Member Reviews

This book is a fast paced thriller that leaves you guessing many different times. I love that this one wasn’t a plot that was easy to figure out. The detectives in the story were great, and the ending was exactly what I wanted.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

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3.5 Stars!

Genre: 
Mystery, Psychological Thriller

Length: 
334 Pages

Overall Rating:
6 out of 10

Plot:
7 out of 10

Characterization:
6 out of 10

Primary Element:
6 out of 10 for its mystery

Writing Style:
7 out of 10

Part of a Series: 
No.

Highlighted Takeaway:
The portrayal of the complexities of the human mind and the behavior to which it can drive the worst and best of people.

What I Liked:
The storyline was based more on actions that were shades of gray. It showed that people aren't either good or bad; they are complicated beings who, for the most part, behave to their possible best in trying circumstances.

What I Didn’t Like:
The excessive use of the term 'revert back'. A pet peeve of mine, I have always been very annoyed that it's becoming acceptable to say 'reply back' and 'revert back' instead of just 'reply' and 'revert'.

Randall Brock was a difficult character to like. He had a lot going for him, but I would have liked to see him with just a tad more of a spine.

Who Should Read It:
Anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.

Who Should Avoid:
Anyone who can't tolerate gore - there is quite a bit of disturbing violence in I Know Everything that isn't always easy to digest.

Read It For:
An intriguing storyline that isn't too tarnished by some of it being predictable, a tale with different elements that come together well, and its liberal take on right v/s wrong.

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Oh my, this was such a marvellous, quality read!

I Know Everything by new-to-me author Matthew Farrell certainly grabbed my attention. It's not necessary to have read Farrell's first novel. (What Have You Done? published in 2018) to fully enjoy this one. I was thrown in from the get-go and I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough on my kindle to read more.

With great characterisation, the pacing was good throughout and there was no superfluous padding to distract.
This was a well written, researched and crafted thriller that had me reading well into the night.

The beauty of this book and the clincher for me was the psychological aspect behind the story. It kept things interesting and added a deeper element to the story. Clever, creative, and thoroughly enjoyable, I Know Everything is well worth a read!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

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Randall is working on a ground breaking cure for violent psychosis. His wife is found dead after what appears to be a car accident. Police investigations uncover evidence indicating she was murdered. Randall is visited by a mysterious man called Sam who points him in the direction of information which shatters the view of his marriage and the woman he thought he knew.
Susan, a single mother with two young children, struggles to reconcile life as a parent and everything police work entails. The pressure is on to solve the case before the killer claims his/her next victim.
Everyone has secrets but how many of are killers and/or justified in doing so?
The author has a great way with words eg location 140….that kind of dark makes the shadows seem even thicker……..the places with light seem safe………..its fake and you cant trust fake…it’s a trap. Simple enough words with the power to invoke images in my head. I could feel the mist swirling round my feet, felt safe in the light and then grabbed violently.
The opening pages had a dramatic effect and it took only a few lines to reel me in. This book has a very interesting twist/s and I thoroughly enjoyed being lured in the wrong direction.
If you love crime/mystery/psychological thrillers then you must put this on your list. A great book by an author to look out for!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

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Well hello Matthew Farrell! I love discovering new authors and knowing there are more of their books out there I have yet to read.

This was a dark and twisted thriller that I couldn’t put down. It was fast paced, action packed and kept me guessing from beginning to end.

Police investigator, Susan Adler is called out to a deadly car accident. The deceased is Amanda Brock, wife of Randall Brock, a well known psychiatrist. Upon first inspection, the crash seems to have been an accident. However, when a younger investigator points out something unusual at the scene and the medical examiner’s report shows Amanda was dead before the crash- things turn up a notch!

Randall Brock claims to have been at work at the time of his wife’s accident. In fact he has been completely swamped conducting an intense study with patients where he is trying to cure psychopathic behavior by forcing them to talk through their fantasies. Will his alibi hold up, or is Randall guilty of murdering his wife? After all, it’s always the husband...or is it someone else entirely. Perhaps his study with psychopaths has endangered the ones he loves the most.

If you love a crime fiction book that keeps you guessing- pick this one up now. This book was published August 6, 2019. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this one- it did not disappoint!

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So so good!! From the first to the last page, Farrell engages the reader in a twisty good read! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! This is the first book book I’ve read by Farrell and certainly won’t be the last! I’m going to have to (twist my arm 😉) go back and read his first book now because it looks like his third book is going combine characters from the two books .... at least I’m hoping 🤞🏻that’s where he’s taking us! Pretty please!? Can’t wait for his next one! This is one you definitely won’t want to miss!

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This was an enjoyable read. Some mystery and twists keep the reader interested. This is a book which I would recommend to others.

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Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this book.
I think this is one of my top five books of this summer. I really enjoyed reading it and cannot recommend it highly enough, especially as a summer thriller/beach read/vacation novel. I thought I had the twist figured out and then I was fooled at least twice. Despite figuring out the ending, it was only about 75% of the way through the book and I still wanted to keep reading incessantly to see what happened.

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The first few pages were a bit confusing. Who was this? What was happening? But then I got totally hooked on the story and just went along for the crazy, bumpy ride. Everything that seemed real - wasn't. When it appeared all the answers had been revealed - they hadn't. One twist after another until the shocking ending!

This book is very well written, with details slowly being revealed and a constant shifting of 'who is a suspect'. The characters are excellent and it's horrifying to learn the ones who were so likable and who seemed to have answers for everything, were in fact not what they appeared to be.

Great thriller!

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Police investigator, Susan Adler, is investigating a deadly car accident. Everything about the case looks like it was accidental, but as the medical examiner takes over it becomes clear that this was actually a murder. The victim was was the wealthy wife of Randall Brock, a local psychiatrist working to treat patients with brutal, disturbing instincts. The husband is always a suspect and in this case Randall is working his way into the slot of suspect number one.

Randall Brock knows he’s a suspect and should be honest with the police about his past, but there are some secrets he’s simply not willing to share. When he receives a visit from a stranger with information about his wife’s death, Randall is forced to confront the reality that their marriage wasn’t what he thought. There’s a price for this stranger to give Randall information. He must be willing to reveal dark secrets he’s kept hidden for years to this mysterious man. Secrets that could cost him everything.

Last year I read and enjoyed Farrell’s WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, so when I heard he was releasing a new book I knew I needed it on my radar. It’s always interesting to see what an author will come up with for their sophomore release, especially coming off of a solid debut. I was not disappointed with I KNOW EVERYTHING! Farrell was back with his easy-to-read style that hooks the reader on the storyline. I love that Farrell stuck with shorter chapters and played another successful game of deception with the reader.

I KNOW EVERYTHING focuses on Randall Brock, who has just lost his wife in a tragic car accident. He seems like everything a grieving husband should be on the surface, but investigator Susan Adler isn’t willing to accept things at face value. The cat and mouse type game between the two works to draw the reader into the story. Farrell wisely chooses to alternate the narratives between the two characters, which allows the reader to firsthand experience what Randall is going through, as well as ride along with the investigation.

The premise of this story seems obvious, but trust me when I say there is a lot more complexity to this book than what is shown at face value. I was able to guess one of the major twists to the story, however, it wasn’t the full answer to what happened to Randall’s wife. The truth was much more complex than I was expecting! It’s always rewarding to be able to guess something, but it’s also a great feeling to know the author completely deceived you. This book is the best of both worlds.

I KNOW EVERYTHING is perfect for readers looking for a crime fiction story that will keep them guessing. Be prepared to fall for red herrings and formulate conclusions that will ultimately be wrong!

Disclosure: A huge thank you to Amazon Publishing for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I really enjoyed this book! I have read Matthew Farrell before and he is a great writer, without too many spoilers- one of the main characters is a psychiatrist specializing in horrible murders. Just when his own wife’s murder is ready to be declared a suicide, new evidence comes to light and the female detective on the case goes after him. Lots of twists and turns- many I didn’t see coming. A hard book to put down! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the arc in exchange for my opinions.

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This book is fast and twisty! It’s been a while since I’ve read a psychological thriller so I enjoyed when certain events took me off-guard. Randall is an unreliable narrator and keeps his secrets close, which unfortunately makes him kind of a blank page. The other main character is Investigator Susan Adler and while her portrayal is nothing special, I liked her enough to root for her.

I’m not too sure about the medical aspects of the book and the way mental illness is discussed but I can’t say more without spoiling. What I didn’t like was the scenes of tortures and deaths of women shown so we feel sorry for the men in their lives. It just feels tiring at this point. Also the book ends with a reference to the author’s previous book which got me confused as I haven’t read it before. I think if readers are willing to overlook the science and just go for the ride it makes for an engrossing read!

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It took me a long time to get through this one. Nothing glaring is wrong with it, I just didn’t connect with the characters or the story.

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Well, this book took me all round the houses and back again! It delivered shock after shock, twist upon twist as it built up the layers of intrigue, leaving me reeling at the end.
We meet Dr Randall Brock and his partner Dr Peter Reems as they pioneer a new treatment for violent offenders. They are struggling with funding and credibility though but remain positive. Brock's wife Amanda is head of a very successful non-profit and he takes a rare night off to attend a gala honour ceremony being held for her. Sadly, Amanda is killed in a car accident on her way home from the do. Initially it looks like an accident but Police Investigator Susan Adler and her new partner Tommy Corolla notice a few anomalies and rule it suspicious. And so begins a cat and mouse game in which the finger points at the husband. But he swears his innocence. And then a stranger comes to him, saying he knows what happened. Not only that, but he also knows secrets; both Brock's and Amanda's. Can our investigating duo cut through the noise to figure things out in time? And what exactly is the stranger's motive...?
Oh My Days, who to trust? With so many secrets and lies and more than its fair share of duplicitous behaviour this book had me spinning around right from the get go and didn't let up on me until the very end. I did have one or two inklings along the way, one was way off and the other ran close to the mark but, for the majority, I was a bit confuzzled!
One thing though, and this did irk me a tad, there were so many classic psycho-thriller plot points included in this book - some pertinent, others thrown in for good measure, that I nearly started playing "psycho-thriller-bingo" half way through! This meant that the book, for me, was a bit busy and didn't give me the opportunity to try and beat the author at his own game and guess. It left me feeling a bit cheated as a reader as I think that he could have thinned them out a bit and still ended up with a cracking read.
That said, characterisation was good, a neat trick given the nature of some of the leads, pacing was also good throughout and there was no superfluous padding to distract. Storyline was compelling and was concluded satisfactorily. The end really did make up for the journey being a bit busy.
Oh, and I loved the little nod to Farrell's first book towards the end. If you haven't read it, it wont matter, but it did make me smile!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

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Randall didn't kill his wife Amanda but police investigator Susan Adler doesn't know that. Randall's got a back story that will wind out over the course of this twisty novel. He's being stalked by a man named Sam, who wants Randall to fess up to some things that he did. No spoilers. Susan Adler is a great character - she's trying to achieve work/life balance as the mom of twins and to train her new partner Tommy and she always maintains a sense of humor (and self). Randall's a psychologist but he's not the smartest person in the world about certain things (again, no spoilers). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a nice thriller for travel as it's got just enough red herrings to keep you guessing and reading.

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I love books like this one. A lot of unknowns, turns and surprises. Fast past thriller with good detective work and people with some mental disorders. Susan Adler and Randall Brock are likable characters. I couldn’t put this book down until I knew who killed who.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair review.

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In all fairness to this book, it is probably a better book than I am giving it credit for.

I have not liked the last 5 books I've read, which really, what are the odds on that? So I'm thinking it's me and not the books.

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I've been curious about Matthew Farrell ever since I heard a lot of acclaim for him after the release of his first novel, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE. Well, one thing I personally haven't done yet is read that book, but I plan to get to it soon - especially since he impressed me so much here with his second novel, I KNOW EVERYTHING.

I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers and I'm a little picky about them. This makes me sometimes cautious with books by authors that I've never read before. If I begin reading it and I start to see plot points or predictable story "twists" that I've seen repeatedly in other mysteries/thrillers, I can then quickly become bored and totally lose interest in the book. Then I give up on it and stop reading it.

There were a couple of times here when I thought those kinds of things were starting to happen and I was afraid the book was beginning to lose me. However...a big "however" here so let's go with big letters...

HOWEVER, things in the story DID (I really like big letters) quickly turn around and I was given some nice, very unexpected twists and turns that kept me interested in the story throughout the remainder of the book. Actually, "interested" is a bit of an understatement here. I got totally wrapped up in the story and found it to be VERY (there I go again) compelling.

Author Matthew Farrell has a lot of talent as a storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed reading I KNOW EVERYTHING and I'm definitely interested now in reading more by him.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair review.

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A good read which kept my interest right through. Well written with lots of unexpected twists.

I have not read Matthew Farrell's first book but I'll definitely be checking that out very soon.

A recommended read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a chilling mystery,thriller that had me on my toes and reminded me of the movie Shutter Island. Randall is a psychiatrist working on helping mentally ill patients overcome their urge to kill. What you don't expect is the doctor's own mental state and the twist and turns this novel takes as it works to unravel the truth. Expertly done with right amount of suspense and intrigue.

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