All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

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Do you have something from your childhood that you wouldn’t want your coworkers to know?   Ellice Littlejohn has an Ivy League law degree and is a lawyer at a large corporation in Atlanta.  She doesn’t want her co-workers to know about her troubled childhood or her brother who has spent time in prison.  She also doesn’t want them to know that she is having an affair with her boss, Michael.

 Ellice’s world comes tumbling down when she comes to work one morning early to meet her boss and finds him dead in his office.  Who killed Michael?  Why is her workplace pushing her into his executive position so quickly? Why does most of the executive team seem to be hiding something and taking an active dislike to her?

 I enjoyed All Her Little Secrets.  It’s a good legal thriller.  It was slow burn at first, but once I got past a point in the middle, I literally couldn’t put this book down until I finished it. I really wanted to know what happened.  I also really liked the details of Ellice’s life and her experiences as the only person of color on the executive team.  She was also one of the only women in a powerful position was interesting as well.   Keeping secrets comes back to haunt Ellice as it makes her look very suspicious to the police.  I love how she wanted to protect her family and I also really liked her brother’s friend Juice.  It made me laugh that she made assumptions about him that were totally off base. 

 Favorite Quotes:

 “Just because he made a mistake doesn’t mean he can’t right himself up.  Mistakes don’t make nobody bad.  It makes ‘em human.”

 “Every lie you tell, every secret you keep, is a fragile little thing that must be protected and accounted for.  One misstep, one miscalculation, and your safe little treasures can topple the perfect life you’ve built around them.”

 “I had to believe that I was more than my worst mistake.  Every one of my secrets had been a painful lesson that I should have been learning from instead of running from.”

 Overall, All her Little Secrets is a riveting legal thriller while also being a great discussion about being a black woman in corporate America.  It’s also a great look at the side effects of telling lies, even what you believe to be harmless ones.

 Book Source:  A Review Copy from William Morrow.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson

 Are you looking for an intriguing legal thriller mixed with a historical fiction novel?  Look no further than Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson.  I read Defending Britta Stein at the end of September for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  Author Brenda Novak had a great interview with author Ronald H. Balson that can still be found on her Facebook page.

 Ole Henryks is a popular restaurant owner in Chicago is being honored for being a Danish war hero.  This does not sit well with ninety-two-year-old Britta Stein who starts a one-woman campaign to discredit Ole by graffitiing his restaurant.  After charges are pressed against Britta, can her legal team defend her by showing it’s not defamation, but true statements about Ole Henryks?  Britta narrates her past to her legal team and granddaughter and long buried secrets are unearthed.    Was Ole Henryks a Nazi collaborator?  How did his life intersect Britta’s life?

 I found out when I started reading this novel that it is part of a series.  It stood up well as a stand alone novel, although I am intrigued about the series now.  I had no idea about the Danish history during World War II and I loved learning about it. It was particularly wonderful to read about how an entire country was able to pull together for the greater good and help people out to save almost their entire Jewish population.  I am amazed I had never learned about this before.  This would make a wonderful movie.  I loved Britta’s story, but I’m not sure why she waited until this very late stage of her life to share it with her granddaughter.

 Overall, Defending Britta Stein is an engaging legal thriller and historical fiction novel that is not to be missed!

 Book Source:  Review copy from Netgalley.  Thank-you!