Saturday 1 April 2017

Everything but the Truth - Gillian McAllister



Do you ever check your partner's phone? 

Should you? 

Are you prepared for the consequences?

Everything but the Truth is Gillian McAllister's stunning breakthrough thriller about deceit, betrayal and one woman's compulsive need to uncover the truth

It all started with the email.

Rachel didn't even mean to look. She loves Jack and she's pregnant with their child. She trusts him.

But now she's seen it, she can't undo that moment. Or the chain of events it has set in motion.

Why has Jack been lying about his past? Just what exactly is he hiding? And doesn't Rachel have a right to know the truth at any cost?

What did I think?

I had no idea when I started this book that it was part set in my neck of the woods so it was a lovely surprise to read a setting comprising Grey's Monument (the iconic towering statue at the heart of Newcastle), The Boat (Newcastle's floating nightclub with the famous revolving dancefloor), The RVI (a hospital in the heart of Newcastle) and The Hoppings (the annual fair on Newcastle's Town Moor).  To be fair, it could have been set anywhere and still been an amazing read, but I get an extra buzz when reading books set in my area.

Rachel and Jack are in a relatively new relationship when Rachel discovers that she is pregnant.  Unlike most men, Jack doesn't run back to Scotland but instead embraces the addition of the baby fondly referred to as 'Wally' to their family.  One night Rachel sees an email appear on Jack's iPad referring to his history being dredged up in the John Douglas case.  Who is John Douglas and what does he have to do with Jack Ross?  When Rachel meets Jack's friends they call him 'JD' and Jack says it's because he used to be a heavy drinker in his youth.  Rachel, however, is no stranger to lies and paranoia as she discovered after her mother's death that her mother had been having an affair.  So Rachel starts digging into Jack's past, but will she be prepared for what she might uncover?

Rachel has a story of her own that we are treated to in flashback chapters which takes us back to when Rachel was a promising junior doctor.  Rachel isn't practising now so just what happened a year ago with 'the boy'?  Cue the fabulous DOUBLE HOOK!  Both Jack and Rachel have secrets and I for one couldn't read fast enough to uncover both devastating and heart-breaking stories.  I'm not a Newcastle United fan, but Rachel's story affected me so deeply that I shall remember it every time I see the black and white stripes around somebody's neck which, due to where I live, will be very often indeed.

I think this is the first book that I have read where The Hoppings have been mentioned.  The Hoppings is an annual event held in June where Europe's biggest travelling fair appears on Newcastle's greenbelt, The Town Moor.  We always joke that we know when The Hoppings is here as we usually get a week of rain, thanks to the gypsy curse.  It was nice to read that the sun was shining on The Hoppings in Everything but the Truth but I can't remember The Hoppings ever being held in October.  A bit of artistic license perhaps or maybe I'm wrong, either way it doesn't really matter.

Everything but the Truth is truly a fantastic book!  I'm now a self-confessed Gillian McAllister junkie as I was addicted from the very first page.  Like stepping on a rollercoaster at The Hoppings, once you get on there's no getting off until the ride stops.  So stand in line and hop aboard for the ride of your life!  I promise it's well worth it, then join me in waiting for our next Gillian McAllister fix.

I chose to read to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:




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