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The Secretary cover art

The Secretary

By: Renée Knight
Narrated by: Victoria Hamilton
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The eagerly anticipated new thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of
Disclaimer.

'Poised to establish herself as a big name' Telegraph

Look around you. Who holds the most power in the room? Is it the one who speaks loudest, who looks the part, who has the most money, who commands the most respect?

Or perhaps it’s someone like Christine Butcher: a meek, overlooked figure, who silently bears witness as information is shared and secrets are whispered. Someone who quietly, perhaps even unwittingly, gathers together knowledge of the people she’s there to serve – the ones who don’t notice her, the ones who consider themselves to be important.

There’s a fine line between loyalty and betrayal. And when someone like Christine Butcher is pushed to her limit, she might just become the most dangerous person in the room . . .

©2019 Renée Knight (P)2019 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Poised to establish herself as a big name." (The Telegraph)

What listeners say about The Secretary

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Not what I expected but definitely worth it!

I was rather put off by the cover image so was not expecting such a captivating book; I did not want to stop listening!

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  • Overall
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great read

wow this was really good. I got involved straight away and listened to it in a day whilst painting. narrator was great and I dont usually like female narrators. well worth listening too. just downloaded another 1 of her books

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Written from the perspective of a self-righteous idiot

I find it hard to believe that anyone could be as stupid as the secretary, Christine Butcher, who allows herself to be demeaned and walked over rather than care for her own family. No wonder she was taken advantage off, she was too full of her own importance to see it. And then she became vindictive. Oh please! She offered herself up for abuse. Surely it is necessary to be able to relate to characters at least a bit.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Predictable

A good listen on the whole and beautifully narrated but lacks the edge of Disclaimer. Nevertheless an author in the making. Looking forward to her next novel.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Dull

I couldn't wait to buy this book after enjoying Renee Knight's "Disclaimer", which I absolutely loved!
Now I wish I'd taken more notice of the few negative reviews before I bought it.
Listening to it, made me feel like I was trapped with an extremely boring house guest who only ever wanted to talk about herself!
I hate books that are all narration with very little dialogue. It's impossible to craft characters without dialogue or for the reader to feel emotion for those characters without hearing their voices. The book has no emotion, no sexual tension, no likable characters and no action ...... at least up to chapter 12 there isn't. I'm not reading any further!

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  • 06-05-19

A good read

Enjoyable. Great style of writing. I want a Christine Butcher in my life too 😉

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brilliant

initally i found the narrators voice jarring and didnt immediately take to this book, but later i found that it suited the story of Christine the secratary perfectly.
couldnt stop listening towards the end.
would be great on the big or small screen, esecially if the same actress plays the part!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping

An intelligently woven story excellently recounted. Keeps you hooked to the end ; even if the characters aren't 'lovable' I found them fascinating.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed

I did enjoy this book it gave an insight into big business and back stabbing but I think the ending could have been so much better.she had so much power and it seemed wasted😀😉😝

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Ghastly main characters, somewhat satisfying end.

Halfway through the book I felt like smashing my listening device against a wall. The characters were so awful, especially the secretary, who had no reason to allow herself to be so easily lead by the nose the way she had. We didn't see any apparent decline in her mental capacity nor did she start out underprivileged or slightly unstable. So it made no sense for her to be so easily beguiled by Meena. I had no sympathy for the secretary whatsoever and although I was rather surprised at the unexpected turn of events in the end, I don't think the ending was justified but instead felt tacked on as an afterthought. But I do appreciate the author's research efforts because as someone who could never devote so much of my life to looking after another adult, I was a bit skeptical about the secretarial duties described in the story. So it's nice to know it's based on fact. I enjoyed Disclaimer a lot and thought I'd give the author another shot. The writing itself is quite good and the narrator was the best part. It's worth a credit but you may find yourself feeling slightly underwhelmed after all is said and done.

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3 people found this helpful