Member Reviews
A mystery thriller combo based on the culture and community around an elite private school.
As an alum, Liza Gold is perfectly qualified to provide PR for her daughter's DC private school. Liza is recently divorced, and was lucky to land this job working as a PR person under the leadership of her high school friend Archer. The job allows her to keep tabs on her daughter Zoe.
Only a sophomore, Zoe sneaks off to the Senior Beach Week and is present when her best friend dies in a drowning accident. This tragedy eerily mirrors a death during Liza's own senior week with her friends and she cannot stop thinking about her friend who died that night.
Liza is consumed with the memories and as her daughter is drawn deeper into controversy until she decides the stories could be connected. The resulting mysteries and secrets that are revealed will take your breath away! If you like school based mysteries, flashback thrillers and friendships gone wrong, then this is the story for you! #AlltheDirtySecrets #Tor #MacMillan #netgalley #netgalleyreads
Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Aggie Blum Thompson for the advanced copy of All the Dirty Secrets in exchange for my honest review.
Wowza. This is a heck of a thriller, starting right off the bat with its foot on the gas pedal and not letting up! "All the Dirty Secrets" is probably the most appropriate title I've ever seen for a book. I could not put this down until I figured out the resolution to the many mysteries.
There is some pretty dark and unsettling content that comes up toward the end of the book. While this only added to the story for me, I know it may be upsetting to some readers, so I definitely wanted to mention it.
The ending left me a little frustrated but I think it's 100% realistic and I totally understand why Thompson chose to go that route. That's about as spoiler free as I can keep that. :)
All the Dirty Secrets will be on bookshelves July 12!
Ok so I figured out the ending before I was even 30% in but the ride was still fun!! The ending came together so amazingly and I love the way it all played out. Great book! Loved the characters and the writing style.
Fast-paced and impossible to put down, ALL THE DIRTY SECRETS is one of those rare dark and twisty thrillers that will have you guessing all the way to the final page.
Liza Gold is shocked when she learns her teenage daughter’s best friend has died in a drowning accident during Beach Week, especially when she lost her own best friend in the same manner nearly 30 years earlier. As Liza tries to help Zoe deal with the fallout from her friend’s death, she begins to question what happened to her own best friend all those years ago.
Thompson does a brilliant job of transitioning between the two timelines and building so much tension that you can’t help but keep turning pages until the final, shocking conclusion.
With this incredible follow up to her equally twisty debut - I DON’T FORGIVE YOU - Thompson has firmly established herself as a must read author. Make sure you pick this one up when it releases on July 12.
My thanks to Macmillan/Tor-Forge for the advance reading copy.
This was one of those “impossible to put down” thrillers that I thoroughly enjoy! Many intrigues, twists and tension create a wonderful book. Bring from the Washington DC area myself, I also enjoyed some of the “DC” references that many in the area can relate to—hello DCUM forum ;). I highly recommend this book!
Wow, Aggie Blum Thompson knocked it out of the park with All the Dirty Secrets! A fantastic novel that I couldn't put down. Told from the viewpoints of Liza and her daughter Zoe, the novel focuses on two deaths, Liza's best friend Nikki's, which happened during Beach Week, the week that private school students celebrate their graduation at Dewey Beach in 1994 and Zoe's best friend Emery's, which happened 28 years later. Could they somehow be connected?
Thompson weaves a web of intrigue that won't let you go until the very last page. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
This was the PERFECT follow up for Thompson. I read her debut novel and loved it, so I was really looking forward to, and had high expectations for this one, and I was NOT disappointed. Honestly, I thought All the Dirty Secrets was even better. This book follows the story of Mom, Liza, and her daughter, Zoe after Zoe loses her best friend in the same way that Liza lost hers almost 30 years before. I felt the perspectives from mom and daughter were top notch. I really enjoyed seeing Zoe's perspective as a teenager in contrast with her moms. I feel a lot of times mom and daughter are either too much like best friends, or they are fighting too much. I think it shows that there is more to us than what is on the surface and at the end of the day, you really need your mom not matter how old you are. I thought the pieces came together well at the end to tell a great story. There were plenty of times when I thought I knew where the story was going, but the ending gave me whiplash in the best way.
Aggie Blum Thompson has managed to pen a novel that focuses on difficult topics simmering in today's political and cultural climate. White privilege and rich privilege are themes prevalent in 'All the Dirty Secrets' and they resonated with me while I was reading this. Told in a dual POV, we get glimpses into the past, described to us by Nikki, who we learn has died before the main events of the novel begin; alternatingly, we get a present time account by Nikki's friend, Liza, our sole first-person narrator. Set in the affluent Washington D.C. area, the plot surrounds the mysterious deaths of two different girls, in two different decades. Liza's daughter, Zoe has the unfortunate experience of losing her best friend; initially thought by everyone but Zoe to be suicide, we soon see that all is not as it appears with Emery's death. We are taken on a rollercoaster of a ride as we follow along to learn exactly what happened to Nikki and Emery.
I really liked the author's ability to suck me into the story. From page one, I was invested and it was easy for me to keep track of all the characters and actions. Oftentimes, mystery writers tend to inundate readers with a lot of convoluted information and too many different characters, but these were not issues in this novel.
On the opposing end of this, I must admit that I figured out the 'whodunit' pretty easily and early on in the book. This left me slightly disappointed, as the thrill was lacking afterward. The overarching plot was good, but I think the author could have drawn out the mystery a little more.
I give 'All the Dirty Secrets' a rating of 4 stars, as I did enjoy it overall, despite the lack of a major thriller element. I appreciated Thompson's willingness to write about issues that are largely overlooked in today's society, highlighting the need for change. There were no instances of foul language so this is a suitable read for persons as young as teens. Trigger warnings include: rape, violence, death of a loved one, racism, and white privilege, so persons sensitive about any of these should go in armed with this knowledge. In the end, this is a pretty good novel, and I can definitely see myself re-reading it in the future!
*A great many thanks to Netgalley, Aggie Blum Thompson, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this ARC. It is important to note that I was under no commitment to provide a positive review, and all opinions are undoubtedly my own.*
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Murder mystery / thriller
Ohhh, this was a good one!
25 years ago Liza was graduating high school, celebrating with her friends at the beach. Only the celebration turned to tragedy when one of her best friends, Nikki, never made it out of the ocean.
Now, she’s working for the prep school she attended as a kid, is a newly single mother to her teenage daughter Zoe & trying to find any way she can to connect with her. She finds out about Zoe’s secret best friend, Emery, the same night she’s called to the beach to pick up her daughter and identify Emery’s body who died in an eerily similar way to Nikki all those years ago. With her daughters nudging, Liza realizes these deaths might not be accidents & her closest friends may not be who she thinks they are….
All set in a rich, secret laden, private school scene.
This book kept me hooked the entire time. It bounces between Liza, her daughter Zoe & Nikki from 25 years ago. It’s a twisty-turny ride with enough surprises to keep you flipping those pages.
Definitely look for this one out July 12th!
Thanks @Netgalley !
When teenage Zoe’s best friend drowns at a seaside beach party, her mother Liza relives a night twenty five years earlier, when her friend Nikki also drowned at the same location.
All The Dirty Secrets eventually come tumbling out in this thriller, as Liza, unable to connect with her bratty teenage daughter, begins to suspect that her old classmates are not what they pretend to be, as Zoe tries to discover if the two deaths are connected.
Told in alternating points of view and timelines, the pieces slowly come together as the two timelines merge. This is an engrossing story that tackles and explores several topical issues that will stay with you.I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Excellent thriller/mystery. Fast paced, highly engaging. This story takes place in two different time frames, both ending in similar tragedies. Are the incidents related? How well can you trust those you know and call your friend.
Highly recommend.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
First of all this phenomenal book is set in the upscale DC private school scene. Give me all the private school or boarding school thrillers! Then add in all the secrets, lies & different sides of the story and you get an amazing thriller that is just exactly perfect! A go to author for me!
This is a very well written book. The best version of a mystery thriller. Fast paced and interesting. It is also a great lesson on morale and the input into teenagers minds, mother daughter relationship. Dual timeline is handled very well and doesn't confuse the reader. Great description of the settings, I was there on the beach and night with all the characters.
I highly recommend this title!
A wonderfully descriptive mystery novel focusing on a mother doing her best at keeping her daughter safe while attempting to protect herself from the aftershocks of a scandal from her youth.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to read and review!🙌🏻
It’s been almost three decades since Nikki’s haunting death. Liza is adjusting to life as a divorced mother with a troubling relationship with her daughter, Zoe. Both their lives change dramatically when a horrifying death, much similar to Nikki’s comes to connect the past with the present.
All the Dirty Secrets’ is an enticing mystery novel, with dual POV and occasional peaks into the past through flashbacks. It’s twisty and hard to put down, staying true to its title — no one is entirely innocent, or has no secrets. The connections to the past are so well executed and the ending plot twist delivers the impact that’s been built up. While I loved the story, I ought to admit I figured out the final twist and I wish it had been more shocking by my not anticipating it. A great mystery/ thriller novel nevertheless! 3.5 stars⭐️
Can lightning really strike twice?
This was a good one. A mother's long past misfortune echoes in her daughter's life, leaving her suspicious of every single person who once knew her. I mean, someone did this, someone wants to remind her of what happened that night decades ago and they're dangerous enough to involve her daughter.
This was fast paced and suspenseful. The setting was fairly unique, giving characters unique backgrounds that allowed them unique skills. This was well written and so !mysterious with great twists.
At a Beach Week party to celebrate her high school graudation, one of Liza Gold's friends drowns. Two decades later, lightning strikes again at a Beach Week party, but this time it is her daughter Zoe's friend that drowns. Liza starts to question if the two events are related, and how well she really knows her close circle of friends and their kids. Told through multiple POV's and two different timelines, this is a suspenseful read that I tore through! I loved it, I even loved to hate how snotty Zoe is lol.
A brilliant summer mystery story told from two different points of view. I loved the past stories told in the 90's decade. A brilliant, mystery thriller that will keep you hooked and guessing throughout.
Gossip Girl meets Big Little Lies in this mystery about students from a wealthy DC private school. Beach Week brings freshly graduated students from all corners of the east coast together for a week of fun, alcohol, partying, and... a mysterious death? Liza lost her best friend at Beach Week in 1994 and it all comes flooding back to her when her daughter's best friend meets the same fate at Beach Week. This book had all of the elements that I love in a good mystery; alternating timelines to bring a story together, dueling points of view to see perspectives from all different characters, suspense, plot twists, scandal, and lies to name a few. This was a propulsive story that kept me guessing until the end! Thompson did a terrific job at drawing two timelines together to bring you one twisty masterpiece.
How much can a relationship stand before it breaks? Likeable characters make up this mystery that spans over almost three decades. Well written and a page turner.