A wife, a mother, a killer. One wrong decision, one terrifying night, leaves student Elizabeth with a stark choice – kill or be killed. And the consequences of that choice will shape her whole life. Now a wife, a mother, and a lawyer, she must find a way to out run her past, protect her family and live with her secret. But is it really possible to live a happy life with such a huge shadow cast by … with such a huge shadow cast by the past? And as it becomes clear that someone else knows her secret and is hunting her down, time is running out for Elizabeth to keep her family safe.
In the bestselling tradition of Clare Mackintosh and Jenny Blackhurst, Cynthia Clark has written a heart-stopping story about the choices we make and how far we’d go to protect our families. Even if it means deceiving the people we love most…
‘If You Only Knew is a tense, vividly written story that had me captivated right till the very end. Amazing!’ Adele O’Neill.
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If You Only Knew By Cynthia Clark was a good read, It’s the sort of book I would pack for my holidays to read around the pool not too taxing but a very enjoyable read nonetheless.
This Novel revolves around Elizabeth and explores how the numerous wrong decisions made on one single night can impact and shape the course of our lives the repercussions echoing down through the years affecting our lives dramatically.
It’s a bit like a pebble thrown into a pond, the ripple effect, who knows where it ends.
“So If You Only Knew” is told from two timelines, the then and the now.
So as the reader we are fully aware, eyes wide open from the start. Elizabeth’s secret is also ours. we get to experience all the fear, longing and confusion alongside her.
This works as we get to walk in her shoe’s hearing her private thoughts.
It helps to build a sense of sympathy and solidarity as we get to feel the pain and panic first hand, making us feel somewhat closer, almost a friend, the only other person in the know.
Like being part of some secret exclusive club.
So we have the “THEN” which consists of a narration and walkthrough of the big secret.
And the “NOW” seventeen years later where Elizabeth is now a wife, mother and successful lawyer.
and we get to have a ringside seat as all the ripples settle and Elizabeth has to deal with a past that has finally caught up on her.
So “If Only You Knew” is not really a mystery as you the reader, are aware throughout of what is going on. There are no big reveals and no unexpected twists.
This was a minus for me as I kept waiting for the penny to drop, a big twist and there just wasn’t one.
Also, I found the husbands Attitude “Miles” extremely hypocritical, considering what is revealed about his own past actions, I really couldn’t take to him, talk about a lack of sympathy.
Yes, I could understand his shock and anger at his wife, but when the dust finally settled and he had time to think and reflect, you’d think he would have behaved in a much warmer manner towards his wife and the mother of his children.
The woman he supposedly loves, the wife who is aware of his deepest dark secret, The wife who didn’t judge him,
Unlike Miles !!!
Talk about needing to man up.
despite these two above points, this was a good solid read that I would definitely recommend.
It was well written and flowed brilliantly making this a very easy entertaining read.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free Arc of “If only you knew” By Cynthia Clark. This is my own personal unbiased opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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If You Only Knew by Cynthia Clark
Drama aplenty in this story of rape and murder – I was left with mixed feelings because though well written I guess my response would have been so much different to that of Elizabeth. She was raped, she murdered her rapist, she felt more guilt than I would have and she never came forward. That was not the only issue I would have handled differently but then, each person makes their own choices in life.
Elizabeth moved on after her rape and became a lawyer who took on many pro bono cases involving young women who had been violated and would not have been given adequate defense without her by their side. In this story Chloe’s court case parallel’s Elizabeth’s story closely. There is another young woman living on her street, Maya, that she is intensively involved with and that does and doesn’t work out well for both of them at points in the story. Elizabeth’s husband and children take a backseat in this book and it is really more about the guilt Elizabeth feels, her choices in the past and how those choices impact her in the present. I am still not sure what Elizabeth’s future will hold for her at the end of the book but do hope that having her secret out will give her some peace.
Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3-4 Stars