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!

When 3 sisters fall asleep in their family treehouse and wake to a bloody nightmare, their lives are forever changed. One goes off to college and the other two enter foster care. As adults, they are are strangers. Until Emma and her husband, Nathan, decide to come back and get the family home ready to sell. Once again, questions abound about the night her parents died and whether she or her sisters had anything to do with it. The neighbors are suspicious, the cops are sniffing around again hoping for answers, and when another murder rocks the foundations of everything Emma knows to be true, she will need her sisters to help her figure out what happened. But does anyone really know?

I wanted to like this book because I enjoyed "What Lies in the Woods." The twists and turns felt intentional and believable there, but this story felt deliberately convoluted and muddy. I can appreciate an unreliable narrator, but the girls here felt more like shells built around the mystery to keep everyone guessing than actual people with stories of their own. I didn't connect with any of them, and I didn't like any of them. So it was hard to care when lots of things started happening, none of which made any sense.

It all felt very muddled, like the author herself didn't really know what was going to happen. I wanted a more cohesive story that, in the end, clarified all the questions that were asked throughout. When I finished this book, I'm still not sure I understood what was supposed to have happened.

I'll definitely check out the author's next book because I enjoyed her first one, but this sophomore attempt (for her adult books at least) didn't work for me.

**Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. **

2.5 Stars (Rounded up to 3)

Summary: While the plot held my attention, the back and forth ending kind of killed it for me as well as no real care for the characters.

Emma and her husband are forced to move back to Emma's childhood home which was the site of her parents' murders. It's not long before strange occurrences begin around the house, but the Police are not on Emma's side.

The plot did hold my attention despite some details below, and I found myself wanting to know what had truly happened. I did not really care for Emma or her husband, and the sisters POVs felt incomplete. Parts of the storyline felt disjointed and was hard to keep straight at points.
The ending made it difficult to keep reading since it kept bouncing between who did what, but when you have invested time in 98% of a book, you keep reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC

I really liked "What lies in the woods" also by this author so I was excited to read this new book. Unfortunately, this wasn't for me. I struggled to get engaged with the characters or the story. This was slow, too long, and the twists, were just okay. The narrator did a good job telling the story.

WOWZA! This book had me hooked from the start, I literally had an ear ache from my earbuds because I didn't want to stop listening!

I really loved this book, the story was captivating and the twists were nonstop. I had a feeling there was something off about Daphne from early on in the book, although I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. Even though I had my suspicions, I was definitely not prepared for the ending!!

This was truly an amazing read, and I can't wait to read What Lies in The Woods next month with my BookClub! I think I've found a new auto-buy author :)

🫶🏽What I enjoyed
I saw nothing but praise for this book, and it did not disappoint!! I binged this in less than 24 hours and it’s a top fave read this month! I loved how the story was told from each sister’s POV. I did guess one aspect of who the ultimate killer was, but it was still a fun and twisty ride until the end. I enjoyed What Lies in the Woods, but I loved this book way more.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🤷🏻‍♀️What didn’t work for me
Nothing really. I despised the characters I was supposed to despise, and I felt wronged on Emma’s behalf the way we were meant to.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🎧Audio Review
When you see a book is read by Karissa Vacker, that is your sign to snag it via audio. Loved it! I had no trouble distinguishing characters, chapters are nicely labeled so you know exactly who’s POV you’re following, and Karissa has great female and male voices.

No One Can Know
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Kate Alice Marshall

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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.

My Thoughts: This book released yesterday, Happy Belated Pub Day! This was packed with suspense, twists, secrets, betrayal, whodunit, and kept me on the edge of my seat from cover to cover. Emma has been married a decade, after going through a traumatic experience with her parents murdered when she was a teen. Her and her sisters were silently abused by their parents. Then most of the town suspected that she murdered her parents and got away with it, as no one was ever arrested for the heinous crimes. Then they lose the house, her husband gets laid off, and to topple the triple effect, she finds out that she is pregnant. The house, her childhood home, is just sitting there unused. Emma and her husband decide to move into the house until they can get it ready to be ‘sold’ and she can use her portion of the sale proceeds to start anew. The unspoken things between Emma and her sisters may put her in grave danger again. When one secret is unraveled, it becomes a domino effect. Follow along on this classic whodunit immersed with psychological thriller that will keep you guessing to the end.

The story is narrated by Emma with narration from her sisters, JJ and Daphine. Emma is the middle sister, takes the lead in most areas of her life, yet gets too comfortable and does not address issues hitting her in the face. The oldest sister, Juliette, or JJ, always obeyed their mother, and had appearances of the being the favorite. Lastly, we have the youngest, Daphne, who is eccentric, eclectic, and displays “odd” behavior. After the murder, the sisters essentially cutoff contact from one another, until Emma moves into the house with her husband, Nathan. Emma is still believed to have committed the murders, so she starts to poke around. In doing so, she may open Pandora’s box that sets another line of events that are unexpected. The characters were created with depth, mystery, they were flawed, sometimes unreliable, and intriguing. The three sisters frustrated me and I wished Emma would have stood her ground more, and Daphne had a mix of Dexter and Dahmer going on. The author’s writing style was complex, twisty, suspenseful, riveting, and well-executed. The characters were built throughout the storyline, the plot was delivered in twisty layers, and the ending will blow you away. A really well-written and definitely well-executed novel.

Trigger warning of infidelity, childhood abuse and substance abuse (mentioned). This really was a compelling, riveting thriller, one of the better ones I have read lately. I had the pleasure of having the audio and digital ARCs for this one. The narrator Karissa Vacker does an amazing job with voice variation and distinct character voice. The emotion, fear, and struggle comes across clear in her voice. The flow and pitch was excellant, was able to listen on 2x with no issues. This is a first Marshall book for me but will not be my last. I highly recommend going to pick this up now!

So happy I was able to receive this ALC of No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall!

This is my first book by this author and, overall, I enjoyed it! The moments we were able to see what happened in the past with Emma, JJ, and Daphne, definitely made my blood boil and my heart hurt for those three young girls.

It did keep my attention pretty much the whole time, however, the ending fell flat and wasn’t exactly satisfying or groundbreaking. It was a bit predictable.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I think the narrator did a good job! Star rating: 3.5 (rounded up to 4 for this feedback).

Emma has a past; one she has steadily run away from all of her adult life. When her husband loses his job, and they are forced to leave their apartment she knows she only has one option left—to return home. What her husband doesn’t realize is that she’s been vague about her parents' death, and what he quickly figures out when they return to the small town is that everyone thinks she killed them.

Emma and her sisters Juliette and Daphne have been estranged since that tragic night all those years ago, but Emma’s return is stirring up trouble for them all. Now there’s another murder, and once again the spotlight is on Emma. The secrets the sisters have held from the world and in some cases each other begin to unravel as the truth reveals itself.

Filled with plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing, Kate Alice Marshall does a great job weaving a tale of deception. Karissa Vacker, as always, narrates superbly—her ability to vary her voice is astounding. No One Can Know will keep you on your toes to the very last page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and of course the author Kate Alice Marshall for the advanced copy of the audiobook. No One Can Know released yesterday. All opinions are my own.