In spite of the fast pace of the story, Ritchie does and excellent job of character development. The reader discovers how everyone individually gets to where they are at story time. However, eventually everyone gets on the same train-wreck, which is expected but at the same time very surprising.

Peter Ritchie is an excellent storyteller. Even though the story is violent at times the characters get what they deserve and almost accept. The smart ones walk right into their fate while the less aware are dragged in but not surprised. It’s a nuance that Ritchie seems to have mastered.

I received this as an ARC from netgalley.com

I think I initially picked it for it's location of Edinburgh, Scotland. I didn't realize until I had finished the book that it was part of a series with the same main detective (even though her part in this book was a bit small).
This was a fast paced crime drama told from many different perspectives all combining to end up in a climatic ending.
This book had several twists and turns and you were never really sure of what the characters were capable of. Some of the language was a bit hard to understand as it was written in slang but I was able to get the context.
I will definitely look into this authors other books.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

Loved this book. This book is part of the Grace Macallan series, although she plays a minor role in this dark story about the underworld of crime and corruption in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Our Little Secrets The is the fourth novel is the DCI Grace Macallan series by Peter Ritchie. Recommended reading. You won't be disappointed.

I thought this book was so well written! I was nervous at first to see it was book 5 of a series, but quickly learned that I did not need to read the books in order to understand. The author did such a good job of setting the scene, providing a realistic approach to a police story, and really had me engaged the entire time!

Gripping book that was completely unputdownable.
I was gripped from the start to the end. Love the style of writing. I will definitely read more of this author. If I’d had another one I’d have started it immediately.
I really felt this story come alive and develop and I couldn’t read it fast enough.
Huge thank you to the publisher and net galley for providing me with a copy of this book in return for my unbiased opinion.
I’m off to buy more books...

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read the Arc, i enjoyed the book, read it a while ago and forgot to leave a review. This is the fifth in a series of books, i usually like to start with the first book in a series, but they are also stand alone books.
I wasn't drawn in to the characters, alot of the slang i was not familiar with, but just went with it... Maybe if I had started with the first in the series? Just not my cup of tea...

This is the first book that I have read by Peter Ritchie but it won’t be my last! It had me right from the start and I couldn’t wait to find out about all the secrets! Thanks for a great book!

I'm sorry to say that I did struggle with this book to start off with but once I got into it I had trouble putting it down. this is the 1st book the I have read from this author but will try and get hold of some other's to see how they compare.

OUR LITTLE SECRETS – Peter Ritchie
Detective Grace Macallan - Book 5
Black and White Publishing
ISBN-10: 1785302418
ISBN-13: 978-1785302411
ASIN: B07S33XMXQ
July 2020
General Fiction – Adult

Edinburgh, Scotland – the Present

Pete the Pole was screaming how he would slice Tonto up as he chased him. Tonto sees two PCs (cops) ahead, outside the Tynecastle Stadium where football game attendees are gathering. The cops who see him coming run away. Luckily an armed police team shows up saving Tonto's life.

Detective Inspector Janet Hadden sees Tonto and recognizes him for a gangster tool. Someone she might use as a grass (snitch). A search shows he has a packet of drugs on him. She has grand goals for her career and hopes she can twist the situation to her advantage. Hadden digs herself into a lot of trouble.

Tonto works for Paul Grainger. Paul and his brother Seth handle the family’s illegal business. Their older brother Dominic handles the legal side, but he still has oversight on all the family’s business. Something Paul resents and wants. Dominic’s wife Jude is planning to divorce him for his infidelities. She is just as guilty, but she plans to take everything, which might expose Dominic’s other bad habit—gambling. Grainger seeks to work with Irish gangsters in a new illegal deal which will relieve his financial woes. Arthur Hamilton, a powerful crime leader now retired, hires private detective Frankie Mason to investigate his son-in-law Dominic Grainger. While his daughter Jude hates him, he adores her and will protect her.

Crime and violence vie with hatred and rage in OUR LITTLE SECRETS, especially when a dishonest cop gets involved. The characters range from grungy to elite, but all are willing to perform, or be trapped into unethical acts. Everyone has seen or endured incidents which haunt them. While Grace Macallan makes a brief appearance in an early chapter, it isn’t until much later that she becomes active in the maelstrom of the story.

The author of OUR LITTLE SECRETS, Peter Ritchie, has vast experience in policing and organized crime in Scotland, so his writing is authoritative and believable. His previous profession also shows in his understanding of criminal minds. The local jargon is sometimes hard to fathom, but a glossary of Scottish crime terms is included. While it is hard to empathize with the characters, they all provide intriguing interest. Danger always lines the story’s edges evolving from all the character’s convoluted twists and turns. It is a long story, but well-worth the read.

Robin Lee

I really wanted to enjoy this book but couldn’t finish it.
I love crime thrillers, especially those set in my home town of Edinburgh. However I really couldn’t get in to the book. Although I was interested in some of the characters, and how their stories may unfold, I found it too clunky with an unusual showing/ telling ratio.

This superb thriller really packed a punch with an excellent plot and plenty of suspense and drama to interest the reader. Although I haven’t read any other books in this series or by this author, I had no problem getting stuck in to Our Little Secrets and I was really thrilled with the story!

I would like to start by thanking Netgalley and Black & White Publishing for an advanced reader diction of Our Little Secrets by Peter Ritchie.

Our Little Secrets takes place in Edinburgh, with some of the main characters employed by Police Scotland’s Counter Corruption Unit. Although this is part of the Grace MaCallan series, she doesn’t play a very large role in this book until the end. This place is dark, it’s filled with thugs, drug dealers, corruption, gangsters, and anything else unsavory you can think of. One of the main character, DI Janet Haden is a police officer willing to take risks and cross very corrupt line at every turn. She has no qualms about approaching the worst criminals in order to seek inside information to get what she wants, and she wants Dominic Grainger.

Dominic Grainger is the eldest of his 2 half brothers. He seems like an innocent businessman, but is the mastermind of the criminal empire inherited from his father. He thinks nothing of giving up information on anyone, including his family, to get what he wants. This includes his first wife, daughter of another ‘well respected’ crime family.

As for what the actual storyline is, I still can’t figure it out. It’s complex and very confusing. None of the characters are likeable at all, but I think that was in intent of the author. They are terrible people, each getting what they deserve in the end, but none of it really makes any sense. I really was hoping this was going to me interested so I wouldn’t want to put it down, but it was more of a struggle to just finish it. Not really a fan of this one.

This is the first book I've read by this author but it certainly won't be the last. It was a real page turner, I found it so hard to put down so I had a couple of really late nights until I finished it. I don't know the area it is based on but the author has the ability to draw you into it so you can actually visualize the streets. A brilliant read, can't wait to read others from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. Unfortunstely I thought it very hard to get into the story. Very rarely I'm not interested what's happening and how the story ends. This was the first book of a series I found out to late. Maybe it would have been better reading the first few books before.

First I just want to say thank you netgalley for getting these books out that I would have never thought to look at in a store.
Our little Secrets is not a long read but it is a good read. I would love to read other things by this author. I had no issues reading this book though. the story is about a cop who doesn't play by the rules. its a cleaver crime book that comes from first hand knowledge.

Our Little Secrets - The first I’ve read by Peter Ritchie and probably won’t be the last. I struggled to get into it and found it a bit slow moving for my tastes. It was only after reading a fair chunk of it that I realised it’s number 5 in the Grace Macallan series! I like to read books in order so I plan on reading all the others. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the others first, so I’m rating it slightly higher than 3.5 stars.

While it took me a little while to adapt to the style of writing, it was more about the slang used by the Edinburg gangsters which was the hang up.

Once I got hooked, I was all in for the ride.

This is part of a series, but I did not have any problems appreciating the title as a stand alone. Now I know that I'll want to read the others as well.

Readers are introduced to all the main players with no doubt left for who is 'good' and who is 'bad.' But, the ride you go on is not completely predictable with different layers of story unfolding in the pages. Loads of descriptive text to paint the scenes as well.

This is not a title I could binge read in one night. Part of that was due to needing time to get the feel of it all. When I finished reading the novel on Kindle, I noticed a glossary at the back. Definitely give that a glance over BEFORE you start reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and Black and White Publishing for an advance copy of Our Little Secrets.

Unfortunately I really struggled to get into this book - I wasn't drawn to the characters and I found the narrative a little slow for me.

I just couldn't get into this book. It's a great depiction of Scottish gangsters, but it never grabbed me I spent too much time trying to figure out why this is called "A Detective Grace Macallan Thriller" when she had only appeared for a couple pages by the time I was halfway through. I appreciate the opportunity to sample this, but it wasn't too my taste.