Katie Alice Marshall: No One Can Know (Hardcover, Flatiron Books)
Hardcover, 324 pages
English language
Published by Flatiron Books.
Marshall’s propulsive mystery-cum-psychological drama (after What Lies in the Woods) plunges readers into the precarious world of expectant mother Emma Palmer, whose husband, Nathan, has just lost his job. Faced with eviction, the couple returns (at Nathan’s insistence) to Emma’s childhood home of Arden Hills, which she has not visited since the murder of her parents 14 years earlier. No one was ever arrested for the crime, but many locals—including a police detective—believe Emma was responsible. Following the deaths, Emma and her younger sisters, Juliette and Daphne, were separated, with the two younger girls going into foster care. Emma’s return stirs up old animosities, frightening memories, and a killer’s instincts. When another murder occurs shortly after Emma arrives, the sisters reunite to finally address what really happened to their parents, sharing long-buried secrets in the process. Marshall shrewdly interlaces past and present timelines, alternating perspectives between the three sisters to …
Marshall’s propulsive mystery-cum-psychological drama (after What Lies in the Woods) plunges readers into the precarious world of expectant mother Emma Palmer, whose husband, Nathan, has just lost his job. Faced with eviction, the couple returns (at Nathan’s insistence) to Emma’s childhood home of Arden Hills, which she has not visited since the murder of her parents 14 years earlier. No one was ever arrested for the crime, but many locals—including a police detective—believe Emma was responsible. Following the deaths, Emma and her younger sisters, Juliette and Daphne, were separated, with the two younger girls going into foster care. Emma’s return stirs up old animosities, frightening memories, and a killer’s instincts. When another murder occurs shortly after Emma arrives, the sisters reunite to finally address what really happened to their parents, sharing long-buried secrets in the process. Marshall shrewdly interlaces past and present timelines, alternating perspectives between the three sisters to shed new light on old information. Even genre veterans will have trouble sussing out the culprit. Skillful misdirection and urgent plotting make this a winner. Agent: Lauren Spieller, Folio Literary. (Jan.)
3.5 ⭐Starts strong, ends well. It offers a plethora of unexpected turns that may overwhelm some readers. However, the extended middle portion slows the pace, making it feel dragged out.
