I Know You Know

A new author for me, but I think I’ll look for her other books since this one was so good. The use of the podcast was very effective and would make an outstanding audiobook.

I liked how there were bits of information that left you wanting more; Tremain sidelining Fletcher’s career and Smail’s downfall. I wanted to know, but there was so much going on I didn’t fixate on them. Another thing I liked was the subtle characterization - she left it up to the reader to infer and deduce quite a bit; like Smail’s verbosity - she doesn’t have other characters think or comment about it. She lets it stand and us to figure it out. Nice since I was reading another book simultaneously in which the writer hit us over the head with certain show more traits of the people in the book. Like she didn’t trust us to get it. Oy vey.

The wrongly-convicted mentally challenged guy aspect put me in mind of Disordered Minds by Minette Walters, but this writer took a different approach and while the crusader aspect was there, it wasn’t as structured. It should have occurred to me that the whole podcast thing was a stunt. First the guy making it claimed over and over again to be a filmmaker. Second the whole missing my best friends thing was laid on a bit thick. You were 10. People who disappear from your life at that age do it in memory as well as reality. But I didn’t and the collusion with Felix was a nice twist. When the Fletcher-Felix connection came to light wheels started turning and I felt less and less sympathy for Fletcher. There was a Felix-Jessy connection, too, but my sympathy for her stayed put.

Despite a bunch of typos in my ARC, I connected with the writing and there are both some shop-worn cliches (people having a field day for fuck’s sake...can’t we come up with something else??), but also some nice allusions like this one - “...the roots of his childhood were sunk deep into both concrete and disappointment.” p 241 show less

A special thank you to Edelweiss and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty years ago, two eleven-year-old boys were murdered in Bristol. The bodies of Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby were found near the dog racing track. Sidney Noyce was convicted of the brutal crime and died in prison. Some people perceive him to be the killer and others think he was a convenient scapegoat because he was mentally challenged and could be easily coerced into a confession. There are still lingering questions after all this time.

There was a third boy, Cody Swift, who was supposed to be out with Charlie and Scott the night they were killed, but he got in trouble and had to stay home. It turns out that this punishment actually show more saved his life. He is now an indie filmmaker and has haunted by the death of his best mates all these years. The unanswered questions and loose ends bring him back to Bristol in search of answers. To help document the information, he starts a podcast which are a series of interviews he conducts with individuals attached to the case. It turns out that there are many people who don't want to visit the past. The one who has the most to lose from Swift's fixation is Charlie's mother, Jess. She is forced to take matters into her own hands in order to protect her daughter from hearing about this horrific crime—she doesn't even know she had a half brother, let alone that he was killed.

A body that has been dead for quite some time is discovered in the same location where the boys were found. Another investigation is opened and Detective John Fletcher who was on the original case must revisit his files to see if the two crimes are related.

This book was absolutely riveting from the first sentence! I have been on a tear of British mystery/suspense books lately and this one did not disappoint. Having reviewed MacMillan's Odd Child Out, I was hoping to check in again with Detective Jim Clemo. But this book, this book was all its own, and in my opinion her best yet (I have also reviewed The Perfect Girl). It was perfectly executed with enough twists to propel the narrative without becoming predictable or clichéd. And as my followers know, any book that mentions Depeche Mode is a winner!

This page-turning, clever novel is filled with complex and layered characters. Congratulations, Gilly on another wonderful accomplishment! show less

A twenty-year-old crime, the brutal murders of eleven-year-olds Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby, haunts filmmaker Cody Swift. Charlie and Scott were his best friends; the three boys did everything together. The man ultimately convicted of the heinous crime has committed suicide.

The discovery of another long-buried body near the place where the murderer dumped the boys’ bodies launches a new investigation that may have an impact on the old murder case. Feeling there are too many loose ends in the police investigation, Cody starts the “It’s Time to Tell” podcast in hopes of uncovering some new information about the brutal murders that rocked the families living in Glenfrome Estate.

Will the podcast uncover new evidence? And can it show more prove that the murderer is not the man ultimately convicted of the crime?

Early on in the narrative, it becomes obvious that many characters remain strongly affected by this heinous crime, even after two decades have passed. But none of the characters are well-developed or nuanced and all tend to be unlikable; readers are likely to find it difficult to relate to them.

The narrative alternates between revealing the backstory, telling the present-day story, and sharing the podcast; unfortunately, the banality of the podcast chapters does little to keep the reader immersed in the telling of the tale. By the time the reader reaches the middle of the book, both the podcast and Cody Swift have become consummately annoying . . . and when there’s a reveal related to the reason for the podcasts, readers are certain to feel duped.

Sad to say, the narrative concludes with no real proof of comeuppance for the smarmy guy nor do readers see any real consequences for the fellow who knew the truth all along and never spoke up. Truthfully, there aren’t words for the detective that takes center stage in the telling of this sorry tale . . . surely, readers are wondering how the man managed to waylay ALL the other officers in the department in what should have been a huge, all-hands-on-deck investigation and [for twenty years!] got away with a distressing long litany of offenses.

After making the “whodunit” the central focus of the entire story, the answer is a throw-away comment in the middle of a telephone call. And what was the deal with the bright orange poppies, anyway?

Sad to say, the real message in this convoluted not-a-mystery seems to be “learn to manipulate if you want to be successful.” Seriously? It’s a miserable message for readers who, by the end of this sorry tale, are sure to be feeling quite indignant. show less

I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan is a very highly recommended twisty thriller following two murder cases twenty years apart.

A body is found in the same location where two young boys were murdered twenty years ago. Obviously the body has been there for awhile and is not a recent murder but while awaiting identification of the remains Det. Insp. John Fletcher recalls the case from years earlier as he was part of the investigation. In 1996 Charlie Paige, 10, and Scott Ashby, 11, were murdered in the city of Bristol, England, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. Sidney Noyce, a mentally challenged adult was convicted of the killings. Now, in 2017, Noyce has committed suicide in prison.

To complicate matters, Cody Swift, who was a show more friend of the two boys years ago, has decided to return to Bristol and look into the murder of his friends. Swift has a podcast he calls "It's Time To Tell" and he is questioning everyone involved with the case. He is hoping to find new evidence to prove Noyce was not guilty and, hopefully, actually find the person responsible for the murder of his best friends. Not everyone involved want the old case looked into again, but Swift is determined to interview people and play those interviews on his podcast.

This is a very clever original murder mystery that is well-paced, entertaining, and an engrossing read. The chapters follow Fletcher in the current investigation and the older murder; a transcript of Swift's podcast; and Jess Paige, Charlie’s mother. It appears that some people don't want the old case reopened, but it must also be determined if the bones found are related to the 1996 case. Swift's podcast are raising old questions, and making people uncomfortable and even feel threatened.

The development of the characters is excellent. Macmillian slowly revealed more and more of each character, their flaws and fears, while what felt like a potentially threatening situation grew. Secrets abound with all of the characters. No one is perfect; everyone could be hiding something.

The writing and the presentation is pitch-perfect in this complicated, gripping mystery. The reader is presented with current information along with the story and investigation from twenty years ago and more details and new information is revealed. I was caught up with both stories and couldn't deduce what was true and what was self-serving. The pacing is perfect and the multiple points-of-view and the multiple time periods were both assets to the narrative. This novel should appeal to true crime readers as well as those who love a good twisty mystery/thriller.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/09/i-know-you-know.html show less

Two boys were beaten to death twenty years ago. The mentally challenged young man wrongly convicted of the murder took his own life in prison. Now a friend of the two boys is investigating the murders through the unlikely method of podcasts. This is a mystery thriller filled with enough twists that should have made it a winner but this one is spoiled by unpleasant people and faulty procedures curiously accepted. The podcast device made the story choppy and didn't work particularly well. I liked Macmillan's debut, also about a murdered child, but this one leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

This might be my favorite Macmillan book to date. I brought this with me on my recent trip and couldn’t help but finish it quickly. When I realized I was 2/3 finished I slowed down to savor the unfolding of events so neatly woven through those first pages.The tale is told through a series of flashbacks, podcasts and present day narrative by Cody, Charlie’s mother Jessy, and the detective who solved the case...

As a boy, Cody’s two best friends (Charlie and Scott) were murdered by a local man, called Sid the Village (idiot). When he commits suicide 20 years later in prison, Cody is determined find out what really happened. He never believed Sid killed his friends, let alone so violently. Will something be uncovered while Cody digs show more deeper into his past, or is he only digging his own grave? show less

This tale holds the reader, until the plot thickens and becomes too convoluted. Still, it is worth the read because this is an author who knows how to write suspense. Approximately 20 years earlier, two eleven year old boys were found buried in a space behind a local dog race track. Detective John Fletcher was on scene, and sadly, one of the children died in his arms.

Fast forward to current time when the body of a man is found in the same area, and detective Fletcher is anxious to find a thread linking the murder of the boys and the murder of a local near-do-well man who scammed many out of their life savings.

Cody Swift was one of the three boys who were constantly at each other's side in a run down, poverty-stricken neighborhood. Two show more were murdered, and because he disobeyed his mother and was made to stay inside on the night his childhood friends were murdered, his life was spared.

Now an adult, and still haunted by the death of his friends, Cody starts a pod cast. Opening up the story of the tragic death of his friends upsets more than a few members of the community, including John Fletcher.

A mentally challenged man was charged with the crime of murdering two boys. He hung himself. Cody and others doubt that the man charged was guilty. John Fletcher may know this truth, and hopefully the pod cast will solve who really murdered the young boys.

The premise of the book is good; the writing is above average, but still, I was disappointed at the convolution at the end. When I have to go back and read pages because the story is difficult to follow, then, I deem the book wanting.

I wish that the end would have been wrapped up in a more clear manner. show less