A really good debut mystery/thriller with lots of twists. Jack receives an email referring to his past. His partner Rachel reads it and needs to know what it means but Jack is not keen to share it with her. Rachel sets out to find out what Jack is keeping from her, and to discover the truth about his past.
Would definitely recommend.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I didn't know what to expect with this to be honest, it was very well written great storyline, the characters played their parts well. It's a must read for definite.

Intriguing and compelling, I could not put this book download Rachel was a very likeable character. My one worry was that I would be disappointed by the reveal after all the build up. However I remained glued to my Kindle to follow through jack's story. Fantastic read!

It was too lengthy and drawn out for me, too lengthy description of him for example. I only got to the email title I did not get to what the email said. It needs to be not so drawn out. Yes you are having a baby no need to keep reminding. I lost interest at 4% and started to skim pages, how much do I have to wade through to see what the email said? Get to it.

I stayed up really late reading this book last night. I found it hard to put down. I've just finished it now, the day after I downloaded it. I'm so glad it had a happy ending! The characters were believable and you could almost feel like you knew them. The plot was very clever: I particularly liked how elements were gradually revealed - like the layers being peeled off an onion. The secondary characters' story fed into the main plot line very effectively - the betrayals and misunderstandings. I would heartily recommend this book and I look forward to reading more by this author.

To begin, a confession. I worked out the twist early on - about 20% in. I say this not to be clever (I'm not, it's just this twist came up at work last year - it was timing not cleverness) but because it changed the way I read the book.

Because I didn't have to worry about what Jack had or had not done, Rachel's story came to the forefront.....a slow drip, drip, drip of back story, of fear, anxiety, culpability. My favourite kind of story; women's fiction at its best.

I believe very strongly in the right to anonymity, the right to disappear. I believe that nobody ever really knows anyone else. And yet, as Rachel's narration asked me to question her perspective, it asked me also to question my own; my own beliefs, those things that make me culpable.

And it is this slow unravelling, not Jack's twist, that makes the story so good. The unravelling and the reknitting of the threads, which is, after all, what each of us do every day.

In short, readers, this is what I call a bloody good read. Just not for quite the reasons I imagined.

This book was a great read but also made me think about morals and dilemmas. The characters were drawn in detail, it felt like you got to know them. I desperately wanted a happy ending, but couldn't see how it was going to happen. I read the book in 3 sittings, it is a gripping story and I wanted to know what happened but at the same time didn't want to finish it. I will definitely buy the next book by this author.

An excellent and very compelling read - and not for the reasons I expected. For me, the intrigue and suspense was less about Jack's story and what he was hiding (which I figured out before the big reveal) but about the narrator Rachel's hidden past and how that was slowly drip fed to us as the present-day narrative unfolded and tripped her back into her past, filled with pain and errors of judgement that had terrible consequences, things she would rather forget, genuine mistakes that arose from her just trying to do the right thing. The parallels with Jack's situation are not lost, and indeed make the reader think about culpability, intention, motive and why we do what we do. It also makes you think about the difference between lies and the stories we tell to make our actions more justified in our own minds; the right to anonymity; the right to wipe the slate clean after a traumatic experience and start again....but how that doesn't always work in the real world. McAllister is a skilled, thoughtful and engaging writer and Everything But The Truth is a dark and different love story that will certainly make you think, as well as make you stay up until 1am turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This is an impressive debut and marks Gillian McAllister as an author to watch. The dark secrets and twisting plot kept me turning the pages, but it was the satisfying emotional core which swept me away ,

Did I love this book because it was so well written, plotted, and paced? Or because I related to parts being someone that snoops in places that aren't my business? Well, YES to all! But mostly because of the addictive story here. I was hooked from the start and until the end. Two thumbs way up!!!

I mostly liked this book but I felt the ending fell a little flat. Perhaps that is because I was expecting a twist and I didn't feel there was one in this case but perhaps this book is more reflective of true life. I did like the characters and I was hooked into the story desperate to find out what the secret was which I think is the marker of a good book.

I found the synopsis highly deceptive for this book. As what we are led to believe the protagonist has 'seen' something on the ipad and what actually transpires is that she 'thinks she sees' something. From this the suspicion and mystery grows. Very quickly what was a potentially brilliant concept becomes mediocre and more a story of a relationship.
There is minor blips in the writing and the internet research is sketchy but it does grip you and pull you into the story. I found the protagonist medical background made for interesting reading but essentially was irrelevant to the main story until the very end.
I think what struck the biggest grievance for me was that it is marketed as thriller/noir/psychological and I did not find this at all, so for that reason I have only given it 2*

With thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free in return for an honest review.
A very enjoyable and easy going read.
Slowly, slowly people reveal themselves, freed from the masks that they hide behind every day. They're not bad people, almost everyone does it, a little lie, then another until before you know it there's a mountain of lies
This follows the meeting and blossoming romance between Rachel and Michael, the sorrows hidden behind their masks, then it's just the lies.
Can a relationship overcome all of this...

There are so many books that I have seen floating around on social media recently, some shout louder than others and Everything but the Truth was one of them, I was desperate to get my hands on a copy to review.

Everything but the Truth is Gillian McAllister’s debut novel. It tells the story of Rachel and Jack who are beginning their new life together as they prepare for the birth of their first child. In the beginning of the novel, their relationship appears perfect; Rachel believes that Jack is the one for her and Jack showers Rachel with love. But one night Rachel reads an email on Jack’s I-pad that has arrived in the middle of the night and this changes everything that she thought she knew about him. Is everything she thought she knew about Jack a lie?

When Rachel first begins to suspect Jack of keeping secrets from her, I thought that her change of feelings for him were fair. But as Gillian delves into Rachel’s personality it becomes clear that she finds it difficult to trust people and becomes paranoid. Her quest for the truth takes her on a dark path and it becomes unclear as to where this will end up for her. I did find her a little bit annoying, particularly when it was very clear to see how much Jack loved her but I did understand her desire to get to the truth even if it did make her seem a little mad.

At its heart, this book really is a love story but there are dark elements to it as well. I really liked the ending for this book which I thought closed Jack and Rachel’s story really well; it wasn’t an ending I was expecting. Everything but the Truth is very different to the trends we are seeing now in the psychological thriller market and I liked that, it doesn’t rely on unreliable narrators or big twists that will leave you questioning what you have just read. If you are looking for something that is different and a book that draws you in with mystery and suspense, this is the book for you. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy to review!

An amazing book! Loved how the story developed at a quick pace and how the two main characters developed throughout the story with the turning point being when Jack and Rachel both realise they have done wrong and they need to be there for their son Wally.