I have not read many True Crime books in my life. However, every time I did, it has always been very satisfying (I cannot really use the word “enjoy” with these books).

In addition, I find it quite complicated to review a “True Crime” book. You have to keep in mind that you are dealing with a real, unlawful act, with a lot of angriness for the crime committed and a lot of pain and sadness on the side of the victim’s family. But somehow for all of this, True Crime books are also fascinating. But we should always be very, very respectful.

“We Thought We Knew you” tells the story of the murder of Mary Yoder, which took place in 2015.
She worked with her husband, Bill, as a chiropractic in the city of Utica (N.Y.). They had three children: Liana, Adam and Tamryn.

Mary Yoder was the glue that stuck her family together. Everyone remembers her as a friendly, open person who always tried to help people in her community. Even if a patient did not have enough money for the treatment they needed, Mary thought the most important thing was that the patient received the treatment. Money came second.

However, from one moment to the next, Mary felt ill at her clinic. She went home that evening, and two days later she died after having suffered a lot of pain and having fought very hard for her life.

Her family could not understand what had happened to Mary. Her health was good (for someone who is 60 years old) and she was always trying to eat healthy and be fit.

An even greater shock came when the investigators told the family that possibly Mary died of poisoning.

Later on, it was an anonymous letter which gave the police founded suspicions about the possible killer. It seemed to be that it was the killer who sent the letter!!

FAMILY BACKGROUND

From here, the story develops in a very organized way. We learn about the story of Mary and Bill even before they meet each other. Then, we hear about their son and daughters, their relationships, specially the one of Adam and the other major figure in this sad story, Kaitlyn Conley.

Adam and Kaitlyn had a very tempestuous and unhealthy relationship. For years she had been Adam’s on-and-off girlfriend. Their story was one full of lies and infidelities.

Kaitlyn was working part-time as a receptionist in Bill and Mary’s clinic while attending school. Mary loved Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn loved her. But when things were in the way of Kaitlyn, she simply got rid of them.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

A second and complementary part of the book is the investigation of the police department, as well as forensics, poison control experts and Computers specialists.

Furthermore, we are told about how the prosecutors build up the case and even how the trial, the judge and the jurors played a part in it. It really helped me get inside the case and to know about every single possible detail to understand (if it is possible to do so) what has driven the killer to commit such a horrendous crime.

THE NARRATOR

As I have listened to this book instead of reading it, I would like to mention the narrator’s name, Mr. Danny Campbell, who makes a terrific job at putting the voice to this horrible story.

The warmth in his voice, his intonation and clear speech added much more value to the already impressive investigative work done by the author, M. Willian Phelps.

FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT “we thought we knew you”

This book was hard to read. It is so every time you read about someone’s death, especially if that death has been caused by someone you saw every day for years, whom you considered part of the family, who you thought you knew.

However, I am happy I have read it. It is like a small homage to Mary Yoder, about whom I did not know anything prior to start listening to the book.

Mary seemed to be a nice person. She appeared to be a good wife for over thirty years, a kind mother, a warm grandmother and a sympathetic boss.

When the killer murdered her it not only took Mary away from her family, but away from the community that appreciated her.

Mary’s death destroyed her family, specially her son Allan who feels completely responsible for her death.

I must confess that after I had finished the book, I googled the names of the members of the Yoder family. I wanted to see their faces and I even heard some parts of the trial. This has only reinforced my initial opinion that the book is a very good tribute to Mary. Her story must be told, deserves to be told, so that no one could ever forget what happened to her.

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Thanks to the publisher, the author M. Willian Phelps and NetGalley for providing me with a free audiobook copy of “We Thought We Knew You” in exchange for an honest review.

This book was well written and an interesting case, though I do wish the author had told the story in a more linear fashion for those of us unfamiliar with the case. I can tell a lot of research went into writing this and appreciate how thorough the author is.
The narrator of the audio version sounded gave it a feel of someone hosting Dateline or Forensic files, which certainly added an element of suspense to the book. Unfortunately, I found it a bit stiff and would have preferred the story told by a narrator with a bit more range.
Many thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Firstly, thank you NetGalley, M. William Phelps and Kensington books for an ARC exchange for an honest review.
WE THOUGHT WE KNEW YOU is a non fiction novel about the murder of Mary Yoder. Prior to reading this book, I had never heard of Mary Yoder or her case. The book does somewhat give away the murderer from the start, so there was no real cliff hanging, edge of your seat ending for me. Still, in saying that, it is well written, enjoyable and fascinating. A great read for those who love reading about true crimes like myself.

Thank You to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for providing me with an audio ARC of We Thought We Knew You by M. William Phelps. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

While this was an interesting true crime story and perfectly laid out by M. William Phelps, I found myself detached throughout most of the narrative. As a reader of true crime this particular story lacked the WHOA factor. The author tended to show his hand (bias) throughout the narrative, so I realized there would be no big surprises or twists. The narration was clear, concise and was easy to follow all of the legal and technical aspects of the case. My heart went out to the Yoder family, to have lost their mother/ spouse in such an evil callous manner.
This was well written and well narrated.

This was a case I had never heard about before requesting the audiobook. While the case itself was interesting, it was apparent pretty early on who was going to be the culprit. Strangely, there doesn't seem to be any really good explanation for the poisoning. Is there ever, though? I would have enjoyed this more had it been a little shorter. I felt like I was hearing the same information over and over again. A little less of the minutia may have helped it move along. The author didn't miss a thing, though. I read these kind of books to try to understand the human condition a little better. This one was so very pointless and heartbreaking. A woman about to live her second half of life is cut short and she seemed to be one of the few people involved who truly hadn't hurt anyone.

BEWARE OF WHO YOU LET INTO YOUR LIFE - Audio
There are times that I read a book and others when I listen. This is one of those times that I listened. The author, narrator, and story blend well together to bring this terrifying tale to life. Through the descriptions and vocal inflections, I could “see” what was happening.
If you enjoy reading thrillers, mysteries, true crime, or psychological books, then you’ll enjoy this book. M. William Phelps has written a chilling book based on facts about a killer that understands the reasoning for murder.
If there is ever a hero in a murder case this one would be the homicide detective. We follow his lines of inquiry and watch how he builds his team to solve this case.
The book unfolds the drama within the Yoder family and the murder of a well-loved member of a community, Mary Yoder.
Catch: I rated this with 4 stars because the killer seemed to be “named” in the beginning, so the others who were considered “persons of interest” seem to be anti-climatic. With that said, I still wanted to know the why and how of Mary’s murder.
I found that the story jumped around and seemed that parts were duplicated. Then again, that could have been my attention span. 😉 Therefore, reading may make more sense. I do recommend this book and will look for more by this author.

This book is very interesting, but too long and information kept being repeated over and over again, which got boring. I think it would have been a far more enjoyable read/listen if it was shorter and the information condensed.

This was an excellent true crime book. I had never heard of this case before. The book is about a healthy 60 year old mom and chiropractor who suddenly dies. You can figure out early in the book who “did it” but the book is more about how the person did it, the person’s relationship to the family, and the investigation. The story was never slow and it kept my attention the whole time.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Pretty interesting read , 4.5 only major drawback is like many nonfiction books there was some things that were said several times, a few times i thought my book had backed itself up several chapters because of how similar it was in parts lol

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook of We Thought We Knew You by M. William Phelps.

The Bill and Mary Yoder run a thriving chiropractic business. They work hard, and are happy taking care of their patients, while spending time with their adult children as much as possible. But one day out of the blue, Mary comes home incredibly sick, and in a tremendous amount of pain. Considering how well she takes care of herself, it's not often that she gets so ill, and even more surprising when she suddenly passes away.

But investigations and an autopsy shows that perhaps beneath the surface, the Yoder's lives weren't as neat and simple as you would initially think. Also, Mary's death was most likely not the stomach flu.

I love true crime, but I don't always love true crime novels, I often get too waterlogged by all of the peripheral details and history of the main players. But this was done very well, keeping it accessible, and providing all of the information you need to stay fully captivated in the crime, while still allowing you to make your own conclusions. A very well done read.

In July 2015, Mary Yoder rushed home from work to be sick. After spending the evening in the bathroom, Mary felt no relief. Bill, Mary's husband made the decision to rush her to the hospital. With in a day of her admittance, Mary died.
An autopsy revealed that Mary died from colchicine poisoning. Deeming this suspicious, the police investigate. Narrowing down the suspects, the police had everyone on their radar. But the real killer will shock everyone.

When a reader chooses a True Crime novel, most of the time they know who the killer is and have a vague idea of the details. Reading the novel, gives us all the facts and a timeline to answer all the questions that lead us to pick the book up in the first place. I love this genre because of the facts.
We Thought We Knew You is so full of information on the death of Mary Yoder, that you will not be disappointed. Unfortunately I did feel alot of information was unnecessarily repeated throughout the book. It almost felt like coming back from commercial breaks.
I read this book as an audiobook. The narrator of the book has a voice very similiar to Casey Kasem's, which made it difficult to listen to when he swore. lol. His voice was a little too grandfathery for some of the language used, not the best fit. I also felt like he was reading the book in one tone, with not enough emotion.
The story itself was ok. A lot of timeline jumping and too much repetition. I was interested in Adams relationship with Kaitlyn, but I felt like it was pounded into me. I think the writer tried too hard to cast suspicion on everyone close to Mary, while making the real killer seem innocent. But then again, that was how the killers defense chose to spin it in court...
Its not my favorite True Crime book, but it was informative so I enjoyed it.

I am not so sure I can finish this audiobook. This true crime story is pretty interesting but only if its told within an hour and not 9 hours. Alot of the story in my opinion is filler and not needed.
Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced coy of this audiobook.
#WeThoughtWeKnewYouTantorAudio #NetGalley

Incredible. I am a true crime fan and can't believe I hadn't heard of this case. M. William Phelps really did some fantastic research and I appreciated the flashbacks to Adam's relationship with Katie and then flash forwards to the court hearings. Plus, the narrator was perfect for this book.

Mary and Bill are a married couple who own a chiropractor’s office. One day, Mary complains of being sick. “Just being sick” quickly turns into being violently ill, then death. What happened to Mary? Did someone kill her?
This story sounded promising but was quite lengthy (when it didn’t need to be), and did not keep my interest. However, I did finish it. At the same time, I would not recommend this book to read.

This true crime story centers around the death of Mary Yoder, a seemingly healthy woman who was admitted to the local ER after she became violently ill in 2015. Doctors were stymied and Yoder passed away not long after. An autopsy revealed that Yoder had been poisoned, and then police received a tip that Yoder’s husband, Bill, had poisoned his own mother. It might seem to be a pretty clear cut case of the husband did it, but police soon discover that Adam’s ex girlfriend worked with the Yoder’s and was even at Mary’s bedside as she lay dying. This is an explosive story of a small town crime that shocked everyone involved. The story was fascinating, but I had problems with the narrator, who seemed mechanical and wooden in his delivery

I usually absolutely love murder mysteries and true crimes and cannot put them down. However this one I just couldn’t deal with the narrator and so many parts of the story just seems not important and a filler to the story to make it longer than it needed. Was a struggle to get through. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.