A mystery that has a family drama appeal. I felt that this book was good, but it didn’t keep my attention enough for a higher rating. Thank you net galley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fun and unique slow burn thriller set of all places in a senior living facility, where our heroine, a retired nurse, suddenly stumbles upon an opportunity to rectify an injustice. I loved the spunky elderly narrator, Frannie, who was well-voiced by the audiobook voice actress. The character development, setting, and premise were all great. This is great for fans of Ruth Ware type mysteries with a fresh and capable heroine. This book shows that murder and mayhem isn't limited to the younger set, and was refreshing for me to read as a middle-aged thriller fan!

I would say this is more of a non-fiction book with a little twist at the end, not a thrilling mystery. The characters could have been better developed. Its not everyday that you read books that are written from an elderly perspective.This was quite different and I must say I enjoyed it.

It was a decent book. I was thrown right in when i started listening to this book.
The setting was realistic. The characters have distinct voices even if some didnt seem so fleshed out to me. However, the characters relationships were realistic and they all dealt with some deeper themes, which the book handled quite well. I particularly liked that it talked about the injustice in the legal system.

(thank u netgalley for the audiobook!)

3.5⭐️
When retired nurse Frannie Greene moves into a senior living apartment, she finds a compelling friendship with her new neighbor Katherine, only to discover that Katherine is married to the judge who Frannie believes is implicated in the death of her beloved granddaughter

Its not everyday that you read books that are written from an elderly perspective.
This was quite different and I must say I enjoyed it.
It took place mainly in a assisted home facility. It gets you thinking about how life will be when you're older.
There's a bit of mystery which was good, characters are likable but overall it lacked action half way through as it started out so strong.

Thank you Netgalley & Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

this was not what I was expecting but I still enjoyed it none the less. it was a little slow in the beginning but i really liked the characters so it kept me reading.

You Should Have Known had quite the interesting storyline and cast of characters. I loved how the story showcased the depths someone can go for someone they love. For some reason the ending left me slightly unsatisfied. I’m not sure exactly why, but I felt like something was missing.

What a fantastic debut novel! This is a wonderful mystery that will keep you turning the page. It's truly thought-provoking in how it addressses aging with regrets and one's ability to heal.

Such a fun thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. A one night audio, Thank you to the publisher for the ALC.

You Should Have Known is Rebecca A. Keller’s debut novel. Keller’s writing is beautiful, engaging, and will tug at your heartstrings.

Keller did a wonderful job with her character Frannie Greene: a nurse, who loves books, watching The Young and the Restless, and will go to great lengths to avenge her granddaughter’s tragic death. Even commit murder?

The setting was definitely unique, as it takes place in an assisted living facility. This is not a setting I have read in a book before, at least not that I can recall, and was researched and portrayed extremely well. I could easily envision Frannie’s daily life from the descriptive writing.

The narrator (I did the audio) did a great job; Bravo, Petrea Burchard.

Now, overall, this book didn’t WOW me. I felt it started off strong, but halfway through I felt the storyline became very repetitive, and dare I say boring 😬. However, I will give this author another try in the future as I did love Keller’s writing style.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All opinions are my own.

I don’t know if I’ve ever described a mystery as sweet, but this story had many endearing moments. Frannie Greene is a retired nurse that lives in an assisted living facility. Her moral compass is tested when vengeance creeps into her heart. Frannie is the type of character I would love to have as a friend and completely understand her motives and emotional struggles. This layered story has an underlying feeling of tension and anxiety as the plot unfolds. Good people can make bad choices as Frannie demonstrates in this heart-wrenching, thought-provoking story. The narrators perfectly brought the characters to life adding a layer of emotion and understanding. Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my audiobook.

You Should Have Known by Rebecca Keller is a mix if drama, mystery and thriller. Frannie Greene is a retired nurse, whose children no longer want her living alone. They convince her to move into Ridgewood Assisted Living Center where she befriends her new neighbor Katherine. Frannie has been dealing with her own grief and that of her daughter and son-in-law, since her granddaughter was killed by a drunk driver. As it turns out, he got off with a minor fine and Katherine's husband was the judge that ruled in his favour. Knowing medication, Frannie decides to take a chance and mess with his medication and put an end to his life. It turns out that Katherine dies instead and her death is investigated by the police, a trusted employee loses her job and Katherine knows she must tell the truth. As she asks a few questions, she finds out that there are secrets and other issues that complicate matters and force her to make some decisions.

This is a story that deals with aging, family, grief, revenge and remorse. Although Frannie's family all play a part in this story, Frannie drives the plot. I like that there are many older characters that are well developed and still leading a relatively happy life. One thing I have learned from older acquaintances is that when they live in their homes they tend to be isolated, but in a residence like this, they make new friends and participate in different activities and that is shown in this book. I loved both Frannie's and Katherine's characters. Their friendship is complex and affected by Katherine's bully of a husband, retired Judge Nathaniel Kearney. He is controlling, and almost verbally abusive to Katherine. He was the character I loved to hate, seeing how evil and greedy he was, as well as his entitled attitude. The plot of Frannie taking revenge on the judge is carefully plotted and well written. Frannie's inner battle and moral decisions consume her. It really made me think about what I would do if I were in her position. Due to this turmoil, it was a relatively slow moving story most of the way through. Once Frannie meets up with others who have concerns about the judge and share information with her, the story picks up and had me listening much more intently. Themes involve abusive and controlling spouses, aging parents, grief, revenge, power and greed, alcoholism, plight of workers, immigrant issues, and even workplace bullying. This is a book that will really make you think. My two issues with this one was the slow pacing for most of the book and the somewhat predictable nature of the plot. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Petrea Burchard. She has a pleasant, easy to listen to voice and gave the characters voices that differentiated them for me. I do recommend this book if you enjoy a good drama with a bit of mystery and emotion within.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Against her best laid plans and young-at-heart spirit, after several falls widow Frannie Greene finds herself moving into a retirement/assisted living facility. Shortly after warming up to her new surroundings, she realizes one of the residents was the presiding judge in the trial of the drunk driver who caused the death of her granddaughter. The judge’s nonchalant attitude and “slap-on-the-wrist” treatment of the defendant left Frankie’s family reeling and heartbroken. As Frannie navigates her interactions at the facility while reliving this past tragedy, Keller takes the reader through unexpected twists and turns to emotional moments that reveal raw, vulnerable places in a number of the characters, which made these individuals relatable and believable. Although a bit predictable and redundant at times, I found it to be a delightful story with characters who were willing to make hard decisions and choose to do good, even at great personal sacrifice .

Frannie has reluctantly moved to a retirement home after experiencing a fall at her condo. Her two children and their families are trying to help with the adjustment. She's also still grieving the death of her husband a few years ago as well as that of her granddaughter, who was killed by a drunk driver. At the retirement home, she befriends Katherine, a woman with a very different background. Only later does she realize that Katherine's husband was the judge who let the drunk driver off the hook for her granddaughter's death. So she begins to think about taking revenge against him.
This story plays out over time, and involves innocent caregivers and family members. However, I think the most impactful part of this book was the expression of the main character's emotions at having to enter the care facility and with the grief surrounding the deaths of family members. We really get to see what it feels like to experience these things. The narration helps a lot with one's understanding. I'd say it's a great book about family drama and personal relationships. The mystery portion wasn't as exciting for me, but that's OK.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for sending this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review. I started the audiobook and within a few chapters I could tell this was not going to be one that I would finish. The description sounds appealing to me but between the narrartor and the slowness of the story I did not finish.

I wanted to like this book more than I did but its superb audio performance and engaging writing kept me invested. It's a story about grief, revenge and regret. It takes place at an assisted living care home. The setting came alive for me and was the perfect framework for this clever literary thriller. If you haven't yet read the description, I'd advise against it as it basically gives the whole story away. The only thing one needs to know going in, is this: It involves a woman who discovers, upon moving into an assisted living home, that the judge who she deems responsible for her granddaughter's death also lives there and she begins plotting revenge.

As intriguing as this idea was, I felt the execution was much different than my expectation. I thought the story would primarily revolve around the revenge aspect but it kind of didn't. The revenge aspect played a role but much of the plot was about the various characters and their background stories. It was more character driven and hence slower paced.

Readers who enjoy books that meander and delve into thoughtful issues around ethics will want to try this one out.

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3⭐
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ debut mystery, death of child/grandchild due to drunk driving, revenge

Frannie befriends Katherine in her retirement community. They enjoy their time together watching their 'stories', but it turns out that Katherine's husband was the judge in the case of the drunk driver that took her granddaughter's life.

This was just okay for me. While the plot was unique, the characters were well developed and there was a bit of mystery, it still dragged and I was never fulled gripped.

Currently a whopping 4.5/5 on Amazon, so clearly I am in the minority, so don't let me sway you.

DNF

This is too slow and by consequence, too boring. I like the MC and the situation is an interesting one… but nothing is happening. Too drawn out. Very slow burn. It took a while to get any action or hook going at all.

SUMMARY: Spritely older woman (and an ex nurse) has been moved to a retirement community after a recent fall and her adult children’s request. She isn’t thrilled about this.

Shortly after arriving she makes a new friend and this new friend asks her to join her and her husband for dinner. The husband turns out to be the judge who presided over a DUI case where the older woman’s granddaughter was killed. The judge gave out an absurdly lenient sentence and years later was suspected for taking bribes. The spritely older women spends a lot of time thinking about the judge and
Watching him, presumably with the intent to kill him? IDK I’m at 48% and nothing has happened except for me to learn about the death of the grandchild.

Thanks netgalley for my ARC/ALC

Not a bad story, just apparently not my kind of book. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

A skillfully written first novel. One that is full of psychological and moral complications! An interesting premise and setting - moral challenges and a disillusion with our justice system in a senior living facility. This is a great novel for book clubs as it invokes many thoughts and questions. I look forward to Rebecca Keller's next novel.