Member Reviews
Excellent storyline that got me out of a reading slump. This book is fast paced, easy to follow, and has a strong storyline. I loved it, embraced it, and devoured it. It was just what I needed. Cheers to a fabulous debut novel!
If only the opening one-third of this book had been as engaging and action-packed as the last two-thirds! I actually found the parts of the book that dealt with Elice's childhood more interesting than the hand-wringing story of a black female attorney (who made one bad decision after another) in a firm with a bunch of white supremacists. And why would the author bring up the gal's weight over and over again??
A really good debut thriller. I enjoyed this easy read and the pace kept me reading and wanting more. The plot was unique and the dual timelines really added to the story. I look forward to reading more by this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Ellice is smart and savvy, with an Ivy League law degree. She fought hard to get where she is, coming from a poor, small town in Georgia.
Now, she is working at a large company in Atlanta, where she is one of the only black employees.
One morning, she comes to work to find her boss dead in his office.
She does not tell anyone and runs to hide in her office. She is terrified of the scrutiny it could bring to her and all of her deeply buried secrets.
As the police investigation intensifies, tensions rise in the company and corruption, lies and prejudices threaten to consume Ellice….
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This one was ok, didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. The writing itself is very good. I liked Ellice’s character. But it was super repetitive and I had it all figured out early on.
The story is extremely emotive at times, there were some parts that were difficult to read. I definitely had some tears spring up.
3.5 stars rounded up. Ellice Littlejohn is a high-powered corporate lawyer in Georgia, working for a large shipping company called Houghton Transportation. Young Ellice growing up in the rural, poor town of Chillicothe, Georgia would have never imagined herself here, a graduate of a prestigious law school, making more money than she dreamed of, successful by most traditional definitions. But in order to get where she is now, she's lied about a number of things. And after finding her boss (a married man who she was having an affair with, to boot) shot dead in his office one early Thursday morning, Ellice gets caught up in a web of corporate wrongdoing - and all those secrets she's told start creeping back up on her.
I thought this was really well written, intriguing, fast-paced, and intricate, with all the normal ins and outs of a thriller with extra layers brought by Ellice being a Black woman working at a "traditional" heavily white corporation in the South. She experiences daily microaggressions (and in some cases, macroaggressions) at the executive level of Houghton, with other C-suites saying that "her kind" doesn't necessarily belong, or that "things are done a certain way here." There's a really interesting (and sad) component of the story that takes place in Chillicothe, sharp reminders of the reality of many, many poor, rural, predominantly Black towns in the South, and the outcomes for those who don't leave those towns.
Overall, I really liked this book - I thought it was a great corporate thriller, and I appreciated the main character being someone other than a white person, and having that depth of character and identity really be a key part of the story. Thank you to William Morrow for the ARC via Netgalley!
The main character kept making bad decisions that made them come across as dumb or naive. This character was supposed to come across as strong but instead I felt them to be wishy washy and passive.
This was a great read. I spotlighted it as book of the day on my social media platforms, and I included it in a monthly roundup of new releases on my Black Fiction Addiction blog.
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, who happens to be her boss. But everything changes the day she walks in his office for a morning get together and finds him dead with a gun-shot to the head.
Ellice walks away as if nothing happened. Ellice has been keeping her own secrets and fears being involved with what has happened with her boss, make her secrets rise to the surface. In the next days she is promoted to replace her boss. But this is not the dream Ellice was looking for her. Her kid brother seems involved with the what happened to her lover. Her co-workers are leaving Ellice with the feeling that there is something going on and if she doesn't go along with it, her secrets are threatened again.
This is a fast moving novel! I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Thank you Sam Glatt, William Morrow Books and Scene of the Crime for a chance to read and review this novel.
This was a fine murder mystery/thriller but for a lawyer who presumably knows the consequences, she sure makes a lot of bad decisions. I found that too frustrating to really enjoy this.
Legal thrillers are a tough tightrope walk, especially when you have a lawyer protagonist. Several times I thought, "This is the point where Ellice should hire a lawyer." And she never did. She always came up with (a very thin) reason not to.
I absolutely LOVED this book! What a ride! I listened to it in audio and it's very well performed.
This book definitely has it all - sexism, racism, murder, corruption, intrigue, deceit and of course, secrets. It reads like an updated female version of "The Firm". Highly recommended.
A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 A solid legal thriller, I quite enjoyed this one. It's good, but not great (as I'd hoped it would be.) It started off strong and the main character was pretty kickin' as well as empathetic. The mystery started puttering out (or, at least became less interesting to me) and by midpoint, I grew weary and frustrated by the main character's unintentionly, yet very intentional, self-defeatism. Granted, I may behave in much the same way if in a similar situation, but given her intelligence and strength I wanted her to make wiser decisions. That said, the book is good and definitely a worthwhile read that examines a number of important and timely topics: elitism, sexism, corruption, the reality of 'boys' clubs,' and perhaps most signficantly, the fact that the old notion of racial purity isn't so old at all. Makes one think...
“Every lie you tell, every secret you keep, is a fragile little thing that must be protected and accounted for, one misstep, one miscalculation, and your safe little treasures can topple the perfect life you’ve built around them”
Ellie LittleJohn seems to have it all, prestigious education, and great job in a corporate law firm. When her boss, and lover, are murdered, her perfect little world starts to unravel, As the story unfolds we learn more about Ellice and the secrets she’s been keeping for years.
What an entertaining legal thriller. The plot moved along at a good pace and there were plenty of surprises along the way,
Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for sharing arc copy of one of the most anticipated books of this year in exchange an honest review. #AllHerLittleSecrets #Netgalley
I enjoyed this suspenseful story. This is a well written story that has characters that are not only connectable but made the story entertaining to read. This is a fast paced story that is hard to put down. It is engaging and has twists and turns that left me turning pages fast. I enjoyed being pulled into the story by the author's use of details. It is a story that felt realstic and really brought the suspense to a new level. This is a story about makes Ellice question her ethics and her morals. What will happen to her as her present and past collide? I enjoyed her character and her growth throughout the story. What happens to her you will need to read to find out for yourself. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
This book has all the ingredients for a super story. There's intrigue, mystery, secrets, murder, and a few incidentals, like white supremacist characters, and black protesters to spice things up. However, in spite of all that it has going for it, this book falls short of being great.
The writing was good. The characters were well drawn. And the plot was good. There were even some places where you couldn't put the book down. However, it was just lacking that certain something that would have made it a great read. That said, I did enjoy reading, "All Her Liittle Secrets", and would recommend it.
ALL HER LITTLE SECRETS opens with a bang (if you don't want to know specifically what it is, avoid the synopsis). From there, the reader follows Black corporate lawyer Ellice navigating a murder investigation, workplace racism, and hints of some shady dealings.
I think I'd have enjoyed this one more had I gone in expecting domestic or contemporary fiction, rather than a thriller or crime fiction. I just never quite felt suspense or a burning desire to turn the pages. To be sure, I cared about Ellice, other characters (Vera!), and where the story went.
This is author Wanda M. Morris' debut novel. It certainly left me eager to see what she does next!
I love mysteries with twists and complex characters and this book delivers! I couldn't put it down once I started reading and finished within a couple days. Ellice , a black lawyer with a bright future in Atlanta, escapes her small town poverty and violence stricken life to a life of wealth and possibilities. She leaves everyone and everything in her past, which she doesn't want to revisit or remember, including her family and her dark secrets. She doesn't seek love or to start a family, instead she focuses solely on her career to create the security she never had growing up. For companionship, she relies on a couple superficial friendships at work and for passion, she has her boss, Michael, a married man with whom she's had a 10 year intimate as well as office relationship. This security is shattered when she makes an unfortunate discovery one early morning at the office that alters her view of herself and her future and forces her to look back to her past for answers of what to do in the present, as her secrets are threatened to be revealed. The book grapples with timely topics such as poverty, reproductive health care, child abuse, white collar crime, misogyny, racism, and white supremacy. The conclusion wrapped up well, but I would have loved to have a peek at how she was doing after the dust settled. Did she ever find peace and happiness ?
3.5 stars.
The writing in this book was good. It was a quick, easy read.
Overall I liked the storyline but the main character kept making stupid, bad decisions and she was supposed to be really smart so that got on my nerves.
I really liked the past story. Probably more than the current day one.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me this book for my honest opinion.
I liked it! Ellice is a strong black woman that has some secrets that she does not want exposed as a big time lawyer but then she finds her boss, Michael, dead and things start to spiral. I enjoyed how the plot was setup exposing Ellice's secrets in small chunks throughout the novel. There were some parts that I felt were drawn out and too long but overall I enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to my friends who enjoy mystery/thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Book Club Girls for the ARC. Wow what a great book! Will definitely recommend!