Rachel and Jack met several months ago and are expecting a child together. As a result they are still going through the getting to know you phase in tandem with the pregnancy, but when Rachel opens one of Jack's emails out of curiosity one morning she discovers that points to Jack hiding a dark secret.

Unsure whether to confront him with it, this seed of doubt grows as she meets his friends and they call him by a different name, and she notices that he always keeps his phone well guarded and is very evasive as to why he suddenly gave up driving before she met him. As she digs, she discovers that he barely has a social media footprint, and that what there is seems at odds with what she knows about him.

Everything But The Truth is a dark psychological thriller (the best kind!) that splits its time between the rainy streets of Newcastle where Rachel and Jack life separately, and the Scottish island of Oban where Jack is from and where it soon becomes apparent the source of his secrets originate.

The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride of revelations and twists as we discover not only what is going on with Jack, but also Rachel whose own life is shrouded in secrets and taints her credentials as a reliable narrator. Both main characters are well drawn, as are the handful of supporting cast.

Everything But The Truth is a cracking read examining the secrets and lies that we weave into our public personas, and with which we mask the less desirable aspects of our histories.

This is a promising debut from Gillian McAllister. It is well written, fast paced and full of suspense. The plot is full of twists and turns to engage the reader's attention and will make you question your morals and what you would have done if you were in that situation. Great characters that are well developed and realistic in their interaction and emotions. Overall a brilliant Domestic Noir that will keep you reading late into the night.

This was a fascinating story which rambled a bit about halfway through and then got going again. Great insight into human nature and how it affects the decisions we make. L0ts of twists and turns which made this an exciting book to read.

I have to admit this one had me muttering and shaking my head, whilst I was reading.

Aside from being a wee bit obsessed and jealous, Rachel is quite simply a rather big hypocrite throughout the entire book. Omitting the truth and keeping secrets, well let’s just say Jack isn’t the only person guilty of doing that.

I think McAllister has incorporated a pretty controversial topic in this read. How far would you go to defend your family and keep them safe? Seems like a straightforward question, right? I suppose if you disregard the law and a few morals it isn’t such a big issue.

My dislike for Rachel, or rather her character, grew exponentially as she discovered more about Jack and judged him consistently. I understand why he did it. The law and the enforcement of the law is tantamount to a sham when the criminals can do whatever they like without any repercussions at all. To make matters worse, the victims can’t legally protect themselves or their property without falling foul of the law themselves.

We live in an age, an era which allows a criminal who has broken into your home to sue you if you hurt them or they hurt themselves during their criminal escapade. The rights of the criminals seem to have taken precedence over those of their victims.

Taking all the prior events into consideration I fail to see why Rachel is so disturbed by it all. He lied to her, I can understand why that would be an issue, but surely she can find some compassion for the predicament he found himself in?

Told you, I just got very annoyed by her reactions, especially considering her own past indiscretions and unethical decisions. They are not far from being on equal standing where bad decisions are concerned.

To me a plot with a moral dilemma worthy of many a discussion is a good read. McAllister does it in a really subtle way, in a way that draws you in and makes you mumble under your breath. Ok, maybe that’s just me.
* Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of Everything but the Truth.

I have to say I just did not relate to the characters.
The whole plot was just very slow and never really got going.
It left me feeling very disappointed.

I read this book in one sitting. I liked the way the story slowly unfolded and the gradual rise in tension. An engaging novel.

I wish I had loved this story, I really do, but unfortunately it was all to similar to other books I've read recently but not quite so well done.

The story was a little slow for me, and if I'm being honest, it didn't quite deliver what was promised. The whole 'mystery' was more a woman's paranoia than anything else. As for the ending, I was so disappointed with it. I expected so much more.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

Excellent read! Thoroughly engaging.

Everything but the Truth is Gillian McAllister's debut novel. There were nights when I couldn't stop reading I thought it was that good! I did at times feel that Rachel was slightly over the top and not totally believable. The book explores the concepts of trust and lies and what happens when secrets are left untold.
The ending was superb- just what I hoped it would be!
Well done!

Very well written and an interesting idea but I felt the book rather drifted and did not have enough weight in the later stages.

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.

Fascinating book about relationships and trust. This is an excellent debut novel with believable characters and a fascinating story line. It makes one think about how one would react in a similar situation and how a simple little lie can escalate. I also found it difficult to prefer one of the main characters over the other =They were both the goodie and the baddie. This made it difficult to decide how I wanted it to end but I was happy with the ending.

This is definitely a real page-turner, and it's an intriguing premise. However I did think that the story wasn't very convincing, and I didn't particularly take to either of the main characters.

Didn't really enjoy this book, felt it had no real depth to the story and didn't keep me interested.

I enjoyed this read although i felt there could have been more of a climax, more of a twist. I thought whilst reading that the autistic brother had commited the crime and there was a coverup so i was always waiting for something else but i was definitely gripped. I read it in 2 days! Thanks netgalley and publisher

I LOVED this book and read it quickly as I felt so engaged with it. I hadn't read anything quite like it before so it held my interest. It's beautifully written and very well-paced. The author is clever at making us think one thing... then a few pages later, asking us to challenge our thinking. I really liked this. One minute I thought, 'That's it, there's no way Rachel can stay with Jack,' but then a little later on, 'Well, maybe she can'. I liked the medical scenes and it was easy to relate to Rachel as a doctor and the decision she made with regard to her patient. Nothing is ever clear-cut and I kept thinking, 'What would I do?' As well as questioning myself, I enjoyed the book because it's a thoroughly good read. The first person narration throughout works extremely well and I felt the ending was right. I definitely recommend this book!

This author was completely new to me, so when i choose to read this book i really didn't know what to expect. I'm sorry to say that i struggled with it a bit in places, i also spent most of the book having issues with one of the main characters.

However with that said, the story was well written and thought out.

I was intrigued from the start, the main male character was too good to be true. I felt he was definitely hiding something but also so was the main female character.
It was a page turner and kept my interest without making me overthink the plot. Which made the story even more enjoyable.
The plot was strong and not rushed at the end, it was well thought out.
I would recommend this book to others and look forward to more from the author.

Wow to think this the first book Gillian has written makes me wonder what could come next and be as good as this as that is going to be very hard!
This book had me reading at every given opportunity, I loved the storyline, the characters and the flow of the book.
Rachel has had a tough few months, splitting up with her boyfriend, her mum dying and trouble at work so meeting jack was almost too good to be true. The story follows Rachel through the first blooms of love when everything is perfect but late one night she half reads an email on jacks tablet that sets her mind racing. Who is jack? What has jack done? Rachel gets more and more obsessed with finding out about him which is also being helped by pregnancy irrational hormones! Rachel digs deeper and deeper and not always keeping on the right side of the law while at the same time keeping her secret hidden from jack.
This never had a boring moment for me and I liked how some chapters dotted through the book were about what happened to Rachel and how she ends up being more alike to jack than she wishes. There was not one character I didn't like and through it all I did hope jack wasn't hoping to be too good to be true.
I would like to thank netgalley and penguin random house for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator - of questions regarding one's significant other (or more like the man whose seed is growing inside her after a very short period of time of them knowing each other). The story isn't badly written, but doesn't stand out amongst other books of the same genre either. The lack of logical sense in the main characters did irritate me slightly - some courses of actions made me go, 'But..why would you do that?', and I felt myself pitying the adults who seemed more childlike compared to the children around them. Due to this, I felt distanced from the story and didn't feel any empathy or connection with the characters.

I enjoyed 'Everything but the Truth' enormously. I found the story gripping, the characters were sympathetic and realistic, and I rooted for them all the way through. The final outcome was in no way predictable, which I particularly liked!
The book was well researched, with what seemed a deep understanding of the many expertises described in the story.
All in all, a great read!