Whew. Let’s start with the Pros:

1. Plot - very good. I like how the story was on dual timelines and showed the ugly side of the privileged world both in the past and the present. Plenty of good plot twists sprinkled and I like how the story progresses and intertwined the two crimes.
2. Pacing - I read this book damn fast because it was engrossing and didn’t lull TOO much with useless side plot points
3. The characters - overly privileged, delusional, money-hungry, only care about image and how dare the less fortunate even blink our way, country club folk that are purposely written this way so it shows that if you have the right connections and bank account, you can make anything disappear and you hate them? Masterfully done. I wanted to sucker punch them all.

Cons:
1. The characters- now you’re probably wondering why con since I just praised them. The “good” guys”. Holy crap they are bad in their own way. Asshole daughter that will be set off if you even ask how are you doing. The only bit of personality this kid has besides being rude was saying “ommmmmg Emery was my best friend!!!!!”. Whenever this character spoke she just had to throw that statement in there. We get it. Pushover mother that just acquiesced to all this rude ass behavior, just drank coffee and bitched at the ex husband.
2. Certain characters dialogue and current event references - authors….we don’t need constant celebrity and pop culture references to indicate we are in the 2020s. Your story works fine without it we don’t need constant name drops.
3. Authors, PLEASE STOP trying to include every socio-political issue in your stories to try to get points. I’m glad that more authors are trying to bring attention to certain situations in our current time but I swear that they just add random ass paragraphs that have NOTHING to do with the scene at hand. It just makes it feel cheap and acting like “I mentioned this, pats for me”. Stop doing this. This also goes for cultural references. Stop it.

So, overall yes I did like this one. I just wish the main characters were a bit more likeable and this could have been a smash. But I found myself eye rolling whenever the daughter Zoe or mother Liza would speak. It could just be me because I’m at that point in my life when I find myself muttering “kids these days”. Like I said, good plot to keep you entertained and the sheer audacity of privileged people will have you hoping they all get their cosmic karma.

I was so lucky to receive an advance copy of All The Dirty Secrets from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. After reading the description of this book I couldn't wait to sit down and read it! The only problem was I started before bed and ended up staying up WAY too late as I couldn't put it down. This book is fantastic! You will NOT be disappointed with this. I can't wait for all my friends to read it so we can all talk about how great it was!

𝙶𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚏 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜; 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚝.

A beach setting with hints of dark academia, ALL THE DIRTY SECRETS had me hooked right from the beginning. 25 years ago Liza Gold was a teenager at a beach party with friends celebrating their high school graduation; all of them went into the water, but one didn't come out.

Fast forward to present day, and Liza is living the same nightmare, but this time it's her teenage daughter Zoe's friend who drowned during Beach Week. Liza is taken by surprise when she finds out that Zoe was best friends with the victim. She finds herself recalling memories of that night so long ago, and soon evidence comes to light that shows the two deaths are connected. She is forced to re-evaluate the friendships that she has held so dear for so long.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it far more emotional than a typical thriller tends to be. A big thank you to Forge Books and NetGalley for this dynamic early read.

Anyone who is not already a fan of Aggie Blum Thompson will be after reading this one. Wow! These are some messed up folks and the story is one that you can really sink your teeth into. How well do we really know our friends? Even those we've known "forever" may have a dark side that we never see. That's the main premise here, and it takes the main character Liza on a crazy journey that starts with events that happened to her in high school and that ultimately impact her own teenage daughter in ways she could never have imagined. This is a thrill ride that hooked me from the first page. Thompson's writing style is so engaging that you can't help but think about your own long-term friendships and wonder if there was ever something you may have even witnessed a friend doing, or that they told you about, that wasn't what you thought it was at all. Seriously, it will mess with your head, but read it anyway! Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

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 taut 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 2 deaths are connected. Told in alternating POV’s 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. Good book club material with plenty to discuss. Well done! I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

5 Stars! SMART, SUSPENSEFUL AND KEPT ME GUESSING!

If measured by my absolute inability put this book down, Aggie Blum Thompson’s newest thriller was as compelling and well written as her first book: I Don't Forgive You. Now I cannot wait for her next book!

Set in the Washington DC area, the story elucidates the local high school graduation tradition of drunken debauchery known simply as beach week, when recent grads descend on the Maryland/Delaware shore. This story follows two generations of private school students at Washington Prep whose beach week was marred by a tragic death.

It’s déjà vu for Liza Gold when her daughter Zoe’s best friend is found drowned on the beach, as Liza’s closest friend similarly met her death during beach week 28 years earlier. Are the two deaths linked? Who is responsible? The slow reveal kept me guessing.

The story unfolds from different points of view weaving back and forth from the 1990s to present day. The intrigue ramps up as Zoe stirs up the normally staid Washington Prep community by investigating her best friend’s death and uncovering all sorts of dirty secrets about her mother’s high school friends and their kids.

I highly recommend preordering this book which becomes available on July 12, 2022. It definitely falls squarely in the tradition of the great summer page turners. Many thanks to the author, Forge Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Check out my Instagram fmi on my favorite reads @MMfromDCreads.
#AlltheDirtySecrets #NetGalley #AggieBlumThompson

Aggie Blum Thompson has done it again! I loved I DON'T FORGIVE YOU, and I was eagerly awaiting ALL THE DIRTY SECRETS. Now, I can't wait for Thompson's third novel! The dual timeline in the book--present day and 1994--helps bring the reader deeper into the story of Liza and her circle of friends. Twenty-eight years ago, one of Liza's friends, Nikki, died during Beach Week, and now, Liza's daughter's friend meets a similar fate. Both Liza and her daughter, Zoe, are brave, smart, independent woman who want to get to the bottom of what's happened. But what Liza soon realizes is that her circle of friends is not who she thought they were. This book has it all: fully fleshed out characters, plenty of secrets, and a slow reveal. Well done!

This book was outstanding. This is going to be in my top 10 books I have ever read.
The suspenseful writing and plot twists made for a great page turne
The plot is what grabbed me to pick this book in the first place. So many twists and turns to keep you on your toes. This was utterly unpredictable and that is what I love in a book.
This is a unique story that will keep you guessing the whole way through.
Deserves all the stars!

Forge Books,
Thank You for this eARC!

Liza Gold was having a great time with her friends at a high school graduation party at the beach. But everything changed when one of her friends did not return from the ocean. Fast forward 25 years and Liza is recently divorced and trying hard to maintain a relationship with her teenage daughter, Zoe. Then the unthinkable happens! Another death at beach week of a young woman who happens to be Zoe’s best friend! Are the deaths somehow linked?

It is easy to lose yourself in this excellent book by Aggie Blum Thompson! Told in multiple points of view and alternating timelines it was so engrossing that I literally didn’t put it down until I was done. The author leads you in lots of different directions, as you try to solve the mystery. Highly entertaining and unforgettable, I would highly recommend this one! FIVE STARS!

TW - Rape

Many thanks to Forge Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


A wonderfully written thriller I couldn’t put down.

An excellent thriller set in the exclusive world of private schools. It covers two generations of friendships and betrayals which adds to the interest. The ending is killer… it really is!

As somebody who grew up in DC, I was really excited to read this book. I wasn’t disappointed. It involves an upscale private school an event that happens at a graduation party. There are two timelines that are weaved compellingly in the story telling between that night and the present. I would highly recommend!

This book was a great domestic thriller! I read it in 1 day, I couldn't put it down. It is told from dual timelines, present day and the 1990s, it is not confusing as some multiple timeline books are. The books is extremely well written, clear and concise. There are some darker themes but they made the story. Just a heads up, there is a bit of a trigger warning, suicide and sexual abuse. The characters are realistic and have real life problems. Anyone who likes a good domestic thriller will like this I think. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book! I was planning to read this over a few days as I don’t have as much time for reading these days as I’d like, but that didn’t happen. One sitting. Done.

Two deaths twenty-eight years apart at beach week under eerily similar circumstances leave Eliza at the center of a mystery that could be putting her teenage daughter in danger. As she peels apart the details of both nights, it becomes increasingly clear that her lifelong circle of friends is not exactly as tight as she always believed.

Told from multiple POVs and different timelines (present day and 1990s), Thompson effortlessly carries the reader on a journey that is so authentic to time and place, you’ll forget you’re not a part of the story. While there are some dark themes, as in most mystery/thrillers, they are handled with such tact and care and will undoubtedly make this book an endlessly discussible book club choice.

Propulsive, engaging, and atmospheric, All the Dirty Secrets puts Thompson on my list of must-read thriller authors. You won’t regret picking this one up, but you won’t be able to put it down until you reach the end.

Wow! Such a great thriller. This is my second Aggie Blum Thompson book and I loved both. The writing is what sets the book a step above your average thriller. This had me hooked from the first page with the multiple POVs and the dual timeline from the 1990s. There were so many different threads and the Thompson does an amazing job of pulling it all together. The friendships, the characters, the settings – they were all so real and believable. I really related to Liza raising a teenage daughter and how hard that can be. There were times when I was so nervous reading this book. I did not see the ending coming at all! Overall a really well-written. one-sit read. Trigger warning for sexual assault and suicide.

You have to read this book! It is that good. This book sucked me in from the first page – tight group of friends? Check. Dark, twisted secrets? Check. Dual timeline? Check! I read this book in one sitting. There were so many little details that were so true to life, whether it was how things were back in the 90’s (hello, no parental supervision) or the mom and teenage daughter tension, or how BFFs can be like family, but they can also stab you in the back.

I loved Aggie Blum Thompson’s first book, but honestly this one is even better with all the different POVs, and so many different plot threads. I did not know how she was going to pull this all together, but she totally did. I was blown away by the ending. This is a must read for thriller lovers.

Thanks Netgalley!

Thompson pulls no punches with this one…All The Dirty Secrets is atmospheric, shocking, and downright unforgettable. A can’t-miss story for fans of domestic suspense! I enjoyed her debut and this one is just as good, if not better! Loved it!

Aggie Blum Thompson is definitely an author to watch out for. This is the second book I have read of hers and I have really loved both. I think it’s the quality of writing, and deeper themes that set it apart from other books in the genre.

I loved that it was told from both the mom and the daughters POVs, and that there is also a timeline in the ‘90s. None of the chapters were filler like they can be sometimes when there are multiple POV, every single one revealed something new and kept the suspense going and the story moving forward. I loved the whole theme of a group of really close friends who grew up together and have lots of old secrets, as well as the tension between the main character, Liza, and her daughter, Zoe, who is was such an accurate representation of a teenaged girl. I was totally invested in both.

Thompson kept me guessing the whole time. I really did not see where this story was heading but when we got to the end it made such perfect sense. I love when an ending can hold up! This is an awesome one-sit read I would recommend to any thriller lover!

Thanks to Forge and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I am having a really hard time reviewing Aggie Blum Thompson’s All the Dirty Secrets. It is wonderfully written and compelling. The setting is awesome. The pacing is really solid and I finished it in one sitting. I am looking forward to reading more from the author. BUT. There needs to be either a content warning or more transparency in the synopsis, as the book is not exactly what it is made out to be in the Macmillan’s blurb. See below for a very big spoiler and don’t read if you don’t want it.
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Spoiler alert and trigger warning—there is major sexual assault (actual g@ng r@PE that I was not expecting in this novel (and it gets worse and worse during each chapter that covers it, without an appropriate wrap-up). It’s not a random reference; it is a major plot point that is introduced officially 2/3ish of the way through. If you are a survivor of sexual trauma, or if you have loved someone who is, this may not be the book for you. While I enjoyed the bulk of the novel, the last third was too jarring. this is a painful topic and it is hard to read at times.