Birdie should have grown-up gifted in her famous family but seems one tragedy after another follow her. Blessed to have family friend and occasionally coworker Bryce there to help out when needed to pickup the pieces. ….WOW! Surprise ending. Got my heart racing.

Fascinating book. Initially I was convinced I was reading a romance, then I thought it might have been about grief. I was wrong and I didn’t see the twist coming until Birdie did. So I’m sure that is good writing. Full of surprises. I wasn’t as enthusiastic in the earlier stages our protagonist was difficult to follow but I put it down to grief and mothering five girls. Thanks to @netgalley and text publishing for the chance to read an advance copy.

4.5 stars.

Things I Need You to Know by Mark Lamprell is a poignant novel with a brilliant psychological thriller element.

Birdie McBride and her five daughters are mourning the loss of husband and father Ned. His recent illness progressed quickly and they are reeling in the aftermath of his death. Birdie is having difficulty balancing home and career since Ned was a stay-at-home dad. She also grapples with her conflicted emotions about her larger-than-life husband and his best friend, physician Marcello Architto. Falling completely apart, Birdie relies heavily on her oldest daughter, Charlotte, until she is dragged out of grief by her children’s needs. In the course of sorting through her tangled feelings, Birdie falls in love with Ned and cherishes her memories of him and their life together.

As Birdie processes her grief, she also comes face to face with the mistakes of her past. And Marcello being in and out of their lives brings up unresolved issues from long ago. As he becomes more entangled with her and her daughters, will Birdie regret allowing him in their lives?

Things I Need You to Know is a riveting novel with a realistic portrayal of grief and loss. Birdie is not always a likable character as she navigates her new “normal”. Her daughters are typical children whose behavior and missteps ring true. Ned’s presence looms large throughout the novel. Flashbacks are cleverly interwoven with the events unfolding in the present. With a diabolical plot twist, Mark Lamprell brings this captivating novel to an unexpected yet exceptionally satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Text Publishing, and Mark Lamprell for providing me the opportunity to read and review the Things I Need You To Know, out for publication on June 4, 2024.

“...she hadn’t fallen madly in love and thrown herself to the fates on the basis of chemical euphoria, she had constructed a life with a man who had proven himself worthy of great love.”

A book filled with powerful emotions, unexpected happenings, and strong characters, Mark Lamprell’s book Things I Need You To Know was truly a great read! This was a first for me by this author, but certainly will not be my last.

The story centers around Birdie, wife of Ned, who did not realize what true love was until it was taken from her life. The love, loyalty and respect Ned has for her is nothing she has ever experienced, but she realizes this incredible gift much too late.

Ned leaves his last expression of love and support for his dear wife, a document titled Things I Need You To Know. Birdie learns just how much Ned had sacrificed for his family. Birdie is now solely responsible for their five daughters, the home they share, while maintaining her career as a lawyer. Throughout the book, she discovers important understandings about her late husband, herself, their children, and past relationships. Birdie deals with grief, loss and love on different levels, peeling away the layers until she arrives at the core. Birdie also becomes aware of shocking revelations proving how things presented are not at all what they seemed to be. I loved how Ned’s love and loyalty to those who were closest to his heart reverberated throughout the novel. Birdie’s character went through many changes as the story developed. As Lamprell paints great descriptions about the characters and their actions, I was incredibly frustrated with some of the characters, including Birdie, proving that Lamprell did his job to have the fictional lives in his book impact me as a reader.

I was lured into it right from the beginning and found it hard to put down. I was surprised at many of the occurrences throughout various parts of the story. I did not see the final plot twist coming at all. Definitely add this book to your summer reading list. Out for publication on June 4th!

The first thing I am going to say is do NOT give up on this book early. I almost DNF’d it a few times due to feeling like it was drawn out and I just wanted to get to the good stuff.. something to keep me entertained! BUT the last 10% of this book is what did it for me. It immediately went from a 3 star review to a 5 star with the ending.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Special thank you to NetGalley, Mark Lamprell
and Text Publishing for the ARC of this novel.

Super enjoyed this read. It starts off as a fiction novel which depicts a more realistic picture of grief and loss, unlike some novels that you read today regarding the subject, and it almost has a thriller-type vibe towards the end. Loved it. Overall, the book came across as unique to me and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Strongly recommend.

This book starts off fantastic and finishes fantastic! And the in between part....you guessed it, fantastic! This book was so well written, it felt like I was experiencing the emotions that Birdie was going through as she mourned the loss of her husband and the role that he played in her life as husband and stay at home father to their five daughters. It's a complicated story at times as we see the caretaking compassionate side of Ned as he prepared Birdie for life after he was gone, but then we meet Marcello who seemingly also cares for Birdie (and for Ned). You add in the history of Birdie and Marcello and then start asking yourself questions about subtle things you'll pick up as you read and you will soon understand just how fantastic this book is! Another great one by Mark Lamprell!

I really like books that deal with grief and loss, as I think it's a glance at the human condition in its rawest form. This book has a pretty strong and heartbreaking start. It's nice to see this move away from the cookie cutter way that grief is often presented in other books. The set up was really interesting and so was the concept. The writing itself was good and easy to follow.

I found myself really longing for more details, or for the story to progress with a bit more urgency, and I feel like the first 100 pages really struggle to pull you into that. The book often told you "this was a loving gesture from a doting father" instead of being specific on WHY it was a loving gesture. Being told how to feel vs. the text just showing you how to feel through storytelling did take me away from it a bit. I also felt like its identity was going back and forth between "almost fiction" and "almost thriller" with some of the back and forth dynamics.

Overall, I wouldn't mind reading more from this author someday, as I did enjoy parts of this. But overall I don't know that I'd readily recommend this to everyone and anyone.

Time to read. Less than a day

4 stars

What a complex and riveting book. I could not put it down, I was so engrossed I read it in one sitting.

I totally recommend it to anyone wanting to get away from the real world for a while.


Thank you Netgalley an Text Publishing for the opportunity to review this gem of a book

Riveting, couldn’t put it down! No matter how terrible I imagined the antagonist to be he was somehow worse. Finished in two days and highly recommend as a fast paced thriller.

This book. THIS BOOK! I loved every minute of it. Lamprell’s writing is absolutely lovely; so descriptive and enchanting. I recommend this book to anyone, thriller lover or not!

For much of the novel, the story follows Birdie and her four daughters and narcissistic c-list celebrity mother as they navigate life following Birdie’s husband’s death. All the while Birdie’s ex-flame, who happened to be her late husband’s best friend, hangs in the valences. Watching Birdie travel this new life was so freeing, in a way. It was so real! Dealing with her four girls, aged tween to teen, her work life, her own love life, and her weird minor celebrity status as her mother’s associate drove her to her bed many days. But wouldn’t it all of us? Finally, when Birdie seems to really begin to achieve happiness and trust herself, the thriller part of the story picks up. I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming and I was rooting for the culprit the whole dang time.

10/10. Read it!