What if all your neighbours' secrets landed in a diary on your doorstep?
What if the woman who gave it to you was murdered by one of the people in the diary?
What if the police asked if you knew anything?
Would you hand over the book of secrets?
Or ... would you try to find out what everyone had done?
I Know What You've Done is the unputdownable thriller from the Queen of the Big Reveal.
I Know What You've Done by Dorothy Koomson was published in hardback by Headline on 8 July, the paperback edition is published on 30 December 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
I also have one paperback copy to giveaway to one reader today. Entry is simple, just click on the competition widget link on this blog post. UK entries only please.
GOOD LUCK!
It is novels like I Know What You've Done that make me return time and time again to psychological thrillers, and especially to this author. I've been reading her books since 2007, and My Best Friend's Girl is one of the only books that I've read more than once. Her novels have become darker over the years, with more of a noir feeling than the central themes of love that were there in her earlier books. However, she's absolutely brilliant at what she does and I flew through this novel in just over 24 hours.
Acacia Villas is a street in a well-to-do area of Brighton. The large houses are arranged in a three-sided oblong shape. There are manicured gardens, sweeping stone steps and an assortment of inhabitants on the street. From the outside, it all seems pretty normal, with people going about their daily business, although there are certainly more of them around since the events of 2020 meant that they all stayed at home.
Priscilla lives in the largest, grandest house on the street. The situation of 21 Acacia Villas allows her to see what is happening on the street. She has a good view of everyone, although most of them can't see her.
It's 1 June 2021 and Rae opens the door to find Priscilla on her doorstep. This is not the usual immaculately turned out Priscilla though. She's distressed, her hair is a mess, her make up is smeared and her clothes are crumpled. Priscilla thrusts a notebook into Rae's hands. A few moments later, Priscilla is on the pavement, unconscious with Dunstan, another of the Acacia Villas residents looking over her.
This is just the beginning of a story that is complex, tightly woven and multi layered. Told through the voices of various Acacia Villas residents, with snippets from Priscilla's own thoughts, it's a mystery that is both bewildering to the local residents and also to the reader.
Dorothy Koomson has taken each house on the street and revealed their darkest secrets. It's so true that we never know just what goes on behind closed doors, and oh my goodness, this is a street full of hidden truths and dirty deeds. Some of the residents become aware that Priscilla knew far more about them than they are comfortable with and as the story unfolds, we see their desperation get greater and greater.
Perfectly structured, with sharp snappy chapters told from various points of view, Koomson really keeps her readers on their toes. Unexpected surprises abound and please do expect the unexpected.
This is so well paced, full of menace and packed with tension and with some of the most immoral and corrupt characters you'll find in a long time. Highly recommended by me.
she was 13 when she used to share her stories with her convent school friends. Her published titles include: Tell Me Your Secret, The Brighton Mermaid, The Friend, When I Was Invisible, That Girl From Nowhere, The Flavours of Love, The Woman He Loved Before, Goodnight, Beautiful and The Chocolate Run.
Dorothy’s first novel, The Cupid Effect, was published in 2003 (when she was quite a bit older than 13). Her third book, My Best Friend’s Girl, was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads of 2006 and went on to sell over 500,000 copies. While her fourth novel, Marshmallows For Breakfast, has sold in excess of 250,000 copies. Dorothy’s books, The Ice Cream Girls and The Rose Petal Beach were both shortlisted for the popular fiction category of the British Book Awards in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
Dorothy’s novels have been translated into over 30 languages, and a TV adaptation loosely based on The Ice Cream Girls was shown on ITV1 in 2013. After briefly living in Australia, Dorothy now lives in Brighton.
In 2019 Dorothy was awarded the Image Award by The Black British Business Awards to celebrate and honour her achievements.
For more information on Dorothy Koomson visit www.dorothykoomson.co.uk
Twitter @DorothyKoomson
Instagram @dorothykoomson_author
No comments:
Post a Comment