Told in a dual timeline, from multiple POV’s, this book was intriguing and had a good mystery. I liked the characterisation and felt the author did a good job at portraying the suspense as the story unfolded. It was a good read.

“When people get themselves into a hole,
other people like to watch them try to get out.”

Susanne Enright – age 42, is an accomplished sculptor turned college art instructor. Susanne’s husband, Gil has squandered their nest-egg in an ill-advised investment. Now his business is floundering. As a way of paying him back for his betrayal of her, she has an affair with one of her graduate students.

Martin Willett – a twenty-four year old, black, mixed-race art student and accomplished artist. He was one of very few people of colour living in this predominantly white upstate New York town. Greatly attracted to his instructor, Susanne Enright, he is more than receptive to her advances. They have an affair.

When Susanne’s daughter is murdered, Martin is pointed out by a witness and is framed by the power-hungry, racist, police-chief.

Harper Grove – is Joy Enright’s best friend, or she was… Friends since they were in pre-school, Joy now seems distant and has a new clique of friends. Unsavory friends. Harper is the youngest child of a dysfunctional family. She has a penchant for baking.

When Joy is murdered, Harper is interviewed by the police and finds herself lying in her witness statement for reasons that make sense only to her.

Tom Carbone – is married to Alison, who just happens to be the daughter of the interim police-chief. He runs a convenience store once owned by his late father. Also, he works as an ‘on-call’ rescue diver. After Alison has several miscarriages, Tom knows that his marriage is crumbling…. The fact that Alison is a closet alcoholic and a real ‘Daddy’s girl’ doesn’t bode well for Tom’s future.

The Victim, Joy Enright – the teenage daughter of Susanne and Gil. Bright and extremely artistically talented, Joy dreams of one day attending a prestigious (and expensive) art school. When her father loses his savings, she realizes that those dreams will come to naught. Also, she learns that her mother, with whom she was once very close, is having an affair with a black graduate student.

Who killed Joy Enright?

MY THOUGHTS

A few years ago I read this author’s “Lacy Eye” which I thoroughly enjoyed. For this reason I was confident I would like this book – and I wasn’t disappointed.

I really like Jessica Treadway’s writing style. She writes at a steady pace with fully fleshed-out characters that makes the reader invested in their plight and interested in how events will pan out. She seems to have an innate understanding of human nature, encompassing strengths and weaknesses, talents and character flaws, vices and self doubts, decisions and consequences.

With themes of parenting, substance abuse, justice, racism, blackmail, guilt, and loss, this novel will be favored by many readers. It eloquently asks the age old question “Can you really ever know another person?” Also, it explores the many secrets inherent in most small towns – as they serve as a microcosm of society as a whole. It explores the idea that one event can be interpreted many different ways according to the viewers perspective.

If you haven’t yet tried this author, then I would highly recommend you do so. This was a book that will probably make my ‘Best Reads of 2019’ list. An entertaining and thought-provoking character-study with a poignant conclusion.

High school senior Joy Enright is dead. For many residents of the small town in northern upstate New York, lives will be changed forever and some well-hidden secrets will be revealed.

HOW WILL I KNOW YOU? is a mystery that focuses less on investigation and more on character study. In this sense, after a while it is not so important who the killer is, but what happened to the four main characters who are telling their stories before and after Joy’s murder. Susanne is Joy’s mother and a professor at the local art college. She used to have a good marriage and a wonderful life until her husband made a bad financial investment. This regrettable decision was followed by too much wine at a party and an affair with Susanne’s teaching assistant, a black graduate student named Martin Willett, who is the only one telling his story from the first-person point of view. Martin becomes the prime suspect in Joy’s murder, not so much because he was seen near the place of her disappearance or was her mother’s lover, but because he is black. Through Martin’s story, author Jessica Treadway subtly shows existing racial problems in 21st-century America.

The third character is Joy’s oldest friend, Harper. A potential witness to the murder, she also has to deal with so many issues that during the course of the investigation she makes some bad decisions. And finally there is Tom Carbone, a diver, shop owner, and son-in-law of the local interim police chief Doug Armstrong. Doug does not like Tom, who tries so hard and for so long to get his father-in-law’s approval and make his wife happy. After Doug arrests Martin, Tom starts his private investigation and finds out many things that make him dislike Doug even more.
Full review available at: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/how-will-i-know-you

Interesting murder mystery with many interesting characters. Some of the racial issues were a bit overdone.

Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of How Will I Know You? This is my honest opinion of the book.

The body of high school senior Joy Enright was discovered near the pond at which she was last seen. When the autopsy reveals a surprising probable cause of death, the police quickly use the resources at their disposal to arrest a possible suspect. When the truth about Joy brings to light a very different scenario for her death, will the truth be revealed so that the guilty can be punished?

Both the slow pace at the beginning and the length had me struggling to keep my interest focused on the plot and the characters for a good portion of the book. How Will I Know You? definitely became more interesting in the latter part, as the story raced to its conclusion. The premise and the characters were a little bit familiar, as though I had heard the story before but I could not quite place it. This lack of uniqueness made it not so memorable, so I would give How Will I Know You? an average rating.

This book wasn't near as good as Lacy Eye. Took me forever to read it, it was way too easy to set down.

Just kind of Meh.

Holes become situations that you did'nt want to be in, that threatened you some how. We become stories that depicted characters trapped in holes of our own making, but you could all fall in as the result of other people pushing you, or because of fate-circumstances you had no control over.

When ever I pick up a read, the title is what attracts me and later as I am reading thru, I try to figure out the author's intend with this title. The title represents something deep with the victim-Joy, a senior that was tragically murdered and her relationship with her parents and the town she lived in. The author weaves a thread of intrigue, guiding and pulling you along to the demise of a young woman who in the end was trying to make things right. How her death lies in the responsibilities of so many and how tied everyone in the town are. The secrets of the town and the keeping of the secrets lead to circumstances that became eventually became deadly and haunting. From racism, infidelity, drugs and peer pressure. Relationships between mother/daughter and husband/wife, how we really miss who the ones we love are. Especially when we are in the hole trying to get out. The question How Will I Know You becomes Who Are You!

A Special Thank You to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

I've tried several times but unfortunately just can't enjoy this book. I struggled to connect with the characters, their thoughts, or their actions. Something about the tone of racism here irked me - which I understand it's likely supposed to, but I couldn't really get all the pieces to work for me.

How Will I Know You by Jessica Treadway is a compelling read that will leave you with so many thoughts that you'd be thinking about this book for days even after it is over.

When I started reading this book I had this idea that this book will revolve around a murder and then it'll turn out to be a fast-paced who-dun-it kind, but as I got into the book I realized that I completely started forgetting about the actual murder as the story focused on the people and the relations Joy was surrounded with when she was alive. This book shows so transparently the truth about how exactly the things would be like if a murder of this kind happens in real life of a normal teenager.

This book shouldn't be misinterpreted as a Thriller, but it is a realistic approach of the author towards the situation on the whole. After reading this book (actually, while reading this book) I realized how easily we form an opinion about someone whom we've never really known. How easy it is for everyone, including the parents and the best of friends, to misinterpret the actions of someone and come up with their own theories about how things would have played out and what might have happened and how they start believing and, in a way, living in those theories. Human nature is such a tricky and immensely complex thing that you never know what might happen in the next few minutes.

The writing was really good and had an easy flow to it that made reading this book a good experience and the slow-to-medium pace of the story was completely in sync with the story itself.

The characters were so real and full of life that I was able to connect with each and every single one of them. And I'm really thankful for it because this book is, in all respects, a character-driven story and these strong characters served the purpose perfectly well.

The beginning was great and I was pulled into the story right from the first chapter. The ending doesn't fail to tell the readers about what really happened on the day of the murder and who did it, so in a way it served as a beautiful closure because otherwise, I'm sure it would have been a really gut-wrenching read.

I'd recommend this book to all the mystery and suspense lovers and also to all those readers who don't mind reading about dark subjects such as depression and coping with the loss of a loved one.

The story revolves around the murder of a high school girl, Joy Enright, strangled and left at the woods by a pond. Intriguingly the story is told from four viewpoints. There is Martin, a black graduate student who as the novel opens is accused of her murder. The mother of the murdered child, Susanne a professor of the local art college, wife of Gil, but as the book unfolds we see the tears in their marriage. Harper, Joy’s friend, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own and Tom, a rescue-diver, and the son-in-law of the police chief, whose own marriage also unravels as he grapples with his own secrets.

Tension is built up slowly, a little too slowly, and at times I felt the pace slackening. The cold December is evoked brilliantly and starkly in this small town, riven with the secrets and lies we all carry in our lives. The portraits of the four are sharply etched, and one feels an empathy with all, but, for me, not for the teenage friend, Harper.

Marriage and its compromises and commitments and difficulties is another theme that winds through the book, below the surface tension which is carried by the question of the murder of Joy. Susanne is here ruminating on the way she and Gil communicate: “All their married life they had been having conversations like this, saying one thing (with words or not) but communicating another. At least, this was how it seemed to Susanne. She didn’t think Gil felt the same way. It had bothered her, once, but after all these years she’d grown accustomed to it, and now— especially with their daughter dead— it didn’t matter. She still considered it a foreign language they spoke to each other, but she had adjusted, and she understood it well enough to translate what she needed to know.” A telling scene, pinpointing the different islands two people can inhabit even in one union.

In another passage Tom reflects on his own marriage: “In that instant, he recognized that his marriage could not survive either choice, in the first case because Alison would refuse to live with him, and in the second because he would not be able to live with himself. It struck him like a sucker punch: there was no way out.”

Art too and its purposes and its creation is another thread that winds through the narrative, the dead girl used to draw; her mother a teacher of art, Martin, a promising young student. Conversations revolve around art, with a debate on hyperrealism and Susanne ruminating on it: “Art makes the absent present, and the dead almost alive?”

This is a slow, meditative read – slightly too long at times – but the cast of crisply drawn characters brings the story alive, fused with the tension of the murder and the weather that threatens with its iciness. An interesting, rewarding read, perhaps best described as a literary thriller.

Teenager Joy Enright is found in the water presumed drowned but an autopsy shows she was strangled. The mystery of her death is unraveled through the perspectives of the people in her lives, her art professor Mother, a black graduate art student and her mother's lover Martin, who is suspected of the murder, Harper, Joy's best friend and an unreliable witness and Tom, a rescue diver and son-in-law to the local police chief, who seems to want the case wrapped up despite the lack of substantial evidence. A fun thriller/mystery.

I was so consumed by this book. This is a story about a teenage girl who has gone missing and has been found murdered. A suspect is in custody but nothing is what it seems. This story is told from multiple viewpoints by different people in the community and is labeled before, during, and after the murder. I really enjoyed this multilayered story and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Excellent mystery with a hind of Serial-type intrigue mixed in. Very well-written to boot!

This is my first novel from Jessica Treadway. I've had "Lacy Eye" on my list for quite some time but for some reason I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. However, after enjoying this novel, I am excited to get my hands on her previous book as soon as possible.


When sixteen year old Joy Enright's body is found in the woods, it's not long before an arrest is made. Martin Willett is a black graduate student at the local art college and is accused of killing Joy. Susanne Enright, Joy's mother is a professor at the same school and Martin is her teaching assistant.


The book begins after Joy's body is found. We are introduced to Harper Grove. Harper was Joy's best friend and the police are there to ask her some questions about what happened the last time she was with Joy. She's nervous as she wants to please the police by saying the right thing...but she's also holding something back. The police are eager to close this case. Especially Police Chief Doug Armstrong.


Tom owns "The Shack" a store near the pond where the kids hangout. He's also a rescue diver and the son-in-law of the police chief, Doug Armstrong. Tom's wife, Alison was one of Joy's teachers. Alison is a bit of a daddy's girl which causes some strain in their relationship as Tom already feels like Doug doesn't respect him.


Next is the man accused of killing Joy. Martin Willett is sitting in jail having just been arrested. He seems to be in shock. We learn more about his life and some of his interactions with other characters in the book.


Who could have done such a horrible thing. Who killed Joy Enright? Was it Martin Willett? Or was is someone else? A stranger? Other strange things had been happening in town...could those things have anything to do with her murder?


At first I had a hard time getting a good grasp on what was happening or had happened. It was a bit confusing as it's broken into parts (before and after). It's also told from the four different points of view..... Suzanne Enright. Martin Willett, Harper Grove, and Tom Carbone.


It wasn't always clear whose point of view I was reading. It didn't take a long time to figure out but it slowed me down a bit at first. At the same time it was really interesting hearing the different perspectives.


Definitely a character driven novel, but I found them all interesting. I think the author did a great job developing each of the characters, their relationships, and how they related to each other. Whether it was mother and daughter, teenagers, husband and wife etc. I felt like I was in their heads as the investigation unfolded. What their motivations were for doing what they did. I felt for the most part that things rang true although there were a couple of times that I wondered how something could possibly have gone that way.

This was a great psychological suspense book that I read in just a few sittings. I will definitely be reading more from Jessica Treadway.

Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Jessica Treadway for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

On a cold December day in northern upstate New York, the body of high school senior Joy Enright is discovered in the woods at the edge of a pond. She had been presumed drowned, but an autopsy shows that she was, in fact, strangled. As the investigation unfolds, four characters tell the story from widely divergent perspectives: Susanne, Joy's mother and a professor at the local art college; Martin, a black graduate student suspected of the murder; Harper, Joy's best friend and a potential eyewitness; and Tom, a rescue diver and son-in-law of the town's police chief. As a web of small-town secrets comes to light, a dramatic conclusion reveals the truth about Joy's death.



* * * * *


I had a lot of trouble reading this book mainly because I found it hard to relate to any of the characters. This book jumps around as far as whose viewpoint the story is being told from. This style does give the reader a chance to really get to know everyone but in my eyes, it just didn't work out well. Too often I had issues trying to figure out just whose eyes I was looking through.

I also found the pacing to be too slow to really hold my interest and it was a struggle to continue to the last third of the book which was great. And the ending was worth all the struggle.

I am not sure I would recommend this book even though the ending was so strong simply because of the struggle to get there. For my readers who prefer an in-depth knowledge of the different characters before the action begins, this might very well be the book for you.

*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.

Incredible book that will stay with me for a long time

Extremely well done mystery that slowly uncovers all the secrets and lies among a group of people in a small college town. Joy's murder is the catalyst to a landslide of revelations of activity that had been slowly simmering under the surface. These were terrific, believable characters and it's a carefully constructed complex plot. I liked the different perspectives and the way time shifted back and forth. THanks to Netgalley for the arc- this one takes a little patience and some thought but it's terrific. I've read Treadway before, looked forward to this, and now am even more eager for her next.

What a thriller! I love this book and that it kept me on my toes. It's a wonderful story and one that will keep you guessing.

Jessica Treadway’s How Will I Know You? has a simple whodunit premise: a teenage girl has been murdered. Joy was found close to a pond in the woods, presumed drowned but actually strangled. Treadway succeeds in developing the suspense this type of book needs, until what really happened is finally revealed in the last few pages.

The actual narrative is told through four different perspectives: Harper (Joy’s best friend), Susanne (her mother), Martin (the man accused of her murder who is also having an affair with Susanne), and Tom (a rescue diver and the son-in-law of the town’s police chief). If done poorly, this style of storytelling can distract from the cohesiveness of the book, but Treadway does it very well. She also effortlessly goes back and forth in time. What happened before the murder to lead up to it, and what are the repercussions to everyone involved following the tragedy?

How Will I Know You? was definitely a solid 4 until the ending, which I found disappointing and unsurprising. However, 95% of the story is very suspenseful, so I’m going to split the difference for a 3.5.

MY RATING – 3.5