Our Secrets Were Safe

DEBUT Caroline and Brooke seem to have it all: they’re beautiful, blonde, and come from money. Caroline is the CEO of a tech startup, Brooke is a teacher engaged to a handsome, successful lawyer. But they both have secrets, and one day, an anonymous source texts them, threatening to expose them all. The person calls themself “Sofia” — the name of their ex-roommate (and in Caroline’s case, ex-lover), who was killed in a car accident while they were in college. Caroline and Brooke told the police that Sofia was driving the car, but that wasn’t precisely the truth. Now, they are being haunted by Sofia’s memory. The novel alternates between the points of view of Caroline and Brooke in the present and Sofia in the days leading up to her death. The triumph of this book is its cast of characters, who are refreshingly complex. Seasoned mystery readers might be able to guess the identity of “Sofia” fairly early on, but there are other webs the characters weave that add to the intrigue. Trench tells a thrilling, assured story about power dynamics and the lengths that desperate persons will go to stay on top.