Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall

51 reviews

kys831's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I was a huge fan of Marshall's first book, What Lies In the Woods, so I was really excited for this one. Alas, this isn't her strongest. It starts off incredibly strong--we see some of the hallmarks present in WLITW (a scrappy heroine who with chronically low self-esteem and a partner/spouse so insidiously manipulative, so toxic and passive aggressive, that Marshall must, I'm sure, be writing from experience).

The plot is extremely compelling: family secrets, sisters, fake Satanic panic.

But I found the end of the book was extremely unsatisfying, even confusing. The answers of what happened that night are frustrating and, somehow, the twist doesn't feel earned.

 There are so many consecutive "ok, here's what really happened" scenes from different POVs dripping small pieces of information that when the book FINALLY establishes the truth (sort of), you're just tired from having run through all these alternate scenarios that made sense but apparently didn't happen. The determination to have a pretty complex set of twists and side plots came at the expense of further exploration of these fantastic characters. 

The good: The characterization is realistic and strong-- each sister copes with her situation in her own way. And this is definitely a page turner. But by the end, the book

employs this "is what actually happened really that impt? idk lol" vibe that I didn't care for. We needed more insight into the girls' mother instead of wondering at her potential motivations. And the fraud/police corruption angle was really underdeveloped.

 

So enjoyable and compelling to read but the end fell flat for me. But I'm still a fan of Marshall and will definitely read her next books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

juanat77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Stalking, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Blood, Gun violence, Abortion, Addiction, Murder, Physical abuse, and Drug use

madelynowil's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexism, Blood, Drug use, and Pregnancy

Minor: Car accident

dilani's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

while i found myself racing to finish this book and figure out who really committed the murder, i felt there were some parts that could have been left out. the amount of twists had my head spinning. my theories changed the more i read, but i can say i was pretty accurate in the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy and Infidelity

lilacs_book_bower's review

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Not sure whether this one will stick with me or not.  Decent mystery, some nice twists.  Not a waste of time, but nothing I would re-read or go out of my way to recommend to people.  One or two things felt a little unfinished or just dropped at the end.  I tend to prefer KAM's YA horror books, which I highly recommend.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Violence

manda_lee's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, Child abuse, Abandonment, Murder, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 I simply assume at this point that anything KAM writes will be a hit with me. I loved this. I'll be honest and admit that the synopsis wasn't the most compelling thing for me and I basically only picked it up because I love KAM's writing so much that I was willing to try it out and hope for the best, but this was phenomenal. I was so invested in the history between these sisters and stayed on the edge of my seat until the very end!

I suspected the culprit from fairly early on in the story, but it didn't feel predictable as it was more of a gut feeling than anything, and even with my suspicions, I still fell for one big red herring hard — enough so that, when the reveal happened, I was somehow surprised despite having guessed it so early on. 😂 That might have made more sense in my head than it does on paper, but it's true!

I really enjoyed the different POVs of all three sisters, but JJ was definitely my favorite. I just loved her perspective, and some of the reveals about her past broke my heart! 10/10 would root for these women again.

I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also given an early review copy. All thoughts are honest and my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Suicide

Minor: Violence, Gun violence, and Miscarriage

shiboigal's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. Whenever I thought I figured it out, I was proven wrong. Slow enough pace that I didn't feel the need to finish it in one sitting, but quick enough that it kept me interested

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abandonment and Gun violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Car accident, Vomit, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Infidelity

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Death, and Domestic abuse

kellyb1989's review against another edition

mysterious tense

4.25

This was a really good mystery/thriller! The information provided below can all be found in the book description, so I will not be hiding it as a spoiler.

The FMC’s (Emma) parents were murdered when she was a teen, and she was the prime suspect. She didn’t do it, and is worried one of her sisters did but doesn’t want to know. They all lie to protect each other. 

Years later, the sisters are estranged. Emma is married with a baby on the way, when her husband loses his job and the house they were planning to buy, along with their savings. As a last resort, they move back into Emma’s childhood home where her parents were murdered. The sisters return, worried what Emma may find. Secrets are exposed as Emma tries to figure out what really happened to her parents. 

I really enjoyed the mystery and intrigue of this book. It was well written and had me staying up late to get to the conclusion. I liked the multiple POVs, and that it alternated between past and present to give the full story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Pregnancy, Vomit, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion, Animal death, and Panic attacks/disorders