"Death is so strange, its alchemy, its sudden and irreversible descent, like the fall of an axe."

Enjoyable enough but not particularly believable. Casey, although young and naïve, made some very questionable decisions and when the shit hit the fan, why did she not just tell the truth rather than dig a bigger pit? Biggest pet peeve with modern literature: British author, (mainly) British setting, so why was it all Americanised? Grrrr. ( )

This was a well written and interesting thriller. I liked the dual timelines of Casey in the past and Rachel in the present. I definitely had my suspicions about what happened in the past and what was going on with Anna's death but was still surprised by some of the twists. I definitely enjoy Claire McGowan's writing and will be reading more by her in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC. ( )

Review of eBook
When Rachel Caldwell takes her dog, Brandy, for her usual morning walk in her favorite part of the woods, she comes upon a body lying in the leaves.

Stunned, she runs.

Rachel chooses to do nothing at all . . . no call to the police, no returning to make certain the person in the clearing is dead. Nothing.

She knows what happens when you find a dead body. And she desperately doesn’t want to be that person again.

Things become more complicated when it turns out that she’d had a run-in with the dead woman . . . Alex’s estranged wife. Alex, the first man she’d allowed herself to have feelings for, the first relationship she’d seriously considered in some twenty years. The first time since she’d found the bodies . . . .

She was sixteen; off to America for a position as a nanny for a Hollywood producer and his actress wife. Their daughter, Madison, was five; the baby, Carson, just six months old. She was Casey, then. Casey Adams. A girl with stars in her eyes and a dream of an acting career.

But the evidence in the brutal murders of the Safran family pointed to Casey as the culprit and she landed in prison. Five years later, an appeal ended her imprisonment and she returned to England.

Now Casey goes by her middle name, Rachel, and the surname of her ex-husband, Caldwell. She doesn't want any connection with the past, with the catastrophe that fell upon Casey Adams. But as the detectives investigate Anna’s death, all the evidence points to Rachel as the murderer. All her secrets . . . her lies . . . make her look guilty. But, could it be that someone is framing her for Anna’s murder?

Is Rachel guilty? And what happened in the Safran home twenty years ago?

Well-defined, believable characters populate this tale of family and secrets, of deception and danger. Two murder stories evolve alternately, one in the present, one twenty years in the past. Complex, compelling, and dark, things move quickly in this story that’s sprinkled with newspaper clippings and podcast conversations.

With the suspense constantly building, readers will find themselves guessing while some surprising twists in the plot ramp up the tension and keep the pages turning as the intriguing mysteries unfold. Pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset, readers will find it difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley
#IKnowYou #NetGalley ( )

This novel begins with two stories, the first involves Rachel who finds a dead body while walking her dog in the English woods. The other is a flashback to America some twenty years earlier about an English nanny named Casey, working for a Hollywood producer and his family. I was intrigued by this method and wanted to know the connection and as the stories unfold and become involved, we find out. I enjoyed the writing and the characters were interesting, but I kind of figured some of the twists, but not the ending. Overall, it was enjoyable, but no wow moment. I received an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review. ( )

When teenager Casey Adams leaves for Los Angeles, she hopes that her job as a nanny with a Hollywood film maker will be the first step in a career. Yet, David is hardly at home and his wife Abby is not only frustrated as she does not get any acting offers anymore but also totally unable to cope with her two kids, 5-year-old Madison and baby Carson. All is left to Casey who herself struggles with the tasks being young and unexperienced with kids. Things develop in the worst imaginable way ending in a family drama. Twenty years later in England, Rachel finds herself accused of the murder of her boy-friend’s wife. All evidence is against her, why did she run when she accidentally stumbled over the body in the woods and not call the police? Rachel has a reason to stay away from murder as she knows how death row feels.

Claire McGowan has created another highly suspenseful and complex psychological thriller. Casey's and Rachel's story alternate, it only takes a couple of pages to realise how they are linked and why the two plot lines are connected over such a long time and two quite unalike places. Both murder cases are interesting to follow even though they could hardly be more different and the fact that there is a common ground gives it a little extra of suspense.

It is easy to comprehend Casey's feeling of exhaustion as she is not really prepared for her job as a nanny. Working for a glamorous family sounded great only on paper, reality hits her hard, but she has a good heart and tries to do what is best for the kids. It takes some time for her to understand the underlying mechanics of the family, that David and Abby's relationship is going down the plughole and that all she can do is make sure the kids are all right. Until they aren't anymore. Being accused of multiple murder, nobody wants to believe her, that is the hardest part of the story because you can easily empathise with her despair in telling them about her innocence without being heard. Yet, there are some gaps in her story and the question is looming if she can actually be believed.

Rachel on the other hand, is a lot stronger but nevertheless also a prime suspect whom everybody turns their back to when the police start to question her. She is also alone and tries to prove her innocence. It is obvious that somebody tries to frame her, the big question is just: who would want to do such a thing and why?

A great read that I totally adored. Two wonderful protagonists who are multifaceted in their character traits and a suspenseful plot which brilliantly links the two stories. ( )