NetGalley ARC | No One Can Know

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kate Alice Marshall is a rare author who writes both YA and Adult really, really well. It's a tough thing to do, but she's phenomenal and I will read everything she ever writes. This is her second Adult novel, and I absolutely devoured her first, What Lies in the Woods. While that novel is still my favorite, this one was an excellent follow-up.

Fourteen years ago, sisters Juliette, Emma, and Daphne were forced to leave home. Their parents were brutally murdered in said home, so Juliette went off to college while Emma and Daphnew went into foster care. Emma has not seen or spoken to either of her sisters since then, and none of them have talked about what happened that night, or what they saw - even as Emma became the prime suspect in the investigation.

In the present, Emma and her husband must relocate after he loses his job and she finds out she is pregnant. Since all three sisters share ownership of the house, one of them can't just sell it on their own, but any of them can live there.

So, that's exactly what Emma has to do when there are no other options for her and her new little family.

Emma has never talked to anyone about that night, not even her husband. When she finally gives him the gist of it, he is shocked to say the least. But Emma being back home has stirred up some trouble - people in town still talk, convinced she is guilty. The case is still open, so the police are eager to finally have another chance to get Emma to confess. And best/worst of all, Emma's reappearance at home brings Juliette and Daphne back as well.

The author is highly skilled in the area of developing and maintaining complex relationships among her characters and she does an exceptional job with these three very different sisters. Juliette was the good one, always quick to follow the rules and do as her parents asked. Emma was the rebellious one, Juliette's complete opposite. The baby, Daphne, was something else altogether - content to hide in plain sight, observing all that goes on around her, perhaps a bit psychotic?

All three were somehow involved that night, though if that involvement equals murder, the author is quick to provide all kinds of clues and twists to keep readers on their toes.

They are bound together forever not just because they are family, but because of what happened that night. They continue to keep secrets from each other and Emma has to wonder just what either sister is not telling her. Yet it was Emma who found her sisters standing over their parents bodies, Juliette shivering and soaked with water, Daphne covered in blood.

And it was Emma who took charge immediately, constructing a timeline that would ensure all were accounted for at all times, that would protect them from being implicated.

This time around though, Emma can only focus on her unborn baby, and will do whatever she must to protect her child - even if it means no longer covering for one of her sisters.

This one truly had be hooked from beginning to end. Watching the dynamic between the sisters play out in both past and present points of view ensured that one would not easily guess the identity of the killer. I'm usually pretty good at that, but this one got me, for sure.

On the note of the timelines and points of view - this sounds like it could be overwhelming, but it is a strength of the author to give her characters unique and distinct personalities and voices. I did not have to constantly go back to the start of a chapter to see who was speaking.

All three were so frustrating at times because it was clear that everyone was hiding something, but just how those secrets fit with the murders was revealed slowly, peeling back layer by layer. But given the fact that these girls endured serious trauma in their formative years, it does make sense that they're all kind of not quite normal. First they lost their parents, then they lost each other.

I can happily say that I was left guessing for quite a long time as to what actually happened that night. Marshall is an incredibly gifted writer who gives possibilities and takes them away, all while leaving plenty to mull over in the mean time. I suspected pretty much every single character at one point or another.

Highly recommended.