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A review by aliyyah
What You Never Knew by Jessica Hamilton
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
"Mothers are not always good just because they're mothers, and fathers are not always good just because they're fathers. Wives are not always faithful, husbands are not always honest, daughters cannot be perfect, and sisters cannot be saviors."
What You Never Knew by Jessica Hamilton was an amazing thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I adored the plot. This book is about a woman returning to the island that she spent her childhood summers and ends up uncovering family secrets which have long been buried. The mystery aspect of this novel was extremely well crafted and kept me on my toes for the entire book. I was trying to figure things out right up until the very end.
The characters are highly complex and so interesting to read about. The protagonist, June has many different layers and sides to her and I really enjoyed being in her head. I also loved her sister, May’s, point of view. I thought it was really intriguing to be in the head of a character who has died. Familial relationships are a big part of this story and there is a such a pure love between these siblings that it makes my heart ache. The relationship between the sisters and their mother is another element that is woven throughout this novel. The ways in which June, especially, became her mother and the ways she rejected her added another level of depth to this book for me.
Ezra is another character that is prominent in this book, as he and June were childhood friends and then became lovers when she returned to Avril Island. I don’t have too many feelings on their relationship as I merely thought they were a little cute at certain moments, but this didn’t add anything to the story for me.
I absolutely loved the writing. I thought it was highly atmospheric and I could almost believe I was right there in Avril Island too. I was hooked from the very start, flying through this book. The only small downside is that there were a few grammatical errors but honestly, it didn’t have an impact on my enjoyment.
Something that I really adored about this book is that to me, it felt as if it was so much more than just a thriller. The relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters and husbands and wives were explored and I thought Hamilton did a wonderful job of tying in such themes with the overall mystery.
This book was so good and I loved every second of my reading experience.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.
What You Never Knew by Jessica Hamilton was an amazing thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I adored the plot. This book is about a woman returning to the island that she spent her childhood summers and ends up uncovering family secrets which have long been buried. The mystery aspect of this novel was extremely well crafted and kept me on my toes for the entire book. I was trying to figure things out right up until the very end.
The characters are highly complex and so interesting to read about. The protagonist, June has many different layers and sides to her and I really enjoyed being in her head. I also loved her sister, May’s, point of view. I thought it was really intriguing to be in the head of a character who has died. Familial relationships are a big part of this story and there is a such a pure love between these siblings that it makes my heart ache. The relationship between the sisters and their mother is another element that is woven throughout this novel. The ways in which June, especially, became her mother and the ways she rejected her added another level of depth to this book for me.
Ezra is another character that is prominent in this book, as he and June were childhood friends and then became lovers when she returned to Avril Island. I don’t have too many feelings on their relationship as I merely thought they were a little cute at certain moments, but this didn’t add anything to the story for me.
I absolutely loved the writing. I thought it was highly atmospheric and I could almost believe I was right there in Avril Island too. I was hooked from the very start, flying through this book. The only small downside is that there were a few grammatical errors but honestly, it didn’t have an impact on my enjoyment.
Something that I really adored about this book is that to me, it felt as if it was so much more than just a thriller. The relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters and husbands and wives were explored and I thought Hamilton did a wonderful job of tying in such themes with the overall mystery.
This book was so good and I loved every second of my reading experience.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Dementia, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Homophobia