I Know Who You Are: Alice Feeney

"Meet Aimee Sinclair, the actress everyone thinks they know but can't remember how.

"Except one person.

"Someone knows Aimee very well.

"They know who she is and they know what she did.

"When Aimee comes home and discovers her husband is missing, she doesn't seem to know what to do or how to act.  The police think she's hiding something and they're right, she is--but perhaps not what they thought.  Aimee has a secret she's never shared, and yet she suspects that someone knows.  As she struggles to keep her career and sanity intact, her past comes back to haunt her in ways more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

"In I Know Who You Are, New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney proves that she is a master of brilliantly complicated plots and killer twists that will keep you guessing until the final page."

I'm baaaaack!  I've been on a hiatus for what feels like forever and, for that, I apologize.  If I'm totally honest, it began because I originally wrote a spectacular review of this book in June of 2019...and accidentally deleted it instead of saving it.  Stupid me.  And there was no recovering it because I had written it on a computer without automatic backup.  Ugh.  I'm still annoyed by that to this day; however, I think my extreme disgust and quick temper had something to do with the fact that I was also four months pregnant.  Yes!  We have a new little reader in our household!  My son, J, is just over six months old now and I've been reading to him to show him how amazing the written word can be.  I hope he's going to be a little bibliophile, just like his Mommy.

Now, back to the review...  I'm going to attempt to recreate some of my review of this book, but I'm positive it's going to pale in comparison to the real thing simply because it's been so darn long since I read it.  I'm a bit frustrated that I've completely thrown off my book count for 2019 and 2020 because I stopped reviewing what I was reading, but such is life.  *Edit:  I was able to figure out how to backdate this review to when I originally finished reading it.  This review was written on May 19, 2020.

When re-reading the synopsis of this book, the first thing that struck me was how amazingly twisted it was.  Feeney's writing left such an impression on me that, even nearly a year later, I recall how gut-wrenchingly shocking her writing was.  Similar to her other book Sometimes I Lie, the book starts off compelling, but rather ordinary.  The characters are interesting and the plot is unique, but you wonder where everything is going.  It's a brilliant mixture of familiarity and suspense - if that makes any sense at all?  We begin with the disappearance of Aimee's husband.  It's interesting and suspenseful, but I've learned to expect more from Feeney.  What dark and twisty turns await the readers?  Hm.  The cops seem to lay an extreme amount of suspicion at Aimee's feet.  In fact, some hints and clues make the readers doubt Aimee as well.  What is her secret?  What does want to keep in the dark?  For that matter, who is this woman she claims to have stalking her?  A crazed fan?  Something more?  Could this woman be responsible for everything that's going on?  What could she possibly want with Aimee?

And when we finally learn more about Aimee's past - her deep, dark secrets - we realize that there's more to her character than meets the eye.  The revelation brings to light a great deal of what makes up Aimee's inability to share herself...and the possibility that she may very well have blocked out some very important information.  In an attempt to try not to reveal too much, I will say that her childhood is every parent's worst nightmare...

Then, when the ending comes about, we are exposed to the psychological havoc that abuse can wreak upon a person's psyche - just how damaged they become when their formative years are devoid of love and nurturing attention.  I found the culmination of all of the suspense nothing less than shocking.  Feeney is truly a master of dark suspense and psychological thrillers.  She has shed light upon the dingiest corners of the human mind and exposed characters who are the epitome of damaged.  This book left an indelible mark upon me.

I will caution readers who are easily disturbed by rape and child abuse to steer clear of this book.  Even though I found the story highly disturbing, it was a story I simply could not put down.  If you love twisted suspense, then this book is definitely for you.

A Simple Favor: Darcey Bell

"A Simple Favor is a feverish and expertly plotted tale of psychological suspense--a twisting free fall filled with betrayals and reversals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.  Darcey Bell exposes the dark underbelly of female friendship in this taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing story that holds you in its grip until the final page.


"It starts with a simple favor--an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another.  When glamorous Emily asks Stephanie to pick up her son after school, Stephanie happily says yes.  Emily has a life that would make any woman jealous. She is the perfect mother with a dazzling career working for a famous fashion designer in Manhattan.  Stephanie, a widow with a son in kindergarten, lonely in their Connecticut suburb, turns to her daily blog for connection and validation.  Stephanie imagines Emily to be her new confidante and is shocked when Emily suddenly disappears without a trace, leaving her son and husband with no warning.


"Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong.  Unable to keep away from the grieving family, she soon finds herself entangled with Sean, Emily's handsome, reticent British husband.  But she can't ignore the nagging feeling that he's not being honest with her about Emily's disappearance.  Is Stephanie imagining things?  How well did she really know her 'best' friend?

"Stephanie begins to see that nothing--not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor--is as simple as it seems."

My friend and I wanted to see the film adaptation of this book when it came out a short while ago, but we never got around do it.  When I finally saw a copy of the original book on the shelf at my local library, I knew it was something I had to check out.  The promos made the book look deliciously twist and suspenseful.  After beginning my journey into this book, I was not disappointed.

We open with Stephanie's blog posts -- a blog she writes to reach out and connect with other moms out in the world, for kinship, validation, and friendship (whether or not she even truly realizes the last).  She and her son, Miles, make their lonely way through life after the death of Stephanie's husband, Davis, and her brother, Chris, in a tragic car accident.  Stephanie, perhaps, doesn't realize how lonely she really is until she finds what she believes to be a true and honest friend in Emily, the mother of her son's favorite playmate in school.  They bond over shared secrets and wine, as well as the challenges of raising sons in their Connecticut suburb after leaving the bustle of New York.  Stephanie is very quickly enamored of Emily and her lifestyle, her seeming perfection and elegance.  Having no one else to turn to, Stephanie quickly turns to her blog when Emily doesn't show to pick up her son from Stephanie's house after school one evening.  At first, Stephanie believes she may have misheard Emily or perhaps Emily's emergency had pulled her away for longer than anticipated.  It's only when Emily's continued unresponsiveness and days pass that Stephanie's concern blossoms into true fear.  She reaches out to Emily's husband, Sean, while he's on a business trip overseas.  At first, Sean's lack of concern and knowledge of Emily's hectic schedule makes Stephanie feel like a worrier.  It isn't until Sean returns to the States and Emily still hasn't returned that the two of them find a shared bond over their fear for Emily's safety.  Where had she gone?  Why had she left?  Was she still alive?  As more and more evidence is uncovered, more questions seem to pop up rather than answers.  What happened to Emily?  These questions seem to be answered...but there were far too many pages left in the book for this to be tied up in a nice, neat little package -- I always find this terrifying; when everything seems to work out, but then there is too much book left for this to actually be the case.  What on earth can the author have in store for me?!  This was absolutely the case with A Simple Favor.

The many twists and turns of this dark and suspenseful story kept me guessing.  I was so sure I knew what was coming right from the very beginning, but I admit that I changed my guess several times over until the truth was finally revealed.  The complex plot and multifaceted characters made for a psychological thriller that was difficult to put down; the tension never really abated.  The first lines of the book ring true throughout:  no one tells the truth and everyone has secrets.  Sometimes even the most innocuous of individuals have the deepest, darkest secrets of all.  Can you ever really, truly know someone?  This book definitely plays off of insecurities about opening up to one another, and the possibilities that people we hold dear are not actually who they seem to be.

At first the narration bounces back and forth between Stephanie's blog and her point of view (which is far more honest and revealing than her public online posts).  This is the first clue that there is a lot more to all of the characters than we see.  Gradually, more is revealed about Stephanie's past and she's not the perfect woman/mother she portrays on her blog -- then again, is anyone really as perfect as the profess to be on social media?  We realize the depth of her relationship with Emily and why Stephanie felt the two of them were so close.  This sets up the tension surrounding Emily's disappearance quite well.

Eventually, we become privy to the points of view of a couple of the other characters.  This adds even more depth and complexity to the plot.  What secrets have these characters kept?  Are they even telling us, the readers, the truth?  What are they choosing to omit and how much will it impact the story?

This is a book that will well and truly keep you on the edge of your seat.  I finished it in the matter of a few days and found it difficult to stop reading.  There are so many violent turns and rapid twists that I couldn't see what was coming at me around the next bend.  This is the mark of a good suspenseful psychological thriller, is it not?  The characters had layer upon layer of personality and secrets.  It was nearly impossible to trust any of them, even when you really wanted to do so.  I was captured right from the start and drawn into this mysterious world of secrets, lies, and questions.

I'm definitely even more interested in seeing the film adaptation of this book.  I wonder how true to its dark nature they will keep.  From what few previews I've seen, I think the casting was done well, given the descriptions in the book.

I recommend this for those of you who like darker psychological thrillers.  Fans of Gone Girl will really enjoy this one as it makes you question reality and the reliability of the very characters themselves.