More drama than thriller, and I definitely skimmed my way through.

It started with a solid premise—messy secrets, a mysterious manuscript, someone possibly playing a game. But the tension fizzled fast. It leaned way more into melodrama than suspense, and honestly? I got bored.

The pacing dragged, the twists weren’t twisty, and I ended up skimming most of it. Not the worst thing I’ve read, but not something I’d recommend either.

I felt like this book was a little slow to start, but then you get hit with a plot twist pretty early on. I must admit - this plot twist is probably one of my least favorite tropes, BUT Vi Keeland was able to use this plot twist as something I have never seen before and I think completely added to the plot. I liked that there was a little bit of spice in it. There is plenty of suspects throughout the book, each seeming to be equal candidates. The ending was 100% unexpected, but I did feel like it came a bit abruptly and left some loose ends. Readers who like a little spice to their thriller novels will definitely be a fan of this book.

Another high stakes thriller from Vi Keeland will leave you wondering until the very end what is real. Our FMC, Elizabeth, has been living her life in NY as an English professor when a student’s paper turns out to be her own traumatic story of her coming to the defense of her best friend almost 20 years ago. And just like in Keeland’s other thriller, our FMC goes down a rabbit hole of paranoia and confusion to get to the truth. A trip back to her home town opens up doorways to familiar faces; all of whom could be the mysterious writer haunting Elizabeth. From high school friends, to the sheriff, to her own mother, Elizabeth is never quite sure who knows her darkest secret. Fair warning reader, these chapters are their own POV in the novel and they can be a little difficult to read (they are covering an abuse situation). Bold to put into words, but I think they lend credence to showing how fragile the victim’s situation truly was.

As Elizabeth uncovers more pieces to the puzzle, prepare to have your expectation of who the “haunter” really is shift from chapter to chapter. Details come to light that will lead you (as well as Elizabeth) astray just as easily to the truth. In the end, my own expectation was partially met, and just like the first thriller I read from Keeland, it left me feeling unwell. Which, in all fairness, a think a thriller should do. This isn’t a HEA romance, there’s going to be an ending that leaves the reader….wondering.

Thank you to Vi Keeland and Atria Books for providing a review copy.

This is dark and deliciously surprising. The characters are fascinating, especially as Elizabeth is forced to confront and unravel her past. The sticky, hot atmosphere in Louisiana adds character to the story, and the overall tone of the book makes for a perfect summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Vi Keeland, and Atria Books for the eARC. This was a wild, twist-filled ride with reveals you won’t see coming. The psychological layers run deep, and the ending will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew.

My first foray into Vi Keeland's writing has been an absolute success with Someone Knows, an intriguing and utterly thrilling mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. From the very first chapter, I was completely captivated, drawn into the narrative and eager to unravel all its hidden secrets. This book is a must-read, and I'm already looking forward to exploring more from Vi Keeland's collection.

NYC English professor Elizabeth Davis left her alcoholic mother and her troubled small-town Louisiana past behind twenty years ago. She’s also tried to push away the memories of how far she went one night to help her friend Jocelyn escape an abuser. The booze and casual hook-ups haven’t erased the memories of his death.

Imagine her shock when a student in her large writing class submits her first chapter assignment online and it perfectly details the beginning of Jocelyn’s experience with that abuser, down to the exact names of those involved. In such a huge class, she doesn’t know who this writer is, but she does know one thing: she knows how this story ends. Do they?

As each new emailed chapter comes in with details getting closer to revealing Elizabeth’s crime, she becomes more desperate and paranoid to uncover who knows her secret and what they want from her. This will take her back to Louisiana and a past she’s tried so desperately to escape and into the arms of someone very unexpected!

So, straight off the bat. The instigator for this story’s premise is an abusive student-teacher relationship. For those of you who read or know the book, think My Dark Vanessa if it was turned into a psychological thriller with an even more abusive power dynamic. The blurb calls it an “affair”, which even the book itself calls out. It’s not an affair when a teacher uses their power to abuse a student, but I’ll get off my soapbox.

Despite the dark premise, I did enjoy Keeland’s latest thriller. This isn’t just your average unreliable, sexaholic FMC making repeated foolish decisions, though I won’t say that there aren’t some of those. There’s some depth to this one regarding the long-term effects of these types of abusive relationships on the victims and how their troubled homes often set them up to be victimized. It’s not heavy-handed … just enough to let you know the book isn’t simply gratuitous entertainment for its own sake.

I know the blurb looks straightforward and like one you’ve heard hundreds of times - those were my thoughts too, but it isn't as simple as it looks. I was genuinely surprised by a very unexpected twist that came close to halfway through that changed the rest of the story. I was flipping pages the whole book, anxious to see where it would lead!

I liked Keeland’s first thriller The Unraveling last year. Personally, I think this one is even better. She stays true to some of the erotic elements she gravitates towards which I don’t love, but I thought it was tamed down and more tolerable or at least understandable in this one. She kept me guessing to the very end and finished things off in a way that I both loved and hated at the same time! I’ll leave you readers to figure out how both can be true. ;)

Keeland is showing she has the chops to write great psychological thrillers and I’ll be in line for her next!

★★★★ ½

This book blew my mind! Where has this author been?? Hiding in the romance genre, apparently. This psychological thriller got into my head in the best way and manipulated me for 300+ pages. I was guessing even up to the last page. I thought the the big twist happened at 50%, but that was one of many. This is an expertly woven thriller and I cannot wait for her next. Bravo, Vi Keeland! Keep them coming! Thank you to Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a fabulous book. I haven’t read any of Keeland’s romance novels, but I’ve read her last two psychological thrillers, and they are fantastic and an automatic go-to for me. There are thrills, mystery, sexual tension, secrets, crime, life stress, dysfunctional families and more. And oh wow! There’s a big twist I didn’t see coming. Elizabeth has been running/hiding from her life growing up, but her problems have her returning to where she grew up. We think we know what’s going on, but imagined life and real life start to blend together. What is real, what is not, who knows the truth and who can be trusted? This book kept me on my toes - although there’s one character I wish I got to learn more about. This was a great read! 4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC.

4.5 stars!

Imagine reading your life story through someone else’s eyes! This book was gripping from the very beginning and so compelling that it was hard to put down. I recommend setting aside your afternoon to read it from cover to cover!

Elizabeth, a college English professor, is alarmed when a student’s novel, *The Reckoning*, reflects her traumatic past involving her best friend Jocelyn and a murder she committed. As someone threatens to reveal her secret, Elizabeth returns to her hometown, realizing she cannot escape her history.

The main character is complicated and flawed, and her development throughout the story is intriguing. She carries an air of mystery, and I couldn’t wait to uncover what happened to her. With each chapter, we learn more about her journey. Be aware that this book includes some triggers, so it’s a good idea to check for those before diving in. The other characters are also hard to trust due to their actions and intentions. We often say to avoid assumptions, but I found it difficult to trust anyone in this plot.

The book's descriptions are vivid, and the events addressed can be quite difficult to stomach. This is my second book by this author, and I really enjoyed it, even though I’m not a fan of this particular theme. The writing is realistic, making it feel as though you’re reading about someone’s real life, which adds a whole new layer to the narrative.

If you enjoy uncovering deep, dark secrets, peeking into a young, naive mind, and experiencing thrilling suspense with unpredictable twists, this book will definitely capture your interest. The ending was unexpected and jaw-dropping! I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Thank you, Atria Books, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The 2nd thriller by Vi Keeland is a lot better than the first! I spent half of the book, along with Elizabeth, trying to figure out who the mystery student is. Therefore, every new character introduced was a suspicious character. This was a fun read and the twist worked very well cuz I truly believe that guilty conscience will definitely make a person crazy.

This is actually my first Vi Keeland book but it won’t be my last!
I always like reading thrillers from the POV of someone who is paranoid especially when they get more and more paranoid as the book goes on. Elizabeth had every right to feel the way she did. It was really interesting trying to figure out who ‘Hannah’ was along with her.
This was a good page turner and I liked how the setting changed a couple of times. There’s some good twists and a few interesting characters. I was suspicious of everyone!
Overall, this was a fun read. It’s binge worthy and I thought the ending was really great! This book has some darker themes so check the TW!

I absolutely love Vi Keeland and Ive been waiting to read this next book! I was so excited to receive this ARC. This book is all about your past creeping back up on you when someone starts telling all your deepest darkest secrets! This book was full of suprise twists and turns and a nice spice after reading romances by Vi Keeland.

This book was AMAZING. I literally could not put it down. I needed to know what happened next so badly that I read it cover to cover when I picked it up. It's a chilling thriller- possibly the best I've ever read. I can't wait for Vi Keeland's next thriller!

I knew this was going to be a fun thriller based on the cover and I was not wrong! There was some predictability behind some of it but as an avid thriller reader, I don’t hold that against an authors storyline.

Wow! I don’t even know where to start! This is an intense read that kept me turning the pages. Usually I can figure out what’s going to happen. Not with this one. I’m still shocked and reeling at the ending! Vi Keeland has once again hit it out of the park with this thriller!

Elizabeth is a college English professor for a creative writing class. Elizabeth is sitting down to read her student's first chapters of their books when she begins reading a familiar story. The first chapter of the, "The Reckoning", is eerily familiar to a her because she lived it, the story of a student/ teacher affair. The student was her best friend, Jocelyn, and the affair ended in the murder of Mr. Sawyer and Elizabeth was the one that killed him. But, now someone knows the secret she has been hiding from for 20 years, but who is it? And what do they want?

Review:
4.5 stars
This simply did not disappoint! When I read The Unraveling by Vi Keeland, I was immediately enraptured by Vi's thrilling story telling. Someone Knows was no different. It immediately pulled me in and I did not want to put it down. It is fast paced, a little steamy, full of drama, messiness, shocks, twists, and lots of suspect characters. It brought me on a wild ride that I simply did not want to end, but was dying to know the outcome! If you want a fast paced thriller that will bring you on a wild goose chase, this one is for you! Vi Keeland is definitely an auto buy author for me!
Thank you to NetGalley, Vi Keeland, and Atria Books for this ARC of Someone Knows in exchange for an honest review!

Someone knows by Vi Keeland, I usually am not a big fan of the authors books but this one was a doozy. Although I found Elizabeth a tad bit bland and not so likable not to mention for the book having parts of it set in Louisiana I found there was no flavor to that text and it may as well have been set in the middle of Minnesota. NOW HAVING SAID THAT, once you start reading this book take nothing for granted. There are lots of twists and turns with professor Elizabeth, the anonymous writer and some old friends from down home. I did like the relationship she had with her senile landlord and although when I started this book I really thought by the middle I was going to want to DNF but by then the tension was ramping up the search for Jocelyn was on and OMG what a effing twist that was. If you love thrillers with an OMG twist at the end this is definitely the type of book you should be reading. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #VKeeland, #SomeoneKnows,

This one was an amazing read! I have read books by Vi Keeland before but those were all romance novels so I was curious to read it when I took a look at the blurb.

This book sucked me in from the very first chapter and kept me guessing till the end. I’m a fan of psychological thriller so I love when a book can keep me guessing and gives me all the twists and turns and this book gave me exactly that.

We have our main character who is a professor of creative writing and in a seminar she comes across a story where a high school student start an affair with a professor and our main character knows exactly what this story is and how it ends. Cause it ends with the professor murdered and her being the killer. It was a fantastic read!

Thanks NetGalley and Atria books for providing me with this eARC. All opinions are my own.

I have not read any of Vi Keeland's titles before, and I'm wondering why. The cover synopsis grabbed my attention, and the story did the rest. I lost a day and a half as I read this from cover to cover. Perfect set up with the ideal character to follow the trail back to the beginning of her own secrets. I know so many people who are going to LOVE this book!!!