I am always up for a legal thriller. Ellice is legal counsel at a trucking company when her married lover is killed. As she is considered a suspect, her investigation to try and clear her name takes some unexpected twists.

The only thing that kept me from giving this one five stars is the reason for everything just seemed a little unbelievable or maybe I just don’t want to believe the world could go there.

I cannot say enough good things about this amazing thriller set in the legal world of Atlanta. The plight of a black female attorney becoming embroiled in her white boss’ murder is the crux of this story. Loved every second!

This is a fast paced thriller. Ellice Littlejohn has lots of secrets, most of her life is based on lies. And just when she lands her dream job, her world begins to implode. But she’s a fighter and so she fights back. A page-turner!

A richly detailed debut novel that builds in suspense and is difficult to put down. Readers of John Grisham or Tamron Hall’s new novel will appreciate this gripping thriller.

Ellice Littlejohn has always strived to leave her difficult childhood in the past. An opportunity to go boarding school catapults her on the road to a new life, an Ivy league college, law school and finally her dream job as the sole black corporate attorney in her firm. When her white boss, who she has been having a secret affair with for many years, is found dead Ellice is forced to face her past and reveal her secrets. Quickly promoted into his position, she is faced with gossip and suspicion from both the police and her coworkers.

Wanda Morris brings up questions of morality, sexism and racism relevant in today’s society in an authentic voice. I can’t wait for more from this author and will be adding her to my must read list.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to review this title before its release.

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda Morris is a captivating thriller. Ellice Littlejohn is an attorney at a powerful Atlanta corporation. When her boss, whom is married and she’s been sleeping with, is found dead, things get real fast. Ellice knows there is no way Michael committed suicide, so who would want him dead? Someone wants people to think it was Ellice and clues start leading the police in her direction. As her past starts meeting her present, Ellice must figure out what’s going on in her office, in order to save herself.

Great read, strong female protagonist. I would definitely read more from this author!

Ellice Littlejohn is one of the few black employees at her company and their lack of diversity is causing a stir with the locals. While she is trying to ignore the media, she is having an affair with her white boss. One day, she comes to work to find him dead. Who could have done it? Ellice ends up tangled in the mystery and discovers there are some shady things going on in the company.
This book was a pleasant surprise. I really didn't know what to expect, but ended up really liking it. It did keep me guessing and rooting for the main character.,despite the fact that she was hiding secrets of her own. She was doing so more out of fear than trying to be sneaky. I liked that she was a stronger female character. I also enjoyed the ending, which seems to be rare for me lately. So many seem rushed lately, but this one played out well.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ellice is a 50-something Black woman lawyer in a mostly white male office. One morning she finds her boss dead and then she is promoted to his place. The more she learns, the more in danger she is in. The secrets aren't that shocking after all. I liked this one.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely enjoyed this read. Literally, I read this book so quickly, it was that good. Ellice is an attorney for a transportation company. When her boss- the General Council and the man that she is sleeping with is murdered in his office, Ellice is announced as his successor. Trifling right? That was only the beginning of a tumultuous journey for Ellice. The lies and secrets that were a part of the Executive Suite was jaw dropping. A brethren, white supremacy group, money laundering, it was a LOT! The kicker, the way the executives took advantage of the CEO who had Alzheimer’s. I felt so bad for him. I was heavily invested in the book. I knew that at some point Ellice would be a person of interest but I did not expect the plot twist. I liked Ellice’s character, she had overcome so many obstacles to get where she was- she didn’t allow the men to ruin her. She literally had to remember who she was and that changed the dynamics. I loved the suspense aspect of the story and the constant curveballs- everything was timely and didn’t steer the flow of the book. This is definitely a book that I would recommend.

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M Morris is a crime fiction, thriller about Ellice Littlejohn who grew up in a life of poverty and abuse. Getting an education and getting out of Chillicothe, Georgia, was her goal and she had accomplished it. She was a corporate lawyer with a penchant for expensive clothes. She gave her brother Sam money when he needed it and paid for the nursing home for the woman who had taken care of them, Vera. All of a sudden, things were going wrong. She walked in Michael's office one morning before seven as was her habit. Instead of finding her boss and lover smiling at her, she found his dead body. It looked as if he had committed suicide. She panicked and turned and left. Let someone else find him and call the police. She waited. Eventually the stories started flying. She got a call from the CEO, Nate, who wanted her in his office. He wanted her to accept Michael's position as lead counsel. He had just died. What were they thinking? Then things got really complicated. Was she anything more than a token black? Who was involved in this? And why?

Ellice had few friends, one brother, and one elderly guardian in the throes of dementia. As the days wore on she discovered little pieces that did not year fit together. Michael's wife called her and subsequently gave her papers she had found in a safe deposit box. She called the number. The man was out. Then he was missing. She went to her brother's house where things were odd. Ellice was a strong and determined woman. She loved being a lawyer and was determined not to let anyone take that away from her. Would her past come back to haunt her? This was a fast-paced investigation, almost a thriller in nature. Her character as well as others, was revealed a piece at a time, in surprising ways. The crime/scandal was uncovered slowly as well, with the pieces of evidence coming from different directions until they told a story. Could she live it down? Compelling, intricate, a release, of sorts, this book is a must-read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of All Her Little Secrets by Harper Collins, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #harpercollins #wandammorris #allherlittlesecrets

"All Her Little Secrets" by Wanda M. Morris is a fast paced and suspenseful read/listen!

Ellice Littlejohn is an Ivy League educated corporate attorney working for Houghton Transportation Company in Atlanta, GA. She's the only black attorney in the office and she's had a 'personal relationship' with her married white boss, Michael, for several years.

Ellice has tons of secrets and she's added one more to the heap. She left Michael's office on the 20th floor after finding him dead of a gunshot to the head. Fear causes Ellice to walk away like she was never there and didn't see a thing. Why would Michael take his own life?

Ellice is swiftly promoted to replace Michael's executive position. She wonders why she's chosen as his replacement. As questionable actions continue on the 20th floor, Ellice becomes increasingly uncomfortable with her work environment. Who should she trust?

Then Police Detective Bradford informs Ellice that Michael's suicide was staged and security cameras show someone using her badge to enter the building the morning of the murder. Now Bradford is asking Ellice too many questions and she doesn't want to answer any of them! Should she be concerned for her safety now, too?

I enjoyed the author's writing style and the pace of this story. It moves quickly with little downtime making it feel like a much shorter read/listen than it is. The characters, although not all likable, are well described and all add to the drama and suspense overall.

There are socially relevant and workplace issues that highlight this story. Real life situations in current time mixed with harrowing tales of Ellice's past. I love the Southern atmospheric feel of this story that creates added tension from within our American culture. This story is brimming with them!

I feel fortunate to have been gifted with both an ARC and early audiobook of this title. I was able to read/listen at the same time or alternate between the two formats for a quicker reading experience. My personal preference was the audiobook. Narrator Susan Dalian has the perfect first person voice for Ellice and her gender voicing, although not always gender distinguishable, does work for this story.

Was this story believable? Heck no! And I'm pretty sure I'm not a "Thriller or Suspense Aficionado". I'm a reader/reviewer who enjoys a creative story that hooks me in early, keeps me entertained and leaves me with a satisfying ending. This book delivers all that!

I recommend this book to those who enjoy an edgy, fast paced, suspenseful story dripping with socially relevant tension! This is the author's debut novel and I looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

Thank you to William Morrow and Scene of the Crime for an ARC through NetGalley. I am grateful to Book Riot and Harper Audio for an early audiobook via Libro.fm. It has been my pleasure to give my honest and voluntary review of both formats.

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 just happens to be her white boss. But everything changes one cold January morning when Ellice arrives in the executive suite and finds him dead. With a gunshot wound to his head.

And then she walks away like nothing has happened.

Why? well, Ellice has been keeping her own dark secrets, including a small-town past and a brother who’s spent time on the other side of the law. She definitely has no interest in getting involved… no matter how guilty she might feel.

Then things start to get weird at the office. Instead of grieving this tragedy, people are gossiping, the police are suspicious, and Ellice is promoted to replace her boss. She is the only Black attorney in the building, and has complicated feelings about this promotion. On the one hand, the opportunity is a dream come true. But on the other… she feels a bit corrupt taking a paycheck from this company that rarely hires POC. She can’t shake the feeling that something is off, both about Michael’s death and in the company itself. And it turns out, she’s right.

This book was fantastic! I loved it. The writing was excellent and I really got invested in Ellice. The story is told in three parts with short flashbacks to her past woven in. It was great way to do it because we got the backstory we needed but didn’t get taken out of the action. This is a great workplace book- which you know I love. It tackles issues of race organically and realistic way, and damnit if I didn’t shed a tear or two. It reminded me of an updated John Grisham story, mixed with a little The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris.

Ellice Littlejohn is a corporate attorney for a family-owned transportation company in Atlanta. That’s what her friends and coworkers know about her. There is a lot more that they don’t know, from her upbringing as the daughter of an alcoholic, of how she managed to escape the small town she grew up in, or how she helps out her little brother when he’s not in jail. Most people who know her don’t even know she has a brother. She’s not embarrassed, exactly, just a master of compartmentalizing the areas of her life.

Her company, Houghton, has protestors outside every day, men and women of color who say that the company won’t hire anyone who isn’t white. Ellice is proof that it’s not true, as she’s a black woman, but when she looks around the company, she doesn’t see very many others who look like her. But she’s used to that. It’s been like that for her since she got a scholarship to boarding school, never going back to Chillicothe.

But when she goes into work one morning for an early morning meeting with her boss Michael, she finds him dead in his office. She panics, leaving the executive floor and heading back down to her office. While at first it’s thought that he took his own life, it doesn’t take the police long to decide it was actually murder. And when the company’s CEO Nate taps Ellice to take Michael’s job, to become the new general counsel at Houghton, she takes the job.

While the company is happy to move forward again, Ellice has some misgivings. She can’t find any paperwork on an important deal, and she can’t access any of Michael’s emails about it. Then she is given evidence of some financial improprieties. And she finds out that Michael had been speaking to an attorney who was known for working with white-collar criminals. Ellice starts to think that the company was doing something questionable or even illegal and that Michael had been trying to find out if he could be held liable for any of it.

Then when the police come to her with photos of someone entering the building the day before Michael’s murder, entering with the security badge she had misplaced, that’s when Ellice thinks she may be in over her head. Because she doesn’t let on to the police that she knows who is in the photos, but it’s clear to her that it’s her little brother Sam. And if Sam is somehow tangled up in Houghton’s crimes, then Ellice may not be able to help him.

But as she continues to get stonewalled trying to get information, she finds that there are those on the executive floor who know her better than she realized. As her secrets come out one by one, from the affair she’d been having with Michael to things that happened when she was a young teenager living in Chillicothe, she starts to wonder if her brother isn’t the only one she needs to be worried about. Has this new job put her in danger too? Does she need to find herself an attorney like Michael was trying to do, or will she be the next one on the executive floor who faces a bullet?

All Her Little Secrets is a powerful thriller about a woman uncovering corporate secrets. Author Wanda M. Morris has crafted a story of secrets and lies, blackmail and murder, that will keep you turning the pages to find out the ending. But it’s also an incredibly moving story about a woman of color and the challenges that she faces in the life she has chosen for herself. And if that’s not enough for you to pick up this book, there is also the layer of the effects of a traumatic childhood and how those scars are carried over into adult life.

Heart-breaking and nuanced, All Her Little Secrets will rip you apart a few times before reminding you that humanity can be good too, that there are special people who help others heal instead of breaking them down. For me, I took one look at the cover and immediately wanted to read this book. And I’m so glad I did. But there are some dark scenes in there that will haunt me, even as I remember how much strength these characters showed in surviving and thriving and living on their own terms.

Egalleys for All Her Little Secrets were provided by William Morrow through NetGalley, with many thanks.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

As soon as I saw this was being compared to How to Get Away With Murder, I knew I had to read it. That was one of my favorite shows and let me just say…the comparison works!

For a debut, this one kicks butt! I loved how it starts off with a bang and never really lets up. There are so many little twists throughout to keep it moving and to keep you guessing as to where it is all leading. I loved our main protagonist, Ellice Littlejohn – she definitely has major Annalise Keating vibes working in her favor!

I liked the structure of the story, how for the most part it is told in the present, but occasionally goes back to the past to fill in some much needed backstory on Ellice’s history. This ends up being crucial to everything that is going on and like peeling back the layers of an onion, we realize that there are some pretty big secrets that Ellice has been hiding.

I really liked this one and loved not only the mystery of who was behind all the murders but also just how timely it was. I don’t read a ton of legal thrillers, but this one really kept me engaged and I will certainly be keeping an eye out to what comes next from this author.

Ellice Littlejohn is an African American woman who hails from Chillicothe, a small town in Georgia. She and her younger brother, Sam, were unlucky enough to be raised by a single mother, Martha, who was too busy carousing and drinking to properly care for her children. However, thanks to the assistance of a good-hearted neighbor, Ellie obtained a scholarship to a boarding school in Virginia, where she excelled. Later, she graduated with honors from Georgetown and Yale Law School and is now the only person of color employed in the legal department of Houghton Transportation in Atlanta. Despite her success, Ellie has traumatic memories that haunt her. The author's powerful flashbacks depict the horrors that Ellie and Sam endured during their formative years. Ellie feels tremendous guilt for leaving her brother behind while she pursued her educational and professional goals.

In the suspenseful thriller, "All Her Little Secrets," by Wanda Morris, we cringe as Ellie becomes entangled in a potentially ruinous situation at work. One morning, she arrives early at her firm and finds her boss dead of a gunshot wound. Instead of reporting the incident to the police, she leaves the scene of the crime for what she believes are legitimate reasons. Before long, Ellie suspects that some of the executives in Houghton are involved in illegal activities and expect her to help cover up their misdeeds. She fears that if she refuses to go along with their demands, she will risk her reputation, career, and possibly her freedom.

As matters become ever more perilous, Ellie faces some unpleasant truths about herself; for too long, she has been gullible and cowardly. Will she find the courage to do what is right, rather than what is expedient? Ellie is a fascinating albeit flawed character who, having made terrible choices in the past, belatedly tries to redeem herself. The story moves along briskly and consistently holds our interest. "All Her Little Secrets" is the absorbing tale of a lost soul who desperately wants to change the trajectory of her life. It is also an indictment of influential, bigoted, and arrogant men who believe that they are above the law.

Ellice Littlejohn certainly has her share of dark secrets, and when you boss is found dead in his office what follows is a fast paced thriller. What if the place you work, isn't the place you think it is. Nor the people whom you think they are, instead of doing what she should have done at the start of the book. Ellice is pulled into the storyline, in ways that will keep you turning the pages. I definitely would recommend this book to others.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and William Morrow the publisher, and the opinions expressed here are my own.

This was exactly what I was hoping it would be: engaging, thrilling, and kept me turning the pages. With a complex plot, well developed characters, and a clever protagonist that you can root for from the start, this is one I'd recommend to anyone looking for an intense and captivating read. For fans of When No One Is Watching and While Justice Sleeps.

WOW! Just wow! All Her Little Secrets, a debut book by attorney Wanda M. Morris, is off the charts! Arriving at work to early to have a “meeting” with her boss on the 20th floor, Ellice discovers Michael Littlejohn with a bullet in his head. Suicide or murder? Rather than getting help, she runs to her office on another floor. From the very start, secrets abound everywhere. I can definitely see this book being made into a movie. Lots of characters who have lots of secrets. Ellice is the only black attorney in this Atlanta company and there are protestors outside the building protesting against the company for discrimination. Who can Ellice trust? What secrets did she bring with her from the small town where she grew up? I raced through this book to find answers. I could see this book become the first book in a series. Warning: Make sure you clear your schedule as you won’t want to stop reading. My thanks th William Morrow and Custom House for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris is a delicious legal thriller with so much sizzling mystery that you will feel so satisfied when you turn that last page. This timely novel is done beautifully with characters you love to hate and will keep you guessing to the end!


*ARC received in exchange for my honest review*

this is a legal thriller that is part social commentary, part family drama, and part murder mystery in the vein of How to Get Away with Murder.

the main character ellice, is a middle aged black woman who works at a company in the middle of facing protests and impending discrimination lawsuits. when her boss (who she's been sleeping with) is found dead, she finds herself caught in a conspiracy while trying to keep her own secrets under wraps.

the social commentary came across quite clumsily and ham-fisted for me, and it did more to distract than add to the narrative and ellice's character, especially in the beginning. there was excessive commentary and narration from ellice that felt awkward and forced, when the events themselves were pretty clear, especially if the reader is a part of a group that has to deal with bigots of any variety.

ellice herself is not a likeable protagonist for me. the events of her past and the way her character is set up, didn't line up with all of her actions that served to propel the story forward. she just came across as a bitter middle-aged person with a superiority complex and was constantly putting down other people, particularly women, in her narration for a majority of the novel.

the actual writing is well crafted for the most part, clear and direct and easy to follow. and i liked the interstitial storyline and the way it tied to the main plot. this was a good debut but while the prologue and premise drew me in, this book wasn't for me.

cw: police brutality, infidelity, racism, suicide, child abuse, underage pregnancy, rape, child sexual assault, on-page unsafe abortion

This was one whirlwind of a book with a strong Black female taking on huge social issues.

Ellice was born into a challenging family situation in a small town of Georgia and yet, she broke through and managed to become a successful lawyer. However, she admits her mistake was having an affair with her boss, Michael, who was married with children.

She said we all have buried secrets in our life. She certainly did. The book begins with a meeting she was supposed to have with Michael early in the morning. He had a comfortable suite with a nice view on the top floor as the Executive VP and General Counsel of the Legal Department. Her office is was a few floors below his and it was common that they had morning chats. But this time, she found him dead. She followed her instincts to shut the door and leave quickly remembering that this floor had no security cameras. This story takes off from there as Detective Bradford is called in to search for clues to find the suspect.

The writing is excellent with a fast flow of words. The author has a way of describing the setting and characters so perfectly that the reader could easily imagine what's happening. I could just see "a little town of nothing." With each chapter ending, there was no stopping with the high suspense. The story incorporated huge current political issues: racial prejudice, guns and rape. It made me wonder if this is fiction or on the edge of nonfiction as parts could be true.

My thanks to Wanda M. Morris, HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy.