My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Amazon Publishing UK for the electronic copy.

I really enjoyed this book. It's well-written and cleverly constructed and the plot lines keep you guessing (wrongly) right up to the end.

Told from two points of view in two time periods by Casey and Rachel. Casey's story begins 20yrs ago when she begins work as a 19yr-old Nanny in Los Angeles to the Safran family. Her increasingly unhappy experiences there culminate in her being incarcerated on death row for the murder of the family, except for the baby.

Rachel is 39yrs-old and living in a small Cumbrian village. She works as a volunteer at the local kennels, is financially independent and has become involved with Sam. Walking her dog as usual one morning she happens upon a body in the woodland. She's struck down with fear - no, surely, this couldn't be happening again - she mustn't get involved - she runs.
The victim is Sam's estranged wife Anna so of course Rachel becomes the prime suspect. But some things just don't add-up and she asks her ex-husband Jeremy for help in determining who the real killer could be.
As they investigate they concentrate on people who are now close to her and some long-held secrets begin to emerge. Will the police really believe her?

Lots of twists in this story. I really enjoyed it.

A young woman, in her late teens, leaves the UK to work as a nanny in Hollywood and pursue her dream (or her mother's?) of acting and becoming a star. That dream soon turns out to be a nightmare as she has no free time and besides being the nanny she also has to clean, cook and do all other home chores. To top it all the lady of the house has severe mood swings and can be mean, as well as the little girl, aged 5, who seems much more mature than her age. The only perk is the little 8-month-old boy, initially cranky, finally sets in a rhythm. Maybe she was too naive to perceive what was going on, but the signals were all there - fights, explosions, drinking, till everything reaches its peak with the death of the couple and the little girl. The nanny and the baby were found hiding and she was later on accused and sentenced to life for the death of the family. She has a chance to appeal and gets released from prison for lack of proof, and returns to England, to live in the countryside under a different name. Then, it all happens again. When her life was starting to get to normal, her boyfriend's ex-wife turns up dead near her house and she is again treated as a person of interest. She fights with all her might to discover who the real killer is and why he/she has decided to expose her life and threaten her. The ending of this story is really unexpected and I enjoyed it. Bad things must stop happening!!!
I downloaded this most interesting and entertaining book for free from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

2.5 stars. Too much repetition of drama inducing tales, so I only read 40% and said enough. It was not stressful, but rather annoying how many times "Rachel" went over her dilemma and how this was the second time she had discovered a body and been charged for it, yet if anyone found out about the first time, her stupid actions this time would not be understood.
Everything was too over the top to make me care about any of the unlikable characters and I felt there are too many good books out there to spend any more time on this. Some will love it, but my patience is not there any longer for ones that are a waste of my time.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion .

'I Know You': 4⭐

(Unpaid Review: thank you to @netgalley, @clairemcgowan and the publishers for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review.)

Well, this was really good! An actual page-turner with a dual POV and some serious mystery surrounding the plot! Claire has this way of getting you gripped from the very first word she writes (yes, the title does count 🤪)! Marvellous! Can't wait to read more from her! Highly recommend!

When Rachel stumbles upon a body in the woods, she knows what she has to do: run. Get away. Do not be found at the scene. Last time, she didn't know, and she ended up accused of murder. But when this victim is identified as her boyfriend's estranged wife, Rachel realises she's already the prime suspect.
With mounting evidence against her, Rachel's only hope is to keep the truth about herself well hidden. Because twenty years ago she was someone else--Casey, a young nanny trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles. When the family she worked for were brutally murdered, all the evidence pointed to her and she went to prison. Back then, she narrowly escaped the death penalty and managed to free herself on appeal. Now she's fighting to save the life she's spent years piecing back together.
But with her behaviour raising suspicion and the police closing in, Rachel can't help wondering: Was her discovery in the woods really just an awful coincidence, or is someone framing her for murder? Someone who knows who she is, and wants revenge...
Gripping, incredibly tense and twisty with real emotional heart

Did not finish. The description was intriguing but I didn't feel the story or characters were compelling.

I enjoyed this book A LOT, it immediately grabbed me from the start and didn’t let me go until the last page! There is a puzzling double mystery and the story is told over two timelines - Casey in the early 2000s and Rachel in the present day. The dual timelines are connected with an intricate web of twists and secrets and everything was pulled together really well. The characters are a real strong bunch, they are all complex and it seems as though everyone is hiding something.

This was a great story, filled to the brim with suspense and leaving me feeling utterly compelled to just keep reading, even in the early hours!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed to read of a Claire McGowan novel and look forward to reading more from this author. This is a real page turner and had me guessing to the end. Interesting, addictive plot, good characters and well written make this an exciting read. This isn't your usual mystery read, as you will know quiet early on who did what, but it is all about characters and their motives. The characters are all well written, but I didn’t really like any of them. Even in the case of Rachel, I didn’t feel sympathetic towards her. Absolutely, it's a fast paced and twisty crime thriller. Highly recommended.

This is a new author for me and I was impressed. Great double mystery. She excels at building suspense! I don’t always like thrillers, but this one had a lot of substance and was a page-turner.

What a brilliant read! I didn't put this down, literally until the end. I loved Rachel's character and the story was excellent. Full of twists that I didn't expect. I'd highly recommend.

Claire McGowan is incredibly talented and deserves to be on the top of best sellers lists! I’m a big fan and was so excited to read I Know You. I’ve read over 100 psychological thrillers in the past year and I can confidently say this is one of the best I’ve read! I love the way the story is told from 2 different time periods of the main character’s life and I enjoyed watching her go through eerily similar experiences- being arrested for murder(s). The ending is absolutely perfect and is one I’ll forever remember.

This was a nicely crafted story that kept me engaged and up late into the night. It was a little bit of a slow burn which I really enjoyed. I didn't want this one to end!

This was good. It was a quick thriller with some gentle twists and turns, but it failed to pull me in. It seems like a good beach read thriller, nothing too deep.

Really enjoyed the twists and storyline. Would definitely recommend to any thriller lover. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy!

3.5 ⭐

I was in such a murder mystery mood from the middle of August until a couple a weeks ago - that was practically all I wanted to read. So I did.

But after about a dozen of them, I kind of started to wish I never had to read another thriller, ever again.

And that's when I got the ARC of I Know You. And - it still managed to grip me. Practically from the page one. The premise was really good. The first few chapters so intriguing. I really liked the writing. And we follow two timelines, which added a nice dynamic to the pacing.

Even the atmosphere – a murder mystery set in October, the body that was found in the woods… It all contributed and made this book a good choice for this time of year.

The story had a strong beginning, but unfortunately it started losing some of its gripping factor the more I got into the book. And the ending was - I don't know. Fine, I guess. There was nothing wrong with it, I just maybe expected a bit more.

There was one thing, though, that really annoyed me throughout the book, and that was the repetitiveness. Luckily, there were no many things we got told more than a couple of times. But, I lost count on how many times she mentioned she was only nineteen. At some point, it just became ridiculous.

Other than that, I Know You was a nice, engaging thriller that I’m sure many people would enjoy very much.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of I Know You by Claire McGowan in exchange for an honest review.

I love everything by Claire McGowan and her latest might be my favorite. From the very first page to the last, this book will keep you guessing and keep you turning page after page. Highly recommend all Claire McGowan books but especially I Know You!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

“What would you do if you found a dead body?” This is the first line of Claire McGowan’s latest book, I Know You, and I was instantaneously drawn in. So much so, that I could not put it down until the end. Such an intense, heart palpitating, edge of your seat read!

Rachel is a hermit and leads a very quiet isolated life. She lives in small cottage in the English country side with her beagle Brandy, spending her days volunteering at a local dog shelter. But suddenly Rachel’s, life is anything quiet as her past comes back to haunt her. The one she’s been secretly running and hiding from for over 20 years.

On an early morning dog walk Rachel discovers a dead body. She cannot believe this is happening again. It is a déjà vu to 20 years earlier. When Rachel, then Casey, moved to Los Angeles, as a 19 year old to Nanny for a wealthy movie producer David Safran, his mentally unstable wife, Abby and their two young children. From the get go, Casey’s life as a nanny for the Safran family was a living hell but Casey tried her hardest to survive her horrid days as a Nanny to 5 year old Madison and 8 month old Carson.

However, one fateful day Rachel and Carson return to the Safran residence only to discover Abby, David and Madison had been murdered. Of course Casey pled her innocence but was convicted of the triple murder and sentence to the death penalty. Fortunately Casey was introduced to the innocence project and after five years of incarceration, Casey was exonerated of her crimes. She fled back to England and changed her name to Rachel Caldwell. Thinking she would be able to keep her dark past hidden. She was successful until that fateful morning where she discovered the dead body. Rachel immediately became a suspect as the dead woman was identified as Rachel’s boyfriends estranged wife. Rachel knows she had nothing to do with her murder but with her checkered past and connection to the murder victim, no one is willing to listen. Rachel

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Claire McGowan and Amazon Publishing UK for my early readers copy in exchange for my honest review of I Know You published October 19th, 2021. Grab a copy to find out the fate of Rachel Caldwell.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author Claire McGowan.
Wow, I really enjoyed this thriller. I am a big fan of this genre and it is rare that I find a mystery that is so gripping from start to finish, with twists and reveals that aren't too predictable, with well thought out plot points and characters. I look forward to reading more from this author!
I really enjoyed the format, skipping back to the past (Casey) and the present (Rachel). It was incredibly involving and well developed, very well told. I stayed up until 2am to finish it and now I have to go to work!
Would highly recommend for fans of this genre.

This is the first book I have read by this author but will be looking for others as I throughly enjoyed this one.
The book is told in past/present time. It starts with Rachel finding a dead body in the woods but running away and not calling the police.
Through out the book you will find out she run and why she didn’t call anyone.
Normally I’m not bad at working out the whodunnit but this had so many twists that I was going from one person to another.
A really good read

(3.5 stars)
I Know You is a bit of a middling mystery from Claire McGowan. The plot centres around the old adage that lightening doesn't strike twice in the same place, but applies it to murder. Imagine being the first to find a body, twice: "you don't know what you'd do, if it wasn't the first dead body you had found." That's exactly what happens to the lead protagonist, whose point of view alternates between present day (as Rachel) and the past (as Casey).

When the first crime happens, Casey is a 19 year old British nanny, on her first assignment overseas. She's not really enjoying it: "For the first time it struck me as odd, hiring a teenage girl to live in your house and go to your crying baby, while you just stand there as if you've never heard the sound before." The culture shock of Los Angeles is also big, with the city largely reflected in a non-positive light dominated by howling coyotes and whirring police helicopters: "You can go one of two ways in Hollywood, they say, skeletal or obese, and I was haunted by the sight of Abby's ribs."

Of course that's nothing to the culture shock of prison which comes later: "if they treat you like a criminal, the only way to survive is to behave like one. Be sneaky, be strong, fight dirty." Casey is more likeable than Rachel, who is clearly changed by her experience of being convicted as a murderer. She's more clingy, more dependent, less self-reliant: "I had never quite been able to let my ex-husband go, even when the divorce was finalised. It was too addictive, the way he looked at me, as if I was pure and good." Rachel dodges life, and the internet, in order to avoid being confronted with her past: "I had started to log things away, feelings and impressions, in case I went to prison again."

The problems with this novel for me were that I didn't find the lead protagonist's actions credible or likely in either time period. You could smell the ending (and the perpetrator/rescuer) coming a mile away. Also, the driving line of the book seemed to be, get away with murder once, and you're more likely to do it again.