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Well, I really want to scream at Dora as soon as she said yes to Daniel. And when they arrive at the château, she meets with Daniel’s eccentric friends who act like they see an exotic creature as soon as they say hi to her. And one of them is a very dangerous man! Dora absolutely knows who he is! One Last Secret is definitely the type of book where you need to suspend some reality, stop questioning all the convenient coincidences and go along for the ride.
There is a great sense of France and adventure such as a vineyard tour, a personal chef and celebrations at a French villa. What more can you ask for? When taken as a whole, the storyline isn't all that surprising in the end. I pretty much called everything that was going on. That said, it's still a uniquely told story from an interesting point of view. I don't typically like first person storylines because it's too much "I did this and I did that" rather than letting us in on the action, but in this case it really works. This is one of those books where you are screaming at the book telling the MC to stop for a second and PLEASE RECONSIDER!! It was so frustrating to see Dora doubting herself and doing things she really didn't want to, nor should be doing. It got her into a lot of trouble. It was an interesting (albeit potentially unrealistic) look at how the uber wealthy might live. There were lots of twists and turns, which made it a very enjoyable read!Parks gets better and better"—Gillian McAllister, New York Times bestselling author of Wrong Place Wrong Time Told from the POV of a savvy escort/sex worker, this powerful, pulverizing, and twisty tale of love, revenge, and despair is dark, chilling, and mesmerizing.....all at the same time. I really warmed to Dora’s character, there were many unlikeable characters in the story and I enjoyed trying to guess what’s going to happen next. A thoroughly entertaining read of revenge, power and wealth….. and murder! Adele Parks now rises to the very top of my list in the domestic noir category. I have had a really thirst for this genre of late and One Last Secret filled my cup. Unpredictable, wild and tantalising, I couldn’t get enough of this tale of a high-end escort. This was a sultry, suspenseful read. It is quite slow to get going but the tension builds to unexpected revelations at the closing.
She is then asked to attend one last function at a stunning chateau in the South of France, simply to be there as staged arm candy, no intimacy required, only pretence where necessary. It happens to coincide with her fiance's Evan absence on a work trip and feels it would be doing one last favour to an ex client. Yes, there is luxury, there are beautiful people hanging aroundOverall though, I had a difficult time putting the book down because it's compulsively readable and I did want to know how everything was going to shake down in the end. There are some good twists and although I didn't always like Dora's choices I did like her and was rooting for her success.
It didn’t take long for me to invested in Dora’s story. As a ‘lady of the night’, Dora’s frank, blunt narrative is very honest and it felt like she was talking directly to me as a reader. Like a confessional, Dora makes it clear that her life is not glamorous and that she accepts the criticisms behind her profession. However, money is the driving force and Dora shows she is not embarrassed by what she does: she is embarrassed because she does not know what she would do instead with her life.The action is mostly set in the beautiful surroundings of a chateau in the south of France and this glamourous location pulled me right in! I definitely felt a sense of unease, tension and confusion as Dora entered this location. I also wanted to yell at her and signal a warning that she should have stayed home with her fiancé. Dora was definitely taking an unnecessary risk that could have been prevented! I was scared that Dora would jeopardise her chance at escaping the game and having her own safe happy ever after thanks to this final jaunt. Parks sets up a narrative stage full of mystery, intrigue, unpredictability and tension. I really took my time to savour this one, which is unlike me as a speed reader. I’m glad I slowed down my intake with One Last Secret as I was bulldozed by this one – in a good way! Theodora (Dora) thirty-one is a glamorous high end escort and she’s about to retire but she has one last job where she will accompany a regular client Daniel, to a luxury chateau in the South of France for a week, what could possibly go wrong? Dora is a sex worker. Or a ‘hooker’ or ‘whore’ - words that are littered throughout the text���not sure that was necessary. When she’s beaten by a dangerous client, she’s more than a little shaken and her millionaire boy best friend offers her an out. We learn about her lifestyle and how she came to work as a high classed escort until one encounter leaves her bloodied and bruised. And terrified out of her wits. Adele is on fire with One Last Secret. Deliciously deceptive and darkly satisfying. I loved it." - Jane Fallon
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