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

Everything but the Truth by Gillian McAllister | Waterstones

I really enjoyed this great psychological thriller. It’s a pacey, fun read which kept me completely absorbed. Everything but the Truth is a 1956 American Eastmancolor comedy film directed by Jerry Hopper and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Forsythe and Tim Hovey. [1] Much of the film score was composed by Henry Mancini. [2] It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. I did enjoy the characters and plot, even with the dose of anxiety, and had fun with this predictably fun and entertaining story. This book is set into three parts who? What? Why? Each section unravelling to answer each of these questions. Which I thought was fascinating and really clever.The plot has a very simple boy like girl, girl like boys story line with that main complication - that Malik doesn't know who Holly actually is. It's a super short read with very simple pacing. There's a satisfactory happy ending so you'll be finishing the book feeling joyful that everything is solved, including the friendship problem. It was nice to see how these two meet and grow to admire one another and push each other in the right directions. Sweet really the amount of encouragement that Holly gives Malik throughout the book to help find himself. The relationships with the parents, friends and family members are also very thoughtful. It’s hard being in a retirement home but it’s great when young people show involvement in their lives to help ease their transition from complete independence to having to live in a home. The story is very believable and all the main characters are as close to real life as you can possibly imagine. I related to the storyline instantly and I can imagine a high percentage of people will feel the same once they have read this book. Learning to trust, forgive, accept and move on, are things we all have to deal with, and Gillian manages to portray this impeccably throughout the whole book. Everything But the Truth is a companion novel in an adorable series, entitled If Only. I’ve really been enjoying this series, and I was looking forward to reading this one after enjoying Mandy’s first book in the If Only Series, Fool Me Twice, which I read last year.

Everything but the Truth - Wikipedia

However as the reader, we don't know too much about Rachel's recent past. Why did she really quit her job as a doctor? We know her mother died from cancer and after her death, Rachel's father discovered she had been having an affair with another man for years. She then became suspicion about her then boyfriend Ben of seeing other people. So maybe Rachel is just paranoid because of what's happened in her own past? Although there just seem to be too many coincidences, hidden secrets and odd happenings for that to really be the case. Her own secret is woven throughout the book and becomes sort of easy to guess. I figured out the event but got the how wrong. Too much of that story was obvious for the big reveal to have any impact. While I had some slight issues with the romance aspect of the ending, I did appreciate Hubbard's overall approach to wrapping up the story. Holly handles the ups and downs of her relationships maturely, and learns how to adjust and let go as needed. This was not to much a thriller as a meditation on consequences. Not that much even happens, but I was never bored. The characters were multi-dimensional and intriguing and I look forward to McAllister's next book!

Multibuys

I was drawn to this story from the premise, I thought it sounded utterly intriguing and in many ways, it lived up to that thought and will be enjoyed by readers who appreciate a good mystery with a few twists and turns along the way.

Everything but the Truth (Audio Download): Gillian McAllister Everything but the Truth (Audio Download): Gillian McAllister

It's a small thing, but it hasn't been that long since the debate on whitewashing in YA, so I absolutely appreciate this step forward.

Holly's life has been on the low end of the financial scale until her mom's latest job. Dad bailed early on, they struggled and she knew what pinching pennies meant in a way that most other kids her age never understood. It took several years, but now Mom has a degree and is near the end of her probation at a dream job, managing a very high class retirement home on an island in Washington State. Holly, short for Holiday, likes art, creativity and helping out the nicer residents. She saves the tips they give her for college.