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A review by lovelymisanthrope
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this novel because it was the Literally Dead Book Club Pick for April 2022. I really did not know what to expect from this book, because all I knew was the story follows a lawyer who finds her boss murdered in his office.
"All Her Little Secrets" follows Ellice, a woman of color who fought through a lot of adversity to become a big lawyer in Atlanta. She has worked her whole life to leave her past in the past, and to create the image of the perfect woman who is a kickass lawyer. She has an ongoing affair with her boss, and one morning when she goes to meet him before work, she finds him brutally murdered, but it is staged to be a suicide. She decides it is best to leave the scene of the crime for someone else to discover. Ellice is offered her boss's job and is promoted to the top floor before his body is even cold. Now Ellice is trying to fight racism and show she deserves this top role, solve the murder of her once lover, and ensure all of her secrets stay secrets.
I was interested in this story, but it did not keep me hooked on every page. I empathized with Ellice and her situation, especially as we learn more about her past, but I could not get past the fact that almost every decision she made seemed dumb. Why would you leave a murder scene, when you know you had nothing to do with it, it could not be linked to you, and you are a top lawyer? Then, she went on to continually lie to the police under the guise that "she is a lawyer and knows how to lie the right way". She infuriated me as a character. I do think the novel itself is well-written, and the story had some great twists that kept the plot moving. I think I might have enjoyed the story a whole lot more if it was told from a different perspective.
"All Her Little Secrets" follows Ellice, a woman of color who fought through a lot of adversity to become a big lawyer in Atlanta. She has worked her whole life to leave her past in the past, and to create the image of the perfect woman who is a kickass lawyer. She has an ongoing affair with her boss, and one morning when she goes to meet him before work, she finds him brutally murdered, but it is staged to be a suicide. She decides it is best to leave the scene of the crime for someone else to discover. Ellice is offered her boss's job and is promoted to the top floor before his body is even cold. Now Ellice is trying to fight racism and show she deserves this top role, solve the murder of her once lover, and ensure all of her secrets stay secrets.
I was interested in this story, but it did not keep me hooked on every page. I empathized with Ellice and her situation, especially as we learn more about her past, but I could not get past the fact that almost every decision she made seemed dumb. Why would you leave a murder scene, when you know you had nothing to do with it, it could not be linked to you, and you are a top lawyer? Then, she went on to continually lie to the police under the guise that "she is a lawyer and knows how to lie the right way". She infuriated me as a character. I do think the novel itself is well-written, and the story had some great twists that kept the plot moving. I think I might have enjoyed the story a whole lot more if it was told from a different perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Grief