Author Bryan Simpson Speaks About His First Novel

Friend of Milton Rotary and first-time author Bryan Simpson shares his new novel with us, Vicki's Secret. You don't want to miss this...

Twelve-year-old Vicki Woods just wanted to survive. But survival, she quickly learns, sometimes requires becoming the very thing you fear.

When a childhood defined by abuse and neglect pushes her to cross an unforgivable line, Vicki flees rural Tennessee for a fresh start in Wisconsin. Yet the darkness she carries doesn’t stay buried. As she grows into a fiercely intelligent, fiercely manipulative young woman, Vicki builds a life on carefully constructed lies, strategic alliances, and ruthless self-preservation. But when old secrets threaten to surface and new dangers close in, the line between hunter and prey begins to blur.

Vicki’s Dark Secret is a chilling, character-driven psychological thriller that peels back the layers of a brilliant but fractured mind. You’ll experience:

• A morally complex protagonist who challenges everything you know about victimhood and villainy
• A gripping, multi-decade narrative spanning rural trauma, small-town whispers, and the cutthroat world of adulthood
• Unpredictable twists that keep you questioning who to trust—and who to fear

Perfect for readers who crave the psychological depth of Gillian Flynn and the tense, unflinching suspense of Lucy Foley, this novel explores how trauma shapes us, how secrets consume us, and how far one woman will go to protect the life she’s built.
Will Vicki’s carefully curated world survive the truth? Or will her darkest secret finally consume her?