Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall

13 reviews

kys831's review against another edition

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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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shiboigal's review against another edition

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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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bookcheshirecat's review

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

“Yellow wallpaper. White grip. Red hand.”

No One Can Know is Kate Alice Marshall's newest Thriller! I have to admit that I had some mixed feelings on this one. The story follows Emma who was accused of having killed her parents years ago and is still struggling with this trauma. Back then she protected her two sisters Juliette and Daphne, but they're now estranged and haven't spoken in years. When she has to come back to town and live in her parent's old house because she has no choice, Emma discovers that her past isn't done with her yet!

My favorite thing about this book was the complicated sibling relationship! The focus is on Emma, but her sisters also get POVs - both in the past and present. They grew up with an abusive father and a controlling mother who expected them to fit into their roles perfectly. Each girl dealt with this in her own way. Juliette played the perfect daughter, always trying to cater to her parents so no one looks closer and gets suspicious of her. Emma never managed that so she lashed out and became a troublemaker. She dreamt of going to art school away from her parents, but they weren't planning on letting her go. Daphne is neurodivergent (it's not really explored in more depth though) and gets panic attacks sometimes, so she had a hard time during her childhood. Her mother was super ableist and never got her the proper care she needed, so she had to be quiet and keep everyone's secrets.

After their parents were murdered, the three sisters drifted apart and couldn't look past what happened. Emma did everything to protect them but felt rejected and left behind. I felt sorry for her, as she was terrified everyone else would leave her like her sisters did. She keeps putting herself in smaller boxes and unlike in the past, she tries to cater to everyone's needs to make them stay.

I think I just don't enjoy Domestic Thrillers, as despite KAM being an amazing author, I had some issues with this book. I much preferred What Lies in the Woods! The author does a good job of writing a compelling book, but I thought the mystery wasn't as engaging as I hoped it would be. The twists didn't really shock me and when I think about it now, the ending didn't really satisfy me. I wouldn't say that the mystery was predictable, but I don't think I cared about it too much. I also hated how big of a role Emma's horrible husband Nathan played. I wish I had known beforehand how controlling and abusive he was. There were a lot of red flags from the beginning, but the longer the book goes on, the more obvious it becomes that their relationship is toxic. It was difficult to read about, especially as it took Emma until the very end of the book to realize how abusive Nathan was and that she shouldn't feel guilty for not loving him. The first half of the book was dominated by Nathan gaslighting, belittling and controlling Emma. I could have done without the abusive husband storyline and would have loved more insight into the estranged sisters in the present.
Nathan finally dies midway through the book, but that just leads to Emma feeling guilty and like she has to pretend he was a good husband. The police are biased and think she did it, so Nathan still haunts the book even beyond the grave. The whole storyline just wasn't what I liked to read about. The more Emma talks about him, the more horrible he becomes: from cheating on her to tracking her location to isolating her from anyone else.

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bmce01's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5


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aileron's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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flaminggecko's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

5.0


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astoriareader's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

SYNOPSIS
  • Due to their financial situation, Emma & her husband, Nathan, are forced to move into her childhood home in a small town. Someone murdered her parents 14 years ago inside the home, but the case remains unsolved. Many people assumed Emma did it.
  • Since the murder, Emma and her two sisters, Juliette and Daphne, have been estranged.
  • Emma’s homecoming stirs up questions, secrets, and searching for answers. 

MY THOUGHTS
  • None of these characters are very likable or interesting. 
  • Alternating POVs & timelines.
  • This was a slow burn, and there was a lot of build up for the reveal. Ultimately, the ending fell flat & was anticlimactic.
  • Story was somewhat predictable to me.
  • This certainly wasn’t a bad book, but compared to all the others in the genre, it doesn’t stand out to me. It was a mediocre suspense. 

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️this wasn’t bad, but it was a mediocre suspense IMO.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is available now for purchase.

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nika_nix's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is insanely readable and the sisters keeping secrets no matter what was really interesting to read about. I devoured this book and even though there wasn't anything new and unique about this thriller, I think it was done so well and I really enjoyed both the past and the present storyline, it kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Kate Alice Marshall is becoming one of my new favorite thriller authors and I'm so here for it!

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ohthebooksshewillread's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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katie_urban's review against another edition

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

4.5


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