Set fifteen years after the mysterious disappearance of the Tanner family, Such a Clever Girl follows Aubrey Tanner's startling re-appearance. As she drops clues, the mystery unwinds. Alliances that were made on that fateful day begin to fray. As the story unwinds, the true masterminds of the crime are slowly revealed. There are enough hints to keep the reader engaged, but not enough to give away the final twist. This book kept me engrossed the entire time.

This book is full of suspense, twists, and manipulation. Its told in several POVs, you’ll get some of the story from different people but still wonder who is telling the truth, which i personally like in my books. This is my first book by this author and I loved it!!

The Tanner family disappears one day, leaving behind blood stains but no bodies. 3 of their close friends walk in and out but pretend they don’t know anything. 15 years later and the daughter, Aubrey Tanner resurfaces.
Now the 3 friends are thrown back into the Tanner family drama and scared of what Aubrey might dredge up. The story covers all 3 friends perspectives as they try to figure out who the murderer is and who is still messing with them.
I really enjoyed the different friends perspectives and the look into the Tanner lives. The characters were so flawed you kept hoping they had some redemption coming and it kept you pulled into the story. 3.5 ⭐️s rounded to 4.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC!!!

I have loved all of this author's novels. I was so excited to get this ARC. This book literally had me so entranced from the beginning pages. I did not expect the ending at all. All of the twists along the way were just as surprising as well. This definitely is my favorite of her's so far.

This book starts off with a really big twist in the beginning and there is a lot going on within the first few chapters.
The book sounded really good but it just didn’t work for me. There was multiple POVS and I got confused on who some of the characters were at first. It just tosses you into the book without really telling you much about the characters. Once I got the characters figured out it was easy to follow.
I will say it was a little repetitive and not much going on. I would say it’s a slow pace book. I would say this is more of a drama type of book.
The last chapter of this book explains a lot of my questions I had throughout the book.
I will say I liked Aubrey she was an interesting person.
What I did like was the setting, it was based in Sleepy Hollow. I wish it brought elements of Sleepy Hollow into the book

A big thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC!

Absolutely captivating! This brilliantly crafted narrative kept me thoroughly engaged throughout. The intricate relationships among the characters truly drew me in. Hanna, Stella, and Marni, despite their distinct personalities, all harbored secrets dating back to the disappearance of the Tanner family. I found Aubrey Tanner to be an unlikable character, even with the unexpected conclusion. This book deserves a spot on your reading list! I would rate it a strong four stars!

Darby Kane has a winner with Such a Clever Girl. This is one twisted on top of twisted. The mystery element here doesn't let up, and the cast of characters are intriguing. This is the type of psychological mystery thriller that will keep you guessing. You will never figure out everything. The ending will even through you for a loop. Excellent. Must Read.

Such a Clever Girl by Darby Kane is a gripping domestic thriller. In the prologue, Kane plunges readers into a chilling tableau: the Tanner family of four has vanished—dinner half-eaten, a bloodstain by the door, their bookstore in Sleepy Hollow, New York, on fire. Fifteen years later, the Tanner’s presumed-dead daughter, Aubrey, returns at just the moment an emergency court hearing is taking place regarding the estate of her late grandfather Xavier Tanner, sparking an unlikely alliance of three of the women in the room who hold long-buried secrets.
The courtroom scene is narrated by Stella, a psychologist whose mother Isabel is Xavier’s niece. Marni Richards is an elementary school teacher who suffers with great anxiety. Hanno Sato is the owner of the local coffee shop. In one way or another, each woman has a connection with the Tanners.
The story of what happened on the day the Tanners disappeared is rolled out with tension-ratcheting momentum as each woman takes the stage briefly in the telling of what happened that day. However, the multiple point of view structure of the thriller with all four women telling the story is a challenge to readers trying to keep track of so many voices.
Aubrey challengers and threatens Stella, Marni, and Hanna with what she knows and what she thinks the role of each woman was on the day the Tanners disappeared. Before the story reaches its conclusions, one of the women will be questioned by the police, another will be caught up in the terror involving a son who has gone missing, and the third will be wrecked by the reveal of all the details about what happened 15 years ago.
Darby Kane is the pseudonym of HelenKay Dimon a former trial attorney and an award-winning romantic suspense author. A native of Pennsylvania, Dimon lives in California.
My review will be posted on Goodreads starting August 11, 2025.
I would like to thank William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Darby Kane has done it again with another nail-biting, eerie domestic thriller! Such a Clever Girl is a twisty, fast-paced read that had me hooked from page one-and I devoured it in record time. I absolutely love when a mystery keeps me guessing, and this one delivered in spades. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I was proven wrong (multiple times, much to my delight!).

Told through multiple perspectives, the narrative unfolds in a way that adds depth and tension to the story, making the final reveal all the more satisfying. I went into this one completely blind, and honestly, I recommend you do the same. It’s a 5-star read that will keep you up late flipping pages!

If you’re ready for suspense, twists at every turn, lies, deceptions and manipulation, have I got a book for you. Told in multiple POVs, you’ll get bits and pieces of the story from different characters but still wonder who is telling the real story.

A family goes missing without a trace. The town left to assume the worst. For fifteen years no one really knows what happened, just stories and speculations. During the probate hearing of the family magnate, in walks one of the missing family members. Where has she been? Was she responsible for what happened? The remaining family members and those close to it have been keeping secrets as to their part in what happened all those years before. Who? What? When? Where? Why? You may need to keep notes because the twists will keep coming to the end. Will you be clever enough to unravel the mystery of that fateful day?

I discovered Darby Kane with her last book, What the Wife Knew, and I’m glad I did. This was a hard book to put down. I reluctantly tried, as there was a list of things needing to be done, but I just found it back in my hands. She is definitely an author I will be keeping my eye on. Such a Clever Girl is not to be missed.


Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoy all of Darby Kane’s books but this one took awhile to get into. I finished it but it wasn’t as readable as all her other books. Thanks for accepting my honest review and the ARC.

The Tanner Family disappeared without a trace years ago. When the patriarch of the family dies, more questions come to light. Who was there that fateful day in the house when they disappeared? Are they alive or dead? Darby Kane weaves a delightful mystery!

Books featuring multiple POVs that are seamlessly executed and effortless to follow are my favorite. This book delivers on that promise. With each POV shift, the narrative unfolds with bite-sized cliffhangers, propelling the reader to the next page turn, only to encounter an even more captivating cliffhanger, repeating the cycle.

Everyone assumes the Tanner family was violently murdered 15 years ago. However, upon the death of the family patriarch, Aubrey (the Tanner daughter) reappears in town leaving many questions unanswered and secrets left to be unturned.

I so wanted to enjoy this book, but it just did not do it for me. My number one critique is that I found the characters so incredibly confusing. It was probably 40% through the book before I felt like I had a grasp on who was who and what their role was in the book. Additionally, I felt most of the characters I either didn't like or didn't know enough about to even care about them. Some of the twists were great and truly shocking. However, I felt like most of them (and the ultimate perpetrator) I was able to easily and predict around the halfway point.

Overall I would give this 2.5/5.

this one was okay and not what i thought. I expected more when I read Kane. I have all her books on my shelf. I won’t be getting this one

I was super excited about receiving this title since i really enjoyed pretty little wife by this author, but I wasn’t impressed with this one. The writing was hard to keep up with. I got lost a handful of times, ran into some just awkward/cheesy writing that was unnecessary (using “nah” in a sentence..), and never found myself excited to continue on with the story. I think what I liked most was the setting in new york during fall. It pushed the creepy, eerie, fall vibes and I love those so that was what kept me going.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Thank you NG & Darby Kane
-Such A Clever Girl-

I LOVE books with multiple POVs done in a way that’s easy to understand and follow. This book has that.

Little cliff hangers and then you’re at another pov page turning to get to the previous cliff hanger only to be left on an even bigger one on the current one AND repeat lol.

“Like before, I ripped the top off the envelope and slid the postcard out. {Do not trust her}”

Wooooheeee this book is good. Twists, turns and calculated plots.

This is an excellent well thought out story. Written with intention. This book has an eerie atmospheric secrecy feel (If this doesn’t make sense idk what to say because it makes sense in my head)

You don’t expect who’s doing what & then you spiral down a rabbit hole of “oh my god what?”

If you want a wild ride with constant holy **** moments, read this.

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7803382043

I enjoyed Darby Kane's previous books, so I was excited to read Such a Clever Girl. The spooky setting and the even spookier missing family was such a good setup, but the story itself fell flat for me. I struggle with multiple POVs, and this is a great example of why. Three of the women's voices sounded so similar and I kept having to remind myself of their ages and relations to the Tanner family. Additionally, the first 20% or so of the plot was just the characters being worried and referring ominously to events in the past. I get that this is supposed to create tension, but it was too much mystery without any clues to pull in the reader.

Darby Kane is a must read author for me. I love her twisty mind and how she takes pieces from seemingly different puzzles but always makes them fit so perfectly together.
Such a Clever Girl is totally unique for Kane but still fits the bill!
Filled with unlikeable characters, mysterious events and potential deaths from 15 years ago, and so much more, Such a Clever Girl is a fast-paced novel that kept me guessing and page flipping. With so many despicable people and so much money at stake, it was hard to know who to trust and what really happened all those years ago when the Tanners went missing. I loved Aubrey's dramatic reemergence, overall mysteriousness, and her badass /don't give a flip persona. I also liked that Marni, Hannah, and Stella were frenemies but still sort of had each other's backs (maybe?) and the drama that kept them together (and apart!).
I didn't totally understand why the novel takes place in Sleepy Hollow. For such an infamous and iconic setting, I didn't think it actually added much to the story and I kept waiting for a ghost plot line or a headless horseman that never came. But overall - Secrets and money and dead patriarchs playing games - what more could you want?!
Definitely a fun one and I totally get why everyone at The Pulse all drops everything to grab Kane's new release each year! Can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Darby Kane delivers another gripping thriller with Such a Clever Girl. The story kicks off with Aubrey Tanner—the only survivor of a family that mysteriously vanished 15 years ago—returning to her hometown. Her silence and secrets stir up old suspicions, and three women with ties to the past find themselves tangled in the mystery.

It’s dark, twisty, and full of morally messy characters. Kane’s writing is sharp, and the tension never lets up. My favorite part? The way Aubrey weaponizes her trauma—quietly, cleverly, and with just enough menace to keep everyone guessing. If you love thrillers with clever women, buried secrets, and a final twist that hits hard, this one’s for you.