Definitely a psychological thriller. Hard to guess who is the culprit. A wonderful twist at the end. A book well worth reading.

Everyone Has Secrets is the third I've read from McDine and is definitely my favourite to date.

It takes us on a fast paced drama fueled journey through secrets, lies, and the complexities of family and friendships.

I was hooked immediately and everything else was forgotten until I'd finished turning the final page.

The characters are far from perfect, their flaws and complexities adding to the suspense.

Just how far are you willing to go when it comes to safeguarding your family?

Really enjoyed the latest domestic thriller by A.J. McDine! It's set in a leafy suburb where everyone has secrets - some deadly. Very well done!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Have read previous books by McDine and enjoyed them. This didn't disappoint I flew through it and loved it. Thanks for the opportunity to review

This is one of my worst nightmares as a parent. When your child is going to a party and you say be safe,don't take anything! I'm a broken record,but this story is exactly why. When Annie collapses at her friend Joes 16th birthday house party..he rings his parents telling them to come home quick from the neighbours house. Has Annie taken something herself or been spiked? Joe's mum Eve and Annie's mum Lisa will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of what happened at this party,as Annie clings to life in hospital. But as is so often the case,someone's not being truthful. An emotionally charged good read. With thanks to NetGalley Bookouture and A.J McDine for an arc to read and review

Not a bad book! Quick and easy to read, a page turner if you're looking for something on the lighter side! No triggering topics, no graphic descriptions while "everyone has secrets" still keeps you on the edge! I love that Lisa was so human, that she still gave Eve and Joe a chance and that she herself was shown going through a realistic process of grieving!

Another brilliant, brooding thriller with a punch of an ending from AJ McDine!

On one fateful evening, Eve's life is turned upside down. Tragedy strikes at her son's sixteenth birthday party and she doesn't know who she can trust because literally everyone has secrets and most of them are lying to her.

I do love a thriller that you could easily fit yourself into. Eve lives a very ordinary life with her husband and son, but is suddenly faced with extraordinary circumstances. And who amongst us truly knows what we would do when faced with such sudden pressure? Sure, there are a few moments in the book that are probably beyond most people's normal lives, but we never know how far we are from crisis until we find ourselves in it.

If you like a slow burn domestic thriller then do give AJ McDine a go.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Everyone Has Secrets' by A J McDine

'Everyone Has Secrets' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book A J McDine discusses/includes drugs and an overdose

OMG AJ, Where On Earth have you been hiding all of my life?!?! How have I never read any of your books so far when you are this blooming amazing?!! Well, I am just so glad I have resolved that problem, and that now while I am waiting for your next book, which is guaranteed to be amazing even if it is just a quarter as good as this book, I can read your previous books while I am waiting!

OMG!!! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!! WHAT HAVE I JUST READ!?!?!? A J McDine you are a writing legend!!!

Wow!!! Well fair play the first thing I must say is congratulations to A J McDine on an absolutely HUGE success!! Absolutely blooming fantastic!! I never did work out what was happening and that is quite a feat considering it is quite hard to shock me now that I have read so many suspense and thrillers yet I never did see any of those mind blowing twists coming!! Anyway on with my review....

This book is fantastically written with vivid descriptions that absolutely grip the readers attention and puts them right in the middle of it all feeling the hair raise on your arms and feeling the sweat run down your back. The cover is eye catching and if that doesn't make you want to get absorbed into this page turner the synopsis definitely will!!!

An absolutely fantastic page turner by this brilliant new author to me and I am so glad I have discovered her so I can get stuck into her previous books!! This book has got to be one of the most heart racing books I've read in a long time!!! It had me hook, line and sinker from the first page and I could not put it down!!! Every time I said one more chapter it ended on a cliff-hanger and I just had to know what was going on!!! If you are going to read this then clear your day because it is truly unputdownable. I started this yesterday afternoon and finished it at approx. 2am, I read it in one sitting and although I'm knackered today it was 1000000% worth it!!! I listened to the audiobook version of this book which is narrated by Tamsin Kennard who does an absolutely amazing job of narrating this gripping storyline but more on that soon. In this fantastic book we meet Eve Griffiths who lives with her husband Noah and 15 year old son Joe. They have a good life in a good neighbourhood. Eve is a typical helicopter parent even when her son is a teenager!! Joe is about to turn 16 and after (very reluctantly) agreeing Eve allows him to have a few friends over at their house to celebrate while Eve and Noah go to their friend Lisa's home until midnight. Lisa's daughter Annie, who is also Eve's Goddaughter, will also be going to celebrate Joe's birthday. When Eve gets a panicked phone call from Joe a few hours into the celebrations saying that something had happened to Annie. Eve, Noah and Lisa run across to Lisa's home and discover Annie laying on the kitchen floor rigid, hot and unconscious with a faint pulse. An ambulance is called and the lives of Eve, Noah, Joe, Lisa and Annie will never be the same again. With Lisa refusing to allow Eve to see Annie in the hospital and blaming Joe and a community they have lived in for 16 years turning on them and telling them to return to London can things get any worse? With Eve determined to find out what really happened at the party, her job at risk and Noah keeping secrets will Eve uncover the secrets that everybody seems to be hiding?? Grab your copy of this fantastic page turner to find out for yourselves and I can promise that you will not regret it!!! With a storyline ram packed with friendship, community, secrets, suspense, lies, tension, heartache, drama, shocks and much, much more what on Earth are you waiting for?? With an explosive ending that I was not expecting it makes a nice change as after reading hundreds of crime and psychological thrillers it is getting harder and harder to surprise me s a MASSIVE well done AJ!!! A true page turner, this book is absolutely compelling with an addictive storyline that kept me guessing throughout. I was continuously questioning who was doing what!! AJ's fantastic, emotive and evocative writing talents and Tamsin's amazing narration together really do ensure the reader is transported into the storyline with the characters and events coming to life around them where they can see and feel absolutely everything that Eve is seeing and feeling. Congratulations AJ on writing and Tamsin for narrating an absolutely brilliant and unique storyline that I just could not put down!! I cannot wait to get stuck in to your previous and future books!!

Clear your schedules and get ready to be sucked into an addictive, page turning domestic thriller by an extremely talented author!!!

This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Tamsin Kennard who yet again has done an absolutely amazing job bringing this story and the characters to life. I would listen to it and this book in the car and while walking at any opportunity. I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by the epic AJ McDine but also to listening to more books narrated by Tamsin!

The characters were very realistic and well rounded and again their personalities reflected the storyline and how they would act, etc perfectly. AJ's fantastic and emotive descriptions really brings the characters to life along with Tamsin's absolutely brilliant narration which really portrays Lisa's emotions throughout. The storyline is extremely scarily realistic in regards to drugs, pressure and children (younger and older) and how one thing can have such a butterfly affect on so many people. I was completely invested in all of the characters and my heart went out to several of them. I was also trying to work out who was saying the truth and who was lying, and what they were lying about but I never managed to work it out myself so well done AJ!! Each of the characters were well developed, unique and thanks to Amanda's fantastic evocative writing skills and Tamsin's brilliant narrative they all came to life before my eyes. They all had their own flaws, strengths and weaknesses. That is all I will say as I don't want to run the risk of dropping any hints or spoilers. However, whether you love or hate these characters, they all have their own strong unique personalities and they all bring the story to life playing their roles perfectly.

An absolutely HUGE SUCCESS by this extremely talented author. This is EXACTLY why I would like to welcome you to my favourite authors club A J McDine and here is to your next success 🥂!!

Overall a page turning addictive domestic thriller that will have your heart racing and will blow your mind with the explosive twists.

#EveryoneHasSecrets #AJMcDine #Bookouture #BookoutureAnonymous #Bookstagram #Bookblogger

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I am a HUGE fan of this author, but this book fell massively below my expectations. It wasn't really a psychological thriller with the jaw dropping twists I am used to, more of a family drama, focused on the loss of a loved one, financial pressures and the dangers of drug use.

The main character, Eve, has the perfect life with her husband and their son, Joe. When Joe has a party for his 16th birthday and Eve's goddaughter, Annie, is rushed to hospital in a coma after taking drugs, Eve's world comes crashing down around her and the whole community shuns her, including her best friend and Annie's mother, Lisa.

The characters were likeable and relatable, but the storyline was fairly predictable. I felt annoyed that there was no accountability for anyone's actions; the drug dealer and even the teacher who was grooming a student were left free to carry on.

I feel terrible giving this a low rating, but I am always honest in my reviews. I love this author's writing and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next, but sadly this one wasn't for me.

2 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, A J McDine and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

3.5* rounded up. This is my third AJ McDine book and as usual, it kept my attention throughout. I wouldn't say this one had the twists that some of her other works have, but the way she weaves a thriller...it was really fun! Many of the characters were flawed here so hard to root for anyone, but that's the point. You're just waiting for the next trainwreck on every page! I did like the final twist which perhaps is set up for a follow-on book? If so, I'm here for it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARL. All opinions are mine.

I devoured Everyone Has Secret by A J McDine in one sitting! It was a fast paced book with lots of plot twists! Everyone was holding a secret and you don't know who you should trust and that's what made this book so captivating from the beginning. I was hooked from the first chapter itself! Can't wait to read her other books now!

This addictive book picked up immediately and I didn’t stop reading once I began - until I finished. This is my third AJ McDine I’ve read this year & I can say each one is a 5 ⭐️ psychological thriller. She’s cemented as one of my favorite authors. The suspense she doled out throughout kept me excited right up until the twisted last chapter!

Thank you, AJ McDine, Noelle Holten, Bookouture, & netgalley, for my early #gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

Everyone Has Secrets by A J McDine was a page turner.
The book hooks you immediately, and you are desperate to find out what happens next.
There are quite a few twists that will leave you glued to the pages and the sheer craziness going on really keeps you entertained.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

What a fantastically written and paced thriller. My son is much older than Joe but I could totally understand Eve’s reservations about letting him celebrate his 16th birthday with his friends without supervision. That nagging feeling she has that something will go wrong, Noah her husband encouraging her to trust Joe and let him have some fun.
She relaxes over at Lisa her best friend’s house a short walk from their home, at least she’d be close if Joe needed her surely. Later that evening her phone rings, her worst nightmare comes true, Annie her god daughter and Lisa’s daughter is found struggling to breathe on the kitchen floor.
As Annie’s life is in the balance Eve is determined to get to the truth, she knows Joe couldn’t have been involved, could he?
The more questions she asks the more she suspects everyone is holding onto secrets.
The pacing of the book is fantastic, really felt believable, although I wish it wasn’t.
I look forward to reading more from A J McDine in the future.
Thank you NetGalley, A J McDine and Bookouture for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 Stars

I'd like to start by thanking NetGalley for the ARC and for giving me the chance to review this book.

The title says it all: "Everyone Has Secrets" is a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thriller.
I wasn't sure what to make of the book at first. The story begins with a picture-perfect family, where the son, Joe, celebrates his 16th birthday with a small group of friends.

So, when Joe calls, begging his mum Eve to come home, saying something has happened, they rush back to find out that Lisa's daughter Annie has taken drugs and is unconscious. Unfortunately, Annie is in a coma, and Eve is determined to find out what happened to Annie. But when she starts asking questions, she finds out that someone close to her has been lying to her.

I had some issues with the main character, Eve. I found her annoying and childish. Furthermore, I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit, which is not ideal in a psychological thriller. Typical overbearing parent (aka helicopter mum).

After a strong start, the middle section, around 30-40%, felt a bit drawn out with filler content that wasn't particularly engaging or suspenseful. I came close to stopping reading it a few times. The final pages are where it all comes together. From about 70% onwards, all the secrets of Joe and his circle of friends come out. And not only that, but her husband and her own son have also been hiding something from Eve. In the end, it all comes to a climax, and we find out the whole background (including what Billy has to do with it). I wasn't expecting that last twist in the epilogue, but it still didn't do enough justice for me.

I feel this plot had so much potential and the author could have taken it further. It could have been a 5-star read. I'd suggest adding more character development and probing further into a real investigation. I feel that Billy's character could have been developed so much more!

#EveryoneHasSecrets #NetGalley

Everyone Has Secrets by A J McDine

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

- Great prologue
- Fast paced, addictive chapters
- Jaw-dropping twists!

How well do you really know the people you love the most?

The Griffiths family has the best home of all. You can always spot Eve laughing with her husband and their sixteen-year-old-son. Eve’s best friend Lisa and her teenage daughter Annie live in a charming cottage just across the street. Everything is perfect… Until one night something unthinkable turns the peaceful neighbourhood upside down. Annie is found on the tiled floor of Eve’s kitchen struggling to breathe, and Eve is determined to find out what happened. But someone is lying to her- is it her best friend, her husband or her son?

We all have secrets. But how many of us would kill to keep them?

Well they certainly didn’t lie about the title… literally EVERY character in this book was keeping secrets and you couldn’t trust anyone! Paired with short and fast-paced chapters that ended on cliff-hangers, it meant it was impossible to put down!

I loved the opening prologue too. I thought it did a fantastic job of bringing the reader into this story and setting the scene- it really grabbed my attention in wanting to find out more!

Throughout the book, there were a couple of twists that made my jaw drop! 😯 There was one twist where I thought I had it figured out, but then the epilogue at the end changed that so I was wrong- it caught me off guard!
The last line of the book left me wanting more too! 😍

One little niggle I have is that it started to feel a little repetitive at times. It was secret after secret revealed, and it would have been good to have more of a plot maybe? I have had a slow reading month though so could just be me!

Overall though I quite enjoyed this one, and I will definitely be checking out more of this authors work.

Thank you so much to the author, Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC copy.

#NetGalley #EveryoneHasSecrets

Everyone Has Secrets by AJ Mcdine, in this book Eve thought she had the perfect marriage to Noah but lately he has been acting strange and when they let their son Joe throw his self a 16th birthday party Eve is worried about leaving the kids despite they’ll only be across the green at her best friend Lisa’s house. So when Joe calls begging her to come home saying something has happened they rush back to learn Lisa’s daughter Annie, has taken drugs and is now in a coma. When it starts looking as if not only their friends and neighbors think Joe is guilty but the police do as well Eve tries to investigate the case herself. I will not get into all it here because you really should read the book but Eve has more going on than her God child being in a coma her best friend not speaking to her and her son being accused of dealing drugs soon everything will come out and it will color eves life is shade she couldn’t fathom it being before. I just want to say I thought Eve handed everything bravely because after what her husband did and then when Lisa abruptly stopped talking to her and blamed her in Joe most people would’ve crumbled but Eve stood up and tried to fix it all and basically did. I also want to say I thought Eve baby Joe too much especially paying $10,000 a term for a son who doesn’t even make good grades but to each his own and it’s just a thought but I’m sure it mirrors someone’s life. Having said that I gave this book only three stars because I have come to expect so much more from this author, she has written some great books and although this one was pretty good I just expect her books to be astounding and this one was only OK. I didn’t like Noah and his snarky attitude nor did I like his son Billy that much but Billy‘s barely in the book having said that I do recommend it is AJ McDine is an author you really want to read her book she’s a great writer and even when she write something like this which is only Soso it’s still better than most books out there. #NetGalley,#Bookoucher,#AJMcdine, #EveryoneHasSecrets,

Wow another brilliant read from AJ McDine. I'm obsessed with her writing and each book is more gripping than the last.

This book is heartbreaking and Eve faces some hard challenges both as a mum and a friend and as with all of her other books, they keep you gripped from page 1 and don't let go.

I can't wait for the next book to come ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Eve, Noah, and their teenage son, Joe, have what seems to be the perfect life. To top off the good fortune, Eve’s best friend Lisa, and her daughter, Annie, live right across the street. One day, everything comes crashing down on both households, but not everything can be fixed; some things are just too bad.

From the prologue forward, this story moves along quite fast. There is not a lot of suspense, but more of an investigation that zigzags its way through to an answer for the terrible things that have occurred. Eve is a strong character and shows that a mother’s love has no boundaries. I really liked Eve. I feel that McDine created her with such authenticity as to how a mother thinks, as well as the things one would do in this circumstance.

The frustrating character is Joe and his reactions to things. However, as I read further, I could see why. And Noah; I just don’t know how to feel about him, but he is just “there”. Lisa is a nice friend and I do like the friendship between Eve and Lisa. There are a few other minor characters that actually have a bigger influence on the story as it progresses.

This story encompasses a heavy and quite prevalent topic in today’s society, but it’s not so much that it takes over each chapter of the book. McDine’s books are realistic, although fiction, and really interesting to me. I stayed up late to finish this one. It will keep your interest, for sure! She is one of my favorite psychological thriller authors. This book will bring out emotions you didn’t know you had or forgot that you had! Wow! A 2024 favorite for me!

Thanks to NetGalley, AJ McDine and Bookouture for the ARC of this book.

Eve and Noah Griffiths’ son, Joe, is turning 16 and desperate to have a few friends round their house one evening to celebrate his birthday. His mum reluctantly agrees but makes sure that her and Noah are close by, at her best friend Lisa’s cottage on the other side of the village green. Lisa’s sensible daughter, Annie, will also be attending the party but Eve still has misgivings and feels uneasy; she’s very protective of her only son and also worried that gate crashers will turn up!

A few hours later, Eve gets a distressed phone call from Joe to say that something has happened to Annie, her goddaughter, and the three of them race over to discover her pale, with a faint pulse and struggling to breathe. An ambulance is called and Annie is rushed straight to hospital, desperately unwell, with her life hanging in the balance.

The fallout from the awful incident is immediate, with Lisa blaming Joe and refusing to allow Eve to go to the hospital with them. Also, the rest of the people in the village are looking for someone to blame and they turn on the family and some even tell them to go back to London, despite the fact they’ve lived in South Langley for over 16 years!

Noah, Eve, Joe and the teenagers who were at the party are all questioned by the police and Eve ends up carrying out her own investigations in a bid to clear her family’s names and uncover the truth about what happened that night. Eve has always been really protective of Joe but slowly begins to realise that he has been keeping things from her and she doesn’t know her son as well as she thought. She’s also worried about what her husband has been getting up to as well!

Noah runs his own education recruitment consultancy agency, while Eve is head of maths at the local girls’ grammar school and her headteacher is not impressed to learn about what has happened.

It’s a gripping and twisty storyline and there’s definitely more to everyone than meets the eye. Eve uncovers some disturbing secrets as she talks to various people and she puts herself in danger too. There are some big shocks along the way and I raced through the book in less than a day, desperate to find out the truth and see how everything was resolved!

This was an emotional and tense read and the characters were relatable and well drawn. I felt all kinds of emotions and frustrations as the compelling story progressed and things went from bad to worse for all concerned!

Overall, I really enjoyed this fast-paced, well-plotted domestic thriller and will definitely be checking out the author’s other books very soon!