No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
Narrator: Karissa Vacker
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 1/23

"No One Can Know" by Kate Alice Marshall is a riveting psychological thriller that weaves a tale of family secrets, murder, and the consequences of keeping secrets. Marshall delivers a suspenseful narrative centered around Emma, a woman with a troubled past and estranged sisters.

The story unfolds as Emma faces a series of challenges – financial struggles, a surprise pregnancy, and pressure from her husband to deal with her parent's murder. Forced to confront her past, Emma decides to move back to her family's mansion, which she jointly owns with her sisters. As the sisters reunite, the story moves between past and present, exploring the events surrounding the night of the murders and the dangerous secrets the sisters have kept from the police and each other.

This book had me on the edge of my seat all the way to the end. We see the story from each sister’s POV, which is interesting because they are very different people, and they all saw different things in the days leading up to their parents' deaths. The writing is compelling and suspenseful, and I was eager to get to the end and uncover the truth.

I listened to this on audio, which I loved because Karissa Vacker is one of my favorites, and I feel like she really did an amazing job bringing this story to life.

While I enjoyed all the POVs and the timeline jumps at first, it started to detract from the story after a while. It would have been nice to spend more time with each sister to really get a feel for their personality and motives. They lacked depth, and it was hard to root for any of them to be innocent.

Overall, this was enjoyable and kept me guessing. Fans of psychological mysteries should definitely give this one a try. Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for my complimentary ALC.

Emma's husband doesn't know much about her past. They run into some financial trouble, and move back to the house she grew up in for a bit, which is still owned by Emma and her sisters, who she is mostly estranged from. One other thing - her parents were murdered in this house, and all of the girls were suspects, especially Emma.

Her sisters return to her life. People start to talk. Secrets start to come out. And it's one twist after another right up until the end!

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC, and to Flatiron for a physical ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook before it’s released! I have enjoyed this author in the past, so I was excited about a new release!! I love a plot that consists of family secrets, an unsolved double murder, an unreliable narrator and sibling drama! If that intrigues you, you’ll love this book!!! The beginning sucked me in, but the middle drug on a little much, but once the bow is tied up in the end, you totally understand the middle of the book!! I was pretty sure I knew who the murdered was, but I was pleasantly surprised in the end!! This author will continue to be on my “must read” list!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emma’s parents were murdered when she was sixteen, her two sisters and she came under suspicion, but the police couldn’t pin anything solid on them. Fast forward fourteen years later, Emma’s married, pregnant and in a financial pinch when her husband, Nathan, loses his job and their rental is kicking them out. They decide to move back to Emma’s family home. She hasn’t seen her two sisters in years, but they end up reuniting when Emma moves back. Living in the same small town stirs up the past and Emma wonders what really happened that night.

The story is told from the three POVs of Emma, Daphne, and Juliette, from the past and now. Emma didn’t fight the suspicion heaped on her since they couldn’t prove anything, but it’s been a dark shadow cast and she’s ready to be free of it, so she starts questioning the players from the past. New revelations make her question what she thought she knew. Emma’s poking around isn’t the safest course of action when others would like the past to stay buried.

No One Can Know was a page-turner! I rooted for Emma and her sisters after having such an awful childhood. Their parents wouldn’t win any parenting awards, so I wasn’t really sorry over their murder, just hopeful none of the past would drag them down again. I wanted to know the truth of what happened! I was happy to see a reconciliation between the sisters, and there was also second chance romance I was on board for. Another exciting mystery/thriller from Marshall!

Karissa Vacker is one of my favorite narrators. She has a smooth, sultry voice, and does well with both male and female characters. I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

He said, she said, he said, she said, he said. Oh. My. God. The dialogue in this book is insufferable. But that's the only thing I didn't like about this audiobook. Karissa Vacker does a wonderful job narrating this story, she is the only narrator. I was able to listen to the book on 2x without falling behind.

The story is captivating and the chapters are nice and short, making it a quick listen. I didn't connect with any of the characters, despite having a somewhat similar childhood, I'm just not an orphan. Originally, when planning this review, I had plans to note that it's predictable, but my guess was wrong! It isn't a predictable book, but you'll think you have it all figured out.

The end was shocking. I listened to the last couple of chapters wide-eyed and with goosebumps! There is a happy ending, which I think is nice in this genre. I like that the final chapters go over, in-depth, the pieces you are missing throughout the book. There are a lot of twists in these final chapters.

The only reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is because it didn't haunt me nor did it keep drawing me back in to find out what happened next until those final few chapters - which I finished quickly.

3.5🌟
It’s been fourteen years since Emma and her two sisters went their separate ways after the murders of their parents in the family home. The sisters discovered their bodies, leaving a cloud of suspicion that followed them everywhere. There was no choice but to leave.

Recent circumstances have now brought Emma and her husband back to her childhood home. And Emma’s two sisters aren’t far behind. As secrets of the past are exposed, her marriage and her connection with her sisters will be put to the test. Not every relationship will make it to the end.

Told in both present and past timelines from the perspective of each sister.

An overall engaging read for a premise that has seems to be overly recurring in many of my reads lately.

I listened to the audio and Karissa Vacker was amazing as always, giving each sister a distinct voice. But I do enjoy audios with multiple narrators and think that would have been the perfect addition to this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio 🎧

The book follows Emma as she returns to her childhood home after the death of both her parents.

The book goes back and forth between past and present following Emma, and her 2 sisters the night leading up to her parents death.

While I liked the story line, I felt it was a little drawn out and repetitive at times. I also had a hard time keeping up with all the characters.

I liked the narrator but I’m not a fan of the way she does men's voices. I think having an actual male narrate would help as all the men sounded the same and it was confusing at times.

No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall is about three sisters that hate their parents so much that they wish they were dead. One night while the Palmer sisters are sleeping in their tree house their parents are murdered. The youngest, Daphne at some point in the night wakes up to find the other 2 sisters gone. Emma is out with Gabriel that night wanting to run away from them, Juliette is at a party with other kids from the town. When they wake up the next morning they find their parents have been murdered. Daphne and Emma are put into the system while Juliette goes off to college. The sisters aren't close anymore until Emma returns to Arden Hills to live in the house where her parents were murdered. The police are on Emma's case again and begin to open up old wounds as she was the only sister that the police thinks did the killing. This is Kate Alice Marshall second Adult Fiction book and a writer to watch out for. If you are a fan of Claire Douglas, Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware then you will love No One Can Know. It's a page turner that you will not be able to put down. Thank you to both NetGalley and Flatrion Books for letting me listen to an advance copy of this book.

Really enjoyed this new thriller from Kate Alice Marshall. It is the first I have read by her and I really enjoyed her style and her writing.

Emma and her sisters have had secrets they've been hiding for 20 years. After suddenly moving back home to her childhood house that they left after walking in to find both her parents murdered, she seeks out answers to questions and ends up uncovering more than she bargained for.

The story is told from the points of view of all three sisters and the twists and turns and secret reveals help unwind the tragic story and uncover what really happened that night their parents were murdered. Loved the twists, loved the chapter-ending cliffhangers, and the narrator was great at switching between the characters.

No One Can Know
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was my first time with this Author. I really enjoyed the book. If you think you know the outcome, think again. Super good! Kate really connects you with the characters. It does have dual time lines, but it wasn't confusing at all. This book had all you wanted in a Who done it. I will definitely read more of Kate's books. Thank you NetGallery for the opportunity to read this great book!

Emma, Juliette, and Daphne have been estranged ever since their parents' murder 14 years ago. Now pregnant Emma and her recently laid off husband have no place to live, so they find themselves back in her childhood home where the murder occurred. The return to the house brings Emma a return to her past and her sisters back into her life. But who really killed their parents?

This was an okay book. I don't know if I really liked any of the characters, but I did feel sympathy for them (especially Emma) when it was revealed that their dad was an abusive piece of garbage. The story was a bit of a whirlwind there at the end, and I don't know if that was intentional or not, but it left my head spinning.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Karissa Vacker was a fine narrator, perfect for this story.

I was drawn into this story from the beginning. The scene was well set and I was vested in the characters. The novel was told in multiple viewpoints from each of the 3 sisters, going between the past and present, so the picture of what happened was painted in pieces. It was a 5 star book for me until the last few chapters. At that point, it went beyond what needed to be done. Everything was spelled out in minute details so that the reader would know everything that was done by everybody who had done it. The author had already given the impression of what happened, and I was content with how I thought things would wrap up. The fact that it just kept going made it annoying - like I was a child who couldn’t make inferences. It dropped down to 4 stars for me at that point.

I enjoyed the narrator of the book. Karissa Vacker always does a nice job with different voices that makes it easy to tell the characters apart. She also does a good job with pacing.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MacMillanAudio for an advanced audiobook copy of #NoOneCanKnow by #KateAliceMarshall in exchange for an honest review.
-4 stars

This was a really great book. I heard the audio version and I liked the narrator. Three sisters growing up with a tragedy separating them til something happened bringing them together. Does have twists and it was definitely well written.

This book revolves around three sisters whose parents were killed when they were young under mysterious circumstances and the crime is still unsolved. The sisters end up coming back together many years later and events occur that have them trying to find or share the truth..

What I liked:
- a twisty plot that kept me guessing
- characters that were reasonably likable
- fast paced
- two time lines

What didn't work for me
- I found the plot almost overly complicated
- it was difficult to follow the timeline and chain of events I think because of how complicated and overly twisted it was.

3.5 stars rounded up

Meh. Not a huge fan of the “but wait! There’s more!” ending.

Emma discovers she is pregnant right before her husband Nathan tells her that he has lost his job and with it their newly acquired mortgage and deposit. Broke, with nowhere else to go, they decide to live in Emma's family home that she inherited, along with her two now-estranged sisters Juliette and Daphne, after their parents' brutal murders. Emma has long been considered the prime suspect, and no one in the town is willing to forget that, even 14 years later. Can she clear her name once and for all?

There is a long, long setup to this novel. So much set up. So many mentions of secrets, "no one can know" and it just got tedious for me. Although it's in the third person, we are inside of Emma's head most of the time (also in Juliette's and Daphne's occasionally as well), so it felt odd that those secrets weren't revealed sooner. Once the twists started happening, the book got more interesting, but I never really warmed to or connected with any of the characters.
Trigger Warning--I don't have any triggers but this really got to me (view spoiler)

There are just too many twists at the end though, it gives the vibe that the author just couldn't figure out which direction to go so she threw in every possibility. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker, and while I don't generally vibe with her narration, this one was decent for the most part. Only a couple of instances of the low quiet whispering where I had to turn the volume way up even with my air pods.

This isn't bad necessarily, it just felt similar to so many other books out there these days.

I was immediately drawn into this story. I knew from the beginning that the truth was not what it appeared but I was totally thrown by the twists. I thought this was going one way and it veered in a direction I didn't expect. Karissa Vacker is an excellent narrator and really made the character come alive. Such a great read!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook.

What to expect in this book:

-Small town murder mystery
-Domestic thriller
-Family drama
-Estranged sisters
-Childhood trauma
-Alternating POV

Thoughts

I read this author's last book, What Lies in the Woods, with my book club and was so excited to see that she had a new domestic thriller coming out in 2024. Three sisters, Emma, Daphne, and Juliet live in the shadows of their parents murders in their teenage years. Emma has not told her husband much about her past and has not spoken to her sisters in years. Once they start to experience financial stress, Emma confesses that she does have on asset, her parents' house. However, by going back home, it means Emma is going to have to face not only the home that her parents were murdered in, but her sisters that have never really spoken about what happened that night. As the secrets begin to unravel, Emma releases they might be in more danger than they think.

I have read quite a few thrillers this month and this one just did not hit the mark for me. Much more suspense than thrilling or fast-paced moments, this leans more mystery than thriller to me in many ways. I did not connect with any of the sisters and it ultimately felt a little forgettable overall. The story line reminded me in some ways of Not a Happy Family by Sheri LaPena, which I really enjoyed. I love a domestic thrillers with untrustworthy characters, especially a neighborhood thriller. However, this one just did not separate itself from so many others that I have read.

Thank you to MacMillan audio and #NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This published 1/23

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

After dealing with some financial hardships Emma and her husband, Nathan, move back into her childhood home where her parents were murdered. As Emma lives in her old hometown lot’s of secrets are revealed and people believe Emma murdered her own parents. Emma was only a child, could she have murdered her parents? What about her sisters? Could they have killed them? Emma and her sisters have an estranged relationship and never talk about that night, but they are going to be forced to get back together because old secrets surface.

I enjoyed this book, although it had a very similar plot to other thrillers I have read before. I was interested to see how the author was going to set her story apart from others. I thought at times the story dragged a bit and the twists I saw coming. Besides that, this was a fast paced, character driven story that kept you on your toes. I enjoyed the narrator a lot and thought she really added to the story.

I received this audiobook from the publisher and MacMillan audio through NetGalley.

No One Can Know is a new thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat with unexpected twists and turns! Three sisters grow up with abusive parents who demand perfection from each of them. When their parents turn up brutally murdered in their home, suspicions arise and the girls scatter.

Years later when Emma and her husband Nathan find themselves in a financial bind, they are forced to return to the house where the murders took place. Emma's sisters Juliette and Daphne discover Emma's return to the house of horrors and return to help Emma discover who murdered their parents.

The complicated family dynamics explore the relationships, secrets, and conflicts of a dysfunctional family. The story unfolds slowly with unexpected revelations and mostly likable characters.

If you love domestic family thrillers, definitely check out this new release!

Thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and Flatiron books for my ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I think I did this book a disservice by listening to it on audio. The dual timelines and three POVs made me quite confused, and I felt like there were too many secondary characters to keep track of. It was very twisty (which I enjoyed), but that also added to my confusion! I enjoyed Marshall's previous book and will definitely read her next!