Genre: Fiction (Thriller/Suspense)
Synopsis from the publisher, Gallery Books, first hardcover edition, March 2016, 362 pages:
"Madness, deceit, murder -
his death was only the beginning...
The day Aubrey Hamilton's husband is declared dead by the state of Tennessee should bring the closure she needs to move on with her life. But Aubrey doesn't want to move on, she wants Josh back. It's been five years since he disappeared, since their blissfully happy marraige - they were happy, weren't they? - screeched to a halt and Aubrey became the prime suspect in her husband's disappearance. Five years of emptiness, solitude, loneliness, questions. Why didn't Josh show up at his best friend's bachelor party? Was he murdered? Did he run away? And now, all this time later, who is the mysteriously, yet strangely familiar figure suddenly haunting Aubrey's new life?
In No One Knows, New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison expertly peels back the layers of a complex woman who is hiding dark secrets beneath her unassuming exterior.
Can the perfect life conceal the perfect murder?"
I actually had planned to read this later than when I did, but we all know how those reading plans go, don't we? I noticed (and tried to ignore) and Twitter chat going on about the book between Traveling With T and Deep South Magazine. Since Mom's recent stroke in March, I've had a hard time finding a book to keep my attention, but their chat peaked my interest. I cried, "Uncle!" and cracked open No One Knows.
I started it on April 28th, and if I hadn't been sidelined by my own health for a a few days, I could have finished it in two day, but I finished it on May 2nd. I had a little trouble getting into it at first, but that's my issue with every book nowadays given all that's going on here, so I kept with it and I am so glad I did!
Before I was halfway through I was tempted to peep ahead because I was smelling some big ole rats and itching to see if my suspicions were correct. (The answer is: No!) I felt awful for Aubrey, wanted her to be able to rebuild her damaged self and life, move forward again. I was thankful my mother-in-law was nothing like hers. (And neither is my husband). The pace builds, the tension builds, the plot evolves and expands, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how Ms. Ellison was going to wrap it up.
And then it happened: Mind. Blown.
What I didn't see coming. I cannot, and will not, spoil it for you. And when you read it, I will share what that part was for me, because it may not be the same for you! (If you've read it, share with me in the comments below what blew your mind about this book and I'll reveal what did it for me there!)
And for the record: If there must be a Gone Girl comparison (and from what I'm seeing, there must), No One Knows wins for me, hands down. I didn't like any of the characters in Gone Girl, and though I did finish that book, I didn't enjoy it (which is a testament to Gillian Flynn's writing). I know, I know, I'm in the minority here when it comes to Gone Girl (I also didn't like the movie) but, that's okay. (No book shaming allowed here!)
No One Knows is the first (and so far the only) book I've been able to read cover to cover since Mom's stroke in March. I was glad for the entertaining distraction.
No One Knows - highly recommended! It would make a great Summer read.
Links for Reference:
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Author facebook.
I want to thank Simon & Schuster for providing me with a free copy of No One Knows as a member of the She Reads Blog Network for review. (Opinions are my own, and I am not required by the publisher or She Reads to write a positive review, nor have I received compensation for this review).
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