Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - All Her Little Secrets

Very dark and intense. I was invested from page 1. This book is a great psychological thriller with lots of plots twists. Yet somehow, also gives social commentary on POC specifically women of color.

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marissasa's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was full of stress, drama, and trauma. It starts out as a little bit of a murder mystery but gets more convoluted and tense as the plot thickens. Although we know that our main character is flawed and hiding secrets of her own, it was difficult for me to understand why she kept making bad decision after bad decision despite her being a very intelligent and successful lawyer. She doesn't trust anyone (rightfully so) but it was hard to keep up with her after she kept continually lying and digging herself into deeper holes with the people around her and the police investigating her. What happened with her brother made me so sad, and her tragic backstory made me even sadder. The true criminals were unfortunately very realistic and although she did get a hint of revenge at the end, it wasn't truly satisfying to me and I couldn't help but just feel sad and unfulfilled for her and the end of the story.

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andrea_2902's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can’t believe this was a debut.
I loved it.
It was so good. I want to reread it already.
Couldn’t recommend it enough.

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apieceofjaaay's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Good story even though it dragged a bit. It had a structure similar to Black Cake but back story was more predictable. I really liked the lesson the MC learned even though I didn’t like her until the end.

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dpearson5257's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I was pleasantly surprised. Suspense and Thrillers are not my normal go to but I enjoyed this one. It gives When No one is Watching Vibes and Get Out, so if you’re into those definitely check this out.

For a suspense it was a little slow for me, you get a lot of back story form when Elise was a little girl to current and dealing with the murder of her boss. The flashbacks will definitely have you cry or in your feels (TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!! CHECK THEM!!) lots of child and domestic abuse of almost every kind, I wasn’t ready. But then the current chapters you see this very strong, smart, resilient woman who wanted so much more for herself, I really admire her character. (A big theme is gentrification which I wasn’t expecting but hey here we are and it’s very obvious within the first chapter or so I don’t believe that’s a spoiler)

I thought the execution of the murder was good and done well, sometimes with this genre they can start to get a little cheesy or predictable towards the end but I thought it wrapped up really well! I believe this is also her debut novel which is fantastic!!

TW: child and domestic abuse, sexual assault, abortion from a minor, alcohol abuse, racism within the work place

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owmyleg's review

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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spellboundchapters's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Walking away from your boss’ office (who you were also having an affair with) after you found him dead… what could possibly go wrong?

I really enjoyed it! This was everything I wanted The Other Black Girl to be in its way to explore racism and sexism in corporate America — the only difference being TOBG wasn’t a legal thriller like this one haha.

I enjoyed the writing and how real the characters felt! I especially liked how flawed Ellice was. The timeline set in Ellice’s childhood was my favourite part of this book, a big part of that is probably due to Vera being the character I liked the most. The book was fast paced and the plot twists were all so great, it made my heart race and kept me on the edge of my seat.

The only thing I didn’t like was that it uses a trope I kinda hate : when we know a character went to an Ivy League college, yet they make the stupidest decisions. And I hate it even more when that character’s a lawyer, like in this book haha. Seems a bit like the easy way to create tension. 😅 I also would’ve liked for there to be more legal elements and see them actually doing their job. Ellice kept leaving the office for the entire day without telling anyone, and nobody never told her anything, and I think that was the most unrealistic part of the story lmao 🤧

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merebear87's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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