Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - All Her Little Secrets

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris was not what I expected going in, it is not a fast-paced legal thriller. It is a slow-paced mystery that takes place in a legal firm and centers on an attorney, Ellice. Ellice is a Black woman working in a predominantly white company that has protesters picketing for corporate discrimination, and throughout the book she experiences microaggressions and outright racism in her workplace.

The mystery is centered on a homicide that takes place in her office, ending the life of the man Ellice is having an affair with. As she finds evidence of a company cover-up linked to something larger, she is also trying hard to keep her family life in the past. The two collide and Ellice is at the center of it all.

I really wanted to love this book and at times I really liked it, but I never tipped into loving it. It was missing the edge of my seat feeling and the pace was slow until about 65% in, then it notched up to barely medium. There were a few major plot holes and, for an attorney, the way she dealt with the police and their investigation was…. perplexing.

Things I liked were the way the present storyline and past storyline merged, the message that was at the core of this book, and the way each character was unreliable – it added to the mystery.

Content warnings: Racism, Workplace Discrimination, Abortion, Murder, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault

Content Warnings

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I'm a bit on the fence about this rating... maybe it should be a 3.5? I did end up liking it overall; it was great seeing discussions of racial discrimination so prominently featured in a thriller. This one lagged in the middle, and while the main character is supposed to be really smart and resourceful, she spent a frustrating amount of time acting naïve and making decisions that put her into dangerous situations without any backup. Things did kick into gear at the end which made up for some of that mid-book downtime.

The ending was really satisfying and enjoyable, as was the overall premise and initial setup. I think I'm rating this one a bit more harshly that I might otherwise because I had high expectations for it. I would definitely read another book from Morris in the future!

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kylieqrada's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5 ⭐️s. An intriguing mystery with a horrifically realistic premise! Not exactly what I was expecting, but I definitely enjoyed my time with this one, and it made me think.

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