I read this book on a plane ride home and could not put it down!! I loved the format, the characters, the intrigue, the twists - everything about it.

Someone Knows is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in quite a while! Up to the very last page, where my jaw DROPPED, I was second guessing all my theories.
This plot was so fast moving and packed with twists, most of which I didn’t see coming, which made for a great read. I really enjoyed the slight element of romance mixed into the story as well, it definitely stands out from your typical thriller.
This was pretty dark and has some triggers so I’d be mindful of that!
All in all, I’m definitely eager to read Vi Keeland’s first thriller now!
Thank you to Atria | Emily Bestler Books for providing me with a digital review copy via NetGalley.
Publication date 6/17/25

I thought this one started strong, we have our main character getting book chapters detailing a secret from her past she never told, and it sends her spiraling back home to figure out who knows, and who would tell.

I didn't love Elizabeth as our MC, even though we soon figured out why she acts the way she does, it made it very hard for me to connect with her or understand most of the decisions she made. I also wasn't a huge fan of the alternating timelines.
I did appreciate the twists and turns throughout the story, even though the last one was one I saw coming.
Overall I think this was entertaining enough for a quick palate cleanser, but not something I'll be reading again.

It was a slow start but this gem blew me away. Some fantastic little twists I did not see coming (a rarity for me) and the final chapter was *chefs kiss*. A book I definitely recommend to the mystery and thriller lovers.

As I always like to say check your triggers before reading this book. Nothing is worth sacrificing your mental health.

Wow, this book was intense. There were so many twists it was shocking. Elizabeth is a professor who starts receiving chapters from one of her students that she immediately realizes are about her past. She then starts a journey to find out who is sending the chapters and how could they possibly know what she did.

This is one of those books that keeps you guessing and just when you think you’ve figured it out another twist blows it all up. There’s some pretty tough subject matter but Elizabeth is a strong character and you can’t help but root for her. If you love a good suspenseful mystery this is the book for you.

What did I just read?! That ending! This book absolutely belongs on everyone’s summer thriller list.
Packed with twists and steamy moments, it kept me on edge. Especially with so many morally gray characters who constantly had me torn between sympathy and frustration. The storytelling was compelling and completely addictive.
I was hooked on Elizabeth’s journey, rooting for her as she tried to uncover who was sending her eerie letters with details only she and one other person should know… or so she thought. Just when she begins to piece things together, she’s forced to confront her past whether she is ready or not.
Then comes Noah…. a mysterious, captivating character that flips Elizabeth’s world upside down.
I can’t recommend this book enough. It's perfect for any thriller fan who loves twists and cliffhangers.

* Thank you to AtriaBooks, AtriaThrillers, and Vi Keeland for the digital copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

4.5/5 stars

Someone Knows is a sexy psychological thriller.

I really enjoyed the author's 2024 thriller, The Unraveling. So I was very excited to read her newest thriller. It starts off with a chilling first chapter that got me so invested in the story.

The main character is Elizabeth. She is a 37 year old college English professor who likes sex, but doesn't love relationships.

Something happened 20 years ago. And now someone knows Elizabeth's secret. Some of the story takes place in New York City. And some of it takes place in her Louisiana hometown. Also most of the book is in the present. But there are also chapters of a story written by someone in one of her classes.

This book was riveting with some big fun twists. I really enjoyed seeing Elizabeth try to find out who knew her secret. This is a thriller. But there is also some spice. She has a few men interested in her romantically. Even though this is not typical in thrillers I thought that it added a lot to the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The last chapters were so good. I could not put the book down. And the ending was amazing. However I do have some questions that I wish I knew the answers to.

This was a complete page turner ! I read this book in two days ! The author per usual did an awesome job describing and taking the reader on a ride . By the end of the book I definitely needed more .

Vi Keeland nailed it again with another gripping, fast paced thriller! I was floored by the author’s last thriller and was so excited to see she was publishing another. It did not disappoint!

Someone Knows follows the story of Elizabeth, an English professor living in New York City whose past resurfaces in a disturbing way. When a student in her creative writing class submits the draft of a novel, Elizabeth is shocked to discover it mirrors her own childhood with unsettling accuracy. Determined to uncover how this student could possibly know such intimate details, Elizabeth travels back to Louisiana—where buried secrets and old wounds await.

I highly recommend this book!!!

Thank you Vi, NetGalley, and Give me Books Promotions for the ARC!

English Professor Elizabeth Davis gets the shock of a lifetime when she reads the first chapter of a student’s story for her fiction-writing class. The story chronicles the beginning of a horrific, life-altering event in Elizabeth's life 20 years ago. The first chapter describes the affair between her best friend Jocelyn and their 40 year-old high school English teacher, Mr. Sawyer. When more chapters make their way to Elizabeth's inbox, she is forced to conclude that someone does know everything - an event that Elizabeth has tried to move on from, which includes the murder of Mr. Sawyer by Elizabeth. What follows is Elizabeth's frantic attempt to discover author’s identity, before her secret comes to light.

The student’s chapters, which we get to read and provide the events from 20 years ago are very disturbing. The abuse of power that is shown between the teacher and a minor student is not romanticized at all and it can be somewhat overwhelming to read.

Someone Knows is a gripping psychological thriller. The more Elizabeth tries to stay ahead of whoever her student is, the more desperate and paranoid she becomes. As she begins to rule people out as the storyteller, she starts to draw a lot of attention to herself, which causes her to constantly look over her shoulder as she doesn’t know who to trust.

Every time I think I've got this story figured out, I am proved wrong. This is not an easy, whodunnit story to figure out, which I really appreciate. By the end, I had it all figured out until I didn’t and I can say that I was left unsettled at the very end.

When the I got to the murder of the teacher, I felt like it was glazed over. I think giving more details about that part of the story would have rounded out the event a bit more. There is a lack of closure with: the ending leaving it a bit open ended. However, it works for this story and I have been left pondering the story long after I had finished it.

This was one wild ride!!!
It’s twisty, dark, and full of that slow burn tension that keeps you on edge.
Elizabeth is a creative writing professor with a complicated past, and when one of her students turns in chapters to a story that hits way too close to home, the past she’s tried to bury starts to resurface.
I kept flipping pages way past my bedtime just to see how it would all unfold. If you’re into character driven suspense then this one definitely needs to be on your tbr!

This book proves that sometimes, murder can feel like justice.

I wasn’t expecting the twists that unfolded throughout the story, and I can confidently say it left me speechless. The biggest plot reveal truly made my jaw drop—I definitely didn’t see that coming.

There were a few wtf moments, and I was absolutely hooked from start to finish.

Since this is a psychological thriller, I can’t say too much without risking spoilers—but I will say this:

I SUPPORT ELIZABETH'S ACTIONS.
I loved how Vi Keeland unraveled Elizabeth’s backstory and gave such a solid reason behind her decisions.

I loved how you are pulled into Elizabeth's life and you feel her slowly unraveling further after every chapter she receives about what happened 20 years ago at high school. I continuously tried to work out who was behind things and jut when I would think I had worked it out, I doubted myself lol This had some great twists, loads of suspense, distrust along with frustrations and the ending.... well you gotta read it to know ..... I absolutely recommend you give this a read as you won't be disappointed!!!

As an English Professor, Elizabeth enjoys the day-to-day predictability of her profession. Teaching creative writing allows Elizabeth to guide her students through the writing process. Each assignment is a journey that fills Elizabeth with anticipation of what she will read. That was the case until one assignment shook Elizabeth to the core. A writing assignment from one of Elizabeth’s students mirrors the instructor’s life and the secrets she vowed to keep hidden for the last 20 years.

Known simply as Hannah, the author of this assignment is unknown to Elizabeth. Determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, Elizabeth finds herself headed back to her hometown. A place that harbors memories the young professor would love to forget. Can Elizabeth uncover the identity of ‘Hannah’? Or will the secrets that threaten Elizabeth’s world come crashing into the present??

Well….well….well…..when I saw Vi Keeland was releasing her second thriller I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Keeland has managed to transition from the world of romance into the ‘thriller’ genre with a vengeance. Reading one of the author’s thriller novels is like diving into a seasoned page turner without skipping a beat.

The creativity of the plot surrounding Elizabeth’s past kept me glued to my reader. I second-guessed myself on the writer’s identity so many times!! Then that last chapter…..um WHAT??? Then I had MORE questions that left me wanting more. Hold on to your seat readers because Vi Keeland is taking the thriller genre by storm!!

Elizabeth Davis has an easy summer. As an English professor, she has to teach several classes through the winter and spring semesters, but during the summer, she only has one class, English 101. She only goes in to her office two days a week.

She is anticipating a restful summer, until she starts reading the chapters from her yearlong online creative writing seminar. There is one piece that catches her attention immediately. The Reckoning by Hannah Greer grips her with a story about a senior girl in high school who has a crush on her teacher. As she reads, she notices details that are familiar to her, and she realizes that what she is reading isn’t actually fiction. It’s something that happened to her friend twenty years ago. Her friend Jocelyn had an affair with her teacher, Mr. Sawyer, when they were in high school.

Elizabeth knows that this writing is not coming from Jocelyn because she wouldn’t talk about it. And it wasn’t coming from Mr. Sawyer, because she had killed him. So who is sending her these chapters, and how do they know about what happened with such precise detail?

She had left her small Southern town to move to New York City, where she could be anonymous and craft a new life. And she’s done well for herself. She has a good job, she has a nice place to live, and she has men to spend time with. The most recent one is Sam, a police detective. He doesn’t know her past, and she likes it that way. But with more chapters landing in her email, and more details echoing the exact situation her friend found herself in, Elizabeth gets more and more anxious. She hadn’t told anyone about what happened. They had another friend, Ivy, who knew what was happening, but she and Elizabeth promised never to talk about what really happened.

But now, either someone has broken that promise, or someone else knows what happened.

Even more chapters reveal a disturbing relationship between Jocelyn and her teacher, controlling and abusive as well as romantic, and Elizabeth can’t understand how someone knows so much about what happened back then. But she knows she needs to figure it out, so she goes home to Louisiana. She sees the mother who had been an alcoholic. She sees her high school boyfriend. She sees Ivy, although Ivy tells her to go away. And she meets Noah, a bewitching man Elizabeth can’t seem to stay away from, even after learning that his father was Mr. Sawyer, the teacher from the story.

Why are these chapters showing up in her life? Is someone trying to send her a message? Is she in danger? As she unravels, dipping from anxiety to paranoia, Elizabeth has to figure out what is going on, and why, and try to keep herself safe from a potential stalker set on a twisted trail of revenge.

Someone Knows is a twisted story of secrets and stalking. It is a roller coaster, taking readers to great heights to spin them around and plunge down to a whole different emotional place. It’s spicy and dark and filled with secrets. I genuinely didn’t know who was sending the stories until the end. I got caught up in this story and I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed this book, but it does have an edge to it, mostly in that relationship between the teacher and the teenager, and I did have some trouble with that. But the characters are well developed and it is a good solid thriller from a skilled writer.

Egalleys for Someone Knows were provided by Atria Books through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

Are you ready for a thriller that's hotter than this Jersey summer and twistier than a pretzel?

I just finished "Someone Knows" by the queen of suspense, Vi Keeland, and let me tell you, my jaw is still on the floor.

Secrets, Scandals, and a Professor with a Past (and a Body Count?)

If you thought college was just about late-night study sessions and questionable cafeteria food, think again. In Someone Knows, English professor Elizabeth's new semester takes a dark turn when a student's story hits a little too close to home.

Like “I may or may not have committed a murder twenty years ago" close.

This ain't your average creative writing assignment, folks. The student's story mirrors Elizabeth's own scandalous past, where her best friend had an affair with a teacher… who ended up dead. And guess who was the prime suspect? Dun dun DUN! 🔪

Someone knows Elizabeth's secret, and they're not afraid to use it. Now, she's gotta return to her hometown, where the secrets are thicker than the humidity and the past refuses to stay buried.

Vi Keeland weaves a web of suspense that will have you gasping, laughing (because I can't help myself), and maybe sleeping with the lights on.
If you love your thrillers with a side of "OMG, what just happened?!" and characters who are both brilliant and deeply flawed, then "Someone Knows" is your next obsession.

It was just released on June 17, 2025, so you can dive in right now! Just don't blame me if you start suspecting your own students of plotting your demise.

This story touches on themes of sexual abuse, split personality, and suppressed memories. Quick read that keeps you guessing.

3.5⭐️
This was a good quick “popcorn thriller” to binge by the pool. I wouldn’t say it was anything mind boggling, but at 277 pages, it was a fast read that left me surprised at the end! I recommend it if you enjoy a “book within a book” plot line, a steamy thriller, and don’t mind a darker plotline.

- book within a book
- Multiple red herrings
- “Spicy thriller” 🔥
- Unreliable narrator
- Small town
- Ending open to some interpretation
- Twisty ending
- Multiple timelines
- For fans of: BA Paris, Frida McFadden

- have to suspend some belief
- Guessed some twists but not all

There are some hefty themes & triggers in the story- mainly revolving around abusive teacher/student relationship.

Someone knows by Vi Keeland was such a great and suspenseful thriller and I highly recommend it to thriller lovers. In this book we follow Elizabeth, an English professor, that receives an unexpected email from an unknown student with a story that is eerily familiar to her own past. As this new email appears her fear of her past becomes too much to bare and she begins the process of uncovering the truth to what really happened all those years ago and who this mysterious student is that knows her past all too well and can likely be the one that can ruin her. This is a high stake fast paced thriller and I really enjoyed how the author told the story. It is told in Elizabeth PoV with alternating chapters that tell the students story and a surprise POV at the end of the novel that just blew me away. I loved all the twists and loved the way the story concluded. I have always been a big fan of Vi Keeland and have loved all her romance books but I am loving her new take on thrillers just as much! I will read anything she releases.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria books for the advance readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my gosh. I loved this thriller. Kind of Freida-esque in that it’s totally bingeable and has great twists.

Unreliable characters, family drama, dark storylines (definitely check TWs if you have them; feel free to message me to find out more, but it is dark), grooming, a murder, and so much more are in this book. And so many twists, right down to the very last sentence.

I actually don’t want to talk about a lot. Anything I would say could kind of be a spoiler. But at under 300 pages, you really have nothing to lose by reading it, and I totally recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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