mandylovestoread's review
5.0
For such a dark subject this was a great book told from 3 very different points of view. Very confronting and sad.
anetq's review
4.0
What happens when young lives stop being lived suddenly? What secrets and truths are their friends and parents left with - and is the hounding media actually worse than the loss of lives. Probably not, it just feels that way.
DI Birch is working the nightmare case, where everyone knows what happened, and who did it - but the only question that may never be answered is; Why?
How can anyone live with the daughter they fought with the night before being gone, and having their lives investigated? Or even worse: how does one go on living, when you only son just killed 13 young women and everyone thinks you should have known. Must have known.
DI Birch is working the nightmare case, where everyone knows what happened, and who did it - but the only question that may never be answered is; Why?
How can anyone live with the daughter they fought with the night before being gone, and having their lives investigated? Or even worse: how does one go on living, when you only son just killed 13 young women and everyone thinks you should have known. Must have known.
bgg616's review
2.0
I like Helen Birch, the DI who is the main character in this series. She is a Detective Inspector in Edinburgh. This is the story of a mass shooting at an Edinburgh college in which thirteen young women are killed and the shooter commits suicide. The reality of school shootings in the UK is that the last one was at a primary school in Scotland in 1996. As an American who lives in a country where in 2019 there was one school shooting a week. Mass shooting such as the one in Dunblane, Scotland in 1996 are too frequent. In the 20 years following Columbine, there were 11 mass shootings in schools, colleges and universities. Because such events are extremely rare in the UK, I can't understand why a writer would make this the subject of a crime novel.
I had already read the second novel in the series. There is an odious journalist who appears in both and takes up far too much space. Her novels would be better served to shrink this role, preferably to just have him as a very marginal presence. There are far more interesting characters who would be better served by more exposure.
There is too little of Edinburgh in this book. There is too much dwelling on two mothers - one of the shooter and the other of a victim. When the shooter's motive is revealed it is not at all a surprise. I will read Askew's next crime novel as I expect her to get better.
I had already read the second novel in the series. There is an odious journalist who appears in both and takes up far too much space. Her novels would be better served to shrink this role, preferably to just have him as a very marginal presence. There are far more interesting characters who would be better served by more exposure.
There is too little of Edinburgh in this book. There is too much dwelling on two mothers - one of the shooter and the other of a victim. When the shooter's motive is revealed it is not at all a surprise. I will read Askew's next crime novel as I expect her to get better.
beckylouise2904's review
4.0
After a bit of a slow start, and very descriptive few chapters, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I feel as though it had a different take on the usual crime thrillers, and was engaged until the end. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good thriller.
ciska's review
3.0
Interesting!
The book is told from three points of view. The first, mother of the shooter, was easy to feel for. Her struggle, questioning herself. I did not like the choice for a troubled shooter. A stereotype, loner, loosing his dad young. These chapters were not the main part of the book and they were predictable but they did add a certain background to the story.
There is one of the mothers of a victim. This is way more explosive. I did not like the husband part of this story. There was so much already happening with struggle and loss. But it was well written and easy to get involved in the emotion.
Then there was the police woman. This was the real interesting part in the story. A part of the story you do not often think about in such a situation. The question who did is has been answered, the story is complete and still people feel like they need justice which is impossible. It was good to shine a light on that and I like how it was written.
Despite the story it is not a heavy emotional wreck dark hole. It was captivating but left some space to breathe, for some people it might be to superficial but for me the drama level was just right.
The book is told from three points of view. The first, mother of the shooter, was easy to feel for. Her struggle, questioning herself. I did not like the choice for a troubled shooter. A stereotype, loner, loosing his dad young. These chapters were not the main part of the book and they were predictable but they did add a certain background to the story.
There is one of the mothers of a victim. This is way more explosive. I did not like the husband part of this story. There was so much already happening with struggle and loss. But it was well written and easy to get involved in the emotion.
Then there was the police woman. This was the real interesting part in the story. A part of the story you do not often think about in such a situation. The question who did is has been answered, the story is complete and still people feel like they need justice which is impossible. It was good to shine a light on that and I like how it was written.
Despite the story it is not a heavy emotional wreck dark hole. It was captivating but left some space to breathe, for some people it might be to superficial but for me the drama level was just right.
kba76's review
4.0
From the opening pages we can’t ignore the fact that this story deals with some hard-hitting events, which I couldn’t begin to consider dealing with.
One of our key characters is DI Birch, recently promoted and desperate to make a good job in her new role. The other two narrators are mothers of two characters caught up in the events. Coming from very different places their feelings of loss and questioning what comes next are shared, but we don’t see just how much they have in common until late on.
In the opening of the story we witness a teenage girl and her mother having an argument over something neither can put their finger on. There’s evident tension in their relationship at this point, but neither will speak. The next day - still seething over the events of the night before - Isabel heads into work early. While there she becomes aware - via Twitter- of a shooting in her daughter’s college. Her daughter is killed, along with twelve other female students.
The shooter, a young man named Ryan, kills himself. Naturally, this leads to a sense of confusion as there are no clear answers given to explain why he did this.
As the book progresses we learn a lot about the procedure involved in investigating such a crime. We get to see some of the awful behaviour from members of the press desperate for their ‘big scoop ‘. Family members learn some difficult truths about their loved ones and there is a palpable sense of a community trying to come to terms with what has happened.
I felt this was quite sprawling in approach, and might have been more impactful if fewer characters were focused on. However, I’d like to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my thoughts.
One of our key characters is DI Birch, recently promoted and desperate to make a good job in her new role. The other two narrators are mothers of two characters caught up in the events. Coming from very different places their feelings of loss and questioning what comes next are shared, but we don’t see just how much they have in common until late on.
In the opening of the story we witness a teenage girl and her mother having an argument over something neither can put their finger on. There’s evident tension in their relationship at this point, but neither will speak. The next day - still seething over the events of the night before - Isabel heads into work early. While there she becomes aware - via Twitter- of a shooting in her daughter’s college. Her daughter is killed, along with twelve other female students.
The shooter, a young man named Ryan, kills himself. Naturally, this leads to a sense of confusion as there are no clear answers given to explain why he did this.
As the book progresses we learn a lot about the procedure involved in investigating such a crime. We get to see some of the awful behaviour from members of the press desperate for their ‘big scoop ‘. Family members learn some difficult truths about their loved ones and there is a palpable sense of a community trying to come to terms with what has happened.
I felt this was quite sprawling in approach, and might have been more impactful if fewer characters were focused on. However, I’d like to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my thoughts.
samsearle's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Gun violence, and Misogyny
sarahs_bookish_life's review
4.0
As soon as I read the blurb for his book, I knew I wanted to read more. Sadly numerous deaths in school shootings are not just fiction, it has happened far to many times than it should. I for one was really interested in knowing the whys and hows.
I have to say this is more than just a crime novel. Seeing things from three different perspectives really takes you deep into this story. I had every empathy for both mothers. Trying to put myself mentally into their shoes and how I would feel and react if it had been my son or daughter. You really get a sense about these women and I took to both of them.
The story centres more on the two women and how they try to comprehend with what has happened. The police presence is felt though as people are out for blood at what has happened. Like the reader, they want to get behind the why and how of how this happened and the pressure is on them for answers. Throw in an unruly journalist and you really have a page turner of a read.
All The Hidden Truths makes you question how well you know someone and what is going on inside their head. It is at times a sad and emotional read yet it gets more compelling with every new chapter reached. It isn’t a fast paced, action packed thriller, yet it makes for a truly compelling read that I couldn’t wait to get back to every time I put it down. My first book by this author and certainly won’t be my last.
My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
I have to say this is more than just a crime novel. Seeing things from three different perspectives really takes you deep into this story. I had every empathy for both mothers. Trying to put myself mentally into their shoes and how I would feel and react if it had been my son or daughter. You really get a sense about these women and I took to both of them.
The story centres more on the two women and how they try to comprehend with what has happened. The police presence is felt though as people are out for blood at what has happened. Like the reader, they want to get behind the why and how of how this happened and the pressure is on them for answers. Throw in an unruly journalist and you really have a page turner of a read.
All The Hidden Truths makes you question how well you know someone and what is going on inside their head. It is at times a sad and emotional read yet it gets more compelling with every new chapter reached. It isn’t a fast paced, action packed thriller, yet it makes for a truly compelling read that I couldn’t wait to get back to every time I put it down. My first book by this author and certainly won’t be my last.
My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
kirstysbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
This book follows the aftermath of a shooting that occurs at a college. The book follows three different perspectives of characters that have been affected by the shooting. We follow the police officers investigating the shooting, the mother of one of the victims and the mother of the shooter.
I liked seeing the different character's perspectives on the events that took place and felt that seeing the aftermath from a number of viewpoints gave the story more depth in comparison to other books that I have read that follow this topic.
This is more of a slow burn book than a fast-paced thriller. However, the story was interesting and it really makes you think. I hadn't read anything from this author previously but I would be interested to check out more from them in the future.
I liked seeing the different character's perspectives on the events that took place and felt that seeing the aftermath from a number of viewpoints gave the story more depth in comparison to other books that I have read that follow this topic.
This is more of a slow burn book than a fast-paced thriller. However, the story was interesting and it really makes you think. I hadn't read anything from this author previously but I would be interested to check out more from them in the future.
kenzieleckie_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Spoiler
I’m struggling to form an opinion on this. I could be a little bias as this was set in Edinburgh and so there was familiarity going into this with the places spoken about.I really like how the book was broken up into parts of newspaper and online articles which gave you a break from the very large paragraphs that I found hard to focus on as it felt like a lot of information crammed into one.
I felt like there was no really “truths” revealed. Like from the beginning it states Abigail was the first one shot then the rest of them were women too so by the end of the book when we find out the conversation between Ryan and Moira from the night before, it doesn’t come as a real shock as you kind of expect him to be upset about Abigail. You also figure out pretty much way before that Adrian’s having an affair.
Also can someone confirm if the couple in the graveyard Moira sees at the beginning is Abigail and Jack? As Abigail says in the final chapter something about them sitting in cemeteries. It’s probably very obvious but I just need this confirmed hahahah.