Helen Birch was just starting her first day as a DI when she heard the news that there had been a shooting at Three Rivers College. Thrust into a big, public and highly emotional case from the outset she tries to work out why 20 year old Ryan Summers walked into the campus and killed thirteen girls. The story is told from her viewpoint, Moira Summers (Ryans mom) and Ishbel Hodgkiss (the mother of Abigail, the first girl killed).

It focuses less on the investigation and more on how each of them learn about and cope with the news, the constant media interest and the pressure from journalist Grant Lockley who will stop at nothing to get the story he wants. Moira and Ishbel think back over the days before to try to work out if they missed something that could have changed that day, or the regrets of angry last words. Its good to read a crime book that is given from this different perspective and shows that life is short and you should never take loved ones for granted. Always take time for family.

A great read and thank you to NG for enabling me to read this early copy.

I really enjoyed this book. Set in Edinburgh, it is the story of a school shooting. 20 year old Ryan walks in to his college and shoots dead 13 girls before killing himself. How do the people left cope with such a tragic event? Ryan's mother tortures herself with the fact that she may have been able to stop him, but is there something she's not telling the police? Ishbel's daughter is one of the victims, but it seems she had no idea of the sort of life Abigail was leading. This was a thought provoking book, which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to Netgalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Good book this. Thought showing twitter responses to events really good and inventive, not seen that before. Subject matter obviously disturbing, well written though.
I would recommend this book and will look out for future books by this author

This is the story of a tragedy, seen through the eyes of three women. One day, a young man walks into a college in Edinburgh and kills several people, before killing himself. We see events from the points of view of D.I. Helen Birch, in charge of the case on the first day of her promotion, Moira Summers, the mother of the shooter and Ishbel Hodgekiss, the mother of Abigail, the first victim.

Author, Claire Askew, skilfully weaves these points of view, as the story unfolds. This is not only about the crime, but casts a sharp look at how such events unfold – including the media scrutiny and the, now expected, outcry on social media. Askew, herself, looks at the shades of grey beneath the black and white of events. There are the unearthing of secrets by journalists, the outcry of hate, aimed at Moira, and the reasons behind Ryan Summers actions.

Beautifully written, this would be an excellent choice for a reading group, as it has so much depth and will open all kinds of discussion – from the role of the media, the judgement of social media, to family dynamics and how well you really know those you love. I really found this a moving and touching read and hope to read more by this author, in the future. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Ishbel, Moira and Helen are all linked through a school shooting. Ishbel’s daughter was killed, Helen is the police officer investigating and Moira’s son was the shooter before killing himself. Edinburgh is devastated at the loss of life and the press are making things worse. Told through three points of view this was a moving read. So well written and I loved the twitter feeds making it more real!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

To be honest, I really struggled with this one - the only character I really felt for was the killer's mother, Moira. One of the regular features in the book - the journalist's 'articles' about the shooting - felt really unconvincing to me - would you really get that kind of article in a local paper? And whilst I totally buy in to Abigail's family not knowing what their daughter was up to, the parents seemed so wooden it was difficult to care that much about them or their feelings. I see this book has had excellent reviews on Amazon, and I had high hopes of it when I started reading, but it definitely wasn't one for me.

A difficult story about teenagers and communicating with them,the events that influence them and its consequences.
I liked the characters and I liked that a certain reporter got his comeuppance!
A feel good ending.

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review .I requested this début novel because it was set in Edinburgh where I was shortly to make a visit. I read it on my return and could visualise many of the places mentioned. What a terrific narrative so well handled, with terrific interplay between the various characters. Obviously the author had a genuine story to tell, that she cared about, generated by current news and it was not, as so often happens, something cobbled together to create a profit.

The core of the story is the shooting dead of young teenage school girls by a fellow pupil, a boy who then kills himself.. Whilst it‘s a crime story and a police procedural, it‘s not as lots of people have already said, a who done it, but a why done it. And it looks in depth at the effects that the crime has on all connected to it, from the victims families and one in particular, to the mother of the perpetrator, to the newly appointed police inspector herself, It also looks at the part played by social media in big news stories from the largely ignorant public, who think they have a right to comment publicly, to the press, and one particular. reporter. Not only are the victims all female, but the principal characters, who although they are severely battered by their experiences manage to come through to the other side stronger and more able to cope. In the year that we are celebrating the centenary of women’s suffrage this is particularly apt.

On a minor personal note, I was amused to see that when one of the lead female characters left her husband she spent the next six weeks in a hotel, the same hotel at which we stayed.. This author is already a published poet but I know that this work of fiction won’t be her last. I rarely use the worn out cliché, “not put down able”, any more, but this one certainly is. If this doesn’t become one of the best crime books of the year there is no justice.

This does not read like a first novel. ‘All the Hidden Truths is an incredibly well plotted, tightly structured and beautifully written story. Knowing Edinburgh a little, it was not difficult to imagine where the characters were travelling around the city but any reader who has never visited will soon feel familiar with the different areas, so well described are they. However, it is neither the setting nor Claire Askew’s use of language alone that make this such a compelling read. The way in which she clearly understands and is able to delineate character motivation and human vulnerabilities really draws the reader into the narrative. The author is able to depict self-centred teenager Abigail, her mother Ishbel’s sterile marriage and newly promoted police inspector DI Birch’s qualms with equal conviction. But she doesn’t only focus on women. The ghastly journalist, Grant Lockley, who haunts all those involved in the central event – a college campus massacre – is perhaps slightly more representative of the worst elements of the press than a character in his own right, as is the callous Aiden, husband of Ishbel, rather a stereotypical philanderer. However, Askew weaves all the strands of this story together with real skill as we are pulled into their tragic, chaotic world.
A ‘high school massacre’ story may seem strange, set as it is in a city that we identify as culturally rich and beautiful. However, the author reminds us how and why young people can become disaffected and obsessional. It’s easy to accept how Ryan comes to have such deadly weapons as well as why his mother feels distanced from her once loving little boy. The way in which Askew shines such a strong beam on the most nefarious journalistic practices is absolutely in tune with our times. However, this element of the story is not just a vehicle for disparaging the press; it is also highly relevant to the narrative.
My only criticism is that the final chapter was not necessary. In fact, it weakened the overall realistic tone of the story because the reader accepts that teenagers make daft choices, usually taking time to change into more responsible people. The ending of the novel felt cheesy, in total contrast to the rest of the narrative, and a bigger impact would have been felt if it had finished with the Editor-in-Chief’s statement, reminding us that sometimes punishment is an appropriate outcome but that people still have to live with the aftermath of tragedy.
I shall certainly look out for Askew’s next novel. In Helen Birch she has created a three-dimensional police inspector and I look forward to seeing how her backstory, involving a long-disappeared brother, Charlie, may develop. My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

All the Hidden Truths by Claire Askew is a gripping psychological thriller about a college student walking into Three Rivers college and shooting and killing thirteen women and then himself.
The story starts with Moira Summers witnessing the aftermath of an accident with a young guy gets impaled on a construction site. Her mind then wonders to her son Ryan. She wonders what would she do, if something ever happened to him.
DI Birch is on her way to work, when she hears on the radio of a dispatcher asking police to got to Three Rivers College. DI Birch says she is on the way to the scene. They first think it’s a hoax of a shooter on the premises, but when DI birch gets to the college. They find out that it is really happening. A college student Ryan Summers has killed thirteen women and then kills himself.
This is an emotional and topical drama of the aftermath of a school shooting. At first, the author does not give everything away first hand. But by bit by bit, you find out what has happened and why. The story is told in several points of view. Firstly, we learn what kind of person Ryan summers was and also his mother and the guilt that she feels of what her son did. And also what lead up to that day and the events. But also, by the press, in particular Grant Lockley, who lie and cheat and force their way into people’s lives. There is also D.I. Birch who is doing everything she can to not only find out what happened. But has to deal with Grant Lockley, who she has previously had problem with when she was younger concerning her brother Charlie. So she has personal issues with him.
I really enjoyed this. I found this realistic, gripping and thought provoking.
Thank you Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of this book.

I didn't expect to get through this as quickly as I did.
Some of the story was told through soical media such as tweets, emails, articles and comments. Which I liked. I think it added to the story, showing how we react to news nowadays.
The story itself felt a little dragging at times but overall I did like it.

Fantastic read, bit of an uneasy subject to write about, but Claire has done it brilliantly with believable characters you can't help feel sorry for, the book came together very well at the end and I'm looking forward to her next read

I would like to thank Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘All The Hidden Truths’ written by Claire Askew in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
At 8.30am Ryan Summers walks into Three Rivers College and by 9.00am thirteen young women are dead, a young man is injured, and he’s saved his last bullet for himself. On her way to start her new job at Fettes, newly promoted DI Helen Birch hears over her police radio there’s been a shooting at the college’s Tweed Campus and is one of the first on the scene. Everyone knows that Ryan is the killer but no-one knows why he took three starting pistols into college that day with the intention of killing his fellow-students.
‘All The Hidden Truths’ is an exciting and fast-paced thriller with a cleverly written plot, twists and turns, and interesting characters. It’s full of suspense and has all the ingredients needed to keep the reader captivated throughout. Articles written by the journalist Grant Lockley and Twitter remarks from his readers are well-integrated into the story. It concludes with a surprising last chapter where the first victim, Abigail, writes a page in her diary which she then destroys. It was so enjoyable that I find it hard to believe this is Claire Askew’s de-but as a writer of thrillers. I was gripped from page one and couldn’t stop reading until I’d reached the final page. Well done, Claire, and I hope you write more thrillers in the future.

All the Hidden Truths explores the aftermath of a horrific college shooting that has left 13 young women dead, as well as their killer, a troubled young man named Ryan Summers. The book follows the stories of Ryan’s mother Moira, as she struggles to understand what her son has done, Ishbel, the mother of one of the victims whose fragile family has been torn apart, and Birch, the DI assigned to the case. There have been quite a few books on this topic in recent years, but in this novel Askew does something a little different – as well as a deep dive into the families affected by the shooting, she explores an aspect of tragedy that has become all too common: press intrusion. The slimy reporter Grant Lockley does come across as a bit if a grotesque caricature, but the focus is clear and compelling and gives this story an extra edge. It’s well paced and sympathetically and cleverly written, with a lasting message.

I don't know what to make of this book, it dipped in and out of being captivating and slow for me.At times I was page turning like mad and in other parts I found it to be dragging.The story was good and unfortunately very topical,we knew who the shooter was from early in the book the question was why? Told from different points of view and it was a good read but didn't totally grip me.I wish I had been more invested in it but it wasn't a bad read .Thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for an ARC.

A disturbing topical subject which is handled sympathetically from several viewpoints. The slow start with rather too detailed information about the layout of Edinburgh eventually became an involving read.

An exceptional debut novel which would be perfect for a TV drama !

All The Hidden Truths is based on the horrific subject of mass murder gun crime. We are used to hearing about this in America so it was a insightful twist to base it in Edinburgh.

The story unfolds into searching out the reasons why something so terrible could ever arise in the first place. It focuses on the three main women who are continually sent reeling by the answers they receive as the investigation progresses. Throw in some unscrupulous tabloid journalism and you are hooked by this page turner

An interesting, thoughtful but gripping thriller. A student has shot and killed 13 female students at his Edinburth college and then killed himself. The story looks at the fall-out of this from three female perspectives. We experience the pain and confusion of Moira, the mother of the gunman, and her shame and fear in the face of threats. Ishbel, mother of the first victim, unravels in the face of pain and other revelations and Helen Birch is the new DI leading the investigation and dealing with personal feelings. The main characters are well fleshed out and the story builds fairly steadily to start with, with the tension increasing dramatically towards the end. It is a first-rate thriller but has found room for compassion and human frailty too. I suspect it may be the start of a series and if so, I will be racing to read the next one.

I found this beautifully written novel about the aftermath of a school shooting captivating and engrossing.
The focus is not so much on the horrendous crime itself but the aftermath. It has a small cast of main characters: the mother of the shooter, a police detective and the mother of one of the victims. Their stories are told with great compassion and are totally believable and their rich inner lives are in stark contrast to a crude, populist smear campaign in the media.
I really enjoyed this book, it is heart-breaking and harrowing but with a well-earned slice of redemption at the end.

An excellent gripping read. The storyline is of a multiple shooting at a college and is very disturbing, although sadly all too common in the real world today. But you just have to keep reading, we know who did it at the outset so there is no mystery in the who did this sense but the story concentptrates on the why it happened and the emotional fall out for the families involved. Highly recommended.