A tense and well written novel.

The moment I read the blurb I knew this was something that I really wanted to read. The story itself is well executed and the characters are interesting and full of life.
I would recommend this for sure!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of All the Little Lies.

This was an original, slow-unfolding mystery! Although I had few predictions, most were completely wrong. The young artist and mother, Stella, had such a tragic life, while her adopted-out daughter, Eve, wished only for the truth. What a fabulous twist and turn deception novel! I will certainly be reading more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chris Curran for the ARC!

This was a great read. Eve always knew she was adopted, but she had no information on her birth mother, and she did not realize that her adoptive parents had a relationship with her birth mother. She discovers an artist who looks a great deal like her, and she puts two and two together to find that this artist (who died under mysterious circumstances soon after her birth) is her mother. Eve then works to find out more, although at times it is not clear that getting this information is best for her. I truly enjoyed the mystery as it unfolded for Eve. I will be looking at this author's other books. (I received an advance proof copy from netgalley in return for an honest review.)

Enjoyable thriller, lots of action and interesting characters. The story is told in alternating points of view. I felt the beginning of the book started out kind of slow but the pace did pick up drawing me in.
There are some unexpected twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.
Overall, the story kept me engaged. If you enjoy a suspenseful, thriller story, you will like this book.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author, Chris Curran, for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

All the Little Lies is a thriller about Eve. She is married and heavily pregnant when she sees a newspaper article about a woman that she knows must be her birth mother. She has been raised by her adoptive parents but has never been told anything much about the woman who gave birth to her. This leads Eve to start asking questions and the life she thought she knew begins to unravel!

I’ve read and enjoyed Chris Curran’s previous novels but All the Little Lies is definitely her best yet! I was gripped from the opening chapter and was under this book’s spell all the way to the end! The novel is told from two perspectives – Eve in the present and Stella in the past. Some of the other characters feature in both time lines, which is great because you see what they’re telling Eve in the present but you also hear what Stella was going through and how they made her feel.

This novel is a slow-burn but the pacing is exactly right because you need time to see all the threads of the story and to see how things begin to fit together. It also gives you the sense of what Eve is going through – the way it can be slow to find information about something that happened a long time ago. I really felt like I was right along with her in the search for answers.

I loved how Eve’s story alternates with Stella’s and so you get a picture slowly forming of what happened. I felt so sorry for Stella. She had a difficult upbringing and when she finds herself pregnant, alone and short of money she struggles to see how she will cope with a baby. David part owns the gallery that shows some of Stella’s paintings and he offers her help. I think he always meant well but the way Stella’s story unfolds from here is initially heart-breaking and ultimately shocking!

As this novel goes along I became more and more distrustful of just about every character! I was questioning everyone’s motives and trying to work out who had things to gain or lose if Eve were to find out certain things. I did think Eve was too trusting of people at times but I could understand why; she was vulnerable and hurt and was looking for someone who would be completely honest with her. She desperately wants to believe that when she asks questions that people are telling her the honest truth. I was so sympathetic towards her and was hoping there would somehow be a happy ending for her.

The title, All The Little Lies, is one of the most perfect I’ve seen! I loved the way that all the little lies add up in this novel to be much bigger, life-altering lies. You can see how someone does something and justifies it at the time by telling themselves they’re doing it for the best of everyone involved. But then it leads to more lies and then more, and it spirals out of control into a huge lie of which there is no way out!

All The Little Lies is such a great thriller! It’s a brilliant story with great characters and a plot with twists and turns that have you reading just one more chapter (and one more, and one more… until you look up and find it’s 2am!) because you just have to know how it’s all going to work out for Eve. It’s gripping, engrossing and so hard to put down! I definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

I mostly enjoyed this book. You go between the two main characters - Stella, the mother from the past and then Eve, the daughter from the current time. I definitely find myself wanting to dive back in to see what happened, which is always a good sign the book is doing its job!

The story was slow at parts but I did enjoy the characters.& felt a connection with them. The husband could have been a bit more developed - some of the details regarding him seemed extraneous.

I did figure out the end before it happened but still very much enjoyed the story. Plus, I figured it out later than I usually do for most books - as it was happening - so I'd still call that a win for the author.

If the author chose to do another book that included the story of what happened after the fire, I would love to read it to see where the character went during that time (beyond what is mentioned).

# All The Little Lies# Netgalley
When eve first found the email with the small photo. She does approach her adoptive parents if it’s her birth mother, when told yes, she really goes overboard in her whole attitude because they hadn’t ever told her. They also denied knowing who her birth parents where. However it comes out she was in their opinion too young to know the truth when she first asked, the subject was never brought up again until she found the email with a picture, of 2 young girls and her adoptive dad was in the picture, that’s how the subject of asking why they never told her, personally going back to the past telling the story of Eves mum and Eve trying to find out who her natural farther was. The affect it had in her marriage and her adoptive parents where enormous. I was extremely interested. Yet at the same time thought Eve was being unfair really because I could have imagined how the conversation would go. I thought when she first asked she was too young. Yet she was always told she was adopted. No obviously I haven’t been adopted. Just found the story line a bit over the top, to react in the way she did. Why she felt her husband had to go through a hard time because of it, just beats me most of the way through the book, I would read again if I ever read a book more than once. Yes it’s interesting but not gripping not for me. Up until about 78% of the book I could have literally stopped reading it I read it as she was just being a petulant women who was really over reacting. Interesting

The story is told in alternating points of view but it doesn’t feel like it. The voices are too similar which is confusing at times. It also doesn’t give enough personality to either character.

This started out a bit slowly. It took me a while to get into it. When it does pick up the action and lies pile up quickly. There were some unexpected surprises and twists. This got better as it went along. Overall this was entertaining

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for a copy in exchange for a review.

One email is all it takes to turn Eve’s world upside down. It contains a picture of her true birth mother, Stella, and proves that Eve’s entire life with her adoptive parents has been a lie.




Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience first time reading anything from this author

DNF

I tried with this book...really hard...I ever started over at one point, and I still couldn't finish.

I had a hard time from the get-go, It seems a little far-fetched to me that after randomly getting an article emailed to her from a friend the main character (who was fully aware she was adopted), would lose her mind over "this could be my real mom!".

I had a hard time keeping the characters straight, as there was very little by way of character introduction, and I had a hard time telling which character I was reading (Eve or Stella).

Nothing about this book grabbed me - frankly, the most intriguing part was the synopsis. I hate to put books down, I'm very rarely one to not finish, but I simply could not be motivated to continue.

After having really enjoyed Chris Currant’s previous novel, Her Deadly Secret, I was delighted to be asked to read her next offering and discover what devilish plot she came up with this time.

Eve has always known she was adopted. But when she receives an email from a friend about her birth mother, Eve’s world is completely turned upside down. Her adoptive parents have been lying to her for years and now Eve is determined to find out the truth.

And off we go on a thrilling ride with so many twists and turns, it almost left me with whiplash. There are so many questions that need answers, so many lies that need to be discovered and just when you think there couldn’t possibly be any left, up pop a few more. Nobody in this story can be trusted to tell the truth about anything.

The chapters alternate between Eve in the present day and her birth mother, Stella, in the past. Slowly but surely a picture starts to form of what happened back then and why Eve may now find herself in danger. Because some people will stop at nothing to stop the truth from coming out. Now, I must admit that the chapters filling us in on Stella’s life were the ones that really gripped me. I truly felt for her and all the things she went through and as I am an incredibly impatient person, I just wanted to get to those reveals. That’s not to say Eve’s chapters don’t make for compelling reading either. It’s just the way my brain is programmed.

There was one event I figured out but there was a heck of a lot more that I didn’t see coming at all. All The Little Lies is a well-paced and gripping read full of untrustworthy characters. Maybe not quite for those with trust issues but for those who enjoy a twisty psychological thriller, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy this one.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This one has a lot of external drama (80s art world, adultery, baby-snatching) but little in the way of internal plot and character development. 2.5 rounded up is generous

I always get a thrill when a novel is set in my native North East, so I was surprised and delighted when I was reading All the Little Lies as I had no idea that Chris Curran had part set her new novel in Gateshead and Newcastle.

Aside from the amazing location, All the Little Lies is such an intriguing story with Eve trying to find out more about her birth mother, Stella. She knows her adoptive parents know more than they are letting on and I had a constant question mark over my head as I wondered just what they were trying to hide.

As Eve digs into Stella's story, we are treated to flashbacks of Stella's life: from her meagre beginnings as a young child in Newcastle to fame as an artist before her life was tragically cut short. I loved the tempestuous story of Stella and Maggie; best friends or frenemies as I liked to think of them because Maggie was so jealous of Stella's artistic talent and beauty. I didn't trust Maggie one bit and when she invited Stella to stay with her in Italy, I knew it would all end in tears.

I love reading a fiction book and learning something I didn't know. I was so surprised to read about an art installation in Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art that I was completely unaware of. I have visited The Baltic on numerous occasions but I have always taken the supersonic glass lift to admire the views of the Newcastle Gateshead quayside on the way. Thanks to Chris Curran, next time I visit I will be taking the stairs to experience Mark Wallinger's Heaven and Hell art installation of a staircase that appears to stretch to infinity.

All the Little Lies is not only gripping and intriguing but it has an added hint of danger as Eve's digging into Stella's past unearths secrets that somebody wants to keep well and truly buried. Where lies are involved, you can always expect twists and turns aplenty and All the Little Lies certainly delivers in the surprising twists stakes, many of which I really didn't see coming.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

All The Little Lies
by Chris Curran
Description
After a lifetime of secrets, how far would you go for the truth
An unputdownable new psychological thriller, full of twists you won’t see coming, from Chris Curran
Your whole life has been a lie…
One email is all it takes to turn Eve’s world upside down. It contains a picture of her true birth mother, Stella, and proves that Eve’s entire life with her adoptive parents has been a lie.
Now she must unravel the mystery of Stella’s dark past. But what Eve finds will force her to take enormous risks, which put her – and her new-born baby – in immediate danger…
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
It was sadly not a book I enjoyed enough. I could not connect at all with it. It made a hard read. The Brit slang was harsh as well. I hope the mystery get's solved.

I am very disappointed to say I did not enjoy this book at all, even found myself skipping through some sections. It wasn't a fast enough build up for me and I found the characters fell really short. I found the story dragged on and nothing was happening. I really wanted to like it and kept reading but halfway through it just really didn't do anything to keep me interested.
It might not have been for me but it doesn't mean it's not for you, give it a chance and you might enjoy it if your a fan of a
slow build up and a slow paced thriller.

In the end i did enjoy this book, i like the 2 story view points of eve and stella but i did take a while to get going, over all the story showing how little white lies can destroy a family was very good

Thanks Netgalley, Bookouture, and author Chris Curran for a chance to read this book.

Being a seasoned reader of psychological thrillers, there is always this fear of formulaic plots and predictable endings.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by this novel with its pacey gripping plots and engaging characters.
The plot is told from two main points of view through different timelines each pealing layers of secrets, deceptions and betrayals. Would definitely recommend.

I really tried to get into this book but I just couldn’t and did not finish it. I think I may have kind of liked where it was going, but it was just taking too long to get there. I typically enjoy books told from multiple points of view, but some of the voices were too similar and it became too convoluted and hard to follow. I might try this one again when I have more time but for now, it’s going back on my tbr.

3.5 stars. I’ve never read Curran before but look forward to checking out more of her work! All the Little Lies is a gripping story with characters who all have something to hide. I enjoyed unraveling the connection between the two women the narrator follows throughout the book and found myself racing to clean my baby’s bottles while he napped so I could get as much reading done as possible while he slept. I HAD to find out who had done what. Leave it to my kid to wake up when I had just 15 minutes left in the book... (don’t worry, I didn’t have to wait too long to finish!).

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review!

Wow. I really enjoyed this book, the first I’ve read from this author and it definitely won’t be the last. The book started off with a huge ‘wow’ and continued on. Really great, mysterious thriller. Very well written and immensely gripping. Recommend xx