What a fascinating read. "I know what I saw" by SK Sharp explores how memory (and someone who remembers everything) can impact relationships and events on the past. A real page-turner. I suspected everyone, at one time or another!

Nicola was gifted with an extraordinary memory, but was it a gift?​

Things vividly popped up from her past with details that would have been totally forgotten by most.

​​After 37 years, a body is found, and Nicola is asked to remember what happened that night since her ex husband is accused.

He needs her for an alibi.​​ She is not sure her recollection will free him, but she told what she remembered whether the police believe her or not.

​​I KNOW WHAT I SAW went back and forth from Nicola’s life as a teenager to today’s investigation.​​

I thought the teenage chapters were a bit too much and not that interesting, but even the current-day chapters were not that enticing. ​​

The book was actually a bit confusing as to who the characters were and how they were related.​​

The story line was good, but it would have been better had it not dragged out so much even though the background information was necessary. ​​

Hinting that Nicola didn’t tell everything to the police kept me going along with wanting to know what really happened to Declan’s father that night and who the killer was.​​

​​I still can’t give it a higher rating even though it got good around 80%.

It just took too long to get there. 3/5​

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nicola is one of the handful of people in the world have a truly perfect memory. With her condition proving to be more of a curse than a blessing, she has spent years trying to live a quiet life.

But a body has been found, a discovery that threatens to tear the community apart. Nicola remembers the night with perfect clarity, but she never discovered the truth of what happened.

When her ex-husband Declan is held as the prime suspect, she must use her ability to solve the murder from decades ago.

Personally for me I felt that the premise of the book was more exciting than the book itself. While there were a few twists and dark elements in the plot, I could not connect with the main character Nicola as much as I would have liked to.

Overall, a decent read but an excellent concept.

Nicola has a perfect memory, so when her ex-husband is arrested for murder, she desperately wants to help, because she can remember every detail about events that happened decades ago.

The story is intriguing enough to keep reading, but it’s pretty ‘boring’ to read. I was expecting more twists and turns and more like a thriller than the mystery it end up being.

Nicola is not a very likeable character and her life is fairly dull - she has a semi good career at the British Library and a cat but there’s not much else going on in her life.

The plot has some twists and turns after about 75% of the story and is quick read, but I wanted to get more out of it in terms of feelings for the characters and being on the edge of my seat while reading.

I loved the premise of this book. A person being able to recall every memory from their life. Unfortunately Nicola is not like able, and whereas that could probably be overlooked she at no point feels like a relatable character. It is a good book, but very hard to get over just how dry and dull she is as a main character

I liked the concept of this book in regards to the main character having access to all her memories from her life and being able to play them over looking at things to do the with murder. The concept was original, I just would have liked things to move a little faster. It did start to feel a little repetitive in the middle.

Nicola has a perfect memory, so when her ex-husband is arrested for murder, she wants to help, because she can remember every detail about events that happened decades ago.

The story is intriguing enough but Nicola is not very likable, her life is dull - she has good career and a cat but somehow she lives in her youth, long gone past.

Plot has some twists and turns and is good read for this genre.

I Know What I Saw is an intriguing read. Original plot and an absolutely fascinating protagonist in Nicola who readers will either connect with easily or not at all.

The entire concept of I Know What I Saw really hinges on Nicola, a woman with an alleged perfect memory, who can remember everything that's happened to her years or even decades later. When he ex-husband is arrested for murder, it's her recollections of events from 35 years ago that will prove key to uncovering the truth - or, at least, that's the premise of the book.

It's unfortunate, then, that Nicola doesn't really ring true as a character at all. She's a woman in her early 50s but one who has apparently formed no new meaningful relationships in her life since she was 16 years old, has no definable interests or hobbies outside of a good memory and owning a cat with a quirky name, and is somehow holding down a well-paying, prestigious job at the British Library up until this point despite being presented as frequently unable to function in her daily life without becoming lost in her own memories. With just one phone call from a man who she left of her own accord, and hasn't spoken to in over a decade, she is willing to risk her job and torpedo all her remaining relationships. As a vehicle for telling the story she works perfectly, but I found her more infuriating than relatable.

The plot itself is perfectly serviceable, with some decent twists, but the fact that Nicola wasn't present at the majority of the events that occurred, and is in fact relying on the memories of other people, rather undermines the book's entire premise for me - as does a later reveal of some crucial evidence that wouldn't depend on someone with a good memory at all. Ultimately, although it's an entertaining enough read I ultimately found that it was a rather gimmicky concept that didn't live up to its initial promise.

#IknowWhatISaw #NetGalley
Dark and disturbing. A masterpiece.
Only a handful of people in the world have a truly perfect memory. Nicola is one of them.
With her condition proving to be more of a curse than a blessing, she has spent years trying to live a quiet life.
But a body has been found, a discovery that threatens to tear the community apart.
Nicola remembers the night with perfect clarity, but she never discovered the truth of what happened.
Now she must use her ability to solve the murder from decades ago
There were many omg moments in the book and that indicates the elaborate research of the author.
I inhaled Nicola. A twisty character I ever saw.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for giving me an advance copy.