This was a good book! It took me about 25% in until I felt the story really started to move, but all that exposition was needed to set the stage!

This is a legal/corporate thriller that was layered up to the sky! So many different elements were in the story.

I enjoyed how the story seamlessly transitioned into the main characters past and to the present. Each flashback provided major insight into why she was the way she was.

This novel also incorporates major themes of rascism, micro aggressions, and sexism. It was very well done!

I took a half star off just because there were a few parts that made me go “that wouldn’t happen since she’s a lawyer.”

Overall, this is a smart, captivating, well written thriller novel that I recommend!! I hope to see more from this author.

I loved this book. It is THE OTHER BLACK GIRL meets THE FIRM and I have to say for me, it works even better than the highly buzzed about bestseller from Zakiya Dalila Harris. Wanda M. Morris creates a high-tension, layered mystery surrounding Ellice Littlejohn, a sharp and successful corporate lawyer whose life is balanced on keeping ALL HER LITTLE SECRETS, past and present, buried deep.
Ellice has given all to her career, and an extramarital affair with her boss (which she even keeps secret from her best friends) so when he is murdered at work, no one around Ellice expects the implications to come.
This was twisty and rich with themes of race, class, gender politics and I couldn't put it down.

Unfortunately this one didn’t do it for me. I felt a disconnect from the beginning with the authors writing style.

I am looking for a thriller and not an individuals thoughts on how racism. I could care less if authors thought purple people were killers, but don’t mention it to the world.

Keep hate, racism, judgment, stereotypes, politics out of fiction books! We are in 2022! Live in the here and now! I could go on and on about all the injustices of this world that needs a hell of a lot more notoriety than race. We have so many more marginalized people who DO NOT HAVE A VOICE TODAY!

This was such a fast paced, twisty thriller! I really loved the premise of this book and I simply couldn't put this book down! From the very beginning I was intrigued and was anxiously waiting to see what happened to the company and how things would pan out for Ellice. This reminded me a bit of The Boys' Club (a female attorney in a man's world) and I loved that this book tackled racial tensions, women in the workplace, ethical issues and a mystery too! I have recommended this to a few friends and they have enjoyed it as well!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC to preview for our library!

A twisty tale that weaves together a suspenseful who-done-it, with the topic of race and wealth! A nice mix suitable for fiction, mystery & thriller readers!

All Her Little Secrets is a twisty legal thriller filled with a heavy dose of suspense. Think How to Get Away With Murder. Prepare for tons of twists and a fast-pace. All Her Little Secrets doesn't let readers go until the very last page. Highly recommended!

There's more than meets the eye to Atlanta lawyer, Ellice. Between the polished professional dress (and Louboutin pumps), Ellice has a lot of secrets and will soon find that she also has a lot of problems. As the book begins, she's going to work very early one morning to meet with her longtime boss and lover. What then follows is a twisty and fast-paced thriller involving corporate intrigue and executives behaving badly, murder, racism, and deeply buried secrets.
I love books about the law and books written by lawyers and Ms. Morris' background does a great job adding credibility and believability to many aspects of the story. She beautifully captured the corporate life and relationships.
Ellice didn't always act as intelligently as I expected of someone of her background and education. And then there were some areas that weren't explored and would have added depth to her character, like her relationships with her long-time girlfriends. Overall, All Her Little Secrets was a very impressive debut novel and I look forward to seeing what Ms. Morris writes next.
Thanks to Netgalley, the Book Club Girl Early Read Program and HarperCollins Publishers for the opportunity to read All Her Little Secrets in exchange for an honest review.

This legal thriller deals with corporate ethics, racism, sexism, and family relationships. Successful black attorney Ellice Littlejohn discovers her boss and lover dead in his office. Because she fears secrets from her past will be disclosed, she doesn’t report the death to the police. She is quickly promoted to his position, but discovers shady things are going on in the company. Her boss’s death is deemed to be murder rather than suicide and she becomes a suspect. The action alternates between past and present as her secrets are gradually revealed. Ellice is threatened by blackmail and physical danger as she tries to solve the murder and uncover the corporate misdeeds. I was interested in learning her secrets and the revelation of the murderer, but Ellie made too many stupid decisions that endangered her. The narrative did skillfully portray the racism and sexism encountered by this professional black lawyer.

I read three books this week. The first is a super suspense thriller, All Her Little Secrets, a debut novel by Wanda M. Morris. When lawyer Ellice Littlejohn walks into her boss's office early one morning and finds him dead from a gunshot wound, she runs away to her office and tells no one. Why? Ellice, the only Black lawyer at Houghton Transportation Corporation, was having an affair with her now-dead white boss. She finds herself caught in a dangerous tangled web that includes her younger brother, along with the CFO of Houghton who clearly dislikes Ellice, the female head of HR, and the CEO who appears to be suffering from dementia. It's a twisty novel that combines the movie Get Out with the legal thrillers of John Grisham. It's a real page-turner.

A great whodunit story. A force to be reckoned with in the legal world Ellice has it all. A posh job, a way to the top office, and a smart and handsome boyfriend. Until her boyfriend ends up dead. A twisty suspenseful story it leaves you wanting to turn each page seeking the answers. Like a great John Grishman novel, it takes you down this path that you aren't sure will show the answers but you sit down and enjoy the ride.

Highly recommend.

In my lady murder book club, we are always looking for the hottest new thriller to read. While we really want to read just murder books, we are also open to more of the thriller variety. But lately, we have been looking for thrillers/murder books that are written by POC. To say that the POC pool for thrillers is scant would be an understatement.

We have been looking for months and nothing has been popping up on our radar—-until this book! We were so excited to see this book when it was pitched to me last summer. We decided in July that it would be our November book to read and we couldn’t wait to check out this debut thriller even if it sounded more like a courtroom drama (the main character is a lawyer) but as a group we were all really committed to reading this one.

We expected this book to have a lot to discuss when we were done especially about race in the workplace. One of our book club members is black and her and I also work together so I was especially eager to see what she thought of this book and what she gleaned from the thriller. This one has been receiving a lot of hype across social media and while sometimes that can be off putting, in our case it only made us more and more excited!

Summary

In this fast-paced thriller, Wanda M. Morris crafts a twisty mystery about a black lawyer who gets in over her head after the sudden death of her boss. A debut perfect for fans of Attica Locke, Alyssa Cole, Harlan Coben, and Celeste Ng, with shades of How to Get Away with Murder and John Grisham’s The Firm.

Everyone has something to hide…

Ellice Littlejohn seemingly has it all: an Ivy League law degree, a well-paying job as a corporate attorney in midtown Atlanta, great friends, and a “for fun” relationship with a rich, charming executive—her white boss, Michael.

But everything changes one cold January morning when Ellice goes to meet Michael… and finds him dead with a gunshot to his head.

And then she walks away like nothing has happened. Why? Ellice has been keeping a cache of dark secrets, including a small-town past and a kid brother who’s spent time on the other side of the law. She can’t be thrust into the spotlight—again.

But instead of grieving this tragedy, people are gossiping, the police are getting suspicious, and Ellice, the company’s lone black attorney, is promoted to replace Michael. While the opportunity is a dream-come-true, Ellice just can’t shake the feeling that something is off.

When she uncovers shady dealings inside the company, Ellice is trapped in an impossible ethical and moral dilemma. Suddenly, Ellice’s past and present lives collide as she launches into a pulse-pounding race to protect the brother she tried to save years ago and stop a conspiracy far more sinister than she could have ever imagined (summary from Goodreads)

Review

This book was definitely more legal thriller than murder mystery but I was totally ok with that. I love Law and Order and I wanted to be a lawyer before life happened so a legal thriller was right up my alley! It was also a book about secrets—dark secrets. Though not as dark as I was expecting, Ellice definitely has secrets in her past. I felt invested in Ellice’s story and her past but there was something off about this novel though and I had a hard time identifying what it was until later on. I mean I read the story quickly and I thought it moved at a nice pace that also kept me reading longer than I meant to. I was interested in the story and the characters, but yet I felt a strange disconnect. I held on to my thoughts until my friends and I could meet for book club to see if anyone else was feeling the same way and my friend really hit the nail on the head for me—I am a white reader. T

here were times in the book when I was frustrated by Ellice’s choices, for example there were plenty of times when I was like ok she’s a lawyer why isn’t she asking for her own lawyer? I would immediately be asking for an attorney to protect me but Ellice didn’t and when I brought it up to my book club friends, my black friend was like ‘because she’s black, she’s suspicious of the white legal system’. I thought this added a lot of perceptive to Ellice’s character that as a white reader I missed. This is exactly why our book club has been looking for thrillers by POC that explore race issues in white/corporate America.

I loved by Morris brought in racial issues to this book and really created a space for readers to explore racial issues and their own bias in a thriller format. It was a quick read with social substance that didn’t necessarily dominate the storyline but was there for readers to see and ponder. This book would be a great read for book clubs (as it was for ours!) as there is a lot to talk about—race, gender, secrets, murder—all the things! I am so glad we read this book. It’s an exciting debut novel with a well developed main character with a backstory that the author took a lot of time developing which is something that isn’t always at the forefront of thrillers. It was a great book and if you are looking for an interesting legal thriller this is the book for you!

Book Info and Rating

Format: 384 pages, hardcover

Published: November 2 2021 by William Morrow Books

ISBN: 9780063204331

Free review copy provided by publisher, William Morrow Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: legal thriller, thriller

This book built so well and I really enjoyed feeling the tension throughout the book. The writing was strong, which is always a nice bonus in a mystery/thriller type book. The social commentary aspects were very well done.

This was a slow starting story for me but I am glad that I stuck with finishing it. The characters are all well written and the racism storyline was done tastefully as well. The thrill was definitely there while trying to figure out who was the murderer and why. I voluntarily reviewed an advance readers copy of this book.

Loved it! A fast paced mystery following Ellice Littlejohn, who is sleeping with her boss. When she goes to meet him early one morning, she finds he has been murdered. Knowing how it looks, she immediately leaves as though she was never there. She is soon promoted, taking her bosses position.
I don’t want to give anything away, but I really enjoyed the plot and writing style!

Debut mystery/thriller/legal drama from Wanda Morris does not disappoint. The author delves into many issues, current and past, to tell the story of Ellice Littlejohn, an attorney in Atlanta.

ALL HER LITTLE SECRETS BOOK REVIEW

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

ALL HER LITTLE SECRETS is a mix between a mystery/legal thriller/suspense novel. The story felt so realistic and covered many relevant topics including toxic workplace environments, racism, and sexual discrimination. While I enjoyed listening to it and thought the twists were pretty entertaining, I’m not sure how long this story will stay with me.

This book reminded me a bit of How to Get Away With Murder and The Other Black Girl, so if you are a fan of either of those, I’d check this book out! This was the authors debut novel, so I’m hoping she’ll come out with more books in the future!🤩

Thank you William Morrow for my gifted copy!

It feels like my expectations were too high for this book. I love lawyer thrillers and this premise gripped me from the start. But I felt like it didn’t quite get to the level I was waiting for.

I do think it could be an interesting movie adaptation and I will definitely be picking up the author’s future books!

I think the reason this book and I were not a good fit for each other is because I couldn't understand why the key character, Ellice, did not just call the police as soon as she discovered her boss dead in his office one morning. I couldn't understand her response, which likely means I was not understanding the character. So, I was off on the wrong foot pretty early in the book although you get more insights later which help. But she then kept on making decisions which didn't fit with what a lawyer would do, especially an experienced corporate lawyer with her educational background.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I don't read a lot of thrillers, and when I do, I find that either I'm able to guess what's happening too early in the book and it loses it's enjoyment for me, or the twist in the end is sooo far-fetched that it's ridiculous. This book was neither of those. It was a great balance of trying to figure it all out, thinking you may have gotten it, then being pleasantly surprised by the twist...surprising, yet plausible. While I didn't find the protagonist to be especially likable, and often very frustrating, I loved how all her secrets came together and the eventual outcome.

The jumping off point for All Her Little Secrets is simple enough: Following the death of an Atlanta shipping company's general counsel, his protege and lover - an African American woman in her early 40s -- is thrust into the position as his successor. Her sudden appointment over other more senior attorneys coincides with a series of protests against the company because of its retched record in hiring minorities. That this is no coincidence becomes clear early on..
As the title implies, much of the book involves the slow revelation of the main character's many closely held secrets. The author skillfully integrates flashbacks to her early history into an intricate story. I found it entertaining, but was somewhat disappointed that several of the plot twists were semi-predictable. On the whole, however, I found the book a good read.