As much as any novel I have tried to read, the beginnings of All Our Darkest Secrets left me confused. It seemed to be an awkward way to start a novel. Once I finally figured out who is who, it was a further disappointment as Rosie soon shows herself to be a mean, vicious person. And that theme goes all the way to the end. Unlikable characters, violence and betrayal are hardly things that make up a good novel for me. I did stick it out, though. The writing, once you get past what it is saying, is crafted well. I would not read this book again though.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This was a very good book. It reminded me of a movie I had watched a long time ago where the main character kept trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, though the name of the movie escapes me,. James Casper is a DEA agent, something he decided to do after watching his very best friend struggle repeatedly with drug addiction. His best friend, Matthew, eventually overdoses and this becomes the driving force behind James to bring down the biggest drug dealer in the area. Rosie, his wife and Matthew's sister, does something that starts the action rolling, James finds himself in an untenable position of helping his wife or her going to jail. That decision resonates down the line and drives every decision he makes. There are flashbacks to the childhood of James, who lived with Matthew and Rosie and where his friendship and love for Rosie started. There is a lot going on in this book though the action never stopped, I literally could not turn the pages fast enough. There is a lot of violence, some a bit graphic, but I didn't find it out of line considering the characters. and their less than legal activities. I highly recommend this book and I will look forward to another by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Author for the chance to read and review All Our Darkest Secrets!

This was a really good twisted read!
I loved how the main character DEA James was that a drug force agent wanting to clean the streets from narcotics. His life is simple until.his wife does something wild and then turns his life upside down!
The characters were great and intriguing.
What I loved most here has to be the writing. Ford knows how to keep the readers attention and keeps them guessing till the very end!
I couldn't stop reading. For real stayed up till two am.

Thank you again for the opportunity to read and review this novel!
I will post to my Bookstagram, Goodreads and Facebook accounts closer to pub date!

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
And what a thriller it is!!!
Rosie and Matthew were adopted and then came James. Matthew begins a life of drugs - James admires and falls in love with Rosie.
James becomes a DEA agent and hopes to clean up the drug scene after seeing the life Matthew has had.
Rosie hates her job and her boss and when James comes home to find him murdered in their home...their life tumbles.
Matthew has always told James take care of Rosie - so they try to cover up the murder - but as always happens one thing leads to another - and another - but hopefully he will always have his Rosie - or will he?

This book shamelessly takes the reader to some dark places both in terms of content and in challenging us to question just how far we would go when faced with a seemingly impossible choice - protecting the person you love or doing what society demands of us. Every page is relevant - the text is tight and compelling. The characters are an interesting mix of sympathetic and frustrating, adding up to a book which is dangerously real.

This is a different type of book to what I usually read. But I really enjoyed it all the twists and turns. I did not expect the end twist. Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC.

James Casper is one of the good guys. A DEA agent. A loyal husband. With his sights set on the man at the top of the city’s opioid crisis, James is about to make the biggest bust of his career. Then his beloved wife Rosie does something terrible, and James must choose: report it—or help her. He knows how this works, and he tells himself he’s smart enough to get away with murder. But James’s worst enemy knows what they have done—and he won’t hesitate to use it to manipulate him.

Wow, this would have to one of the best books I have read recently. A thrilling ride that just did not let go until the end. If I could give this more than five stars I would give it 10. I had to read the last couple of pages a couple of times to be sure that what I thought had happened had, I guess a fitting end. Fabulous plot, fast paced and wonderful characters who you were rooting for even if their personalities veered on the border line side of psychopathic behaviour. Now off to get Martyn Ford's other book that is available on Amazon Australia, hope it is as good as this. I highly recommend this book to one and all and thank Netgalley the publisher, and author for a copy of this book.

A great book from the start to finish with some of the little endings to certain chapters or sections being real OMG moments.

The book has flashbacks from different periods in James life from when he was 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 where he infatuated with Rosie the 2 year older sister of his best friend Matthew to 17 when they start dating and then present day where they are married.

James has always loved Rosie and will do just about anything to protect her even during her Red days!

All Our Darkest Secrets is a fast paced book which is hard to put down – $333,333

Will be on the look out for more of Martyn's books

Webster defines riveting as “having the power to fix the attention.” That would be an understatement for All Our Darkest Secrets. It has been a long time since I have read a thriller that left me in such shock at the ending. Martyn Ford could not have told this story or ended this book any better than he did.

Ford sets the tone for his latest novel All Our Darkest Secrets in the prologue, which gives a glimpse into the earliest days of the love story of James and Rosie, back when James’s love for Rosie is unrequited.

James is a DEA agent married to Rose, the only girl he has ever loved. He has been there for her triumphs and her sorrows. He has kept her secrets, even from childhood. When she crosses a deadly line, James must choose between helping Rosie or doing the right thing.

Throughout the book, James has flashbacks to his childhood, when he was growing up with Rosie and her brother Matthew, James’s best friend. At times, James is tormented by these vivid recollections and unsure if he is in that moment or just remembering. The lines are even blurred for the reader on a few occasions. As the back story is coming into better focus for the reader, the current situation in which James finds himself begins to make more sense.

Ford presents an enthralling tale of love and loyalty. All Our Darkest Secrets has plot twists that keep the reader anxious to know what happens next. The story is told in such a way that the reader can feel James’s dilemma and fear and pure horror when Rosie’s darkest secret of all is revealed.

All Our Darkest Secrets kept me on the edge of my seat. Having James and Rosie becoming friends before they were lovers was refreshing in a world where friendship is often overlooked. It was love at first sight for James. However, in time, he won over Rosie’s heart. Or did he? The reader is left to decide for himself/herself whether Rosie truly loved James or if she was using his feelings for her to manipulate him. James will do anything for Rosie, but how far will James go to protect the woman he loves? How far will Rosie go to protect her secrets? Will their bond be strong enough for the most difficult challenge they have ever faced?

Disclaimer: I received an advance electronic copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not paid for this review nor otherwise compensated, and it contains my thoughts and mine alone.

Content Warnings for this book: gun violence, drug use/addiction, suicide

In writing this review and considering this book, I'm reminded of a line from Hannah Gadsby's excellent standup show Nanette, that comedy is about tension, and that good comedy involves finding the right amount of it and trusting the comedian to know exactly when and how to release it. Now, All Our Darkest Secrets is not a comedy (though it could certainly be read as a particularly dark and violent comedy of errors), but Martyn Ford takes this principle of tension and wields it with spectacular deftness. I felt tense as I read this book, in the absolute best way, thoroughly gripped and anxious to see what would happen next. It's almost 400 pages, and I read it in less than 24 hours, that's how hooked I was.

To put it simply, this was an electrifying read and one of the most thrilling books I've read this year. The plot moves extremely fast, and yet I never felt as though I had missed a key detail or important point. Martyn Ford deftly weaves in flashbacks and scenes from the main character's life prior to the events of the main plot, using them to plant seeds he harvests later in the narrative. Ford's prose is smooth and highly characterized, like a fine bourbon, and goes down just as easily. A book like All Our Darkest Secrets could very easily fall into tropes and generic posturing, too weighted down by its own self-awareness to actually be enjoyable. Fortunately, it does nothing of the sort.

The particular context of the opioid epidemic in the United States is a useful backdrop for the characters; it ensnares them so thoroughly that they are never truly able to escape. James and Rosie are a fascinating couple, and the nuances of their interpersonal interactions and relationship, both as characters in the story and as a married couple, are themselves enough to fill a book, let alone the actual events presented here. I loved that these characters (not just James and Rosie, but virtually all of them, in the whole book) felt smart, felt clever and seemed aware of the situation rather than merely passive actors within it.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book. It's a compelling, clever read that built my attention with every page.