Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“They used to tell each other everything… What changed?”

Okay, this book well and truly took me for a ride. After being convinced I had it all worked out and initially feeling a little let down by it, it all changed by the end and I was left on a high! Please read this review – it’s the perfect example of why you should stick with a book until the end as you never know when the surprises will appear! What She Knew is the fourth book by Dan Clark, and I’ll certainly be making my way through his other book after this one.

About the book

He thought he knew everything about his wife… He was wrong!

Tom and Amy Pearce have built a seemingly perfect life – a loving marriage, a beautiful daughter, fulfilling careers, and a comfortable home. They couldn’t ask for more.

So why is Amy hiding something?

When Tom stumbles upon an object he believed was lost in a tragic accident, memories flood back, catapulting him into an emotional whirlwind.

A few days later, Tom observes an encounter between Amy and a mysterious stranger. The subtle shift in her demeanour piques his concern, stirring a deep unease within him. Desperate for answers, he confronts Amy, only to be met with evasiveness and distance.

As Tom delves deeper into the connection between the stranger and the object from the past, he realises he may not truly know his wife at all…

The beginning

Hurrah for prologues! After a shocking and pretty disturbing opening chapter perfectly setting the scene for an intriguing thriller, my head filled with questions and possibilities. A fire, an arsonist, someone who wants someone else dead. After reading the first few chapters, I did have an idea of who this person could be (if you read the book’s synopsis, you’ll know who I had in mind) but it was early days, and of course, books like this have those twists you just aren’t expecting. I was looking forward to exploring all this! We’re introduced to Tom and Amy, seemingly happily married with a daughter at university. All seems rosy until Tom finds an old mobile phone, an item he thought, until now, was lost in the tragic accident that killed his sister. What’s even more odd is that he finds it in a box of his wife’s things. Yes, very sus. It’s so obvious Amy has something to hide when confronted, but at the start, Tom is weirdly blind to it which I found annoying. Dig deeper, Tom, I beg you!

“I moved closer as Amy backed away, into the corner of the balcony until she couldn’t go any further. ‘Amy hand me the phone,’ I demanded.”

There were dual POVs in the book which I love, so this was a really nice addition. Getting to know a new character, Billy, and his relationship with Tom’s sister before her death was really interesting to me, and made me think more about her life and who she was involved with. The layers were building up nicely making me want to uncover everything and dig to find the truth. Tom finally gets suspicious of his wife’s behaviour, and it’s clear she knows something she doesn’t want Tom to know about, that she’s keeping something big from him. Was she doing this to protect him or cover something up? I did become frustrated with Amy on multiple occasions and certainly felt Tom’s pent up rage with her secrets. There was a lot of repetitive dialogue in parts where Tom is desperate for information, with Amy telling him she can’t say anything over and over. I’ll admit though, I was very curious about what Amy knows or what she’s potentially involved in, and just how much Tom would be able to take.

The middle

Learning more about Billy was great, even though the little reveal here was something I saw coming. Saying that, we were only just halfway through the book, so I felt there was plenty left to discover! With the dual POVs, it was sometimes difficult to know which character we were focusing on before we start a chapter as there is no indication. I think I’d have liked to have seen character names before each chapter starts to avoid this confusion! Things escalate pretty quickly and Amy’s character becomes more complex and interesting, so much so that she commits the crime of all crimes. It was out of the blue, so unexpected which made me as determined as Tom to find out what she’s hiding from him. I felt there was a really clear path to what could happen to all the characters we meet and what we would eventually learn about them, which could be a good or bad thing. I still wanted more from this story, the fast pace at times making me want to slow down and enjoy it more!

“Like you said, this is my thinking place…and trust me, I’ve had a lot to think about.”

After just going through the motions with this book up to this point, it was here where things changed for me, where I really felt invested. There was a lot more to think about and I was even starting to think about it all when the book wasn’t in my hands! From suspicious activity between certain characters to wondering how everyone was connected, my mind started buzzing with possibilities. I loved how there were so many layers to Emma’s death and prior to it, so many incidents and events that led up to that very moment. By Chapter 26, it seemed as though my predictions from the very start were correct which I felt a bit disappointed about, but if I’m honest, I quite enjoyed the complexities of it, the way Tom unraveled it all. The details were weaved together in an almost flawless way. (If only I’d have known what was coming, that this wasn’t where things would end at all…) I was still curious about how the author would tie all this up and I felt there was still a few more bits and pieces to uncover.

The end

The ending of the book was filled with conversations, confessions and the tying up of loose ends. Hearing from different characters had me hanging onto every word and I loved finally getting some explanations for why things had happened the way they had. There were some really strong scenes, the kind that has your full attention, the kind that makes you hold your breath and wonder where things will go. It seemed as though the author had kind of built up confidence as the book progressed, becoming more adventurous, keen to take a risk and explore different directions. Tom has certainly changed and developed as a character from the start of the book which I loved to see. Instead of staying suspicious and unsure, he’s now determined and ready for the answers he uncovers. All this made me feel more excited about the outcome. Just what were we about to find out?!

“I became woozy and confused. My fingers went numb and for a brief moment, I didn’t know where I was or how I had gotten there.”

I thought the author had really rounded things off well and absolutely nailed the dark tone, not only in the atmosphere, but with each and every character. (Please note, there are mentions of suicide here.) After everything I’d read, I was surprised to feel so much emotion, especially on Tom’s part as we head into that final chapter. But YES! After thinking my predicted meh ending would be all we were getting, we finally get the ending I’d hoped for, the shocking twist that I wanted! And where the author ends the book had me buzzing. So much to mull over, so much for my mind to go mental over. I think the ending is what really turned this book from a three star into a four star read for me. No matter how much I wanted to read more of it and explore it further, I was definitely satisfied with that ending! This book has certainly got me curious to read more by this author. If you’re looking to read more indie thrillers, this one might be exactly what you need in your life!

Overall thoughts

What She Knew is a thought-provoking thriller which has one of the darkest endings I’ve read in an indie book. The start of the book didn’t have that much of an impact on me if I’m honest, but was still enjoyable. The second half of the book felt way more interesting as Tom tries to get to the bottom of what happened to his sister. Filled with characters to question, interesting conversations as well as a mystery to solve, we’re led astray for most of the book which made that ending so much more impactful for me. So glad I stuck with it!

You can grab a copy of What She Knew right now over on Amazon, available on Kindle or in paperback. Make sure you’re following the author on Instagram for more updates!

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