Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - All Her Little Secrets

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All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

2 reviews

graceheartsbooks's review against another edition

1.25

My book club picks were going so well for a moment that I almost hoped things would be going up…but then this book appeared🙃

I never ever give a book a one star—especially if I finished it—but this is the exception. It’s most definitely my worst book of the year.

It’s good to have flawed or unlikable protagonists in fiction—female characters that are flawed or unlikable are especially important to literature (and can be difficult to pull off).

But Ellice was just so haughty and condescending to everyone around her (including insulting random strangers through her descriptions of them). I know she came from a poor background, I know she had a hard life but none of that excuses her bad decisions or how she interacted with people around her. Also, for claiming to be so smart, she made a lot of bad/stupid choices throughout the novel. She sees herself as above everyone with her expensive clothes and constantly refers to others in a condescending manner (only her brother calls her out on it). It’s a wonder she’s achieved the position she did (assistant general counsel at the start before becoming general counsel) when we don’t see a single scene of her networking and she’s a very passive character (at a board party in Savannah she isn’t seen mingling or interacting with others, just observing and just happens to stumble upon an argument between two people in the company).

Ellice bemoans turning 40 and not having any children or being married, apparently not happy where she currently is at in life. Forgetting the fact that she followed a married man to another company without a second thought. Near the beginning of the book, it’s mentioned she eats a bag of barbecue chips for dinner—seeming to imply that single women don’t cook or wouldn’t, I don’t know, order takeout for dinner??. To be honest, I found it all to be a little misogynistic (or probably more accurately reeked of internalized misogyny since the protag is a woman). The author mentions in her acknowledgements that she set off to do a book that was about family but quite frankly, I didn’t see it—especially with how Ellice is just as awful to her family and friends as she is to everyone else (insulting her brother, looking down on her old college roommate/supposed best friend for marrying a retired basketball player and then having the audacity to go back to school to get a law degree after she was tired of “being arm candy”, etc).

This book was very fast paced, I will give it that. However, it was a bit too fast paced in terms of the story’s timeline: Ellice’s boss/lover Michael dies and three days later his funeral is held. By next week his office is cleared/cleaned up (he died in there so there was a lot of blood) and all of Ellice’s brand new furniture is all in (which she complains about being expensive BTW despite being the one to pick it all out). Huh?? There’s no way any building services works that fast—even in such a rich or expensive place😅

I knew from the moment I opened this book, I knew I wasn’t going to like the writing style. If I hadn’t had to finish this for a book club I would’ve never finished it at all. Chocked full of overly descriptive metaphors, every character being described in detail despite some only appearing in a scene or two (shoutout in particular to a flight attendant in a goatee/mohawk and an assistant/woman in her 60s with bleached blonde hair and plucking her chin hairs while at work—because all older women are vain apparently) and skin colors that sound absolutely made up (“mahogany wood skin”??? What is he? A coffee table lol).

Not to get too in depth about it but all the writing advice I’ve ever read tells you that you should never describe people’s skin tones using food or other such metaphors—especially for BIPOC skin tones. I know the woman who wrote this is a black woman but I still think it’s bad practice.

This book also attempts to do foreshadowing (or what I assumed was meant to be foreshadowing) but fumbles it so bad that it all comes across strange and not at all realistic.

Usually, I’m pretty good at keeping track of characters (I was a Warrior Cats kid so I’m use to books with large casts) but with how many of them flit in and out without anything to keep them memorable, it can be difficult to keep track of everybody. Which is especially important to do in a thriller that relies on keeping track of information to figure out the mystery.

The one thing I can appreciate from this book is the way it discusses racism within the workplace and how BIPOC are treated on a daily basis. Although the twist at the end was a little far-fetched.

A white supremacy—‘The Brethren’— is behind everything and Micheal refused to be part of their schemes. Though I think it would’ve been interesting if he had been involved as it would’ve shattered this image that he's presented with

Lots of themes in this book reminded me of this young adult that I read and loved last year: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé so if you enjoy YA or want a similar plot in an academia setting, I highly recommend that.

Overall, this book was nonsensical and very disappointing.

Content Warnings

janjanjukebox's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris 384 pages, 11 hours and 47 minutes narrated by Susan Dalian
Genre: Mystery Thriller, African-American Fiction, Contemporary, Suspense, Crime
Featuring: Atlanta, Georgia; Lawyers, Murder, Corruption, Sexism, Racism, Child Abuse, Violence, Stupidity, Secrets, Family Dynamics, Dual Timelines
Rating as a movie: R for adult content
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
My thoughts: 2% - I have read too many Christian Romances lately as I was not expecting that! I have to get my mind right to enjoy this one.
8% - Meh. Lulled already.
22% - This is unfortunately dull. I'm not quitting but I'm taking a break, 8 chapters down and it's still slow.
25% - That was the best chapter (9) of the book. I wish the best friend was the main character.
58% - 23 chapters down and I'm still just trudging along. This story feels dated. It's not exciting and it is most definitely not on the level of The Firm. If it wasn't for the mention of Get Out and texting, it could have easily been a nineties book. I'll finish it but I'm not impressed, it's written just well enough to keep you going, but not to keep you intrigued.
83% - 😒 I like not. There was a chance for redemption but it went left and I can only take so much stupidity. I hate went they use it to fuel the plot.
This book's first mistake was claiming to be a "fast-paced thriller." I wish publishers would stop doing this disservice to books. Yes, you might get me to read a book because you claim it's a fast-paced thriller or a nail-biting psychological thriller, but if all I get is a suspenseful mystery I'm going to be disappointed, your book is gonna get low reviews and eventually no one's going to read it. If you're just honest people who are looking for those stories will find your book and give it high praise. This story was okay. I didn't like it, but I didn't dislike it overall. Chapter 9 was the best part of this book, at least it had some life. This book was not a true thriller, it was too slow and I didn't feel like the character was in danger, based on her actions neither did she. I think it would have been better as a general fiction book with a mysterious crime. The last quarter of the book was better than the rest of it but by that time I was just accepting that it wasn't gonna get much better. This story had action but in slow motion.
Recommend to others?: Not really. I can see many people enjoying this book but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone in general. Someone looking for something specific, sure.

Content Warnings

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