A fascinating, entertaining thriller from OCS Francis with plenty of twists and turns.
The plot centres on Amber who learns of the death of her former mentor and lover, Benny. When she takes on the sorting of his archive of work, Amber has her own ulterior motive - concealing a decades old secret. But then the threatening messages begin and it’s clear the secret hasn’t died with Benny after all.
Told from multiple povs, it kept me guessing to the very end. Although the characters weren’t exactly likeable, the strong writing and the mystery kept me engaged. A really enjoyable read.

This was entertaining, I didn't like The Main character though I don't think she ever took responsability of her actions and it was a struggle to read from her point of view since I didn't like her or empathized with her. I did like The wife's character and the cheater husband was a scum. Didn't like The ending I don't enjoy that type of endings I think that character had it easy and shouldn't. Lots of twists that kept You entertained but some parts were not told in First person and that's how I like My books. Told in dual times it was a struggled for me because of the cheating but it was an entertaining suspense mystery thriller if You are looking for one and don't mind the infidelity, it's a trigger for me and that takes away the enjoyment of the book for me when there's an ending like this one.

Amber has just found out that her old mentor, famed photographer Benedict Raine, has passed away. She hasn't spoken to him in years, as they had an affair two decades ago that ended terribly. She's invited to his funeral, where his widow Genevieve offers her a job sorting and digitally uploading his vast archive of photos and negatives. Amber is hesitant to take the position at first, but she soon realizes that there may be crucial evidence from their affair somewhere in Benedict's collection. Evidence she needs to locate before someone else gets to it first. Because if it falls into the wrong hands, her life as she knows it will be over.

Shortly after starting her work, Amber receives the first of many threatening messages. She can't figure out who would know the secret she and Benedict had kept for almost twenty years. Did he tell his wife or teenage daughter? What about his newly hired young assistant - had he uncovered something in Benedict's studio? If someone did stumble upon evidence, why didn't they go to the police? What are they planning to do to Amber?

The story is told through Amber's perspective now & Benedict's perspective 18 years ago on the fateful weekend when their affair ended. Of course, whenever something's about to happen in one timeframe, we're left with a cliffhanger as the story shifts back to the other timeframe. It keeps the plot moving swiftly, though I could do with less introspection on Amber's part. There are some tasty revelations near the end which may or not surprise you, but I think you'll be pleased with the conclusion either way.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the eARC.
Amber, a photographer, is sad but also relieved when her former mentor Benny, a famous photographer, has died. Their shared secret from eighteen years ago will not threaten her anymore and she can finally relax...until the e-mails arrive.
When she's invited by Benny's widow to curate Benny's collection, she hopes to find proof of their secret and reluctantly goes through the archives.
We follow both characters' viewpoints and I didn't particularly like either of them, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. I think Amber should have insisted on calling the authorities despite Benny's reluctance. The many uncomfortable years full of lies and fear were unnecessary, in my opinion.
The writing is smooth and the story itself compelling, I really enjoyed it. I guessed the ending about 3/4 into the book and enjoyed that too!
Definitely recommended!

Interestingly the story is written from the third point of view of the main protagonist and the first point of view of another character. It is an unusual combination but for me it has worked very well. Actually I had to go back a few times and to confirm that the third point of view was not the first, because the character is so well written as if you are looking through her eyes instead of someone else's.

So congratulations on such a great debut because the main protagonist was very well developed and the mystery was slowly and methodologically unravelled. The story has pulled me in from the start and I did not want to put it down. I was quite invested in the outcome.

Now on the downside. The devil is in the details and it is my main reason why I could not overcome my disappointment. I get it that Covid was and will be part of our lives and will eventually make it into the literature. I could overlook it although we do not need a reminder of something that exists in our daily lives today. But I was not expecting the author to make a statement. It is very subtle but making a mockery of someone who could be upset with the Panama Papers, the corruption by world governments, the abuse of power and special privileges by the elites, and in general applying any critical thinking in current events to be hinted as "crazy" and "paranoiac". Freddie played a very small role in the book and was not even a developed character and so that dialogue added no value to the story and was completely unnecessary. Thus afterwards, it became difficult to like Amber and made me question the motives of the author.

So I would like to hear about Amber living 6 months later. "With the year they have just and the baby on the way", they are described as close to penniless in their 40s, not even owning their own home but living in the house that belongs to Amber's mother. The upcoming lockdown in the UK would make a photographer and a professional musician jobless, living on welfare with a new-born baby for years to come, not being able to leave their own house where they already felt being trapped by four walls, even if the nearest house is nearly a mile away. In the meantime, Genevieve would freely roam in her farmhouse, a three store mansion, the well-tended gardens, beech and silver birch woods, other buildings on the property. During the lockdown Genevieve, whose foundation we learned is presumably linked to the Panama Papers, is able to escape to her summer cottage by the lake or any other second/third/fourth home in other countries with her private jet. So naïve and foolish Amber. A woman who is described to be married to such a weakling as Johnny. A woman who doesn’t mind being paid and taking money from the foundation that she learned to launder money. It became hard to like the protagonist and as a result the writer towards the end because I think in his mind Amber is a victim of circumstances and a heroine rather than a morally corrupted, selfish and with limited intelligence anti-heroine.

Thanks NetGalley for a free copy in exchange of the honest opinion.

All Your Lies follows Amber who 18 years ago had an affair with a married older man. News of his recent and unexpected death leave her on edge. At least the secret they shared dies with him, or does it? Someone else knows and is not afraid to tell all.

The story is fast paced, tense and the mystery gripping and kept me turning page after page. It was well written and flowed. The only negative I can say about the writing is the mixed narrative of having Amber's parts in third person. This felt confusing and clunky and pulled me out of the story. It almost felt like Amber was talking about herself to someone else in the third person. I much more enjoyed Benny's chapters and felt that you got inside his head and connected with the character more.

There were several twists in the story that I didn't see coming. I thought I knew where things were heading and then blindsided me. The ending and way things wrapped up felt satisfying and complete.

Overall this was a fun, exciting book that gave me several hours of escapism and enjoyment. Id definitely read other books released by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will post a review on Goodreads and Amazon once the book is available.

All Your Lies by OCS Francis examines the lifelong effects damaging lies can have on relationships and how the truth actually shapes us. The cost of lies are always more than we realize. In this book, more than one person will have to pay.

"... they were also tied together by their shared guilt, by what she did, and what they did together to protect themselves from the consequences. It would be easy just to hate Benedict Raine, but to hate him meant hating herself as well."

Benny, a well-known photographer, shares more than a few dark secrets with the younger Amber, who he mentored years ago. When Benny dies in an accident, Amber believes their secrets die as well. Given the chance to curate his collection, Amber agrees. She'll be able to find the evidence they both hid years ago and destroy it. That's until the creepy messages arrive from someone who knows what happened long ago and won't let the past slip into the dark night.

Pros: The pacing is good once the story picks up. If you enjoy Ruth Ware's lukewarm tension filled books, you'll enjoy this as well.

Cons: Benny's POV and the villain's POV are told in first person. Unfortunately, Amber's is told in third person and it's a complete miss here since the story revolves around her. I would've loved to delve into Amber, a character difficult to connect with given the third person, explore the unsettling and creepy things unfolding around her, but the author didn't give us a chance. Seems the author wanted to make sure his red herrings would land with as much punch as possible, sharing all the available details, not just Amber's POV . The story starts with a griping first person POV, dropping the reader into an intriguing mystery and then falls sharply, telling us the story rather then showing and exploring through Amber. Red herrings are heavy handed, pointing to the nearest character to Amber at the moment then they predictably fall away. The twist is not shocking because one odd character keeps popping up and it's obvious why they're included in the story.

Some of the writing comes across stifled like this line: "All the things that have been happening have started not since Benny's death, but since she was invited to the funeral and then to the farmhouse." Author also has the bad novice writing habit of describing character's actions by using the word is. Character is shaking her head, instead of a much smoother flow delivery: Character shakes her head. This was so annoying, taking me out of the story, reminding me of a third grader just learning verb usage. I truly wished I had a red pen to fix throughout.

Overall a decent story with good pacing. Mixed POV is difficult to pull off and it just doesn't work here. Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Impeccable thriller, I loved this book. I particularly like the characters and the depth of the story.