From New York Times bestselling author Gilly Macmillan comes this original, chilling and twisty mystery about two shocking murder cases twenty years apart, and the threads that bind them.
Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby were murdered in the city of Bristol, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime, but decades later, … but decades later, questions still linger.
For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood best friends. The loose ends of the police investigation consume him so much that he decides to return to Bristol in search of answers. Hoping to uncover new evidence, and to encourage those who may be keeping long-buried secrets to speak up, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don’t want the case—along with old wounds—reopened so many years after the tragedy, especially Charlie’s mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands.
When a long-dead body is found in the same location the boys were left decades before, the disturbing discovery launches another murder investigation. Now Detective John Fletcher, the investigator on the original case, must reopen his dusty files and decide if the two murders are linked. With his career at risk, the clock is ticking and lives are in jeopardy…
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Thanks to the Goodreads Firstreads program and William Morrow for an arc of I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan. The following is my honest review of the book:
If you’ve never had the opportunity to read anything by Gilly Macmillan and you like thrillers, I highly recommend you pick up one of her books and dive in. To date, I’ve been hooked on everything I’ve read by her.
In this book, two boys were brutally murdered twenty years ago and their bodies were dumped near a dog racing track.. Due to a piece of luck and some bad childhood behavior, a third boy, a friend of theirs, was grounded and not allowed to play with the boys that evening. Therefore he escaped the attack but was left haunted by their deaths for years to come. When a body is discovered at the same location many years later (although the body was left long ago), Detective John Fletcher wonders if the two cases are somehow connected. A special needs man was convicted of killing the boys after he confessed to Fletcher, but all is not as it seems.
In the meantime, Cody Swift, the surviving friend, has decided to create a podcast to explore the possibility that the wrong man was convicted of the crime that occurred so long ago. As Cody begins to question people who were involved with the case, it is apparent that lies were told and secrets were kept. How did John Fletcher gain his confession? Where was the mother of one of the murdered children when the crime was occurring? Is there a connection between the discovery of the recently found body and the murder of the boys from years ago? Who killed the boys and why?
I absolutely loved the format used to tell this story. It alternates between the past and the present and is told from various character viewpoints. In addition, episodes of the podcast by Cody Swift are interlaced with the narrative. The result is a multi-perspective telling of the story and the reader really becomes unsure who is believable and who is not. Beyond that, the formatting allows the reader to get a true sense of who characters are based on the feelings others had about them. For instance, the man who is convicted of the crime is mentally challenged. One character paints a picture of a short tempered suspect who likely snapped at not being included. His mother, however, tells the story of a man who never grew up and just wanted to fit in, although he was often tortured by the neighborhood boys. Then Cody Swift, tells his perception of the man based on how he felt about him when he was a child and now looking back on him as an adult. It’s very interesting to get such a broad perspective of a character and realize how easily people get misunderstood. The same applies for Charlie’s (one of the murdered boys) mother, Jess. At one point, as a reader, you want to hate her and feel nothing but disgust for her. But in other scenes, your heart simply breaks for her. She was a young mother, with no support system, and had no idea how to cope. Then her child is murdered. Can you imagine the guilt, grief, and possibly even relief she felt? Macmillan makes sure you can imagine it just so.
One particular passage really grabbed me: (it occurs after Charlie’s mom has left him alone all night):
His eyes were red and puffy, the imprint of a creased pillow slip looked like a scar on his cheek. “Where were you?” he said. “I didn’t know where you were.” The reproach in his voice and in his eyes shamed her. Claustrophobia and the squalor of the flat settled on her shoulders like a heavy cloak and she screamed at him. “Shut up!”
Charlie stared at her. He was beautiful, she thought. Why was she shouting? Light came through the kitchen window and framed the back of his head, turning his mat of hair golden. His forearms were slender and strong. His face was bursting with feelings she couldn’t cope with.
As a reader, her feelings of shame, despair, and love are palpable. It’s impossible not to feel her struggle. So well written, in my opinion (as was the book as a whole!).
Without a doubt, this was a great read and highly recommended.
I could not put this book down once I got started. Cody had 2 best friends, Scott and Charlie. The 3 boys were all out playing one hot day and they ran back to Cody’s house, but his mom noticed he had not only gotten his new shirt dirty, but also torn in, so he was grounded and couldn’t go back out. Scott and Charlie left to resume playing, but they were never seen alive again. The two were discovered at a dump site a couple of days later by the police, Scott was already dead, Charlie was barely alive and died before help could arrive. The police zeroed in on a mentally challenged man as their prime suspect, he was tried and convicted to life in prison. When that man hung himself in prison, still proclaiming his innocence, an adult Cody decided to dig for the truth.
This author of this one has woven an intriguing story of neglect, betrayal, and corruption. I am super surprised by this ending. This is one psychological thriller you don’t want to miss.
I received this ARC from Wm Morrow and Harper Collins publisher. I always enjoy British crime stories, and this one didn’t disappoint. Two young boys are murdered and a mentally challenged neighbor is charged with the murder. Now, twenty years later, their boyhood friend has come back to Bristol to reopen the investigation.
This story takes place in the present, alternating with events of the investigation and trial. Many people don’t want a replay of those events, including one of the victim’s mother, Jessy, who has secrets of her own that she wants buried. A well told story and an interesting cast of characters, with an ending that set me back on my heels. Gilly MacMillan has written a compelling mystery, worthy of crime and punishment fans.
I listened to the audio version of I KNOW YOU KNOW and was captivated from the first word. A whip-smart thriller that kept me guessing all the way through, revealing layer after layer of complexity and secrets. Whenever I felt sure I knew a character, and what they’d done, another twist spun me around. Turns out, I knew nothing 🙂 Loved it!
This story was pretty good. There is a lot of jumping around in the story telling. I admit I did get lost at times and kept getting my characters confused. Over all it was good and still worth the read. I loved how it ended.
Exciting until the very end !
I enjoyed this book. This story is told in 2 different timelines. One is modern day, and the other is 1996. In 1996, two boys were murdered, the storyline goes through the “investigation”. Fast forward 20 years and the same two detectives are trying to solve a murder that appears to have also happened 20 years ago. In the meantime, a podcast has been started, investigating the crime of the two murdered boys. Sounds a bit confusing, but this book was put together nicely. I was not lost reading this. I felt the storyline flowed. I did not like Detective Fletcher. He seemed to be doing anything to get ahead, to make a name for himself and to go around the rules. That did not change throughout the entire book. That been said, I did like the other characters. Jess, Jessy or Jessica (depending on the timeline) really grew up. A single teenage mother who wanted affection and to party, until her son was killed. Now she is married with a teenage daughter, and will do what she can to protect her. I was satisfied with the ending. No, it wasn’t wrapped up in a neat little now, but it left a bit to the imagination.
Brilliant! I enjoyed this book very much. I loved the podcast element. The twists that came were absolutely surprising for me.
I think this is one of those books that you will either love or hate. Some of the characters you will probably dislike and distrust. One of those I could relate to which made it easier for me to understand her even while I didn’t trust her. This is a crime thriller with two children who are murdered. I think that is difficult for most people. I want to say more on that but to do so, might ruin things for you. My advice is to try it. If you are on the fence about it, use the free sample option. I was surprised by it. The last half of the book, I could not stop reading.
A very clever story written with the use of a podcast as Cody comes back to town to try and solve who really killed his childhood friends twenty years ago. Many people involved don’t want this podcast to go ahead. They feel threatened .
The story itself has twists and turns , who to believe, who to trust.
Who did murder Scott and Charlie.
Well done; good read
A twisty, compelling story that will leave you questioning each and every one of it’s characters as to “Who Done It”, really……
Gilly MacMillan has significantly weaved a story of suspense between the past and current time frame regarding 2 murders, twenty years prior, and another you won’t expect.
It’s clever, ambitious and sharp.
The characters are far from your perfect and squeaky clean types. They are tarnished but believable as such due to being written with complexity which makes them, well, human and remarkable and relatable too this story.
I found this novel too be interesting and connected with true British Crime intrigue .
I thank GoodReads for this ARC giveaway in order for my opportunity too review.
Novels N Latte
Novels & Latte Book Club
Favorite Quotes:
If you can control where an interview takes place, you are part of the way to controlling the interview itself. Location matters. Fletcher’s wife announced she was leaving him when they were in the Costco car park. He didn’t see it coming. He remembers acutely the humiliation of loading bags into the boot of the car while she explained across the laden shopping trolley that their marriage was over. “Well, why are we buying in bulk then?” was all he could think to ask.
It’s a resting place for cold cases, and Fletcher thinks of it as an archive of failure. For every high-profile solve, there’s an unsolved crime shelved here. In each tidily filed box, Fletcher thinks, there are not just papers, photographs, and other case materials, but other things, invisible things. There are traces of the open emotional wounds an unsolved crime leaves on the families and detectives affected by it. There is also the shadow of something more rotten: the person who got away with it.
Like a nodding dog ornament on a dashboard, she moves her head laboriously to look at Danny. Everything she does is so slow it makes Fletcher’s joints feel as if they’re liquefying under the strain of being patient.
I said you’re a prat, John Fletcher. Always have been, always will be. I’m fed up of you strutting about like you own the place when you passed your sell-by date years ago. The only time I’ll look forward to seeing you will be at your retirement party.
I did a bit of unscientific research on the subject—by which I mean to say that I looked it up on the internet…
My Review:
I was unprepared for the twists and turns of the diabolically clever Gilly Macmillan. Her fascinating yet despicable characters were as compelling as the well-crafted storylines they inhabited. They squeezed then broke my heart while holding me captive to my Kindle as I hissed and huffed my distress. No one was innocent, except for the condemned patsy, and no one was as they had initially appeared, it was brilliant.
Gilly Macmillan has strong word voodoo. Cunningly woven into this adroitly written book were the gut-churning savagery of children, blackmail, police coercion, nefarious manipulations, greed, ambition, corruption, and desperation. The writing was exquisitely nuanced, the wily characters were deeply damaged and irreparably flawed yet keenly described and depicted in a cleverly magnetizing manner. It was riveting, yet tragic and heartbreaking. I was enthralled and even though she turned me inside out, I covet her mad skills and greedily want all her words.
New additions to my Brit Vocab list include tearaways which Mr. Google tells me is a wild or reckless person; bung which is a bribe or payoff; and cobblers which apparently has two meanings as it is nonsense to some, and testicles to the Cockneys – although those two things are pretty much the same thing to me 😉
A slow-moving psychological mystery with endless flashbacks and character’s thoughts and fears. I read to the end to see who murdered the two boys. The last clue is thrown into the mix of flashbacks in the last few pages to resemble a twist in the story. The main characters don’t remember important pieces of the puzzle until the end. Convenient to the author but frustrating to readers.
I did not finish this book it just didn’t get going. I may try again.
The ending kind of petered out. I kept expecting there to be some big finish but there just wasn’t.
I have enjoydenjoyed all of her other books . But not this one. Sorry
I feel confused after finishing this book. I believe I know who committed the crimes, and why the podcast was done, but it is still a bit fuzzy.
I liked how MacMillan used the podcast in the story, and there was definitely a twist or two at the end, but I still feel there was something missing.
#IKnowYouKnow #GillyMacMillan
I Know You Know is a suspense novel about twenty year old murders of two young boys and a new murder case that appears to be related to these murders, when a body is found not far from the place of the old crime. Even though a man was convicted and jailed for the horrific murders of the boys, questions and doubts still remain about what exactly happened twenty years ago. The story is told in parts as podcasts, interviews and flashbacks to the past. I liked the premise of the book, I enjoyed the writing style and was looking forward to a big, twisty reveal at the end. Unfortunately the ending was disappointing. It was rushed, it was messy, and it didn’t make a lot of sense. And the more I thought about the ending, the less I liked it. I would give this book 4 stars up to the ending and 2 stars to the ending. Overall rating is 3 stars