I seem to be slipping back into my thriller reading era the last month or so and I'm not mad about it. I've been enjoying indulging in reading mystery thrillers that sweep me away in the unknowns and keep my brain ticking over trying to tie up the loose threads.

This particular thriller didn't keep me guessing as much as I would usually hope; I knew pretty early on what was going on, so I spent most of the time just waiting for it to unravel and for the characters to learn the truth. That didn't detract from my enjoyment though and I still had a good time with it. There were certain scenes in this book I found quite difficult to read. What some of these characters went through was dreadful and there was a constant undertone of toxic masculinity and abuse which certainly made for dark reading.

I would say that this book was more plot than character focused. Although the story is told from two character's perspectives, I didn't feel like I was particularly close or knew a whole heap about either woman. I think I would have liked to have delved a little bit more into their psychology and mental struggles.

I flew through this book and although it was dark and uncomfortable, the writing made it easy to read and was very engaging. A thriller book that I had a good time with and really enjoyed.

What a brilliant read. Loved everything about this. Great storyline, great characters and it had me hooked right from the start.

Definitely recommended and I will be looking at other titles from Jane Shemilt.

Thank you Netgalley

In “All Her Secrets”, Jane Shemilt masterfully weaves together seemingly perfect family lives with deadly secrets from the past. Set against the backdrop of Paxos, Greece, and London, England, this gripping novel explores betrayal, desire, and the haunting ties that bind two women.

In Paxos, a young girl’s life is forever changed when she meets two boys on a hot summer night. Meanwhile, in London, Julia appears to be the perfect spouse, mother, and speech writer for her husband, James. Yet, behind her facade lies a stifled woman trapped in a gilded cage. When Julia encounters Laurel, a therapist who promises fulfillment, she opens herself up to the hope of a different future. But what happened in Greece years ago binds these two women together, and uncovering the truth could either destroy everything or set them free.

“All Her Secrets” is an all-consuming thriller that keeps you on edge. Shemilt’s evocative prose brings both Paxos and Westminster to life, immersing readers in the characters’ worlds. The slow burn of suspense, combined with richly drawn locations, makes this novel a compelling read. I cared deeply about the characters and missed them when I wasn’t reading.

This was a thrilling and compelling read. I was a little confused with the characters at first but so pleased I stayed with it as a I could not put it down. The story is told in two timelines, Paxos, Greece in 2003 and present day London and by two different characters, Sophie is thirteen years old and she and all her family help run the luxurious villa in Paxos that is owned by wealthy British businessman Peter who visits during the summer holidays. Peter, his daughter Julia and his family and friends arrive in the summer of 2003. They are all very arrogant and treat Sophie and her family with disdain. Little does Sophie realise that her and her family’s life will be changed forever when she has a brutal encounter with two of the boys staying at the villa. Fast forward to the present day and we meet up with Julia again. She has an unhappy marriage. to James who controls her life. She meets Laurel, who is a therapist, at her daughter’s school who recommends that Julia returns to Paxos to have a break from James. Whilst she is in Paxos she discovers the reason why Sophie and her family left but does not realise that the events from 2003 are linked to her present day life in London. This book was totally absorbing with so many twists and turns. An excellent tread.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book,

All Her Secrets is quite a gritty read and one that readers should take caution with if they find themselves triggered by topics in it. Having read the authors previous releases I wasn't overly surprised. As the author deals with any subject she tackles with great nuance and care which enhances the stories she is telling. It was no different with this book. A taut but thrilling page turner.

This was certainly a painful read. Totally horrid in places and I do not think any female reading it could fail to be horrified.
The plot seems to amble along and then suddenly you are swept away by the events that show was a skilful author this is
I was looking forward to reading it, having enjoyed The Patient before.
A great, rather gritty read.

This book was slow and confusing initially but I’m pleased I stuck with it! It tells the story of a girl in Greece who was wronged, and alongside that a woman in England being wronged!

All Her Secrets is a gritty read that I struggled to read and to put down.
Paxos Greece 2003, Sofie is 13 years old, she helps her parents to look after and run a holiday home for a wealthy family. Sofia meets two young boys and her life changes and not for the better. With this being a dual timeline read we then bounce to London 2023 and it’s Julia’s story being the daughter of the wealthy family and what her life is like in present day, twenty years later, married with a daughter and how her life has been affected.
This was a decent read, I was nearly put off in the first chapter as it seemed to just throw names at you, I mean I don’t think I needed to know the bakers mothers name but hey ho I did. The characters of the book do shine through after that first chapter so that was a relief. Although the book deals a lot with abuse it is handled well. It was interesting that Julia had been that caught up in her own abusive situation that she didn’t know what else was going on around her and how the events twenty years ago shape her current life. It was good to see it all unfold and it had a decent ending and left me with no unanswered questions.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was so thoughtfully written and poignant. At times I was moved to tears reading the story.. could see how it was going to pan out but even then there were a few surprises.

There are lots of triggers.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

I found this to be a book that was difficult to put down but also at times, difficult to read. Gritty and tense, the story weaves between two timelines and two main female characters whose lives are entwined in a way the reader doesn’t initially realise. Themes of family, abuse, control and coercion don’t make is a pleasant read but it is a gripping one that keeps the twists and revelations coming right to the end.

My second book by Jane Shemilt. This book had a really good storyline, it was a little traumatic at some points.
Told over two timelines and two locations, Greece 2003 and London 2023. The story in 2003 was told both by Julie who had been 19years old then and Sofie a 13 year old girl who had worked on Julie's father's estate in Paxos, Greece.
It was also told by Julie as an adult in 2023. Their world's had collided once, could they really collide again.
A story of two girls that were abused in different ways. Some sad moments in the book, but a page turning book where some of the characters got what they deserved. Very cleverly written.
Thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, the author and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Fantastic read from Jane once again. An intricately woven plot that leaves you hungry for more with characters you'll root for, in a story you won't forget.

All her Secrets is the second book I have read by Jane Shemilt and is another dark, exciting and twisty psychological thriller.

It starts off in Paxos, Greece in 2003 when Sofie aged 13 who helps her parents who looked after a luxury home in Greece owned by a very well off family to come to stay at their holiday home. After meeting two boys, her life will never be the same. The book is split between two time periods Greece 2003 land London in 2023 where it's about Julia, in her late teens, daughter of the rich family and where she is now, 20 years later as a mother and wife of a head teacher at a private school in London and and refers bac to the summers in Greece and how it affected her childhood.

I think this is a great summer read but it may be quite shocking to some readers due to the abusive topics involved, however it deals well with them. I however found it compelling and had to keep reading to find out how it all ended and has great locations to get your imagination flowing with the author's great writing style.

I noticed All her Secrets is also set for publication with other titles, which I always find a bit annoying - The Vacation House for publication later this year and also The Therapist so wanted to mention that in my review, as initially thought it might different upcoming books. but actually just the same one with alternate titles.

A big thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, for the opportunity to rean and review this book. Overall I'd rate it as as a 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

This is good, it had me completely hooked. Going between Paxos Greece in 2003 and London in 2023 it follows two storylines - Sofie a 13 year old in Greece, and Julie, 19 on holiday with her family in Greece and as an adult in London living with her handsome, controlling headmaster husband. Julia's marriage is an arrangement - security and a home for her and her daughter; marital relations and a PA for her husband James. How will the traumatic events of 20 years previously collide with Julia's current day? She is unaware of the extent of what occurred, caught up in her own abusive situation. Life is never what it appears on the surface. The unravelling when it comes, is explosive. #netgalley #allhersecrets

The story goes back and forth between a Greek island 20 years ago and London / Cornwall in the present. The characters were well portrayed and I got really involved in their stories. I have never been to Greece but the descriptions of the countryside made me desperate to go.
A compulsive read I finished in one day. Now I need to checkout any other books by this author that I haven’t read.

In 2003, 13 year old Sofie works hard as the daughter of a caretaker in Greece, for a rich English family who own a holiday home there. When the owner of the villa brings guests including teenage boys, Sofie’s entire existence is put in jeopardy because of their fake friendship towards her. The story is interchanged with the 2023 story of Julia, daughter of that wealthy family, who is now married to the head teacher of an independent school, and is his right hand woman. When Laurel comes to one of his new parent meetings and offers him counselling, everyone’s life starts to change.
This is an excellent book. I was initially put off because of the amount of characters in the first chapter, including the name of the baker’s mother, but once you get past the first chapter the main characters show through. When the two time periods merge, they come together for a most satisfying ending.
Highly recommended.

4.5 stars
This was an entertaining read. It was set in 2003 in Paxos, Greece and twenty years later in 2023 in various locations. Sofia and her family are the servants for Julia’s parents. There is definitely a them and us feeling, where the servants are taken for granted. There are also some darker issues at work, where power over others is sought. I had worked things out but it was still an engaging read as I did wonder how it would all end. I just had to keep reading and finished it in a day. It does have a satisfying ending. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The book is set in two different times 2003 and 2023 and centred on the Greek Island of Paxos and the UK.
Julia and her family always spend their summer holidays in the Island of Paxos, and have a local family look after their ever need.
But when the thirteen year old daughter Sofie of the family looking after them is attacked and raped by some boys staying with the family they hush it up.

Go forward twenty years and and Julia is in an unhappy marriage with her husband James, who controls everything in her life.
After meeting a therapist Laurel Rossi at her daughter's school, she is encouraged to go back to Paxso for a respite. But Julia didn't know about the attack on Sofie and when she arrives things take a turn for the worse.
A brilliantly written novel with some fantastic oh my gosh moments!

All Her Secrets by Jane Shemilt was a gut wrenching and cleverly told narrative that was a past and present POV. It’s really about two peoples lives and how they have survived their childhoods.
I’m personally still shocked at the amount of abuse the majority of females still face. This was a tough read that at times I wanted to put down because of the unfairness. But I had to see how it would end! And I loved the ending and could breathe again at the conclusion.
This author writes compelling stories that I always enjoy and I recommend this one.
*There are triggers warnings in this so read with caution. I only gain strength from books like this and I’m glad I read it.
Thanks Harper Collins via NetGalley.
4.5⭐️

WOW! WOW! WOW! I've just picked my jaw up off of the floor. What a thrilling ride this gripping book takes you on. Julia and Sofia are the best characters ever. They are both determined to get revenge and find out the truth. Which they do in a very twist filled way. The plot is absolutely amazing, it plays with your emotions, one minute you feel like crying, because of the horrors of what the girls go through, the next minute you're screaming yes and punching the air, because revenge is very sweet. I would highly recommend this book, I loved everything about it and it's very difficult to put down. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!.