English professor Elizabeth looks forward to each semester to teach creative writing to college students. One of the students submits a chapter about a high school senior who has an affair with her teacher. Elizabeth is too familiar with this story and knows exactly what happened. After all, her best friend, Jocelyn, was that girl, and Elizabeth had killed the professor. 

Looks like someone knows what she did two decades ago. But who? Elizabeth returns to her hometown, Louisiana, to dig deeper. Maybe it’s time she faced her past! 

The story comes in Elizabeth’s first-person POV. 

While I don’t mind predictable stuff in cozy mysteries and romance, I somehow can’t stand it in thrillers. Picky much, hell yeah! Still, since I enjoyed the author’s latest romance book, I thought I’d try this one too. 

Let me be clear that this is decently good. It has all the elements you want from a thriller. In fact, it could be a great read if this is what you want. 

The narration is fast-paced, which is a huge plus. It keeps the pages turning even if the plot doesn’t move (there isn’t enough plot to move anyway). 

The first-person POV is spot-on. Despite my rating, I have to applaud the author for getting the tone right. It goes from borderline egoistical to frantic and messy very well. 

In a way, the book could be a study of patterns. Not just the ones openly discussed, but others too. I think this could be a book club read. There is a lot to dissect if you want to! 

However, the overall effect is underwhelming. That’s mainly because I’m no longer awed by such twists or characters. I wondered about a twist two to three chapters before it happened. This continued until the end. 

Then the MC, by god! It’s mandatory for them to be idiots, so she is no exception. Living on coffee and alcohol- check; horny even when her life is crap- double check; pea-brained and idiotic- check. The list could go on… 

The book is called a chilling and sexy thriller. It wasn’t chilling, but okay. It wasn’t sexy either. It was horny. I know it’s hard to get the erotic elements just right to add that extra bite to the thriller (I tried it in a short story). Here, it started well, but soon became a joke. While it does serve the purpose of making readers question the MC’s mental state, it doesn’t do anything else. 

And that unwanted and most useless last chapter, which has become an annoying trend in this genre. I don’t know who started it, but I can’t wait for someone to end it. The last chapters of a thriller book don’t have to shock the reader and inadvertently make them question the whole plot. Honestly, there could have been a better last chapter, especially since there was a much better character suited for that role. That’s all I will say! 

To summarize, Someone Knows has everything that would make a good thriller, but I couldn’t enjoy it. Those who love the genre might like it more. Do check the other reviews before you decide. 

Don’t ignore the triggers! 

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #SomeoneKnows