Police Scotland has a dark secret within the corruption unit. Is Grace Maccallan is behind most of it?
DI Janet Hadden needs help and she goes to the notorious underworld for help.
Good old fashioned violence and intrigue makes this a great read.

Didn’t realise this book was part of a series! No matter I had no problem getting immersed in this fast paced gritty story of gang land Edinburgh! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

This author is new to me and although it is part of a series it worked well as a stand-alone. Not quite 5* but 4.5* if there is such a thing. Although there are lots of characters and local dialect I did manage to follow it quite easily. It's set in Edinborough and focuses on gangland crime where the police department's methods aren't always by the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and can highly recommend

I cannot continue reading this book
The language is too horrible. The subject matter is confusing and the writing is so out there. I do not want any more books by this author or with this type of language-so often on each page.
I am
Sorry

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Black & White Publishing, for the ARC.
I rather enjoyed this book. This is the latest in a series featuring Grace Macallan - except Grace doesn't appear until the latter stages of the story, and this is really about DI Janet Haddon. Perfectly readable as a standalone.
Set in Edinburgh with its atmospheric grey-ness, DI Haddon works in the 'sources' unit. She is addicted to risk-taking and ambitious - not for money but for position, and resentful of being passed-over for promotion. She desperately needs a big break and to get that she turns to corruption, She coerces likely informants, by blackmail, into becoming 'sources' - following-up with official processes to sign them up, except she keeps some meetings with them 'unofficial' in order to advance only her knowledge. In this case she has decided that the head of a crime family, Dominic Grainger, is her target.
Dominic deals with the finances, the money laundering and his two younger step-brothers do the leg-work, only Dominic has a gambling problem and has been skimming money from the business and cannot let his brothers know.
In her bid to reel-in Grainger DI Haddon uses innovative ways and means to meet with and cultivate her sources.
Meanwhile Dominic needs money and needs to get rid of his wife Jude - except Jude is daughter to a retired arch-criminal Arthur Hamilton. Before she knows what's happening the tables are turned on Haddon - something she is definitely not happy about, and word reaches Grace Macallan about possible police corruption.

This is a complex police-procedural, interesting and absorbing where double-crosses and murder abound.
Will DI Janet Haddon get away with it?

This is book 5 in a series which I wasn’t aware of when I requested to read it. I don’t think it impacted my read one way or another. I was a little perplexed though to see this referred to as a Grace Macallan mystery however that character plays little role until the last quarter of the book and even then it’s with a whimper rather than a bang.

The story revolves around a crooked cop DI Janet Hadden who attempts to manipulate and scheme her way to the top of the Scottish constabulary. She is stand-offish and cold woman who is best probably described as close to sociopathic. She assumes she is smarter and better than her counterparts, and most definitely more so than the gangsters she is consorting with. She’s a pretty ugly and contemptuous character.

Much of this book is about the turf war between various lads and looks deeply into the one family the Graingers - headed by not so obviously crooked Dominic who manages to control his two younger stereotypically thuggish brothers. However, Dominic has been dipping in to his legal businesses to support his gambling habit, and can’t tell his brothers, so finds himself in a bit of a bind. Hadden has a proposition for him and from that point you know this relationship of sorts is not going to end well.

The storyline is quite complex. It just missed the mark for me. There was no great detective work, or strength of characters set about solving the case - it was more about the power brokers fighting it out and the resolution being the end product. It gave the plot a messy feel for me and seemed directionless. Perhaps this was a reflection of my own expectations and as said previously I am not familiar with the author or the thread of the previous 4 books.

The saving grace for me was the strength of the character Hadden - the antithesis of what she is supposed to be. She got me, even if my ferocity of feelings were disgust and loathing.

Thank you to Netgalley, Peter Ritchie and Black and White Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is already out in the UK but is due to be published in the US in 2020.

I’d like to thank Black & White Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Our Little Secrets’ by Peter Ritchie in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

DI Janet Hadden sets up a meeting in a bar with criminal Dominic Grainger and persuades him to become an informant for Police Scotland which, she explains, will benefit both of them. But Dominic has problems that won’t go away, his half-brothers Sean and Paul, father-in-law Big Arthur Hamilton the gangster kingpin who wants to take him down, and his wife Jude who he loathes but the feeling is mutual.

‘Our Little Secrets’ is a thoroughly enjoyable gritty police thriller about Scotland’s criminal underworld that had me enthralled. It was slow to start but as I continued reading I became more involved with the characters who were tough, scary and bloodthirsty, not the sort of people I’d want to meet on a dark night! The plot was intriguing, well-executed, with twists and turns and a final twist that was shocking and unexpected. As this is the first book I’ve read by Peter Ritchie, and the fifth in the Detective Grace Macallan series, I’d have liked her to feature in more than just the last few chapters, but what I read of her I enjoyed and will look out for more books in the series.

Our Little Secrets (Detective Grace Macallan Book 5)
400 pages
Peter Ritchie
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐


I was hooked from the very first page. Well-written with short chapters that keep you engaged and turning the pages. Action packed, fast paced and full of twists and turns. I loved the characters too. This was my first read by this author but will not be my last. Thank you to NetGalley , the publisher and author for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Dark, gritty, gripping thriller. This is a really well written thriller where the lines between good and evil are blurred more than once.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

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!

Our Little Secrets is the fifth novel in Peter Ritchie's Grace Macallan series. Rest assured it won't be my last.

This superb thriller really packed a punch with an excellent plot and plenty of suspense and drama to interest the reader. I particularly liked Peter Ritchie’s first-rate character creation, many of whom I was absorbed in no matter what particular traits they possessed. There was definitely something about the deviousness of his characters that completely held my attention.

Dark and gritty, Our Little Secrets kept me on my toes and fully entertained all the way through and I can't wait to read another of Peter Ritchie’s books. If you are a fan of crime, police procedurals and thrillers, you don't want to miss Our Little Secrets!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Black & White Publishing via NetGalley at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Black & White Publishing for the eARC.
This is part of the Grace Macallen series, but she doesn't really get into the story till the last quarter, and I must say I missed her. The book features many members of the Edinburgh underworld and what a world it is. Normally I'm not crazy about the gangster genre, but this was one hell of a read! The characters are well drawn and very scary, ruthless and violent is putting it mildly...
One of the main characters is a policewoman, Janet Hadden, cold as ice, ambitious and probably a sociopath. She hooks up with the leader of one of the main leaders of a crime syndicate with the idea of bringing him and his two brothers down, hoping to climb up her career ladder.
There are few characters to feel empathy for, they're rotten to the core and their machinations are
what kept me glued to the story. An absorbing read with a satisfying ending, highly recommended...I can't wait for the next book!

This book was an average read. I had been expecting more but it was still an ok book.
Writing style and pace were of average quality
An ok book

This is the first book that I've read of Peter Ritchie and i'd be interested to read some more. I actually didn't realise till I finished this book that it was past of the Grace Macallan series as she plays a very minor role in the story, although her contribution will leave a lasting impression. Set in the Edinburgh gangland scene the book focuses on the fiercely ambitious character of DI Hadden and her climb up the career ladder and the depths she'll go to get there. A good insight into the workings of the police, the crime underworld and police corruption. If you love crime thrillers that keep you gripped filled with colourful characters, that are full of suspense, double crossing and serve consequences than this book will give you that.

Excellent read. Hard to put the book down. Right from the start you were sucked in and new this was going to be a good one. The storyline was wicked. Not quite knowing where it was going next. There was lots of twists and turns in the road.

This is an author that’s new to me.. it took me a while to read this book, I enjoyed the characters and characteristics.. they were definitely Scottish! At parts I felt the story was slow and I was quite uninterested then there would be an unexpected surprise and I read a chapter quickly. The ending surprised me though I felt it was quite rushed. An author I would try again.

This is the first book I couldn't finish. Unfortunately, it was becoming too hard to pick up since I was getting no pleasure from reading it.

The writing felt disjointed and the author relied far more on the f-word than I was comfortable with. In my opinion it's lazy writing to continually chose one word rather than use various others.

And for me the story was too hard to follow or care about.

That said, if the synopsis of this book sounds good to you, I would certainly give the book a try. Most reviewers are rating this book high. At this point my thoughts are by far the minority.

I’m ashamed to say I’ve not read any of this author’s previous books, something I’ll be rectifying PDQ. Luckily it wasn’t an issue. Although this is part of the Grace Macallan series, she plays a very minor role as Ritchie switches the focus to another group of characters. And what a bunch they are. My recurring thought while reading this was good Lord, these people deserve each other.

This dark, addictive tale is a cops vs gangsters story set in Edinburgh. I can’t even describe it as good guys vs. bad as there’s little moral ground between the 2 sides. It all begins when an ambitious detective schemes to acquire criminal informants in her quest for promotion. DI Janet Hadden already has an impressive clearance rate but has been passed over because of her social skills. As in lack thereof. That’s fine. She’ll just employ some of her other talents to get what she wants.

Her target is Dominic Grainger, the eldest of 3 brothers who run a criminal empire. He’s a brash, confidant guy who looks more like a businessman than a gangster. Keeping his 2 younger brothers in check is a constant challenge. But he has 2 other more pressing problems.

The first is his wife. They’re the poster couple for the old adage “marry in haste, repent at leisure”. Divorce is an option but she’ll take him for everything right down to the contents of his sock drawer. Which might be all she gets if he can’t solve problem #2. Dominic is a gambler. Unfortunately he’s not very lucky & if his brothers ever find out how much of their money is missing….well, brotherly love has it’s limits.

They are the 2 MC’s but there’s a large peripheral cast that are very well developed. Stand outs include Davy McGill, a young low level drug dealer who’s never caught a break in his life & Frankie Mason, a grungy but resourceful PI who gets caught up in the whole mess.

The plot is impossible to summarize. It’s incredibly complex but due to the author’s story telling abilities, you never feel lost. Instead you become completely immersed in the characters’ machinations, bracing yourself for the next hit. I can think of only a handful who have any redeeming qualities. As for the rest, their scheming & subterfuge would reduce Machiavelli to tears.

If noir & hard boiled fiction had a conjugal visit, this would be the result. It’s like watching 2 speeding trains heading straight at each other…..you fear what will happen but you can’t look away. If you’re a fan of cozies and/or HEA, move along. Nothing to see here. But for those who love the dark, gritty stuff of authors such as Ken Bruen, Malcolm Mackay or Stuart Neville's "Ghosts of Belfast", you just found your next great read.

4.5 stars

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Think I have just found a new author to read. I like police thriller books and this is up there with a really good read

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.


i really had a hard time getting into this book.. so much so that i DNF it around 30ish% in. The book was slow... it felt scattered.. and i just could NOT get myself interested in it.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.