I Know You Know: A Novel Kindle Edition

I forced myself to finish this book and wished I had put it down long before the ending. It had way too many story lines, with none of them resolved well. Most of all, any sort of character development was completely lacking and most of the characters were so unlikable that I didn't care what happened to them. I just didn't believe that an habitually drunk, unfit prostitute/ mother from the projects could transform herself into a TV star, with a stable, middle-class life, simply by meeting a producer while she was passed out in a gutter. Most of all, I found it incredible that this same mother--who neglected her first child, even expressing relief at his murder --could end up being so loving and protective to her second child. Also, the ending came out of nowhere and felt tacked on, to try to resolve loose ends.

I've read all four of Gilly's books. The first three are terrific, and I recommend them. Read them first, because if you start here, you might not read her other books, and that would be a loss because they're pretty good. This one fell short for me. It was overly complex with so many characters it was hard to keep track. The story of the two boys and whether Sidney Noyce killed them would have been compelling on its own, but the narrative was bogged down by too many points of view, back and forth in time, a Podcast, too many characters and poorly developed threads. The parts about the present day murder of Paul Dale were boring. I couldn't care less what happened to him, and I couldn't keep track of the characters surrounding him. At 50% through, I started skipping pages to find out what happened. Finally, but not least, I REALLY could've done without the two page description of the broken legged puppy being strangled. Seriously. Animal cruelty in a book is a deal breaker for me. I hope her next book is better.

While the writing was that of an educated person, the storyline was not. I still don’t know what happened and why and the ending was just plain ridiculous. If you’re going to read this ,and I urge you not to spend the time and money, then do so in one fell swoop or you’ll just get tangled up in the non-plot.

What really happened to eleven-year-old Scott Ashby and ten-year-old Charlie Page whose bloodied, beaten bodies were found behind a dog racing track in 1996? A young man, Sidney Noyce, had been convicted of the double murder and 20 years later committed suicide.Cody Swift, best friend with Scott and Charlie and now a filmmaker, has always had doubts about Sidney Noyce’s guilt. In his podcast, IT’S TIME TO TELL, we learn of the short lives of Scott and Charlie and the investigation of their murder. Suffice it to say, things are not always as they seem. Gilly Macmillan tells the story in an interesting way. The podcasts themselves are interspersed among chapters that often contain flashbacks. Despite going back and forth chronologically, the story flows smoothly and is easy to follow.Every character is fully developed, and the description of life in the Bristol council estate is meticulous. The setting of the crime scene behind the dog track in lower-class Bristol makes the story particularly poignant.I love a mystery I cannot solve! I KNOW YOU KNOW continually stumped me. The ending is a doozy. This is a terrific book for everyone who likes a well-written, character-driven, old-fashioned mystery story with a modern day twist. Gilly Macmillan has done it again!

Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby were murdered in the city of Bristol, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime, but decades later, questions still linger. For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood best friends. The loose ends of the police investigation consume him so much that he decides to return to Bristol in search of answers. Hoping to uncover new evidence, and to encourage those who may be keeping long-buried secrets to speak up, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don’t want the case—along with old wounds—reopened so many years after the tragedy, especially Charlie’s mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands. When a long-dead body is found in the same location the boys were left decades before, the disturbing discovery launches another murder investigation. Now Detective John Fletcher, the investigator on the original case, must reopen his dusty files and decide if the two murders are linked. With his career at risk, the clock is ticking and lives are in jeopardy…My Thoughts: I Know You Know takes the reader back and forth in time, from 1996 to the present. A few characters show up repeatedly in both time periods, namely John Fletcher, the primary detective back then; Jessica Paige, Charlie’s mother; and Cody Swift, a friend to the murdered boys.Past secrets link several of the characters, and how they have hidden from the past kept me turning the pages as I tried to sort out who did what to whom.When Cody Swift starts a podcast to record his investigation into the murders, with the hope of overturning the conviction of Sidney Noyce, now deceased, his actions seem to be a good thing. Of course, he relentlessly pursues Jessica, trying to get her comments, and her refusal is reported on his show, too, driving her further into hiding.We know John Fletcher has made some questionable choices in the original case. Is his effort to find answers now a way to make up for them, or his own brand of a cover-up?In some ways, I had trouble sorting out the time periods and what happened in each situation, but in the end, I felt a sense of closure. Each of the characters was flawed, but someone would finally come out on top in terms of overcoming the past. 4.5 stars.

But once I did was a great read. I didn't see the ending coming but like that the bad guys got the justice they so deserved and there was redemption for others

This story picks up twenty years later to try to uncover what really happened. Who could have been involved, the one surviving friend, one of the kids mother's who was a child when she had him, a mentally challenged man or a corrupt police investigation? Only time will tell if the truth will come out.

I’ve liked previous books by this author but this wasn’t for me although well written. It’s about wrongful conviction & police corruption. More than one unreliable narrator is simply confusing in a book and I found the conclusion and denouement garbled, hard to say why without spoilers but why would a main character bother publicising the case if they were implicated? Not very likeable characters throughout tbh and as other reviewers have mentioned, clues mentioned throughout the book are then just left hanging or meaningless.

An exciting thriller about the cold case of two murdered boys, told from the viewpoint of the original police detective, a friend of the boys, and one of the victim’s mothers. Twisty, compulsive and at times very sad. A great read from an excellent author.

Brilliant read. Couldn’t wait to turn the next page. I am now reading another of Gilly Mc Millan books.

Just finished and very much enjoyed “I know You Know” as part of our book club. It’s an intriguing page turner with an unexpected twist that you won’t see coming. Great plotting and characters with some very current and interesting themes. If you enjoy fast paced and highly readable crime fiction I would fully recommend it!

If you want a real page turner - this is it. Fast paced, intriguing, with a twist in the end. All I want from a thriller. I highly recommend this novel, such a great read.