A gripping small‑town murder mystery where secrets cut deeper than knives.
Police photographer Olivia Chatfield returns to her idyllic childhood home on the White Sands Peninsula expecting a quiet birthday week—fishing, photography, and time with family. Instead, she’s arrested for the murder of Brendan Taylor, a schoolmate she’s known since kindergarten.
Brendan’s death is no accident. Drugged, stabbed with chilling precision, and left to die as While My Guitar Gently Weeps plays in the background, his final moments reveal a killer who is calm, calculating, and terrifyingly familiar.
Olivia is certain she’s being framed. But the detectives leading the case—one an old schoolmate with a grudge—refuse to listen. As her car is impounded, her reputation shredded, and her freedom stripped away, Olivia realises someone in this quiet coastal village wants her gone. Someone who knows her movements, her friendships, her past… and her secrets.
Retracing the days before the murder, Detectives Joseph Paterson and Tessa Mariani uncover hidden tensions, old betrayals, and a web of lies stretching back years. Everyone has something to hide. And someone is willing to kill to keep the truth buried.
As Olivia fights to clear her name, she must confront the unsettling question:
Who hates her enough to want her behind bars—or dead?
Perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Candice Fox, and Dervla McTiernan, A Secret to Die For delivers a twist‑laden mystery set against the atmospheric beauty of coastal NSW, where even the most peaceful places can harbour the darkest secrets.
ISBN PAPERBACK: 978-1-922893-08-6
PUBLICATION: AUGUST 7, 2026
Gaylene B Corben ratchets up the tension again in her latest book. The past, in the form of school friends (and enemies), causes trouble for Olivia Chatfield when she is suspected of the murder of someone she’s known since childhood: With the help of her boyfriend, Detective Joe. Paterson, she must revisit old rivalries; and traumas, to save herself and unmask the real killer. -Barbara Scott Emmett, author & editor.
Gary Kreigh –
This breezy, coastal mystery delivers a highly captivating plot and a wonderfully imagination-generating Australian resort setting, making it an incredibly fast and enjoyable read. While it suffers from a few pacing quirks and predictable dialogue, its well-developed, relatable characters ensure it remains impossible to put down. The plot is cleverly constructed, offering enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing. The characters are easily the book’s strongest asset. They are relatable, grounded, and imbued with enough depth to make you truly care about their fates. Instead of feeling like cardboard cutouts, the primary players feel like real people caught in extraordinary circumstances, which grounds the narrative & keeps me reading & wanting more. The book perfectly balances a compelling whodunit with an evocative Australian backdrop.
Diane Helentjaris –
In Gaylene B. Corben’s latest novel, A Secret to Die For, Olivia Chatfield has headed home to the small Australian coastal time of her youth. She’s spending the Easter holiday with her wealthy parents. Olivia, who once aspired to becoming a lawyer, is a police photographer. But her vacation morphs into a twisted busman’s holiday when she is arrested for the murder of a former classmate and the bodies begin to stack up. Suddenly she is experiencing police work from the other side. Did she do it? Will she get out of jail?
Full of twists and turns, curveballs and curlicues, this murder mystery is a fun read. I particularly enjoyed the interactions among the various police and school chums. It highlights the risks and wrinkles of growing up in a small town where one never seems to escape the patterns set by their teen years. I grew up in a tiny town and felt right at home in this one. The answer to “whodunit” is particularly clever, and I enjoyed the satisfying ending. Looking forward to Gaylene B. Corben’s next work. A Secret to Die For is a solid hit.