NO ONE CAN KNOW review

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🔸Anyone else read and enjoy WHAT LIES IN THE WOODS last year?! 🙋‍♀️ I knew I wanted to read the newest release by this author and I had hiiiiigh hopes I would love it just as much. Unfortunately I didn’t love it quiiiite as much.

🔸Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Emma’s parents were tragically murdered when she was a young girl. Her and two sisters have since drifted apart, but have always wondered who killed their parents. When Emma and her husband run into financial troubles, the only home they can afford to live in is her childhood home and the site of the murder. Living back in her old home is bringing up even more questions about what really happened the night of her parent’s death, and can Emma actually trust anyone in her life??

🔸I did this one on audio and I’d hiiiiighly recommend the audiobook. Honestly I was kinda bored by the story until about 60% into the book. I liked the ending (once we got to that point lol). I kept thinking the book was wrapping up but then it would go to the next chapter? It felt like the author couldn’t decide when to finally end the book. Overall, this was just an okay read. I’d recommend checking it out if you want a thriller audiobook buuuut it doesn’t compare to WHAT LIES IN THE WOODS imo.

🔸Thanks @macmillan.audio for my advanced copy of this one! It’s available now!

Kate Alice Marshall is turning into an auto-buy author for me when it comes to thrillers. I loved her debut with What Waits in the Woods, and I enjoyed this one just as much! The quick pace and page-turning details made it an enjoyable experience. Also, the narrator on the audiobook did a fantastic job, and I plan to seek out more audiobooks with this narrator.

4.5 rounded up
Emma, Daphine, and Juliette's parents were killed when they were younger. The town has always thought Emma had something to do with it. But Emma was never arrested for it.
Later, Emma gets married, and her husband, who has lost his job, wants to move back to the family home where her parents were killed.
Juliette and Emma are hiding something. Someone knows what happened to their parents. They were the oldest. They both hated their parents. Their parents were strict and wouldn't let them do anything or go anywhere or talk to boys. They both wanted them dead. Neither Juliette nor Emma were actually at home when the killing took place. But told they cops they all were in the tree house sleeping when their parents were killed
What are they hiding. They have been estranged since their parents were killed. Now it's time to reunite and find out what happened that night

I liked this book. The narration was done very well. The overall story kept me interested. At times I wished the story would have moved faster and gave more clues to what was going on.

Three estranged sister reuniting in the house where their parents were murdered!?! Sign me up, what a captivating premise and hook!

Told through dual timelines, this psychological thriller starts off with a bang and has great pacing! It does slow a tiny bit in the middle but it’s still quite absorbing!

It’s a whodunit that has an abundance of misdirections and I always relish in a well done unreliable narrator plot where I’m constantly trying to decipher who’s the liar and who to trust! I find these types of aspects in stories really help fully immerse the readers into the book and Marshall did a great job with that in this one! This was my first by her but it certainly won’t be my last!

Wow!! Another excellent book by this author! It started off with a bang and kept my attention throughout. It had drama, family lies, sisterly bonds, and so many thrills. Every corner gave you more twists. Don’t sleep on this one!

I feel pretty neutral about this book. The narrating was great. But I felt like I kept getting lost between the characters and time lines I couldn’t really remember who was who exactly. The twist in the end was unexpected and another part didn’t surprise me. Overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley!

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for an ALC of No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall! I really enjoyed the narration of this one - I think it helped get me through what I think is a slow-burn of a book that I'm not sure I would've enjoyed as much on paper or ebook. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Three sisters, two murders, and sooo many secrets.

I always enjoy the "secrets between family members" theme in thrillers - And this one kept it interesting. I guessed the ending pretty early on, because I felt like it was down to a couple of obvious choices. That being said, there were some "WHAT" moments that kept me engaged, as well as great narration. Looking forward to seeing what this author comes up with next!

I liked the story but I did find it a little hard to follow as an audio book. I think there should have been different voices for each character.

After Emma’s sisters discover the bodies of their parents murdered in their family home, they decide to part ways. Suspicion follows them wherever they go, but circumstances will eventually bring them back home and secrets will be exposed.
This story is told in dual timelines and has multiple points of view. Karissa Vacker does a great job narrating and differentiating the different points of view being told.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, Macmillan Publishing, and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC of this book. This is my own honest opinion.

No One Can Know
By Kate Alice Marshall
Pub date 23 Jan 2024

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillian.audio for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed What Lies in the Woods, so I was excited to get the audiobook for No One Can Know. This story is told in a Then/Now format as family secrets are revealed to Emma’s husband about an unsolved murder in her family. You can feel the strain between the sisters, but also the conviction of keeping what happened in the past under wraps. I was completely invested in what happened and learning the true story.

Another stellar narration by @karissavacker. It was a great listen and each of the characters we really well done. I’m always impressed by narrators who can do multiple POV.

4 stars

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Multiple points of view with three sisters, seeing them in the past and present as they deal with the murder of their parents. Secrets are exposed and suspicions begin to rise. I really wanted to love this book, but it felt at times that I had read this story before. Overall, it was still enjoyable and interesting to read.

OMG THESE PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE! I knew it was gonna be that guy as the bad guy! This was a wild read but I just kept yelling at them to actually talk to each other! And Emma's husband was just a total bag of dicks and got what he deserved (at least in fiction)! This was my 2nd book by Kate Alice Marshall and she is now on my always-read list!!

I don't know, with all theses thrillers you have to come with some shock/twist value. This just didn't do it for me. I was glad I was able to listen to the audio, because it may have been a DNF. It just wasn't my fave as far as thrillers go.

This my third book from Marshall and she just continues to surprise me with fantastic, binge-worthy reads each time. I’ve read both her adult fiction and young adult fiction, and truly think she has mastered meeting expectations for both.

Our main character, Emma, is clearly hiding secrets about her past and about her parents' deaths. But does she even know the truth behind some of the secrets she’s hiding? That’s what readers get to find out alongside Emma!

Marshall chooses to intricately reveal more and more about the night in question which gives readers a chance to guess at the truth before Emma can reach her own conclusions. On the flipside, readers are also experiencing the present day timeline with Emma where a series of troubling events unfold that may or may not have a connection to her past. Both timelines and the various perspectives we got on them aided in making this story well-rounded. I loved learning about both and determining where secondary characters played a part in each.

**4.5-stars**

No One Can Know is the most recent Adult release from beloved author, Kate Alice Marshall, who made her Adult Debut last January with What Lies in the Woods. I enjoyed that quite a bit, so have been anxiously awaiting this release. Happily, it didn't disappoint for a moment. I listened to the audiobook and yet again, Karissa Vacker's stellar narration knocked it out of the park.

In this story we meet Emma, who after her husband, Nathan, loses his job, and essentially their housing, has to come clean to him about that fact that she actually already owns a home. It has the potential to save them.

As you can imagine, he's surprised, but the truth is, Emma hasn't told him much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and that she's estranged from her two sisters, other than that, he knows nothing of the bloody and tragic events that shaped Emma's life.

The situation is that Emma owns her parent's home jointly with her sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. Without having much of a choice, and trust, Emma would do anything else if she could, they move in. Unfortunately, moving back to her hometown and into her family home means that Emma's going to have to come clean with Nathan about a few more things...

For example, like the fact that her parents were actually murdered in the home and many in the town believed that Emma was the one responsible. Emma's sudden presence comes as a shock to the town and yet again, rumors and speculations begin to swirl. She sort of figured that would happen though, that's why she stayed away for so long.

Her being back has another, more unexpected consequence. It lures her sisters back too. The three have never actually talked about what happened. Each of them has their own thoughts and secrets regarding that fateful night. But are their secrets continuing to put them in more danger? If Emma didn't do it, then who did? And will they ever be able to rekindle their once loving relationships?

I found this set-up so interesting. I liked Emma as a character from the start, but I hated her husband. Those feelings continued throughout and only helped to solidify my connection to the story. My ire towards Nathan alone, kept me glued to the pages. I felt bad for Emma, having lost her parents and then her sisters. It seemed unfair to me, as she seemed genuinely distraught by the events that had led to the family demise.

We eventually get the perspectives of Emma's sisters, Juliette, now going by J.J., and Daphne. While I didn't have the same level of feelings for them that I felt for Emma, I did find them interesting; messy, but interesting.

I loved getting the back-and-forth between the past and present. I always enjoy that, as the puzzle pieces are set in place. I love just sitting back and enjoying the ride as everything becomes clear. I will say, this one kept me guessing for way longer than I expected. I think Marshall did a great job of keeping enough possibilities in play to keep the Reader engaged and guessing. It wasn't quite clear until almost the very end.

I suspected everyone at one time or another. I also enjoyed how the pace steadily increased the further you got along, until it was pedal to the floor, full throttle, full speed ahead!

I'm really enjoying KAM in this Adult space. I also love her YA work, so it's clear to me, she'll be successful with whatever she chooses to write. She's just that good. If you haven't yet read Kate Alice Marshall, I feel like this could be a fun place to start. I definitely recommend this audiobook too, if that is an option for you. Karissa Vacker is one of my all-time favorite narrators and she definitely helped to bring this story to life.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was fantastic and certainly delivered on the tense family drama and deep dark secrets I was expecting. I can't wait to see what Marshall gives us next!

I think the narration for this book was great! It flowed well + the narrators did a fabulous job at conveying the story. Overall the story was a bit slow for me. I felt like we had to wait quite a while for the story to get interesting, I would recommend it to people who enjoy a slowe paced thriller.

This was the first book I have listened to by Katie Alice Marshall and I can't wait to read more of her books. I really enjoyed Karissa Vacker who narrated this book. I think she did a god job telling this story. This was such a great listen. This book will have you on the edge of your seat with all of the twists. You definitely have to pay attention as there are a lot of characters in this book. If you're looking for a really interesting thriller that will have you questioning everything then this book is for you. I would recommend this book.


Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this ARC for my honest opinion.

This book moves through various timelines and perspectives, which makes it compelling, especially as you try to guess who the killer is. The plot is engaging and the characters are interesting, though none of them are the least bit likable. I had absolutely no idea who the killer was until the very end. Overall a good read!

I was really excited to read this book after loving What Lies in the Woods but was a little let down. The story was really well written but I didn't have the connection with the main character that keeps you focused. The beginning and ending were really good but I found myself struggling to stay focused while listening to the audiobook through the middle of the story.