Everybody has a secret. Yes you do! A study revealed that the average person keeps thirteen secrets, five of which he or she has never shared with anyone. Go on, count them! They can range from the little things that some people don’t feel are too bad, such as not mentioning too much change at the supermarket or exaggerating mileage at work. Or they might be major crimes such as a hit and run, robbery or even murder! Then there are affairs, betrayals and hidden relationships which can have devastating consequences, to easy small lies to cover looking for another job or concealing the early weeks of pregnancy. Or perhaps a person’s secret is simply unhappiness. Don’t we all do it at times? Put on our bright facade for the Facebook posts and photos to hide the the sorrow inside?

What about family secrets? Ones which only come out when Grandma has a few too many sherries on Christmas Eve: your great uncle was a bigamist; your parents married when you were two; your aunty was arrested for shoplifting a Rampant Rabbit.

Then there are the deadly secrets in my psychological thrillers… Those which are so dark and deeply hidden that they’ve almost been forgotten. Almost…

BENEATH THE SKIN – a dark tale about the interconnecting lives of four couples living in South Manchester whose histories and secrets weave and collide. But will the darkest secret of them all ever be revealed?

MY HUSBAND’s LIES – A group of childhood friends gather for a wedding. When a guest is found on a hotel window ledge, ready to jump, it sets in motion an unstoppable chain of events which throws all their lives into chaos

BETRAY HER – Jo and Kate have been close friends since they met in a musty dormitory, aged eight. But is their friendship all that it seems? There are dark secrets, lies and jealousy beneath the surface that have shaped the women they are today. With a man in the mix, there’s a tinderbox of emotion waiting to explode.

TRUTH GAMES – When an old friend from university re-enters Ellie’s life, dark memories from her past begin to resurface. Memories that have been buried for a long time. As she starts to unravel some shocking and sinister realities, she realises she must choose between keeping the family she loves – and facing the truth.

THE SINNER – Trapped and lonely in her role as the charismatic vicar’s wife, Dee Stephens is slowly suffocating. She falls into a heady affair with Cal, but is he the saviour she thinks he is? And will he discover her dark secret?

THE STRANGER BESIDE ME – Single mum Katy Henry is lost and lonely. All that changes when she meets charming Sibeal Matthews. But Sibeal is shockingly out of control, sweeping up Katy and her son in the storm

THE RETURN OF FRANKIE WHITTLE – in one terrifying night, everything Frankie has worked so hard for unravels. She needs a fresh start and where better than a gated community at the very place she born. It feels like serendipity, but is it?

OK, I admit it; I’m a tad obsessed with secrets and lies and the human condition. I’m an ammeter psychologist who drives my family bonkers with my interpretations of people’s behaviour, what they tell us and what they don’t. But isn’t it fascinating to find out what goes on behind closed doors – or indeed, inside the pages of a gripping crime suspense novel? Do secrets burrow into our psyche and poison us? Or are they sexy, powerful and make us strong?

I probably have thirteen secrets; maybe there are five I haven’t told anyone. Come on, spill the beans – what are yours?