all her little secrets | part two

[Lala, owner]

My edition has 371 pages and part two ends at page 314.
Please no spoilers if you're already finished the book!

I'm assuming some big reveals or moments happened in this part; tell me about them!
Do you have any predictions for the final part?
Have you read any books similar to this that you would recommend?
If this were adapted into a movie, who would you cast?

[Paige]

My heart… it hurts. 😭💔

[Lea]

This part was so sad, she is so alone and pushing everyone away.

[Becca]

I was not surprised that Sam was killed, I didn’t want it to happen because I was hoping she would be able to mend that relationship. From the beginning I suspected that the pin was connected to some awful white power group, and unfortunately I was right. I do think that max and Jonathan were behind this all, but it would be interesting if the boss with Alzheimer’s was behind it all. My hopes for the rest of the book is that she somehow convinced the cops she didn’t do it, but I’m afraid we will find out one of the investigators is dirty and in on this. I’m awful at coming up with someone to play characters, but I could see Lupita playing Ellie

[Melissa]

I’m not really surprised with where it’s going so it’s getting a little slow for me. I still like it I just want it to speed up a little hoping maybe something unexpected will happen.

[Leigh]

I knew something was going to happen to Sam and everyone would slowly start finding out everything that she wanted to keep hidden. This section was just so sad.. Ellice is alone and can’t really trust anyone because everyone at her job seems sketchy and she only holds a few people close to her. 😞

[Rachel]

Ugh, I loved Sam 😭 I had a feeling something would happen to him, but not as soon as it did. Also, that last chapter was so hard to read. I feel really attached to our main character. I still like the pacing in this…this isn’t a super plot twisty book, but personally that’s not what I’m always looking for in a suspense/thriller. Still really enjoying it

[kailyn]

Wow, what a roller coaster of emotion. That section was definitely “the grass”. I feel for Sam and Vera and Ellice… so much trauma and hurt rolled over and over. I wasn’t surprised that Sam was murdered. The whole situation was so messed up for him. I feel for Ellice… to lose everyone around her either by distrust or death. I hope in the third act that she will fight the Brethren/Houghton company with Grace by her side. Maybe Juice will help her? (I think she needs some good people by her side.

On to the third part.

[Amber]

My heart breaks about Elice losing her brother.

[morgan]

Poor Sam! Man! Poor Ellice. These jerks better get what they deserve. Excited for the ending.

Also, I quite like the Part titles and that thread of symbolism. Fitting.

[L.J.]

As if I thought her brother was up to something. I was thinking he was acting sus during the first part of the book but I was wrong. What happened to him was so sad.

The second part started with a bang and continued with an emotional roller-coaster. My heart breaks for Ellice. She has been through hell and now her life is falling apart, with all her secrets (grave secrets, as Vera would put it) coming back to ruin everything she had built for herself.

I am enjoying the book but there is a major component missing. I feel like I would enjoy it so much more if the main character made actual intelligent decisions. For lawyer (corporate lawyer, I know but still), I feel like she is showing a major lack of judgement when it comes to the legal system and how at risk she really is. She addresses at one point her naivety, but still, she is naïve. It is so frustrating. We are told she is smart, like scary smart. Gifted up the wazoo smart. But it doesn't show in her actions.

[Sandra]

Loved part 2

[Shani]

I enjoyed the second part a lot more than the first. While it took me a few days to get through the first 50% of this book, I flew through part two! I am liking the main character a lot, I feel incredibly sorry for her with how everything in her life is falling apart. I'm also really sad that Sam died! Poor Sam... he didn't do anything wrong. I'm pretty excited for the last part of the book, hopefully, there will be a big reveal that will blow me away! I'll probably finish it tonight. I didn't have the best experience with the last two book club books so it would be great if I end up loving this one.

[Justin]

I thought Part 2 starts and ends on a high note — very emotionally charged.

But the rest of Part 2 kind of lost me — Ellice in Part 1 feels like a realistic 'book smart, but not really street smart' protagonist, yet in Part 2 she seems to make really rookie mistakes regarding crime and law (not getting a lawyer before speaking to the police, leaving incriminating messages on her brother's phone when she already knows things are fishy, etc.) Also Houghton is not cooking its book all that well if even Rudy and his colleague can find suspicious activities in its operation.

I hope the last part ends with a bang, because Part 2 let me down slightly.

[Mandy]

Part 2.

I feel like this book is not for me. Not that it’s not good, but that I don’t relate with the struggles of a black woman in a high powered job as a token woman with a past.

Right now I struggle with what I’d even want to rate this or whether I will give it a star rating in the end.

My biggest issue is with this plot that could have been resolved so easily.

There is absolutely no reason the author gave good enough for Ellice to stay at this job from the get go. Ever.

Now, after part 2 she clearly has stakes in the game, but as soon as Michael was dead and they were suspiciously handing her a position, she should have walked away.

Her motivations weren’t strong enough and that’s where the rest of the book is falling flat.

Had she been blackmailed before Michael’s death or sooner, sure. If it was money, she should have been in debt somewhere and NEEDED that 35% raise. But clearly even in her old position, she could afford Vera in a home, her brothers issues and a posh life.

So, I’m just not buying the rest of it. I’ll finish the book, but I’m side eyeing it at this point.

[Stavroula]

Wow, part two was rough. I'm so sorry for Ellice and what she's been through from back when she was a young girl till Sam's death. I like her as a main character but I agree with the group that at this second part she made some wrong decisions. I just hope for a happy ending.

[Emily]

Part two was a little bit of a drag and I got so frustrated by Ellice in some parts. Why as a lawyer would you talk to police without a lawyer present when being suspected of murder?? That was just the tip of the iceberg for me. There were so many times I was not on board with some of Ellice's decisions. I was hoping to really like this book but I don't think the last section is going to pull it together enough for me to enjoy this book overall.