Awesome book! This is my second Miranda Smith book and I am definitely now a fan. She does not disappoint. This book keeps you coming back for more. You can't wait to see where the story is going next. I can't wait to read her next book.

This was a great thriller. The author did a wonderful job taking us back and forth between past and present and giving the reader just enough to leave us wanting more. Della “sees” new student Zoey for who she is, and it isn’t the sweet person Zoey appears to be. Or, is Della’s judgment clouded by her own history? Della’s brother is in prison for murdering several girls and Della thinks she sees the same violent attributes in Zoey but no one believes it. Great suspense, and highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for my copy.

Oh my gosh!! I absolutely loved this book! A nice slow burn thriller, both psychologically and domestically. Great characters that were so easy to empathize with and some I just wanted to thump!!!
I felt like I was literally a part of this book and found myself giving advice to characters or warning them! (Out loud of course)
I love Miranda’s style and pace. Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Captivating, plot twisting, twist and turns! Yes yes yes! I loved this book. The suspense, the trill, the mystery... it had it all.

Della’s story is very much one of trauma so if you have triggers of familial manipulation, you should probably steer clear of this book. I was more interested in the story of the mystery of Della’s childhood more than the comparison to what she believes to be a new threat to herself and her community. But without giving too much away, the story was basically over before it began in the present story line. You just kept reading and reading to make sure you were truly right in what you already knew to be true. I was almost expecting a much larger twist or reveal that never came.

When I first requested this book it was entitled “Good Girl” and I think I am glad the title was changed. The book really is about what Della had experienced before and “What she knows” (or think she knows) based on gut feelings. It was a fast read and not slow in it’s rhythm, easily switching between the past and the present. But in each situation, you also “know” because of the clear path you can see coming.


You can see my video review here:
https://youtu.be/aAz8JRp0YTY

I enjoyed this from the very first page. I hadn't been reading for a while and this broke the bad spell as I read it over a day. Look forward to Mirandas next novel.

I loved this one! Dual timelines and two unreliable narrators! The main character is a teacher who becomes obsessed with a student but not in the way you would think! Thrillers are hard to review since you do not want to spoil anything.

Family can be evil, a gripping and suspenseful read

The story begins with the words ‘My brother was thirteen the first time he tried to kill me’ so you know it’s going to be a creepy thriller. It's narrated by Della Mayfair the sibling of a psychopath.

Della is a loving wife and a dedicated high school teacher, she has hidden her past from everyone and everyday of her life tries to block it out of her mind but when a new student Zoey starts school, memories resurface from her past and threaten to turn her world upside down.

Instinctively Della knows there is something evil about Zoey. She gives Della the same stare Brian used to give her half of her childhood, she gets under her skin and she’s also caught her out on a lie. Is it her imagination or is Zoey just like her brother Brian?

How would you feel if nobody believed you? All the other teachers think Zoey is charming and don’t take Dell’s suspicions seriously that she may be dangerous.

Della knows this time she has to do something before it’s too late, she won’t let history repeat itself.

This story was gripping, it kept me engaged to the finish, it was suspenseful, intriguing and well written.

Now this.....💕
This is one good read that you must get to...
It's so completely engrossing and will keep you on edge throughout the story.
It's been a while since a book gave me goosebumps but this one sure did.....
Told over two timelines, we get a great insight into the back story and why Della reacts the way she does...
We meet new student Zoey who from the very first day seems somewhat off. Someone that has much more going on than anyone realises.
But teacher Della has her measure she believes, only no one will believe her...
No one believes Della when she tells them that she feels Zoey is trouble and needs to be watched.
She can't tell anyone how she knows, she just knows. With very little evidence, Della sets about proving that she's not going crazy...
But Zoey is clever and always manages to stay one step ahead of her.
I found this to be such a dark but clever read with such pysopathic behaviour that it would frighten you.
A storyline that filled me with great unease and we really get to see what pure evil is..
A brilliant read, so well worth your time...

This is one creepy book. It’s almost like a long ghost story told around the campfire. Della’s past with a monster of a brother seems to be catching up with her as she meets a newly transferred student. But is she evil or just a figment of Della’s guilt over her brother’s misdeeds. A page turner for sure! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc. In exchange I agreed to provide an honest review.

Two psychopaths for the price of one! Miranda Smith has written a deliciously dark thriller like no other you’ve read before. Della is a happily married teacher trying to put the past behind her. That is until the day Zoe shows up in her classroom. There is something in the girl’s eyes that reminds Della of her brother Brian, the brother who tried to kill her when she was only 13. When something happens at the school and Della finds out more details about the event, she is more convinced than ever that Zoe is evil. The story bounces back-and-forth between past and present, Della dealing with her brother Brian and then Zoe. All the characters in the story were so well developed. Della was great, I was frightened and frustrated right alongside her. Brian and Zoe were so manipulative, charming, and calculating. Most of the secondary characters were so maddening, they just did not want to believe Della. And if I’m being honest there were times in the book I started to doubt her myself. A very compelling tale of evil.

*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

What I know by Miranda Smith is a psychological thriller mixed with domestic noir. It is a dark story that will have you turning the pages. The story is told by Della, a teacher who has the lovely home life and a husband that loves her but Della lives her life attempting to be no one and noticed by no one. Her past still terrifies her now and as the story opens up we find out just why. The story is based on the present day for a few chapters then we go right back to Della being a child for 1 chapter and the story flows well. We discover her brother Brian was calculating, cold and a psychopath but she could ger no one to believe her until too late.
Present day Della has a new girl in her class, she immediately senses something about her isn't right and when Della receives a "story" after a particular event that happens to one of the students, she definitely feels the student is just like Brian. A clever , manipulating, sadistic person.Della realises she has to do something but what? The student is clever, sporty and cunning leaving Della again, out on a limb.No one believed her with Brian till it was too late and she was right, how can she make everyone believe her before it's again, too late?
A really original, dark and different read. I connected with Della straight away and was willing people to believe her, I think I got as frustrated as Della. The story was so twisted and full of suspense. The plot twist was so inexpected I just had to read on This book is definitely a must for psychological thriller fans, highly recommended.
Thanks to Bookouture Books-On-Tour for allowing Netgalley to give me a copy of the book for this blog tour. I have another favourite author too now!

I really enjoyed this - especially the parts from Delias past about Brian! Great psychological thriller with 2 for the price of 1! Delia recognises, straight away the behaviours of a psychopath having one for a brother certainly helped! The end knocked a star off for me, but it was a fantastic read!

𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰- 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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What I know grasp my attention from the first page. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book. What I Know would be the perfect Lifetime Movie thriller. It was dark and filled with so many secrets. I could not put this book down. The story is told from Della’s (the main character) perspective. The author takes us through Della’s childhood on how she survived her psychopath brother, to her present stage in life. I personally love this style of writing, I like to get a better understanding about characters from their past. The reason I gave the rating of 4.5, is halfway through the book I figured out the ending. I do read a lot of psychological thrillers, so It was pretty predictable for me. . I was very satisfied that I wasn’t left with any lingering questions. This is my first Miranda Smith book, I definitely plan to read more of her books in the future. Overall, would I recommend this to my friends: Yes!!! ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Wow!!

Evil made its presence felt

Who knew...

A good psychopathic thriller, hair raising in its premise, the writing sure added to the darkness that this book imbibed then exuded from its characters. What I knew was that author Miranda Smith did cause me some heebers-jeebers with the evil magic of her writing.

Evil hidden amongst us...

Who knew

What I knew was that Delia, a teacher, knew from personal experience that some had darkness in them and they never stopped. When the new girl Zoey entered her class, she raised some hackles. When students started getting hurt, Delia had to decide to find that boundary between past and present. Or were they intertwined.

Evil rose at times

Who knew...

What I knew was that my second book by this author was a fast read. I was captured pretty quickly from the first few lines. Darkness and impending danger along with an unhinged brain was subtly felt. I wasn't sure at times if I ought to believe the man character. She pulled me close yet threw me off with her convictions. The author kept me dancing on my toes in the entire book.

Evil did die, did it not?

Who knew...

What I knew was that the story might not have had major twists, but it did have slow reveals and a shocking end.

Evil would rise again

Who knew...

What I knew was that it was a fun breakfast read that got done before I had to warm my tea for the second time.

What I Know, formerly titled 'Good Girl', is a ominous and sinister mix of domestic noir and psychological suspense and is my second sortie into Miranda Smith's writing.

English teacher Della is concerned that Zoey, a new student in one of her classes, is showing psychopathic traits, although none of the other teaching staff appear to share her unease. But Della, knows what to look out for in terms of alarm bells as her apparently pleasant and genial teenage brother, himself a diagnosed psychopath, tried to kill her when he was just 13. Della has been on her guard ever since, and when a student is viciously attacked and Della is sent a detailed account of the crime, she’s more convinced than ever that Zoey has a terrible evil lurking inside of her.

What I Know is a distinctive and original thriller with plenty of grit to keep those who appreciate bleak storylines captivated. It is a deliciously dark read and I particularly liked that Miranda Smith gave me the fodder to ponder the nature of evil whilst also featuring a plethora of twists, turns and misdirection to keep me flipping the pages.

The author knows how to structure a book for maximum uneasiness, alternating the chapters between past and present and it worked brilliantly. Wonderfully addictive and engrossing, I read What I Know in one go. Miranda Smith's writing is assured, the tension is taut throughout, and the pace never flagged at all. A fantastic read from a brilliant author I'm delighted to have discovered.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

Well tickle me pink not just one psychopath but two. Both are manipulative, highly intelligent and full of superficial charm which they can turn on and off like a light switch. Both also are a major part in Della’s life, one is her brother and the second is now her student.

Narrated by Della in a dual timeline of past and present we learn of how having lived with her brother may be obscuring her judgement with new student Zoey. Or like before is she spotting what others are missing?

Now this may seem a bit odd but stick with me. I normally love female psychopaths, I do get a bit fed up with women generally being victims. So what really surprised me was that the better psychopath for me in this book was Brian. I found the past chapters had more depth and held my attention more and Brian was just so well drawn out I could picture the devious little murderer so clearly it was frighteningly good.

There is so much I loved about this book, the back and forth between the past and present narratives, Della’s strength of pushing against popular opinion and the use of her being a teacher opened up the whole high school clique narrative of using charm to gain popularity to cover misdoings.

This isn’t your standard thriller with twists and turns, no this is more than that, this is a genre defying study on how to spot a psychopath. What makes someone a victim? Della is alive but still very much a victim of her brother’s behaviour. Is Zoey like Brian or just a damaged teenage girl?

Della is a highschool English teacher, she's married to her childhood friend and lives a peaceful existence in Tennessee.
Her life was not as serene as it is today. She had the most traumatizing childhood. Her older brother, Brian, was a textbook psychopath, who later became a serial killer.
Today she is welcoming a new student in her classroom, Zoey.
From that very moment, Della had a bad feeling about her and soon started relating Zoey's behavior to that of her ultimate nemesis, Brian. She expresses her concerns to her colleagues, her husband, and even her therapist, but no one seemed to believe her.
is Della so unfortunate that she actually encountered two psychopaths in one lifetime? or is the traumatizing events in her childhood clouding her judgment, making her see criminals everywhere.

What I know, (Good girl), by Miranda Smith, is a gripping and elegant thriller. The story is narrated from the point of view of Della and revealed layer by layer in two timelines.
The writing is bewitching and the plot is cleverly woven to create an atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion through the entire book.
The characterization was brilliant! In my opinion, the author did a great job portraying Della in every aspect. She had a terrible past, not just because of the killings, but her parents often insinuated that all her worries were a form of sibling jealousy, and her attempting to get their attention. I felt connected with her and thought her internal struggle was natural and believable. Brian's gaslighting followed her to adulthood, making her self doubt and guilt while searching for evidence in both past and present, absolutely profound and genuine.

Many thanks to the author, Netgalley and Bookouture for my digital ARC. I'm definitely adding it to my favorites for this year.

For the most part, this was really good and intriguing. I really liked the past and present glimpses.

But, I found it to be a little far fetched at the end. I especially wasn’t a fan of the final confrontation. It seemed so anticlimactic.

I felt bad for Della, though. She had a rough life. And now, she was almost reliving her past. Part of me kinda hoped she wasn’t right. That maybe her past had made her crazy after all. Wouldn’t that be an exceptional twist?

So many parts were maddening. People in disbelief. Della’s mother acting like a complete idiot...

Overall, I enjoyed it. I’d have wanted a few minor changes, but still a good read.

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. My only complaint was that is was a tad bit predictable, but I enjoyed that there was never a dull moment. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.


4.5/5