2 ⭐️'s - Emma and her sisters, Juliette and Daphne find their parents murdered at home. No one is arrested for the crime, but Emma is the prime suspect. The girls become estranged, burdened with guilt and fear about what happened on the night their mother and father were shot. Over a decade later, Emma and her husband, Nathan, return to her childhood home. Emma's curiosity is reignited as they renovate the property, and she becomes obsessed with solving her parents' murders.

No One Can Know is a suspense drama that hits on common (and worn-out) tropes:
🏡 unsolved murder in a small town
🤐 wealthy family with secrets to hide

I wanted to enjoy this book but ended up forcing myself to get to the final page. The first half moved quickly and then stuttered to a complete halt. The story is overly drawn out and uses the unsolved murder of Emma's parents as a dangling carrot to get you to the last chapter. The same four or five "clues" are stated over and over but from different characters' points of view. The author tries to pass each omission off as new information, but the same detail was simply rephrased. This trick seemed like a poor attempt at creating suspense and left me bored, praying for the book to end. By the time the murder was solved, I didn't care about who did it or why. The tired and repetitive narrative extinguished any initial curiosity.

To add insult to injury, the characters could have been better developed and were extremely unlikeable. Emma was described as witty and smart but came across as frustratingly obtuse. The book had three different endings, which I think were supposed to be "twists." Unfortunately, most of the scenarios were entirely implausible, so when the final (and official) conclusion was unveiled, it was a letdown because of how OBVIOUS it was. The author spelled out the clues forty times, so it would be impossible to be surprised.

No One Can Know was a complete miss for me. The book would have had more impact as a novella and could have been chopped down to half the size. The tropes are exhausted, and this novel fails to bring a new perspective.

I received an advanced copy of No Can Know from NetGalley and the book's publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Really good twisted thriller! I very much enjoyed the plot, but the characters were a little forgettable. I never really found myself connecting with any of them, however, I was invested in the story and was speed reading all the way through to find out what really happened. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, think again!

I really liked this book in the beginning but toward the middle I struggled to keep reading it. I found it a little slow and boring. It was bad but definitely wasn’t one of my favorite thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley, Katelyn and Flatiron books for the ARC!

I enjoyed this book so much. There was childhood trauma and a bond between sisters that spans across 14 years of no contact. And way too many secrets to stay hidden. I felt the characters weren’t necessarily memorable but the plot and storyline was truly where the magic happened for me. Two murders turn into three and one main suspect the entire time. Emma having to prove herself throughout the story while protecting people who abandoned her years ago was what had me hooked.

I was hooked from the beginning. I had suspicions throughout and had to know how it was going to end. I may have guessed who the murdered was but the twists and turns it took to get there was truly entertaining. I loved how the story really unfolded in the flashbacks, I thought that was really unique. There were quite a few mysteries intertwined into one that I would definitely recommend to my thriller lover friends!

No One Can Known is a dual timeline thriller about three sisters who harbor secrets around the double murder of their parents years ago. Since the night of the murders, Emma, Daphne, and Juliette have been estranged for unclear reasons. Now, over ten years later Emma must return to the family home when she and her husband are both suddenly out of work and broke.

Returning to the small town of Arden Hills brings all kinds of stressors for Emma. She is forced to recall just how much she is uncertain of about the murders, and there is the not insignificant fact that to protect her sisters she told lies and was nearly convicted of the crimes. Many in town still believe she is guilty.

Alternating between past and present and the perspectives of all three sisters, I think this narrative gets a bit lost in the weeds and the long character list makes it confusing for even the most attentive reader. I was intrigued enough to keep reading, but I never felt compelled with this one. It is a middle of the road thriller with half baked character development in my opinion.

I have enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall in the past, so I'll probably read from her again but I think this is one you can skip.

Kate Alice Marshall has become an automatic add to cart author for me! This book is twisty and keeps you guessing the entire time. Think you have it all figured out? Guess again. The pace of this book was perfect and the characters were all well developed and super shady!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this great book!

I loved the alternating chapters between the 3 sisters, as well as the alternating timelines between current time and when the murders happened.

I also loved that it was constantly making me question things, be unsure, and wonder what happened. Excellent work!

This one really surprised me. Not only did we have a powerful and unique thriller, but the complexity of the characters and the intricacy of the twists were what really made this one so powerful.

Kate Alice Marshall's writing is always solid and digestible, and this one was no different. I loved the flawed and sometimes unlikeable protagonist and how it was hard to decipher who to root for along the way because we were awaiting remaining pieces of the puzzle. The twists came together so perfectly and kept me guessing right until the end.

The only caveat I had with this one was that the beginning was perfectly paced, the middle slowed and dragged a bit, and then the ending was twist-after-twist excitement that I flew through. I wish the twists had started to unravel slightly earlier on and come together more smoothly so the ending didn't feel so rushed. Overall, I'll be highly recommending this one to my followers, friends, and family.

“Three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count..”

A psychological thriller meets “who dunnit” mystery in this upcoming new release from Kate Alice Marshall. The secrets are a plenty in this dual timelines, multiple perspective thriller, and I enjoyed uncovering each detail chapter by chapter. When everyone seems guilty of something, you’ll be asking yourself who is telling the truth, as secrets are unveiled until the very end.

After enjoying her two most recent thrillers, I must say I’ve become a fan of Kate Alice Marshall. I quickly found myself invested in the intricate plot line, character behaviors, and well-paced writing. I’ll be recommending this thriller come release day in January!

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

After some financial difficulties, Emma and her husband are forced to move back to her hometown. But this isn't a cute romcom--they have to move into the same house her parents were brutally murdered in. What's more, Emma was the main suspect in the murder.

Secrets come spilling out as Emma reconnects with her sisters whom she hasn't seen since after the murder. While they still don't trust each other fully, they must depend on each other to figure out what actually happened to their parents.

With lots of twists and turns, No One Can Know is a story of secrets, sisterhood, and loyalty.

No One Can Know was absolutely amazing from start to finish. Perfect for a spooky fall read, I forced myself to stay up late into the night and devoured this book in one 4 hour sitting. From the little tidbits each sister dropped about one another, to the ever building suspense, the plot was perfectly paced. While I had my suspicions about who was involved in the overall murder, Kate Alice Marshall kept me second guessing myself right up until the very end. If you’re into suspenseful thrillers, I highly recommend giving this a read.

Thriller enthusiasts, give this a try!! “No One Can Know” gripped me from page one. The plot moves forward quickly and the suspense kept me intrigued. I finished this book in 24 hours! I thought that I knew who it was, but was shocked in the end. If you’re looking for a fast-pace, page-turner, look no further!

A great read!

3.75 Stars - I thought this book was pretty good! Not perfect, but overall I really enjoyed it. My main issue is that I didn't really connect to the 3 sisters or really any of the characters. I really think there could've been a little more detail on their relationships with each other throughout their childhood. Just in general there could've been more details from the past. This book is plot driven which I am good with in general, however I don't think the story was wild enough or fast paced enough to not have more character depth, if that makes sense. I did think I had the ending figured out and for a long time I was sure I did but the ending really pulled through for me with the twists. More of a domestic mystery vs a thriller for MOST of the book for those who are considering pre-ordering. I DO recommend it.

"No One Can Know" was a very interesting, well-written book. About halfway through, I was pretty certain that I had figured out the ending, because I am a super sleuth that picks up on small mentions throughout the book that most people would not. It's a book with a lot of twists and turns, with many people hiding things. I think readers who enjoy mysteries would really like this book. I definitely recommend it.

Another hit from Kate Alice Marshall. This is a pure old fashioned who dun it murder mystery. There are so many suspects, so many viable "bad guys" and the twists are one after another. It's like you find out one thing and a chapter later- nope - it's something else. The twists and turns kept me on my toes and in the end the final truth was satisfying. The three sisters go through a lot and the ending is what you want for them. I felt it started a little slow but then went into fast paced and hard to put down! Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Sinister sisters or virtuous victims? Told in dual timelines NO ONE CAN KNOW follows three sisters in the aftermath of their parents murder. The crime goes unsolved and the sisters become estranged until years later, the middle sister returns to the family home.

KATE ALICE MARSHALL explores familial loyalty, decades-long secrets, and the consequences of incomplete memories and assumptions. I enjoyed the slow burn with a twisty payoff in the last quarter of the book and think suspense fans will too!

Read this if:
A cold case hooks you every time
You enjoy small-town mysteries
Complicated sister dynamics draw you in

PUB DATE: January 23, 2024
RATING: 4/5

Many thanks to Flatiron for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good wild ride of a book! The character development, the storyline, the imagery was all so well done. There were twists and turns to keep me interested and I couldn’t wait to find out how it ended. Held my interest the entire time, I was satisfied with the ending, and plan to recommend this to my book club once published. SO good!

Yet another Kate Alice Marshall novel that kept me guessing all the way through. Three sisters. Parents murdered. So many lies. No one knows the truth.

No One Can Know is twisty and mind boggling in a way I very much enjoy in a thriller. This much like her other novels bounces between multiple characters perspectives and embraces multiple timelines.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books, as well as the author for this advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one! It was a good thriller where everyone has secrets and you don't really guess the ending. It got a little slow in the middle, but picked up towards the end.

I enjoyed my first Kate Alice Marshall novel. Plenty of guessing throughout!

Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment, her husband gets laid off, and Emma discovers she's pregnant―right as the bank account slips into the red.

That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset: her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: that the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, and that her parents died there.

Were murdered.

And that some people say Emma did it.

Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now, her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don’t want revealed. As Emma struggles to reconnect with her old family and hold together her new one, she begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again.