Martyn Alexander Ford

All Our Darkest Secrets by Martyn Ford is a 2021 Thomas & Mercer publication.

Rose and James basically grew up together. They became close friends, then lovers, and eventually married.

James is a DEA agent aiming to take down the biggest opioid empire in the city. But their contented married life quickly unravels when James is forced to sacrifice his integrity- to put it mildly- to protect Rosie after she experiences one of her ‘Red Days.’

If that weren’t bad enough, James’ actions were discovered by the very criminals he is duty bound to bring down. Now he’s being blackmailed and forced to go rogue. With every turn he becomes more beholden to the dark side and barely one step ahead of his own unit. No matter how this mess plays out- with the loss of his career, or worse… prison- at least Rosie will be there at his side.

This is a super-fast paced thrill ride! Every twist and turn is well thought out and the characters are well-drawn with distinct lines between the bad guys- like Edward- and the good ones- like Nell- while other characters are more complex.

James may seem a little too dedicated sometimes, but some people really are capable of a level of blind love and trust that makes them do things they never would have dreamed of doing otherwise…

And it’s never pretty.

This is a sharp, well-plotted thriller- but has a dark underlying atmosphere, as well. The Opioid crisis looms in the background, quite ominously, and is the catalyst for many of the situations the reader learns about as the story progresses. This also adds another layer of darkness to the story, juxtaposing the various ne’er do wells against the people trying to prevent more tragedy- and James- who is now torn between them.

My advice here is to just trust the author, follow where he leads- you’ll be glad you did once you get to the end. While I was expecting something to jump out at me- I never saw that coming!! In fact, I was so shell shocked I had to read the last chapter twice, to convince myself I’d read it right the first time!

Overall, if you are looking for a good, tense, page-turner- this is a book you might want to consider.

*Thanks to GR friends Joey R and Holly B for putting this one on my radar. (As of this writing- this book is a part of the Kindle Unlimited program with audio included)… (mais)

Reviewed for VPRC. The cover of this book doesn't really do justice to the story within, which is a lot more complex . I suppose the publishers are trying to catch the DOAWK market but about 3 chapters in, I knew this was a bit deeper than it appeared.
Chester is the narrator - he is about 11 or 12 and lives in England with his older sister and mother. He wants to be an actor and his mother suggests he see a psych to calm his anxiety. When he meet Dr Vladovski, his whole world changes as Chester discovers he can mind jump into people and animals. After a bit of experimenting, Chester jumps into a squirrel to prove he can do it to his sister and she comes up with the idea to host a You-tube channel show about it.
Chester and Amy soon become famous and at the start of the second season, they aim for zoo animals. Chester jumps into a gorilla but when he tries to get back someone has stolen his body. ( He needs to be able to see his body to jump back).
Enter a shifty organization of monks who can mind jump, clues left by Chester's dead father, a caricature of a detective trying to help them AND foster his own acting career, Dr Vlad 's secret and finally the biggest one of all that involves Chester himself.
This keep me reading from start to finish but there was a lot of introspection from the main character regarding what is self ( the longer Chester is trapped as a gorilla, the more gorilla-like he becomes), a very long "stream of consciousness" scene and also some interesting thoughts about death. I think these items may detract from the main story a little and be beyond the comprehension of a Grade 5 boy.
Nevertheless it is entertaining and kept me guessing, with a few "Wow" plot twists.… (mais)