‘Draws you in and doesn’t let you go. Gripping, chilling and twisted.’ Judy Finnigan You trust me. You shouldn’t. That picture you just posted on Instagram? I’ve seen it. The location you tagged? I’ve been there. You haven’t been careful enough, have you? Because I know all about you. But when I meet you, I won’t tell you that. I’ll pretend. Just like you do. You’ll like me though. You’ll …
I’ll pretend. Just like you do.
You’ll like me though. You’ll trust me enough to let me into your life.
And then I’ll destroy it.
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Just felt a bit lackluster. I was waiting for an epic ending and ended up feeling disappointed. Not a bad book but definitely needed a bit more oomph on that ending.
I was completely absorbed and enthralled by this book. I was so eager to get to the end even as I didn’t want it to end.
Very pregnant Taylor has just moved to London from the States after patching her marriage back together with her unfaithful husband, Jake. She is eager to connect with others and joins a book club and a walking group. She makes four different friends; Caroline, Anna, Simon and Sarah, all a little nuts in their own way and each perhaps harboring their own secrets.
Taylor tells the story but there is another POV as well, the voice of a deliciously sadistic stalker who is hellbent on ruining the life of one of the five and uses social media like a weapon to do so. But we don’t know who the stalker is and we don’t know their target.
This was a fast, fun, heart thumping read and I just had to find out who and why…and I was happy to be so surprised when I finally did.
This was a forgettable book. Like any typical domestic thriller, Annabel Kantaria’s I Know You had me on the edge of my seating waiting for that shocking twist ending, but what I got was a disappointing and rushed one.
Taylor is a pregnant American who recently moved to the UK with her husband. He is gone a lot for work, so Taylor is desperately seeking friends. She makes her way online and joins a walking group and a book club — there she meets rather unlikeable friends. They are all active on social media like her, and they’re all a little crazy in their own ways. But Taylor suspects they’re harbouring their own secrets. Will her friendship with one of these loony friends lead to destructive consequences?
The narration goes between Taylor and an anonymous stalker who is keeping tabs on her and her friend’s social media accounts. The story is rather slow and it only felt like a thriller when the infused stalker narrative was brought in. It’s also this book’s only saving grace! The snarkiness from the stalker were rather funny and made this book enjoyable at times.
One aspect that really irritated me, almost pissed me off, was the American narrator speaking like a Brit. It came off as phony. She literally just moved to London and she’s already saying words like “mates” and “mum”? It doesn’t add or lose anything to the plot, but having lived in London for some time, it came off as disingenuous.
I’m on the fence about the role social media played into the story. It gave the book a bit of a boost that it desperately needed, but the modern twist in this thriller freaked me out. Personal preferences aside, you wont look at social media the same way after reading this book. People share every little detail about their lives on social media. This knowledge in the wrong hands could cost you and your loved ones. It really makes you realise you never know who is watching you online and what consequences there could be!
Annabel Kantaria’s I Know You was well executed, but it didn’t wow me. I can’t put my finger on what was missing from this book but it certainly won’t stay with me! While I was excited about the premise of this book, the plot was slow and I really wanted to give up roughly 40% of the way. As an avid reader, I can’t NOT finish a book. So sure enough I did, and that bloody ending made me want to give this book 2 out of 5 stars! The only reason I’m not is because that hilariously relatable stalker narrative! I guess if you’re looking for a book with a slow burn and crappy ending, this one is for you!
Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Annabel Kantaria for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/2MZKxC0
*I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
**SPOILERS BELOW**
If you’re one of those people who’s paranoid about every little thing they post on social media…..maybe don’t read this one.
I was hooked from the very beginning. We jump back and forth between the main story, told by pregnant Taylor who has just moved to London from California with her formerly cheating husband, and the thoughts of a social media stalker. It’s not immediately clear whether the stalker is male or female, which adds to the mystery. What is clear is that this stalker is very angry, and very skilled in the art of stalking via social media.
I found it interesting that the author throws us such an obvious red herring in Simon. Ok yeah, he was a little creepy, but I think he was just lonely and weird. Similarly, Caroline was far too obvious a choice for the stalker, as she knew “Jake the Rake” back in primary school and seemed standoffish and full of herself to begin with. These things are explained in the story, at which point I thought “oh, so THAT’S why he/she is like that.”
About 80% through, I had convinced myself that it was most likely the woman who Jake previously cheated with, who is now obsessed with him and wants him all to herself. I was wrong, but honestly, NOT THAT WRONG. His ex-wife? What?? At no point in the story do we ever hear about Jake having been married, and it’s clear after the reveal that Taylor also had no idea.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this story, I felt the ending was a bit abrupt and could’ve given us a bit more.
Taylor Watson and her husband, Jake, have recently moved from th US to London. With her husband away from home for 1 – 2 weeks at a time, and with her being pregnant, that she really misses her friends and family. Finally, after joining a walking group and a book club, does she start making friends.
Taylor’s new friends are Anna, Sarah, Simon and Caroline .. but after awhile she suspects that they all have secrets of one sort or another. One member of the group seems to have a thing for Taylor’s husband. As he was caught cheating early in their marriage, Taylor is not especially pleased. And Simon .. the token man … harbors some feelings for Taylor.
This story is told by Taylor’s perspective. However, there is another voice … one who is stalking someone in the group. From the beginning, we learn the stalker is following very closely the posts on Instagram and Facebook. The book revolves around the use of social media and how we allow people to know everything about our lives, without actually knowing anything about them.
I KNOW YOU is a fast, addictive read that will genuinely make you reconsider what you put out there on social media. Multiple suspects keep the reader engaged and guessing … until the very end.
How well do YOU know your friends?
Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.