I Know You Know

by Gilly Macmillan

William Morrow

Publication Date September 18, 2018

Pages : 384

Synopsis From Publisher : 

Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Page 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…

Gilly Macmillan is one of my favorite authors. I enjoy her books so much that I find it very hard to pick a favorite. Macmillan consistently creates unique and riveting tales of lies, betrayals, long held secrets, and death. In I Know You Know, Macmillan portrays the long reaching and long lasting affects of crime for not only the victims, but everyone within a community. 

In 1996 the bodies of ten year old Charlie Paige and eleven year old Scott Ashby were found behind a dog racing track in Bristol England. The murders haunted the community long after Sidney Noyce was arrested and later convicted of the murders. When another body is found very close to where Charlie’s and Scott’s bodies were found, DI John Fletcher (who also investigated Charlie’s and Scott’s murders) is assigned to investigate the death. John cannot help but wonder if all three murders are connected. 

At the same time, Podcast creator and Bristol native Cody Swift has returned to conduct his own investigation into Charlie’s and Scott’s murders. Cody features his investigation on his Podcast, It’s Time to Tell. Although Sidney Noyce was convicted of the murders, there are some who doubt his guilt. While recording the Podcast, Cody meets some who would rather not relive the horrible time surrounding the murders. Cody persists undeterred and begins to unravel some very dark and dangerous secrets. 

My absolute favorite element of I Know You Know was Cody’s Podcast  It’s Time To Tell. Charlie and Scott were Cody’s childhood best friends. He has always had doubts about Noyce’s guilt and believes the case should be reinvestigated. Cody sees his Podcast as a chance to get justice for his friends and Noyce. Cody tells most of story in It’s Time to Tell with a few interviews from others linked to the murders. His narrative actually serves as a bit of a flashback to his childhood and some of the events which occurred around the time of the murders. While reading the Podcast portions of the story, told mostly from Cody’s perspective, I noticed what he did not mention more than what he did. I found Cody a bit illusive and doubted his sincerity. For me It’s Time To Tell and Cody serve as a sort of mystery within a mystery.

In I Know You Know Macmillan creates characters who live in the gray area of life. None of the characters are completely good or completely bad. Some of characters are behaving badly or making bad decisions to make amends for past misdeeds. Others are behaving with a “the means justify the end” attitude. This created a sort of see saw affect which lasted throughout the entire book. I never really found a character I could cheer for. When reading I am always looking for a character to cheer for, but not finding one in I Know You Know was fine. I actually enjoyed it. This was the element that made I Know You Know such a page turner for me. 

The story of Sidney Noyce is one which will stick with me for quite some time. Sidney is only mentioned a few times in the story, but to say his story is tragic would not do it justice. Sidney’s story is one which I have read and heard versions of many times before but it is no less heartbreaking. In each of Macmillan books she manages to really tug at my heart strings. Every book has one character who’s story stands out and I was able to see parallels with current events in the “real world” ; making Macmillan’s work not only relatable but realistic.

Macmillan is truly a master story teller. She has an uncanny ability to take characters from many different walks of life and link their stories in the most captivating and suspenseful way. I Know You Know is a multi- faceted, complex read which has left me impatiently awaiting her next book.

*Thanks to William Morrow for my free copy of I Know You Know*

Murder and Moore Rating :

5 out of 5 Stars