The Secret Chamber

Sep 9, 2025 7:24 PM

Author:Patrick Woodhead

The Secret Chamber

People have been disappearing in what the explorer Stanley called the black heart of Africa - the impenetrable forests of northern Congo. But when a brilliant young English doctor vanishes, alarm bells really start to ring. Intelligence chief Jack Milton sends a message to his godson Luca Matthews (The Forbidden Temple hero) in the Himalayas asking him to go to Africa and find Joshua. Reluctantly Luca obeys, but he is no longer the man he once was, traumatised by his part in the death of his best friend, his legendary climbing nerve shot to pieces. Meanwhile in Africa, mining troubleshooter and brilliant flying pilot, Beatrice (Bear) Makuru, also wants to brave the northern wilderness. Coltan is the mineral without which no mobile phone or computer would work. Explosions have been wrecking coltan mines. Bear needs to find out why. Her journey with Luca to Africa's black heart is the beginning of an utterly terrifying sequence of events, uncovering a secret so simple yet so startling that it could rock the foundations of the civilised world.

Reviews

Imagine the claustrophobic mystery of The Constant Gardener mixed with the danger of Blood Diamond. Woodhead creates a fascinating, frightening world that draws you into the very heart of darkness. Brilliant

—— Ben Fogle

Woodhead takes you deep into the dark and thrilling heart of modern-day Africa. The Secret Chamber is page-turning storytelling at its best - adrenalin-fuelled adventure, danger and romance. I loved it

—— Lucy Moore

Hugely entertaining, witty and thoughtful, this is a future cult classic

—— Big Issue

Frame[s] the everyday with an almost medieval fascination with the grotesque and the macabre... proof, in this case, that the devil has all the good stories

—— Metro

There are some nicely observed episodes here... disturbing metaphors that offer brilliant, brief illuminations of his brutal subject matter

—— New Statesman

A fresh and original voice...the book is a portrait of Berlin, a city famed for its richness and strangeness, hauntingly captured by Aridjis

—— Francesca Segal , The Observer

A most unusual debut... An entirely refreshing portrait of young womanhood, it is unselfconscious, uncompromising, wholly authentic

—— Justine Jordan , The Guardian

Exquisite

—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent

This is a haunting debut with an individual, poetic slant

—— Alastair Mabbot , Herald

It is Paul Auster, only better... This is a whimsical, confident book sustained by offbeat charm and intelligence

—— Eileen Battersby , Irish Times

Aridjis is an insightful observer of post-reunification Berlin... Her lyrical, restrained prose conjures a dream-like atmosphere that borders on magical realism. This haunting debut is a significant and memorable addition to the literature of a troubling city

—— CJ Schuler , Independent

Influenced by magical realism and the cool prose of modernism, first-time author Chloe Aridjis takes the best from each

—— Alastair Mabbott , Herald

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