No One Can Know
Kate Alice Marshall

Happy publication day to No One Can Know! I think I was in the vast minority of readers who did not absolutely love What Lie’s In the Woods, Kate Alice Marshall’s release from 2023 so, I did not have high or really any expectations for No One Can Know. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book over last years, it was a very intriguing, edge of the seat story with a twisted ending leaving you without the full story until the very last page.

I did have a little bit of trouble getting into this but, it ended up keeping me hooked until the end mostly because of my sympathy for the main character. Told in alternating POV both in past and present, I think he main character is the only one I empathized with. The rest of the characters are just so awful that I was rooting for her so hard in the end.

Special thanks to @netgalley and @flatiornbooks for the ARC!

BEVERAGE REC: any white wine; because I’m currently out of stock in my cabinet and wishing I had some. Cheers! 🥂

RATING:
👻👻👻👻/5

I really enjoyed this book! I’m back in my thriller phase and this one did NOT disappoint. The plot twists and turns had me REELING. Really begs the question of how far would you go to protect your siblings👀.

Thank you to @netgalley @flatiron_books for letting me read this ARC. It’s available now!

Emma Palmer is accused of killing her parents. No one was ever able to prove it, but those ghosts have haunted her since that night. She moves away and reinvents herself, starts a new life, but unfortunate circumstances send her back to her hometown. Rumors continue to circulate the small town when people find out she’s returned. Emma has to get to the bottom of what happened that night, even if the answers might not be what she wants to hear.

I really enjoyed this story. It started a bit slow but once the hook got me, I couldn’t put it down. The character development was spot on and was key to the reveal of one of the several twists. I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for An ARC of No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 23, 2024

No one Can Know was the first book by this author that I have read. I was pulled in immediately. Emma and her husband have had some life changes and decide to move back in to Emma's childhood home, where her parents were murdered when she was a child.

The book is told by multiple POV and timelines. Kate has two sisters, Daphne and Josephine who she has been estranged. Both sisters make their way back into Emma's life. We flash back to the time of the murders and see what was happening with the girls at that time.

The pacing in the middle was kind of slow to me. The beginning and end were very fast paced. Overall a good who done it, but do we really know?

I was so excited to get No One Can Know in the mail from @flatiron_books!! After loving Marshall’s last book, this is one of my most anticipated books of the year and I absolutely loved it!! What a twisty, suspenseful book. Marshall has a way with words and creates this world for her characters that is totally believable. This is a 5 star book.

I really wanted to like this book. However, it felt kind of slow and flat. I also found the the characters made some kind of illogical leaps in reasoning and deduction as they unraveled the mysteries. Finally, I didn’t understand why the chapters in the past were in present tense, while those in the present were in past tense; it didn’t really make much sense for the story.

Returning to her childhood home is her only option, but to do so means uncovering long buried secrets.

Emma thought that her life was about to begin an exciting new chapter. She and her husband Nathan have put money down on a new house, since their apartment’s lease was not renewed. Better still, Emma has just found out that she’s pregnant. She returns home to find Nathan at their apartment rather than at work, which is not a good sign. He has some seriously bad news….he’s lost his job. Not the one that Emma thought he had, but the new job he had accepted without telling her and for which he left his old job. Without his income they no longer qualify for a mortgage, and Nathan’s lack of candor about his job change also means that they forfeit the money they put down on the house. Which was pretty much all of their savings. With nowhere else to live, the only option seems to be to move into the family house where Emma grew up, which she and the two sisters (from whom she has long been estranged) have owned since their parents’ death. It’s hardly a perfect solution, though.…what Emma has never told her husband is that her parents (who were pretty dreadful people) didn’t simply die, they were killed. In their home. No one has ever been arrested for the crime, but in the court of public opinion the killer has been identified. The whole town, including the local police, are sure that Emma either killed or was involved in the killing of her parents. If ever there was someone who knows how correct Thomas Wolfe was to say, “You can’t go home again.”, it is Emma. With no money and no others options, though, Emma and Nathan head to Arden Hills and the Palmer family home, and encounter hostility and harassment at every turn. Their problems are only beginning, and their already rocky relationship will further deteriorate. Emma’s two estranged sisters, Daphne and Juliette, are not very happy that Emma has returned to the house, and for their own reasons both head to Arden Hills. The three made a pact when their parents were found dead, mostly because each assumed that one of the others had committed the crime. They lied about where they were that night to provide one another with alibis, and while the police didn’t believe them they also couldn’t prove that they were lying. When another murder happens, it seems like the only way to solve this new murder is to pry into the past. What happened the night of the Palmers’ murders? Where were the three sisters that night, and did in fact one or more of them shoot their parents? Why is the local police so determined to prove Emma’s guilt? And what will the cost be to find out the truth?
No One Can Know is a briskly paced thriller that explores the truism that no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. The Palmer parents were manipulative and emotionally abusive, and for them appearances were what mattered most. What effect does that kind of upbringing have on children? The relationship between sisters under the best of circumstances can be challenging, but in this family it was far more than that. Juliette, the eldest, was the “good” sister who acquiesced to all of her parents’ demands, while Emma was the classic middle child and rebelled against every rule. Daphne, the youngest, just did her best to be invisible. After the murders, the three sisters were separated and remained apart as they struggled to survive the trauma and regain control of their lives. None of them are certain that they truly want to know the truth of what happened that night, perhaps preferring to live with uncertainty rather than find that one of them was a killer. But as Emma struggles with her splintering marriage she realizes that she, who silently took the blame for her sisters all those years ago, has to get to the truth if she wants to have a future not only for herself but also for her child. New discoveries beget new questions, and old assumptions and memories prove fallible. With plenty of unexpected twists and more than a few candidates for the role of killer, I found it an engrossing story whose ending was far from obvious. Readers of LIsa Jewel, Megan Miranda and Stacy Willingham as well as fans of Ms Marshall’s earlier books should definitely pick up a copy of this latest novel….and maybe grab a copy for their sister(s) as well. Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of No One Can Know.

4.5 rounded up.

Emma hasn’t told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn’t spoken to her sisters in years. When they lose their apartment, Emma confesses she has one more asset: her parents’ house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can’t sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means she is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, where her parents were murdered. Now, her return back to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don’t want revealed.

Kate Alice Marshall does it again with her unique plot and twisty/suspenseful storyline. The characters were easily my favorite piece as they were so cleverly crafted throughout the story and each had their own secrets, making it impossible to trust anyone. The narration was even more engaging as it was written in all three sisters’ POVs in both the past and present, forcing readers to peel back the layers to the truth. And, of course, in true Kate Alice Marshall style, the final twist is one that you won’t see coming. Just when you think you have it figured out, she adds one more jaw drop 🤯.
Marshall has officially been added to my auto-buy authors list 📝 and I can’t wait for the next one!

I loved her book What Lies in the Woods and this one was a close contender. It is another psychological thriller that reeks of family problems. It has several twists and turns that felt like a roller coaster ride with a stop and go feeling. What an edge of your seat thriller!!
When Emma and her husband Nathan fall on hard times and their bank account is in the red they have another option. Move into Emma's parents mansion. Emma's parents were murdered in the home and the killer has gone unknown.
Fourteen years when it happened Emma walked in to find her two sisters standing over their parents bodies. She covers their timeline so they are not prosecuted. What the police would like is to prosecute Emma for their deaths. Since there was not enough evidence they did not pursue it.
Now that her and Nathan have moved in the town's people want answers. Their house is vandalized and her estranged sisters show up bringing bad memories with them. Emma decides to find the killer herself.
It is an extreme and troubled family and with them comes some shocking twists. A fun one to analyze and read while the snow is melting away in Tennessee.
Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick read. I had high hopes for this one after loving What Lies In The Woods but, I can’t say that I loved it. The characters are unlikable and unreliable. Overall, it was a decent book.

This slow burn domestic thriller was a wild ride! The story is told through multiple POVs and timelines. There are shocking secrets, dark twists, many potential suspects, and plenty of people who shouldn’t be trusted. I loved how complex family dynamics played a pivotal role.

If you’re in the mood for a murder mystery with great twists, No One Can Know is an entertaining read that will keep you guessing!

It took me awhile to get into this one as there is a lot going on with so many characters, two different timelines, and multiple unreliable narrators. But I definitely got hooked eventually, and the twists kept coming in the second half. Great final reveal and ending.

Would recommend for fans of…
🤫 The Haunting of Hill House
🤫 Bad Sisters
🤫 Yellowjackets

This has been a very thriller heavy month for me, and while many of them have been good, none have been that amazing 5 star read. Until now…

No One Can Know is the perfect example of what I’m starting to call a “layer cake thriller,” one of those books where each ingredient and element comes together in the perfect order resulting in a perfectly plotted and multi-layered story.

This book has something for every thriller fan - dual timelines! A haunted house! A cold case! Untrustworthy narrators! A creepy little sister! It’s dark and a tad heavy at times but nothing about the book felt gratuitous at any point.

One thing that separates No One Can Know from other thrillers I’ve read recently is how good Kate Alice Marshall is at starting and ending chapters. These hooks and cliffhangers made it so that I couldn’t put the book down (even if I wanted to). It’s a masterclass of plotting.

Right now this is my favorite book of January and it’s going to be difficult for something to top it.

No One Can Know is out tomorrow. Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: A Mixed Bag of Thrills and Chills

"No One Can Know" by Kate Alice Marshall is a psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat at times, but ultimately left me with mixed feelings. However, Marshall's writing style is undeniably captivating.

One aspect that stood out to me was the author's ability to create a sense of suspense and mystery. The pacing was well-executed, keeping me hooked and eager to uncover the secrets hidden within the pages. Marshall has a knack for building tension, and there were moments where I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

However, my main gripe with the book lies in its characters. While some were well-developed and intriguing, others felt one-dimensional and lacked the depth I was hoping for. It made it challenging to fully connect with the story on an emotional level, leaving me somewhat detached from the unfolding events.

Additionally, the resolution felt a bit rushed, and certain plot points left me with more questions than answers. It's as if the story introduced intriguing elements but didn't fully explore or resolve them satisfactorily. This left me somewhat unsatisfied and wishing for a more conclusive and well-rounded ending.

In conclusion, "No One Can Know" offers a rollercoaster of suspense and thrills, but it falls short in character development and a fully satisfying resolution. If you enjoy fast-paced psychological thrillers and can overlook some narrative shortcomings, this might be an engaging read for you.

This was such an engaging mystery but it was kind of a slow burn.

This book revolves around secrets. Told in dual timelines we slowly get the truth of what happened bit by bit. I did like the way the information was revealed but I did feel like it was so dragged out. The found myself skimming through some of the dialogue to get to the next plot point or revelation.

The characters themselves are compelling and damaged in their own way. Please check out trigger warnings before reading as this book does get a bit dark. Emma is out main narrator and I really enjoyed her voice but I wish her got more of JJ and Daphne’s point of views as well. Especially Daphne! This book has so many unlikable characters and I’m happy to say I’m very happy with how their storylines ended up.

So if slower paced mysteries are your cup of tea, this book would be perfect for you!

Pub Date: 1/23

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I went in, didn't know what to expect. The story had me gripped. The different points of view were easy to follow. This heart pounding who dunnit was worth the read. The twists and turns were great. This is a great Book club read, lots of topics to dive into and discuss. The family dynamic leaves a lot of questions, but I look forward to other books from this author. I love the transition between then and now, those are always a favorite of mine. I read this in one sitting. I will definitely recommend. I will definitely be reading other titles from Kate Alice Marshall.

I loved What Lies in the Woods. And No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall was just as amazing. The story was superb! A fast paced thriller that hooked me immediately.
This exciting and compelling tale kept me guessing right until the end. I was gripped all the way through and I couldn't put it down, reading it in one fell swoop.
Marshall creates such compelling, well-developed, fabulous and dynamic characters that you can’t help but to be sucked into their world.
It’s perfect for all readers, especially thriller lovers.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Flatiron Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is a great thriller to start off the year. No one can know follows three sisters trying to find out who murdered their parents in the house they inherited. It’s full of twists and turns and I couldn’t wait to find to find the end

This book was great. I really enjoyed the story line, the characters and the dialogue. There were lots of twists and turns and it made me want to keep reading to find out the ending.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NG for this book!

I really really enjoyed this one- lots of twists and even when I thought things were wrapping up, it twisted again. I loved the sister dynamics and the fast pace of this book. I’ve already recommended to friends!