Dark and affecting, All The Hidden Truths is a fictional examination of the aftermath of a college shooting, not in the usual setting of the US but in Edinburgh, in a country not known for its abundance of firearms. It is from the perspective of three women. The police detective who was one of the first at the scene, the mother of one of the victims and the mother of the shooter. 


It's an interesting and thought-provoking tale that doesn't seem set out to make any judgements. It touches on how parents worry that they do not know what is going on in our children minds but given the chance at an insight into how they might baulk and turn away from the truth. It also covers the power of the media and in particular the mob mentality of social media.


The three main characters are both easy to relate to and ultimately fallible in their reactions to the aftermath. There's no crusader here. They're just coping the best they can and trying to work out the ultimately unknowable question when someone is lost in violent circumstances - why?  


If you're after a roller coaster thriller this won't be for you but if you like your fiction well written, thought-provoking and hard to put down this is well worth a read.

A wonderfully well-written book with a feeling of suspense on every page.

It's the usual start to a typical day for DI Birch moving from her old precinct to her new job following her promotion when reports begin flooding of a gunman at a local college that turns her world on its head. What follows is a suspense-filled in-depth account of the lives of the family of the victims as well as the police and journalists. This book from Claire is an exceptionally well-written story that does a fantastic job of balancing all the elements of family life pre/post shooting as well as following the enormous task the police must fit together the reason behind such a surreal action by a single individual.

This book comes in a time when we are more than familiar with the worryingly common stories of real-life events. This book does a brilliant job of reminding us of the lives that are changed forever in an appropriately sensitive way as it can be so easy to forget that any shooting doesn't begin and end with the event itself. The characters are very well written each with deep insight into their emotional state, except a few well-chosen characters where this insight is deliberately withheld - Claire uses this writing technique to brilliant effect to keep the reader questing from the first page to the last.

My only small grievance (and this by no means should discourage one reading it) is that the one thing that holds this book back from that elusive 5th star is the ending is well…bland. After a whole novel of deep suspense-filled mystery - where the book prompts the reader to keep track of an ever-growing number of unanswered questions. The ending is slightly uneventful and anticlimactic after delivering a knockout end to the story of the protagonist. Nevertheless, this book is absolutely a must-read for anyone who enjoys reading anything that keeps you guessing from page to page, you won’t be disappointed.

Alex

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy to review.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, and the author Claire Askew.
Another ‘middle of the road’ review from me here! It was a good premise, well told, and I enjoyed reading it, but it hasn’t really left me with any strong feelings or overwhelming impressions.
Although there were moments which were emotional and moving, the denouement felt a little drawn out and uneventful, and the characters a little under-developed.
There were also way too many plot continuity errors which I found a little annoying.
An easy read, would recommend for a holiday. 2.5 stars.

This is a stunning novel about the aftermath of a college shooting. It follows three characters as they are forced to face up to what has happened in their community. One is the mother of the shooter, then there is the mother of the first girl to be shot, and the third is the detective in charge of the investigation. The novel actually starts the day before and the build up is so tense because you know what’s going to happen but you’re not sure how or when. The three viewpoints make this such a heartbreaking read as we learn more about these women and their lives, and how the devastation has affected them. I highly recommend this novel.

Starting with some significant positives, this is a well-written book with some excellent passages conveying fast-paced action and some well-drawn characters. Ms Askew has considerable potential as a writer of crime fiction, although it was disappointing to see quite so many cliches in this novel: the lead detective with a back story involving a journalist; opening the book with descriptions of the three main characters going about their routine lives before tragedy struck; and the female detective working with a stereotypical male senior officer. In fairness, these did not interfere too much with my enjoyment of the book but the writing suggests greater depth and quality is available to Ms Askew if she can develop plots that are, perhaps, more original and with more unexpected twists. Don't get me wrong, though, this is a good book and is strongly recommended.

Full review to come.
I deeply apologize, but life is a handful lately and I'm using all my free time to read, not review. I hope everybody understands.

Very emotive and topical story with a gunman on the rampage in a college. told from the perspective of the mother of the gunman, mother of one of the victims and D.I. Helen Birch who is in charge of the case. Tragedy from beginning to end.

Read and reviewed thanks to a free copy from NetGalley. This book was gripping from the start, it veered away from traditional thrillers and explored more of the emotion and grief behind tragedy than your standard police procedural book. The characters were well written and I enjoyed the inclusion of social media and the Internet's response to the tragedy. I found the ending really satisfying.

On a seemingly normal morning in an Edinburgh college campus, 20-year-old Ryan Summers shoots dead thirteen female students and then himself. All The Hidden Truths follows three female characters as they try and come to terms with the events that have happened: Monica, Ryan's mother; Ishbel, the mother of one of the girls killed in the shooting; and Helen, a police officer who is in charge of the case.

There were many ways that this book really hit the nail on the head in terms of what I like to read. What with all of the shootings in America (and no change to the gun laws! This is something that I can talk about for hours), I'm fascinated by how novels approach such a potentially sensitive topic. I think Claire did a really good job - she was sensitive but still gave me all the detail I wanted to know.

I also enjoyed the different perspectives, and I think that they were all necessary to the story. Helen's level-headedness contrasted sharply with Ishbel's obvious devastation, and I was intrigued by Monica, who claimed to have no idea that her son was going to be involved in a shooting and yet still carried a sense of guilt with her. I think that Monica was probably my favourite character: I found her fascinating.

However, as much as I enjoyed these aspects, the novel as a whole fell a little flat for me. I was exhausted by the constant descriptions of Ishbel crying and bored by the Daily Mail-esque reporter who the whole public seemed to be behind. There were little parts of how the aftermath of the shooting played out that just didn't sit right with me, and I can't quite pinpoint why. 

So, for all of my likes and dislikes, I've ended up right in the middle. A solid story, but not without its faults. 3/5

A college shooting in Edinburgh, as seen through the eyes of the female detective assigned to investigate, the mother of the shooter and mother of a victim. It’s half a crime story and half a study of how these events hit people and society and their reactions.

Nicely written and well plotted, great characterisation. Evocative of this issue and raises the question how would you react?

Worth a read for sure.

This is a police procedural with a difference set in Edinburgh.

That the author knows the city well is evident but she is/was a writer in residence at the uni there, so not surprising that she set her debut novel there.

The author's voice is clear and well styled but I did initially find the the way the story was et out into different people and time lines confusing. But then I 'got it' and was able to manage and found it interesting stylistically.

I thought there were some nice reader questions that came through when reading the sections, for instance 'What is she hiding?'; 'Did she know?'; 'Why did he do it?'; which kept you reading as you wanted to know the answers. And it follows a story that we are finding the truths hard to stomach - why do young people want to shoot their peers? At least with some gun control this is curtailed but...

I thought the reflections on how difficult it is to be an outsider as a teenager were well described; and also just how hormones can deflect morals and beliefs, and thus cai=use your people to things they would not have normally considered using a rational mind and thought process.

Overall a promising novelist and a series to follow surely.

All the Hidden Truths touches a nerve. It is topical as it tackles the most disturbing challenges of modern times: gun violence and the media intrusion on victims’ and their families’ privacy.

After a fatal shooting at Three Rivers College in Edinburgh, three women’s lives are brought into the spotlight: Moira’s (the mother of the shooter), Ishbel (the mother of his first victim) and DI Birch (the investigating officer). Askew digs deep to exploretheir reactions and how they transform under pressure from the ever-present and unscrupulous attention of the press.

Row emotions are dissected with sensitivity and great insights, family secrets are revealed and some difficult questions answered. Askew makes poignant observations about the nature of gun crime where everyone ends up a victim, including the perpetratorand the society overall.

The resolution is most satisfying and Askew leads us towards it with skill and conviction.

The book starts with a school shooting, you know who did it, how they did it and who died, what you don't know is why.

Told from the view point of a victim's mother and the shooters mother, this engaging story gives great perspectives on tragedy. These characters were well formed and believable.

The police characters, were less well formed and a little flat but not annoyingly so.

Overall an enjoyable read that kept me engaged

Release date: 9 August 2018
Back cover blurb: This is a fact: Ryan Summers walked into Three Rivers College and killed thirteen women, then himself. But no one can say why. The question is one that cries out to be answered - by Ryan's mother, Moira; by Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim; and by DI Helen Birch, put in charge of the case on her first day at her new job. But as the tabloids and the media swarm, as the families' secrets come out, as the world searches for someone to blame... the truth seems to vanish. A stunningly moving novel from an exciting new voice in crime, ALL THE HIDDEN TRUTHS will cause you to question your assumptions about the people you love, and reconsider how the world reacts to tragedy.








This is a fact.

Ryan Summers killed THIRTEEN women before turning the gun upon himself.

But no one can say why.

And so it begins...

The opening pages of this novel almost read like an american thriller, and then you realise that you are in Edinburgh, Scotland, with relatable characters and chilling detail, and it becomes a very different opening.

Three Rivers College is under attack from a lone gunman, college student, Ryan Summers.

Abigail Hodgekiss is Ryan Summers' first victim.

No one knows why.

Her Mother is determined to find out.

Told from three very differing perspectives; Ishbel Hodgekiss, Abigail Hodgekiss' Mother, Moira Summers, Ryan’s Mother and newly promoted DI Helen Birch, all the hidden truths is a complex character study that really allows the reader an insight into all aspects of the horrific shooting.

As a reader it is a novel that really makes you think. When these horrific events happen, we often don't consider all sides of the story;

What makes someone take someones else's life? How do you live with your child's murder? How do you live with your child being a murderer? So many unanswerable questions, yet this author does her best to answer them in this though provoking novel.

All the hidden truths is an amazing debut that will leave you contemplating the novel a long time after you've finished it.

Could. not. put. it. down! It was everything I had expected and more. it kept me hooked and turning pages from the start.

I was blown away by this book, which offers something fresh to the well-worn thriller genre. There have been a lot of real-life shootings in schools, mostly in America but also at Dunblane in Scotland in 1996. I’ve read a few books that tackle this subject matter most notably We Need to Talk about Kevin and This Is How It Ends. I’ve even read a memoir by the mother of one of the Columbine shooters. Yet, All the Hidden Truths managed to surprise me. It’s an emotional and shocking book from the first page and I could not put the book down. The story has three different narrators, a DI who needs to find out why a boy went on a shooting spree at the college, the mother of a victim and the shooter’s mother. This works really well. My heart broke for Moira, the mother of the shooter. She’s demonised by the media and locals, believed to be somehow responsible for her son’s crimes. How could she not have known? All the Hidden Truths is full of twists and turns and a corker of a read.

Really moving book about a tragic but relevant subject. I highly recommend it to see more than one side of a story.

This book is extremely well written and explores it's difficult subject matter with care and skill. I would recommend this highly

A pleasantly well-written book, really hooked me from the first few pages and I am looking forward to read more from Askew. It's not everyday you bump into a book with a surprisingly good plot, and quality of writing.

Wow - what a start to a career ! this book is a powerful depiction of the long term impact of High School shootings which are increasingly common in the US. It is set in the authors home town of Edinburgh which makes it really hit home for me, Scotland has no armed citizens and gun ownership (with the licensed exception of sporting arms) is unlawful, To have Ryan adapt starting guns then showed that Dunblane and the like are still possible in the UK.

The characterisation is amazing, really good job. Moira Ishbell in particular break my heart. There is part of me that really couldn't understand why DI Birch was so very busy - the police knew who committed the crimes and how (as one observer states near the middle - that said it was compelling reading and I would recommend it to anyone