5 Stars Are Simply NOT Enough!!!

Well, I can honestly say that I am not a fan of thrillers! BUT, I am a fan of Vi Keeland's and I was NOT READY FOR THIS!!!!! Someone Knows had me sitting on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE book anticipating the end that I DID NOT SEE COMING!!!

Elizabeth is a college English Professor, teaching a creative writing seminar when a student submits the first chapter of her book. Except this book is VERY familiar to Elizabeth, mirroring experiences from her own past (and that of her best friend, Jocelyn). So begins the mind-bending journey to discovering who this student REALLY is! Who is Hannah? How could she possibly know all the details from a very dark time in Jocelyn and Elizabeth's lives involving an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and his student, murder and more!

I was ENTRANCED with this completely compelling, mind blowing thriller!!! Vi Keeland absolutely nailed it!!!!

This is Keeland’s second thriller and she is definitely making a space for herself in this genre! This book was fast-paced and twisty. I had a hard time putting it down. The small-town with its secrets made for an atmospheric setting. I had no idea where this one was going for a good portion of the book and that is my absolute favorite kind of thriller. This read is on the darker side so you may want to check out the content warnings.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I will post my review close to the publication date.

💭: In this book, nothing is as it seems. Elizabeth is a college English professor who also teaches creative writing. She is looking over the chapters her students have turned in and comes across one where the story sounds a little too familiar. Like—she lived it familiar…..no one could know about the details in these chapters. She makes it her mission to find out who this student is and how they know about the darkest secret in her life.

This book kept me flipping pages. It is fast paced. There is some romance throughout, but don’t let that steer you away! The ending will have your jaw on the floor!

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: June 17, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

If you thought someone knew a secret that you’ve been keeping for a long time would you start panicking and become a little bit paranoid? Well, an English professor in our story here has someone turn in a paper that states exactly what she’s been keeping hidden for TWENTY YEARS.

We have lots of twists, a fast paced story/plot and an FMC who is NOT likable which sometimes is just what I love and I loved it I with this story! You will be gripping, yelling at the book, gasping and guessing and you’ll never figure it out until that very last page.

I hope everybody who reads this banger will love it as much as I did. This was such a great dark thriller that packed a big punch!

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books

A twisted psychological thriller with lots of mystery and intrigue. Even at the end you won't necessarily have a good grasp on what really happened. A quick read that I enjoyed,

Someone Knows by Vi Keeland is a stand-alone suspenseful/mystery novel, and it was a fantastic read! I was totally immersed from beginning to end! It honestly had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. I used to strictly read murder mysteries, but about fifteen years ago, I started reading only romance novels, so this one was a really nice surprise with all the twists and turns; however, the ending wasn't what I was expecting. That being said, I would definitely recommend it!

Elizabeth is a college English professor. She teaches creative writing and loves her job. That is, until she receives a first chapter from one of her students about a high school senior who has an affair with her teacher. The thing is, Elizabeth knows how this story goes because her best friend Jocelyn had an affair with their high school teacher, and Elizabeth is the one who killed him. Someone knows what Elizabeth did 20 years ago; her secret is about to be exposed. But who is this mystery student? To find out, Elizabeth returns to her hometown in Louisiana. It soon becomes clear that no matter how much time has passed, Elizabeth cannot escape her past.

This was my first book by Vi Keeland, and it definitely won’t be my last if she writes more thrillers! This book reeled me in right away and kept me intrigued throughout. The twists and turns made my jaw drop multiple times. The only thing I didn’t love was the ending. It felt a little abrupt and left me with a few questions I wish I had answered. Overall, it was a solid, twisty thriller. I would give it 4/5 stars. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys twisty, jaw-dropping thrillers!

Somebody Knows was great! So many twists!
Some I figured out, some I did not.

Elizabeth was abused by her teacher as a child. She believes that she killed him. She ran off to New York after that night. 20 years later someone named Hannah is sending her chapters of a book with exact detail of what happened to Elizabeth. Who is sending the chapters!!?

She returns home to Louisiana to find her mom is very sick.

One thing that caught me off guard is she goes to a bar and just starts hooking up with a stranger there. Not my thing but maybe others do it.
Either way, that man turns out to be the son of the guy she killed!

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

This is also a June Aardvark book choice! Definitely recommend!

The writing on this was really good. And there's a couple unexpected twists. I enjoyed it, was still left with a couple questions. But yeah, you could feel Elizabeth's paranoia grow throughout as she didn't know who to trust.

This was super twisty! I especially loved the last chapter. When I tell you my jaw dropped! I love Vi’s thrillers. So I was super excited to read another one.

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Twenty years ago she did a very bad thing, now the past has come to haunt Elizabeth. One of her students submits a fiction manuscript in exact details of her secret. But how do they know?

This is a great spicy whodunit thriller. Very fast paced and intriguing. I loved every minute of this unraveling mystery.

This definitely has a feeling trigger warnings so make sure you check those out. I also thought I knew who it was, but didn't see it ending that way!

Atria eARC
Keeland sure knows how to grab the readers attention in the first few pages of her thrillers. This one was dark and I was here for it. The way she paces the mystery kept me wanting to turn pages quicker and quicker because I had to know where the story was going. There were two solid mysteries here- the book chapters and how that connected to Elizabeth's real life. Keeland also knows how to pace her surprises and manages to surprise the reader in fresh ways. I was kept on the edge of my seat until the last page, and I will definitely be coming back to her thrillers because they make the perfect summer read.

I WAS LOCKED IN. Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I am working through my backlog, and will be momentarily posting reviews for the stories I have yet to get posted but have finished reading.

When Elizabeth, an English Professor has an assignment handed in to her that basically tells the story of her school friend, Jocelyn’s, abuse by a teacher, Elizabeth is terrified. Because she killed that man.

There are two main themes running throughout this book, the sinister fact that someone knows what happened, all of the details, and, when Elizabeth returns to her hometown to try to find out who that person is, she is forced to face up to her difficult relationship with her alcoholic mother, who is seriously ill.

Elizabeth has a very unhealthy attitude to romantic relationships and won’t allow herself to become emotionally involved with anyone, but when she meets Noah, the chemistry is electrifying. Except he is the son of the man she killed.

The writing is tense and suspenseful, the pacing is spot on and the characters were intriguing.

And then came the twists. Wow! This is dark, intense and gripping. Buckle up, you’re in for a bumpy ride!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Vi Keeland and Atria for an ARC of this book.

When I picked this one up, I had to do a quick Goodreads audit—Have I read Vi Keeland before? Turns out, yes! I read The Rivals back in 2022—a solid four-star contemporary romance. But thriller Vi? Total unknown. Given her prolific reputation and rave reviews, I was ready for some edge-of-your-seat magic.

So, the premise is juicy enough—Elizabeth, now an English professor in NYC, has a dark secret from high school: a teacher’s death. Fast forward to the present, and a mysterious manuscript shows up, spilling all the tea on her past. Dun dun dunnn. Intriguing, right?

But here’s the thing: while it read fast (props for pacing!), I never felt fully hooked. The twist? More huh? than gasp! I found myself scratching my head going, Wait… what? Why?! 🤷‍♀️

Elizabeth, our lead, was a tricky one. I couldn’t connect with her at all. She felt distant, emotionally flat, and kind of adrift despite all the chaos swirling around her. The subplot with her alcoholic mother had potential but also entered 'what the?' territory, and there’s allegedly a romance arc in there somewhere—but I couldn't find it. Every interaction Elizabeth had with the opposite sex left me with the ick.

There’s no shortage of shady characters, which should create suspense. Instead, it just felt a bit muddy. The whole thing had the bones of a thriller but never quite delivered that punch-in-the-gut tension I crave in the genre.

Maybe it’s me. The ratings elsewhere are glowing, so clearly this hit the spot for others. For me, it was less thriller, more meh-ller. That said, I did want to see how it ended, which earns it a very generous three stars (2.5 really). 🚶‍♀️💨

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.

Thank you Net Galley and VI KEELAND for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this book.
The twist shook me!!

This book follows Elizabeth, an English college professor. She starts her class with a writing seminar. She receives one about a student who has an affair with her teacher.
This would be a great read only Elizabeth knows this is a true story, as it happened to her best friend.
She also knows how this story ends, as she is the one who ended it.
Someone knows her secret but Who?

What the hell did I just experience?

This was my first thriller from Keeland (I've read some of her romances before), and honestly? I'm here for this energy.

The whiplash at the end had me like WTF?, but after letting it marinate in my brain for a bit, I can appreciate what the author was going for. This has serious Freida McFadden vibes if you're looking for an easy-to-digest thriller that keeps you flipping pages.

The pacing is fantastic and kept me engaged every step of the way. I'll admit I did figure out the main twist and wasn't totally surprised by the identity of Elizabeth's tormentor, but predictability doesn't always kill enjoyment, especially when the execution is solid.

What I really appreciated was how this book straddles the line between romantic suspense and pure thriller. There are multiple guys vying for Elizabeth's attention, it never becomes the main focus. It's sexy and dangerous without being romance-centered, which hit the perfect sweet spot for me.

A solid thriller that's perfect for readers who want something dark and twisty but still accessible. Vi Keeland proves she can write outside the romance box, and I'm definitely interested in reading more thrillers from her!

Someone Knows by Vi Keeland
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 2 chilis
Pub date: 6/17

Thank you so much to Atria for my free copy!

Trigger Warning: child abuse, grooming, sexual abuse.

Elizabeth is a 37-year-old English professor who’s perfectly content living life on her own terms. But everything changes when a student submits a writing assignment that feels a little too familiar. It’s not fiction, it’s her past. And worse, it’s a past she’s spent twenty years trying to forget… including the fact that someone ended up dead.

This book is part mystery, part emotional unraveling, and Keeland does a great job pulling us into Elizabeth’s head as she returns to her Louisiana hometown to figure out who’s behind the story, and what they really want. It’s suspenseful, fast-paced, and just juicy enough to keep you flipping pages.

Keeland is known for writing steamy romance, and she was more than happy to bring those scenes into this book, too, and I am here for it!

That ending was perfect, and even though it left me with a few lingering questions, it was still a wild and entertaining ride. If you’re a thriller fan looking to try something new or already love Keeland’s writing, definitely check this one out!

This thriller had me hooked from the start. It had it all- dark secrets, forbidden romance, and simmering tension. The story unfolds in such a smart, twisty way, and just when I thought I had it figured out… Wild, addictive, and full of suspense.
Thank you for giving me the oppprtinity to review!
3.5 stars!

Wow—what a ride! This gripping, twist-filled thriller had me hooked from the start. The story centers around Elizabeth, a college English professor currently teaching an online creative writing class. Her students are submitting chapters of their novels week by week—until one submission stands out for all the wrong reasons.
One student’s “fiction” is actually a chilling retelling of a real murder from twenty years ago—one Elizabeth was involved in. The details are disturbingly accurate. Now, Elizabeth must figure out who this anonymous student is and how they know the truth.
The chapters are short and punchy, making for a fast-paced and addictive read. And just a heads-up: there’s a bit of spice woven in. If you like suspense with a side of secrets and scandal, this one’s for you.
Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.