This was an intriguing read. I was pulled in right from the start. I found it easy to follow and though at times it felt over the top, I still enjoyed it and couldn't wait to read what would happen next. Lots of good twist and turns. Overall 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. Dora has always known her job was dangerous. As a high-end call girl, she doesn’t experience the same level of risk as her street worker counterparts, but clients tend to think of those in the sex trade as less than human and treat them accordingly. She’s experienced more than her share of petty abuse, but nothing had prepared her for the beating given by the allegedly carefully vetted new client her handler had connected her with. Dora leaves the expensive hotel where she met him battered and bloody and ready to get out of the game altogether. Dora finds herself face-to-face with a man she has never forgotten, the one man who really knows her. And as old secrets surface, it becomes terrifyingly apparent that one last secret could cost Dora her life… This is told mostly from the first person account of Dora/Teodora, who is a high end escort/sex worker. She isn't ashamed of the way she earns money, but when a client gets too rough she decides it's time to leave the business. Dora can't resist but take one last job as a favor to a client, a weekend away at a luxury home, yet what happens there is not what she was expecting.

One Last Secret by Adele Parks | Goodreads One Last Secret by Adele Parks | Goodreads

We start out with a lot of information about Dora's job. She gets roughed up by a client and decides to quit the biz after her best friend, Evan, proposes. I never really felt a connection between them and thought it odd that he even proposed to begin with. 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. There are good points. The prose is smooth, and the pacing is excellent. Another positive is that the beginning – where Dora talks about her life as a prostitute, and the setup for the trip takes place – is intriguing. 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.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. This book started off with a bang! And I was ooh! This is different! And these days different is as rare as a unicorn sighting! But change was not going to come easily. Her most trusted client Daniel reaches out, pleading for one last rendezvous. He needs her to escort him to a function in the French countryside. Nora is reluctant, torn between her two opposing worlds. But come on! The French countryside? One last job won’t hurt anyone…. ya right!? No more needs to be said on the plot as it’s better going in blind but my heart was racing for Dora and the life and death situation she gets herself into. This was my first time reading an Adele Parks book, and it did not disappoint. Dora’s character was so well done and had me rooting for her the entire time.

One Last Secret (Audio Download): Adele Parks, Kristin One Last Secret (Audio Download): Adele Parks, Kristin

Then Dora gets a call from Daniel. Among her former clients, he was a favorite; he didn’t just come for the sex and the two of them had been friends of sorts. Dora was his confidant for all the things he couldn’t tell those he knew and loved. Daniel had told only her about his secret longing for his best friend’s wife, how said longing had kept him from dating and marrying, how he just couldn’t seem to move on. Now he’s telling her that said bestie, bestie’s wife, and Daniel are all supposed to attend a corporate event at a French chateau. It’s meant to be a luxurious, decadent retreat for couples – and since Daniel has been lying to everyone that he has a significant other, he’s been invited to attend. He absolutely needs Dora to go, because she’s the only female acquaintance he has who knows him well enough to pull off being his fake girlfriend. Ever wondered what the classic film Pretty Woman would be like if it was actually a dark noir? Adele Parks provides the answer to that question in her latest thriller One Last Secret.Dora quits her job but her old client Daniel she’s seen for 6 months need her help to attend a celebration party of his colleague at a chateau in South France. The girl he has a crush on for years who is also married will be there! He needs a pretending girlfriend urgently and Dora knows him so well, she’s the only one who can make his friends believe in their relationship! Dora is a high end escort in London, and she is not ashamed of it. She makes good money and she is happy. Until she is beaten badly by a client in a hotel room. He threatens her and she is scared to leave her home. This is when her best friend Evan proposes to her. He has been in love with her for a long time, he is rich and handsome. Dora says yes and agrees to stop working as an escort. But she agrees to do one last job for a client while Evan is away, and flies to France. What could go wrong? Dora can’t resist taking one last job - escorting a regular to a French château and pretending to be his girlfriend. No sex allowed. Surely that’s fine?

One Last Secret on Apple Books ‎One Last Secret on Apple Books

Narrated by Kristin Atherton for 13 hours and 42 minutes (not sure why it says 10 hours and 45 minutes here?). She did a lovely job and showed proper emotion when necessary. I don’t know how I exactly feel about this book! It really made me confused! It was smart but there are so missing pieces for me to enjoy it completely! Dora is an escort and gets paid for her services so a week at a beautiful chateau in the south of France sounds an excellent assignment. She is used to role play so when Daniel hires her to pretend to his guests that she is his girlfriend it sounds a straightforward booking. She intends to give up escorting so she sees it as a last time to act out with the wealthy.If you want an engaging and wild story, One Last Secret is for you. A thriller that will keep you guessing, until the very end. I loved the start and sarcastic, straightforwardly blunt narration of Theodora/ Dora: thirty years old sex worker/ escort, honestly telling her work life, her clients, her only friend Evan, her struggles in her tough, survival tone. I liked her immediately! She has found love, someone she loves and trusts and who she hopes will take her away from the escort world. When she arrives at the chateau she finds herself face to face with a man she has never forgotten, the one man who really knows her. Old secrets surface and it becomes obvious that this secret could put her in great danger.

ONE LAST SECRET | Kirkus Reviews

The other characters in the novel don’t fare much better. Daniel and Evan are the secondary key players and are simply whatever the plot needs them to be. On the plus side, Daniel’s inexplicable and superficial nature is explained toward the end of the text. Evan, however, is simply surreal throughout the novel. We know he adores Dora and that they are emotionally close, but while we are told that over and over we never really see what it is that unites them. Given their relationship is pivotal to the story, not having that crucial information really hampers the narrative. It was abrupt but absolutely necessary! I was about to give 2 stars to this book! But last third changed my mind: at least so many of my questions answered even though they were far fetched explanations!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! A week at a beautiful chateau in the south of France—it should be a straightforward final job for Dora. She’s a smart, stunning and discreet escort, and Daniel has paid for her services before. This time, all she has to do is to convince the assembled guests that she is his girlfriend. Dora is used to playing roles and being whatever men want her to be. It’s all about putting on a front.