3.5 stars!
Emma’s marriage is on the rocks after she finds out her husband’s been hiding secrets from her. However, she can’t say much as she has been doing the same. They are forced to move into her childhood home where her parents were murdered after their house deal falls through and she finds out she is pregnant. Emma and her sisters haven’t spoken in years, but her sudden return is stirring up the unsolved case of their parents’ death.

The last two books I have read by this author have been heavy on the outdoors setting, and this one was missing that! It kind of took away from the grittiness for me. I liked the dynamics between the sisters, but found the grand reveal to be meh. Emma’s relationship with her husband was very frustrating to read about, and then I was left wondering what purpose all of the background served. There were some serious moments of action and tension that made this a fun read for me!

A murder has never been solved and now one of the main suspects has returned to the scene of the crime. When Emma finds herself pregnant just as her husband finds himself unemployed, he suggests that they return to her family home while they figure out next steps. Emma has not been back there since her parents were murdered when she was a child. The town suspected she had something to do with it. She dreads the return to her hometown and facing a town that wasn't kind to her.

This is such a great mystery. Emma and her sisters all seem to have secrets. As a reader, it was fun to guess at what the true story was and who did what. Emma is a classic unreliable narrator. As she connects with various people in her past, we learn a little bit at a time. Once you think you have it all figured out, Marshall throws new information at you. I was entertained throughout as I wanted to find out how it would all play out in the end.

Karissa Vacker does a wonderful job bringing Emma to life. Her storytelling pulls you in and has you finding things to do so you can keep listening. I binged this audiobook in just one day.

If you enjoyed What Lies in the Woods, you will enjoy this next book from Marshall. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a solid mystery suspense novel to binge.

Happy Publication Day!

It's always fun when you stumble upon a new book/author and end up really enjoying it! That being said, I have not read anything by Kate Alice Marshall. I hear her first book was quite loved, but I wouldn't know. Sometimes that helps when you have ZERO expectations. I had nothing to compare this book to (other than every other mystery I've read ;)). The premise was nothing groundbreaking, but it was effectively written and carried my attention throughout. I have been REALLY enjoying my 2024 books so far and hope this trend continues!

Personally, I quite enjoyed that the plot and premise were somewhat familiar. I typically love dual-timeline stories, and in <i>No One Can Know</i>, we got multiple perspectives of sisters Juliet/JJ, Daphne, and Emma spanning between past and present. Having multiple murders to solve in each timeline was interesting because it meant there were more possibilities to take the plot. Not knowing how much the past murders were closely connected to the present murders had me wondering if it would be the same culprit both times. I think it really helps move the story along as we discover that this particular story is more complicated than that. I thought parts of it could have been predictable, but ended up being surprising instead. I was totally convinced that Emma would be spending a lot more time with first love/potential bad boy, Gabriel, and end up leaving her husband for him. I was not prepared for what happened instead. Along with the role of the past cops, I was pleasantly surprised that many characters did not fall into the trap of being tired, predictable, stereotypical, or wooden. The relationships were complex and it was fun to learn about the many connections, past and present.

I mainly enjoyed the fact that I went into this audiobook thinking it would be one type of story, but it actually turned into something completely different. I love this genre so much but when every story ends up the same, it can get quite boring. While this story wasn't completely groundbreaking or unique, it was well told and kept me on my toes the whole time. I will be looking out for the next book by this author.

P.s. thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved her previous book and I personally thought that she couldn't beat it. I was wrong. This book was phenomenal! It was fast paced, well thought out characters, dual timeline - everything that one would want in a solid thriller. I loved each character's back story and how they all seemed to have a motive. Loved it!!!

I was a fan of Kate Alice Marshall's previous novel: What Lies in the Woods and gave that 3.5 stars.

This one is also a 3.5 star read for me. I liked the story overall and some of the twists were really good.

Would recommend if you love:
-family D.R.A.M.A.
-super creepy setting
-decades old mystery

I liked the creepy vibes from being in an old, abandoned house where two people were murdered. There was a big mystery aspect to this story: who killed their parents, what kind of shady shit was going on? Etc. Overall it was a good story but for me personally not a standout and likely won't stick with me for long.

As always, I think Karissa Vacker did a good job with this one keeping me engaged in the story.

I absolutely LOVED this whodunit mystery from Kate Alice Marshall! The premise was great - three daughters are left alone when their parents are both brutally murdered and 14 years later the case remains unsolved.... SOUNDS GOOD. I really loved that Emma and fiance came back to her hometown and all that ensued. I thought the author did a great job at making each character a little bit unreliable because it kept you guessing at who killed the parents and then later on Nathan! The ending did feel a bit mismatched and like it could've gone 5 different ways, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I really liked the narration and thought it was a really fast paced thriller!

I found this mystery to be really good and I liked reading about the three sisters, Emma, Juliette, and Daphne. Their parents were murdered fourteen years previous to the start of the novel. The girls haven't talked in those years, so when I read it I thought it was a sibling rivalry or something, but as it turns out the know things that "no one can know." I don't want to say why they didn't talk, but at one point they all decided to meet together at the house their parents were killed in and discuss the secrets they carry.

Each sister has her own POV in a NOW and THEN timeline. Now Emma is pregnant, her husband loses his job, and that is why they moved back in to the girls' parents' home. I thought the NOW and THEN POV's worked really well and they were easy to keep track of who had said what. I wasn't sure who had killed their parents until the reveal, but it wasn't what I expected...an effective twist.

I listened to the audiobook and I found the narrator to be very good and her voice of the three girls distinct which helped me to keep track of their stories since I didn't have any print to read along as it comes out on the 23rd and I read it the 22nd. I was glad the narrator was so clear and easy to listen to as well.

Happy publication to Kate Alice Marshall and No One Can Know! Thank you to Kate Alice Marshall , Macmillan Audio ( @macmillan.audio ), and NetGalley ( @netgalley ) for allowing me to read an ALC (Advanced Listener Copy) for an honest review!

Today, (Tuesday, January 23, 2024) is the pub date for No One Can Know. The narrator for this audiobook is Karissa Vacker.

Three sisters with a convoluted past and loyal but complicated relationship with one another are reunited at their home place in Arden Hills.

Emma, Daphne, and Juliette (JJ), were set to abnormally high standards and felt the need to be perfect for their parents. In moments of anger, each wished that their parents were dead for various reasons. That is until they are actually found dead in their family house. Each daughter shares an alibi with police but the question of who killed their parents still lingers. Emma and Daphne are put into foster care and JJ estranges herself from her sisters.

Emma marries Nate and finds herself pregnant mother same week she learns that Nate has lost his job. Nate suggests that they move into her family home in Arden Hill to save money. Emma feels uneasy about the decision but can’t dispute the decision due to lack of finances. When they move in, Emma shares the story about her parent’s murder with Nate and how the community pinned her to be the murderer. At that time, Pandora’s box opens. A web of secrets is revealed and someone is murdered for digging into the past and uncovering evidence that may contain the truth. The death forced the sisters to reunite and work together.

A twisty, turny, thriller that will keep you guessing whodunnit! With every new release of information, you think you have both crimes solved and then another clue drops that disproves your theories. This read kept me guessing until the very end. I definitely recommend reading No One Can Know if you enjoy thrillers.

In No One Can Know, a woman is sent back to the scene of the traumatic murder of her parents over a decade earlier. Thanks to her trash husband, Emma has no choice but to move back to her hometown and into the house where everyone believes she murdered her parents. The premise is intriguing and I liked how the author sprinkled in the less talked-about results of trauma.

However, I felt uncomfortable with the portrayal of one character and the twist, which would be a spoiler to mention in this review. It is regarding what I felt was a neurodivergent-coded character. That was my interpretation, and others might wholly disagree (which I hope they do because I would rather be wrong about this). But because of this, I left the book feeling uneasy, and not in the way I believe the author intended.

Mini synopsis: a bad financial decision leads Emma & her husband to move into her old childhood home where her parents were killed. Unable to sell the home, they must live there & deal with the mess that comes. All the while, the real reason her parents were married comes out.

The best parts of this book are the atmosphere & the setup. I loved the creepy old house & the mysterious past. Gave lots of The Only One Left vibes (which I love!) all the secrets really added to the tension, plus all the sister drama and unlikable characters was great! I was eating it up! But I think where I fell off is the ending? I don’t think I understood exactly what happened. That’s probably a me thing, but I felt like too many characters came into play & their roles got foggy for me 🤷🏻‍♀️ I enjoyed this way more than her book from last year so I think she’s on the right track for me so hopefully I’ll love her next one!

An absolutely enthralling and engaging thriller!

Three sisters find both their mom and dad shot in their family home leading investigators to focus on one of the sisters, shattering their carefully created lives.

14 years later, the sisters are back at the family home when someone else is shot. And the murder weapon was the same that killed the girls parents so many years earlier.

Did one of the sisters kill their parents? And if so, why? Or is there someone out there determined to make the sisters look guilty?

Lies, betrayal, and long held secrets come to light as the story is told by all three sisters in the past and present.

As always, Karissa Vacker brilliantly brings the characters to life through her narration. It’s because of masterful voice actors like her that I am obsessed with audiobooks!

No One Can Know kept me intrigued, thrilled, and engaged as events slowly unfolded in this five star read! Kate Alice Marshall has now blown me away twice through her adult psychological thrillers! I can’t wait to see what she has in store for her readers next!

Thank you NetGalley, Kate Alice Marshall, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. This will be available January 23rd so make sure to go get your copy!

I was hooked from the beginning. Really good plot that kept me interested throughout the entire book!
Different pov & dual timeline
One of the three sisters returns to her old town where her parents were killed & she was accused of killing them! The old murder case is brought up again.

Very good, very twisty. Twist after twist after twist towards the end.

4.5 ⭐️

You never get over the death of your parents, especially when you’re the one who the entire town thinks did it. Yet, fourteen years after Emma has left her family home to free herself of the life she left behind, she finds she and her husband have nowhere else to turn when her husband gets laid off as they are putting down the mortgage on a house. Returning home, means the old wounds crack open and Emma’s need to figure out what really happened that night so she can prove her innocence before her baby is due. She doesn’t want her child hearing rumors of her mother’s possible past.

There are so many things going on in this book, sisters who don’t talk to each other, noisy neighbors, shady sheriffs and local PD, and secrets abounding. I have not read any of Ms. Marshall’s other books, but if they are as well throughout as this one, then I can see why she has such a following. I love a good murder mystery which can keep me on the edge of my seat until the final pages. It is complex and dives into a dysfunctional family which looks perfect on the outside but broken and unstable on the inside. It feels as though that’s why the author wrote Nate, the main character’s husband, the way she did. I think that’s where I ended up giving this book a 4* instead of 5*. With everything else going on, I am not sure it was incredibly necessary. It would have actually been really great to have Nate be a really supportive husband who was an antithesis to everything she had in her past. However, he ends up being just another person who is out for themself instead.

This was an intriguing listen for me. The narration was superb and kept me pulled into the story the whole time. I really feel like the narrator helped elevate the book. The book uses a mix of different POV chapters as well as chapters that take place both in the past and present. The plot wasn't super predictable although I don't read a ton of thrillers so it may be different for those who do. I felt very satisfied with how everything unfolded and how the author wrapped the book up. I would definitely recommend for those who enjoy audiobooks and/or thrillers.

DNF I did not finish this book, was not a fan of the audiobook. I did not enjoy the portion I listened to.

I previously enjoyed Marshall’s last book What Lies in the Woods so I was thrilled to get this ARC and thought this was a solid follow-up! There were multiple POVs and timelines so it was a bit of a challenge to keep everything straight but the payoff was worth it. I ended up listening to the audiobook and that helped to follow the intricate storyline. I binged it one day! Karissa Vacker is an excellent narrator and one of my favorites! Highly recommend if you enjoy thrillers with complex and compelling characters, family secrets and unpredictable twists and turns.

3 ⭐️

This was an okay book. Not my favorite, but not also not bad.

The first half was a little too slow for me. I felt like I was given so much information and ended up having so many questions that it was hard to keep track of. The second half got more interesting once I started to get some answers and things were making more sense. But the end was a little too twisty for me. It felt like the author wanted to put each and every possibility in there before revealing what really happened. It took away from the actual ending.

I also wish I could’ve connected with the characters more. I felt like there wasn’t enough depth to any of them so I didn’t find myself interested in their story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

4-4.5 stars!

This book got me out of a reading slump and I would definitely recommend to anyone. I liked it even better than What Lies in the Woods. Kate Alice Marshall immediately draws you in with this one and reveals just enough information to keep you on the edge of your seat, throws in the twists when you need them, and ties everything together with a satisfying ending. It is a great domestic thriller.

Emma and Nathan end up in Emma's childhood home after he loses his job and they have nowhere to go. She is also pregnant and they need to put some roots down. She hasn't revealed much to Nathan about her past, so she has to reveal to him that her parents aren't just dead--they were actually murdered and she was (is) a suspect. He takes this in stride and they move in, but he soon realizes there is so much he doesn't know about her, including Emma's tense relationship with her estranged sisters Juliet and Daphne and exactly what went on all those years ago.

The story is narrated in the past and present by the three sisters. We open with them finding the dead bodies of their parents and solidifying their story. There are layers to the lives they had as children and after their parents died. In the present, Emma is trying to escape the past but when someone else turns up dead, she realizes that just isn't possible. The sisters are bonded through tragedy but separated by secrets. Each think they know what happened, but ultimately, we find out they were all wrong and maybe all kept a little something to themselves.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Kate’s last book What Lies in the Woods so was elated to receive an advanced audio of No One Can Know.

Three sisters, two murders and a lot of questions. Julia, Emma and Daphne are three sisters with a lot of secrets about the night their parents were murdered. Despite not really liking or connecting any of the characters - not one of these characters, I found myself anxiously not wanting to stop listening so I could find out who the hell killed these god-awful parents.

Not my favorite book I’ve read in a while but was decent enough to finish

Lots of mixed feelings about this book - it felt like this audiobook took FOREVER to get through. I loved “What Lies In The Woods”, but this one - NOT SO MUCH!

PROS:
Interesting premise. A terrible murder of both parents leaves three sisters on their own - they haven’t seen each other in 14 years and the house has sat abandoned.

Emma is the oldest and the police suspected her of the murder but never found any evidence. Emma never wanted to return to this town or this house.

Emma finds herself pregnant, her husband without a job and she is compelled to tell him the truth - about the house, the murder and her sisters. He insists that they live there at least until he finds another job.

CONS:
SO SLOW MOVING - I listened to this at a higher speed and still wished that I could get through this faster.

None of the characters are well developed. Even at the end I didn’t feel as though I understood these sisters and their estranged relationship.

So many secrets revealed between the sisters that twisted the storyline and left me confused.

Going back and forth from past to present just confuses the plot more. We try to understand the characters as children and then as adults.

Unbelievable progression of the plot left me waiting for the end which was hard to believe

I was disappointed in this one. Perhaps if I had read the physical book I would have enjoyed it more. I found myself wishing I could go back and re-listen to parts to try to find my place in the story but it was just too hard.

I would definitely try another book by this author, this one was just not for me as an audiobook.

I received the audiobook from the publisher and MacMillan audio through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to listen to and review this title.