Review: What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

What She Knew

by Gilly Macmillan

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 496

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In a heartbeat, everything changes…

Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.  

Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.

As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.

Where is Ben? The clock is ticking...


Kritters Thoughts:  A mystery who dun it, but not your typical one.  In the first few chapters a child goes missing as he is out on a walk with his dog and his mom, she is still trying to recover from the separation and divorce from his father and this is just where the story begins.  

Narrated by both the mother and the lead detective on the case in alternating chapters there are also great tid bits thrown - blog posts, news articles with comments and current dialogue between the detective and his therapist as he reflects on the case.  These extra things added to the story, but if you don't love books with extras still try this one as 80% of the book is in usual novel form.

As I was telling my mom when describing this book and why I liked it, I said - yes a child goes missing and that is a major plot point, really this book is a family drama with secrets and betrayal at the heart of this book.  These secrets lead both the mother and detectives down roads of suspicion as they try to find her child.  The final culprit is satisfying, but really an afterthought as you watch this family dissolve.

If you have read a lot in this genre and may be burnt out, go ahead with this one as it felt new and fresh.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Partner in Crime Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.