Title: Everything But The Truth
Author: Gillian McAllister
Publisher: Michael Joseph

[Synopsis]

Just how much can you trust the person you love?
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?

[My Review]

I really enjoyed this great psychological thriller. It’s a pacey, fun read which kept me completely absorbed.
The characters are great; I really liked Rachel and felt for her, even though she made some questionable decisions at times. Gillian McAllister has a great way of presenting the characters because she makes you think about the human side to their decisions – I can’t say much without giving too much away but she manages to make you think about whether what her boyfriend Jack may or may not have done is actually as bad as we may think, given the circumstances. And that is a key theme in this book, I felt – the idea that behaving in a certain way might not be quite so bad depending on the context surrounding it. I definitely enjoyed the moral questions it threw up, and felt that McAllister really portrayed Rachel’s conundrum in a great, convincing way. Rachel loves Jack, that much is obvious, but things that have happened in her past (as well as his) which threaten to ruin what seems like a perfect (albeit whirlwind) relationship, and that coupled with what seems to be lies, begins to ruin her trust in Jack.
There are questions at every turn in this book, and I liked that it seemed quite realistic, overall – the storyline, though dramatic at times, wasn’t overly ridiculous or unbelievable. It was crazy enough without making me think, “this is stupid” – something I unfortunately do feel a lot with books in this genre. It had just the right balance, and it makes you think about human nature and what you’d do in this situation.
I hugely enjoyed this novel and found it was a brilliant, riveting read which left my feeling satisfied.

[Rating: 4/5]

Many thanks to Michael Joseph for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.