It was quite an interesting start, but I felt that the plot didn't really go anywhere and there wasn't many twists and turns.

A pacey, compelling read to satisfy a suspense reader as much as someone looking for an emotionally engaging story about the dark side of a relationship and the secrets we all keep.

Against the unfolding psychological suspense plot, the heroine is brilliantly drawn, for me the most successful element of the novel. She is likeable and difficult and multi-layered, and her personality is revealed and enriched by flashbacks to her own back story which pushes the impact of the front story and provides an additional layer of emotion and suspense.

A strange read..... The overall writing style of short sentences provided a sense of urgency but really didn't go anywhere for me.
I constantly asked myself "and the point is?" but aside from not falling pregnant early in a new relationship I found I still couldn't answer my question.
I'm sure there's a moral buried somewhere in the book, I'm just not sure where or what it is.

A couple who both have secrets. Finding out the truth will either make or break. NOT knowing can be worse than knowing the truth

You find an email on your boyfriends iPad, you read it and now you can't undo it..you know. That's how this thrilling book starts with loads of twists and turns. I recommend this to all

Once I started reading this brilliantly written book I found it hard to put down as it moves at such a fast paced and you need to know where it’s going next! It’s about love, trust, secrets, and lies. As the title says, everything but the truth.
Rachel didn’t mean to look at the email coming through to partner, Jack. She hasn’t known him long and is pregnant with their child. She has seen it though and she can’t undo that nor the chain of events set in motion. Rachel seems to want to know the truth about Jack at any cost and yet it soon becomes apparent she has secrets of her own. We learn quite quickly what Jack is hiding but there is still a lot more to find out about him and about Rachel.
The author has written a very clever and realistic psychological mind twisting thriller of a book for her debut novel. I found the role of social media and web searches as a key part of the novel quite disturbing – isn’t that what we all might do if trying to find out what secrets a loved one is hiding – or perhaps it is just me! Now I am worried! Perfect read – thoroughly recommended.
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a review copy.

I am struggling to define the genre of this book, as whilst I wouldn't call it a thriller, it is definitely gripping and compelling. It's a relationship drama full of secrets that just keep coming, gradually getting uncovered, layer by layer, whilst teasing the reader and keeping on the edge of the seat. It's definitely 'just one more chapter ' kind of book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. 4.5 stars from me. Gillian McAllister is certainly an author I am looking forward to reading more of.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I was fortunate to be sent this edition to my Kindle by NetGalley in return for an honest review. I nearly gave up on this book as soon as I started. I wondered just what I was getting into. Told in the first person by the female lead character, Rachel, it begins with her brief account of her break up with her boyfriend, Jack, the father of her unborn baby. Then follows a description of all the things that she loves about him. Then on to the moment when things first started to go wrong. I felt that I couldn’t get a grip on the story and how was it going to be a story anyway. But the book is published by Penguin which meant that it should have some merit. So I persevered. And am I glad that I did.

The plot of the story could probably be told in a few sentences. If you like action this is not for you. It’s an introspective study of two well educated l twenty something’s who accidentally meet and immediately fall deeply in love, moving in together very quickly. They are besotted with one another and everything happens very fast as does the baby. But they are blissfully happy. Then Rachel sees one of Jack’s emails and a small doubt creeps in and she starts to investigate. It emerges that neither had been completely honest with the other and both have secrets, each involving a death. Jack, who comes from Oban, seems to be trying to start life again in Newcastle and Rachel having trained and worked hard to become a doctor, has quit her job as a hospital registrar. How they unpeel each other’s stories ,react to each revelation and finally deal with everything that they have learnt makes for a superbly constructed, intense, in-depth look at their relationship and what really matters to them both in the end.

Despite myself, I was impressed with this book, but am still not sure if it’s the style of tale that I personally want to spend time with. Hence only four stars. Incidentally I want a large ginger cat called Howard too !

The front page made me think everything but the truth would be a dark gripping thriller, but in fact it was a gripping book of twists and turns, but not scary, and a really likeable central character. It focuses on a relationship and the couple and their secrets and pasts and how it brought them together. A really good enjoyable read. Thank you

A review of Everything but the Truth will be posted as part of the 'January books reviewed' post at www.writingfromthetub.co.uk.

Gripping and a real page turner. Will definitely look for this author in future.

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Dawn MacPherson O'Toole's review Jan 24, 2017 · edit
it was amazing
Read from January 22 to 24, 2017

Thank you to netgalley, the publishers and author for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel and Jack are having a baby after a very short relationship when things just aren't as they seem. Rachel is struggling with grief after the death of her mother, her job has not panned out how she expected it to and things with jack take a dark turn.

How far would you go to uncover the truth?

I throughly enjoyed this book and it was full of twists and turns. I really look forward to more by Gillian

A Fantastic book. I loved the story and how the characters evolved. The conflict between the heart and the mind is a very real one and was portrayed beautifully in the book. A definite must read!

An enjoyable read, and an interesting dilemma.
Rachel, in love with Jack, and having his baby. But she realises he's not who he says he is. On the other hand, she has history of not trusting people, and neither is she open about her past.
I liked the main character, and the relationship she had with Jack seemed real and warm. The peripheral characters were interesting too.
Might make a good film....

Everything but the Truth is a fabulous psychological thriller that I devoured over the weekend. The main character Rachel has had some life-changing events happen which have caused her to re-evaluate her life and after splitting with her long term boyfriend she meets Jack and quickly becomes pregnant with his child. One night she sees a private email to Jack and thus begins her downward spiral into doubt and suspicion, and becomes determined to uncover everything about him whatever the cost. The reader is made aware early on that Rachel has secrets of her own and this makes this book all the more compelling and emotional as we uncover the truth throughout the book . A wonderful debut to keep you on the edge of your seat. Gillian McAllister is a talented author who captures the reader and takes them on a tense journey.

An original and intriguing debut from Gillian McAllister. The story is dark, gripping and explores the characters deepest secrets and relationships. When do you trust someone? When you first meet them? After a year? Never? Everyone has secrets and while not all are earth shattering with extreme consequences, the question is do you tell all to your nearest and dearest or is the truth sometimes best kept hidden? Nothing it seems is black and white and this book does well to explore the effects of silence and honesty.

This is the first novel by this author and tells the story of Rachael and Jack who are just starting their new life together and preparing for the birth of their baby. This book reminded me of other books I have read and I would encourage all readers to read this book as I kept second guessing.

This book slowly wove its way into my mind from what I admit was a bit of a slow burn to begin with. You couldn't have prised it out of my hands by halfway through!

I don't even know why I found it hard to lose myself at the beginning, though; I am happy to accept it may be because there was no murdered body to be seen! Anyway, for whatever reason that barrier was up and so I was a bit annoyed by what I perceived as Rachel's incessant nagging and questioning of Jack, and found her doubts just a little bit over the top. Whilst I did mostly brush this aside further in, I will admit to it rearing its head a couple of times throughout, and I did ultimately think that Rachel was prone to being a bit intense. I could understand why though and I did accept it as just her character, but even so I did sometimes wish or will her to relax a little bit. It is fair to say though that her nagging doubts did filter through to me, and because I found the whole Jack mystery very intriguing, it in turn kept me hooked right until the last page.

I thought the way that Rachel's own secret played alongside Jack's quite a clever tool, raising as it did the question of how much we ever truly share with other people. Plus of course the obvious similarities between the two entirely different scenarios surrounding the question of culpability; they both definitely made me examine my own thoughts and morals on each of the secret events.

The gradual feeding through of details and switching of timeframes meant that I wanted to keep reading just one more chapter constantly, but also meant that the story remained shrouded in the mystery until the end. The sense of things being forcibly rushed by the appearance of Wally on the scene was further heightened by the rushing between Newcastle and Oban; I just couldn't settle.

Ultimately though this was just a jolly good read. A totally engrossing mystery which was always calling out to be solved. Great.

I was really intrigued straight away by this book, not only is the cover eye-catching but the description was fascinating and I instantly wanted to know more.
Everything But The Truth quickly became a story that was impossible to put down, I was captivated and fascinated by what I was reading and I wanted to know more.
The author does an exceptional job of creating an atmosphere and building tension amongst the characters. I was never sure who to trust or what secrets were being hidden.
This is a story that will have you intrigued and absorbed from the beginning, I’m looking forward to reading more from Gillian McAllister. A brilliant debut not to be missed.

Thank you!

Everything but the Truth is a story full of suspense and intrigue.

Rachel’s mind goes into over drive after seeing an email come through late at night on Jack’s ipad. I have to say it’s quite obvious that Rachel has some trust issues, from that point on she makes it her mission to find out exactly what Jack is hiding.

Throughout the story I kept wondering whether sometimes it’s better to not know the truth, though like Rachel, I was desperate to know. The further into the story it’s obvious that Rachel was right to go with her gut instincts.

Other than Jack’s secret, him and Rachel make a great couple. They are expecting a baby which both are excited about and I was really hoping that what ever it was, wasn’t going to be enough to split them up.

I have to say when it all comes out, whilst it didn’t shock me, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. Some parts, if anything, were extremely thought provoking which I liked as it really puts you into the characters shoes and makes you think about what you would do if you were them.

Everything but the Truth is without a doubt a read that will have you totally engrossed in it. The author weaves a story that will have readers hooked from start to end. I’m not sure what I was actually expecting from this book as I thought it sounded like it could be a psychological thriller from the description, which it isn’t by the way. What it is though is a story that is shrouded in lies and suspense and without a doubt makes for an engaging read. Hard to believe this is the authors debut novel and very excited to read more by her in the future.

My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and biased in anyway.