Village Secrets and Hidden Lives in Fiction
Village fiction is not about rural peace. It is about the hidden lives beneath that peace — and what happens when they can no longer stay hidden.
7 May 2026Read more →
Before the next confession, discover where the secrets began.
Secrets of St Mary's
Book One of the St Mary's series
A novel by Richard Hughes
A small village. A trusted vicar.
A web of secrets, guilt
and the consequences of the past.
An Interactive Investigation
The Confessional
Every secret has a witness. Every choice has a consequence.
Something happened at St Mary's.
The truth is buried beneath years of silence, conflicting accounts and secrets that some people would rather remain hidden.
Now it's your turn to investigate. Examine the evidence. Question what you've been told. Make your decisions.
But be careful. Not everyone is telling the truth.
Explore the Village
Enter St Mary's
Walk the village lanes. Meet its residents. Look through Marion's binoculars. Discover the world behind the novel.
The Series
Four Books. A Darker Truth.
From the shadows of St Mary's to the truths that lie beneath, this four-part series explores the secrets people keep and the lives they leave behind.
Book One
Secrets of St Mary's
The beginning of the story.
Book Two
The Man Beneath the Collar
Some confessions can never be unheard.
Coming SoonBook Three
Under wraps
Book Four
Under wraps
The World of St Mary's
A Small Community.
A Long Memory.
St Mary's is calm on the surface.
But beneath it sits something else.
A network of secrets.
Lives shaped by decisions that refuse to stay buried.
Secrecy
What lies beneath the surface
Identity
Who we become in the dark
Redemption
The weight of second chances
Consequence
When the past catches up
Confessions
Extracts, insights and
behind-the-scenes writing.
The Inspiration Behind Secrets of St Mary's
Where did Secrets of St Mary's come from? Richard Hughes on the ideas, observations and questions that shaped the novel.
7 May 2026Read more →
The Appeal of Slow-Burn Mystery Fiction
Slow-burn mystery does not rush. It builds. And the tension it creates through patience and accumulation is different from anything a faster narrative can produce.
7 May 2026Read more →
The Author Behind St Mary's
Meet Richard Hughes
Every story begins somewhere. Mine began in the middle.
I'm Richard Hughes, a London-born, Essex-based author of British crime and psychological thrillers.
The idea for Secrets of St Mary's began with a simple question: what if someone respected and trusted by an entire community was hiding a very dark secret? That question became the foundation of St Mary's, a fictional village where appearances can be deceiving and the past is never quite forgotten.
Meet the AuthorReviews
What Readers Say
Reader reviews are being collected. If you've read Secrets of St Mary's, Richard would love to hear your thoughts.
Stay Connected
Join Richard's Readers
Be the first to know about new releases, cover reveals, extracts and occasional insights.
About Secrets of St Mary's
Secrets of St Mary's is a British psychological mystery novel by Richard Hughes. Set around a quiet village and a respected vicar, the story explores secrecy, identity, trust and the consequences of buried decisions. Readers can discover the book, preview the novel, learn more about the characters, follow Book 2 updates and order direct from the official Richard Hughes author website.