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  • The Secrets of Strangers

  • By: Charity Norman
  • Narrated by: Julie Maisey
  • Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (2,064 ratings)

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The Secrets of Strangers cover art

The Secrets of Strangers

By: Charity Norman
Narrated by: Julie Maisey
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Summary

A regular weekday morning veers drastically off-course for a group of strangers whose paths cross in a London café - their lives never to be the same again when an apparently crazed gunman holds them hostage. 

But there is more to the situation than first meets the eye, and as the captives grapple with their own inner demons, the line between right and wrong starts to blur. Will the secrets they keep stop them from escaping with their lives?

Another tense, multi-dimensional drama from the writer of the Richard & Judy best seller After the Fall.

©2020 Charity Norman (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd

What listeners say about The Secrets of Strangers

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The best book I’ve ever listened to.

I don’t have adequate language to recommend this book. It was the most exquisite experience and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I just wish that I had someone to discuss it with!

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43 people found this helpful

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Can’t help but say....

I did enjoy this although found it a bit slow at times. And it is very moving. However, there is a hilarious elephant in the room, which I couldn’t quite get over - basically there’s a body and they turn the heating up full. In my experience the smell starts within an hour on a hot day - kind of unimaginable after an entire day - not to mention what a dog would make of it - just saying 😂

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28 people found this helpful

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Totally engaging.

I loved this book. The whole thing had me gripped. I cried, I fretted and I felt for the people involved in the story.

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24 people found this helpful

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My favourite book of the year!

I have never read anything by Charity Norman but I was intrigued by the blurb about this book. However the book I read was not the crime thriller I expected about a hostage situation in London. It was so much more.

This is an amazing, extraordinary, brilliantly crafted thriller that grabs you from the start and never let's you go! The book is very tense and edgy, and totally realistic. It made me feel like I was right there in the Tuckbox Cafe. The characters are brilliantly drawn. I felt like I knew every single one of them personally and really cared about what happened to them. I went through a roller-coaster of emotions. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking and I listened to much of it in tears. The ending, when it came, was totally apt.

The narration by Julie Maisey was spot and and helped me immerse myself in the story.

This is a book which will stay with me, and it's my favourite book of the year.

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20 people found this helpful

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Really good read!

This story kept me hooked all the way through. The varying storylines all intertwined to keep my interest and the end was riveting.

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15 people found this helpful

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Gripping to the end....

.... I literally couldn’t stop listening. So much realness, if that’s even a world. Real people, real emotion, relatable. Can’t help but feel empathy with all the characters. Loved it.

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10 people found this helpful

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Such a moving story.5* highly recommended

One of the best reads I’ve ever read. Absolutely moving ending. Have never cried so much over a book.
Didn’t want it to end!
5* story.
Thank you Charity Norman

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6 people found this helpful

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Gripping and Brilliant

It's not often I leave a review, especially not a written one but I couldn't not for this book. What a brilliant book, I could hardly put it down (well, pause listening!), best book I've read in ages! I highly recommend!

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5 people found this helpful

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Hostage tension with an undercurrent of TLC

I have read a couple of Charity Norman books and she tackles some great subjects with care and diligence to make a great novel for all to enjoy.
Ms Norman has a power to get into the human psyche and write about believable characters who I feel I know personally. There is real tension after we are introduced to the characters this builds as the standoff and hostage situation unfolds.
I like the way she unraveled Sam's story, and the lives of the other principal characters Abi, Neil and Mutesi.
They are all so different but became a unit of solidarity at the Tuck box cafe.
Highly recommend this talented author and thank you to the incredible narration by Julie Masey who breathed life, depth and real meaning into this marvelous novel.

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4 people found this helpful

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Brilliant

I love books with different points of view. This was just great. I loved it.

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4 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 03-06-23

A deep and compelling story

This book provides such deep insight into the stories of strangers lives. I can’t imagine this plot actually coming true in a hostage situation but that does not detract from the story at all. The story is very believable and goes into a level of detail that draws the reader into the lives of the characters. It gets hard to stop listening as you become more and more curious about the final outcome. It is well worth listening to. Well worth the money. The narrators are also excellent and the different accents chosen perfectly for the roles.

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  • Reviewer
  • 11-05-23

Emotional

Felt totally caught up in the book. Loved the characters and it had me welling up in parts. Beautifully read.

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