the Park, The Anniversary, The Lie and The Affair

He was meant to be the perfect man, until she discovered the hidden truth ...

A gripping story of love, heartbreak and one devastating confession that changes everything.

Sara Tempest has been alone since her husband died and daughters left home. But over the course of one summer she meets and falls in love with the charming Bernard. The years of heartache and loneliness are finally behind her.

She quickly moves into his beautiful home on the wind battered cliffs of Hastings. But, after a while, she begins to wonder if Bernard is all he seems.

He's barely in touch with his children and with stifling reminders of his wife everywhere Sara looks, the walls begin to close in.

Then comes Bernard's confession and Sara's newfound happiness starts to crumble around her . . .

Praise for Hilary Boyd

'Hilary Boyd nails family dynamics and misplaced loyalties with pin-sharp precision in an impressively well-written tale' Daily Express

'I was ripping through this book . . . addictive' Evening Standard

'Boyd is as canny as Joanna Trollope at observing family life' Daily Mail

© Hilary Boyd 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 Contemporary Contemporary Romance Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Marriage Heartfelt

Critic reviews

Praise for Hilary Boyd
Smart, with true-to-life characters whose dilemmas will tear at your heartstrings
Boyd is terrific at cutting to the quick of modern relationships
Boyd is the mistress of the multi-layered story
All stars
Most relevant
Another great story from Hilary Boyd, with a lovely narration bringing the characters to life.

Another great book

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I always enjoy a Hilary Boyd book. I know that they will be well-written and a pleasure to read or listen to. This one is probably her best so far, I think.

I enjoyed finding out how the protagonist handles the situation[s] in which she finds herself...and I like the way that all her feelings and reasonings are taken into account. It is so refreshing to read about an older lady, for a change!

The narrator is excellent and has obviously "done her homework" [I think that otherwise there is some hesitation and mistakes with characterisation] because she knew exactly how the story was going to pan out. Very good!

Cannot wait for another new novel by Hilary Boyd...will it be another year? Oh dear!

Excellent

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I couldn't finish this. What a banal story about a dull bunch of middle class bores. The heroine was a goody two shoes of the first order who, it seems, 'nothing common did, or mean', which made her as fascinating as a piece of cardboard. The great 'secret' that her lover was keeping was so daft and mundane that I kept listening because I could not believe that that was it. With five hours to go I was sure something truly earth-shattering or horrific was going to be divulged. Not so. Just endless, tortuously polite angst about his great moral dilemma. Yawn. I fell asleep and missed two hours of the story buti didn't miss a thing. The final chapter, where everything was spelt out to a ludicrous degree, with every i dotted and every t crossed was too much for me. I bailed before I wasted one more second.

Dull story about dull people

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