What She Knew: A British Domestic Thriller Where Kidnapping Reveals Deadly Family Secrets

Rachel Jenner and her son Ben are enjoying a frequent tradition: spending time in the park with their dog, Skittle, when things take a turn. Ben asks to run ahead to the rope swing, and Rachel agrees. That's the last she sees of her son. It's as if Ben has vanished into thin air, and Rachel feels her world cleave into two. The police are called, and the investigation is handed over to DI James Clemo. This is Jim's first major investigation as lead, and he's determined to do it right. Meanwhile Rachel is reeling from her decision to allow Ben to run ahead--one that's quickly questioned by her ex-husband and soon, the media. As days pass by without a break in the case, the media quickly turns its harsh glare directly onto Rachel. Rachel, meanwhile, starts questioning herself--and those around her. I absolutely adored Gilly Macmillan's mystery The Perfect Girl, so when I saw she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to read it. I didn't realize it was part of a series (apparently featuring Jim Clemo), so I decided to read this one first. It's Macmillan's first book, but, of course, you can barely tell, because she's an amazing writer. She's going to be one of my favorite mystery writers going forward. The format of the novel is unique -- we get Jim and Rachel's point of view, broken down by Day 1, 2, 3, etc. of Ben's disappearance. But we also get transcript pieces of Clemo's meetings with a psychologist, whom he is meeting with a good year after Ben's disappearance. The gist is that Ben's case has so clearly affected Clemo and his job performance that meeting with this woman--in hopes of getting a good report--is the only way he may be able to remain on the job. It's an effective format and certainly ratchets up the suspense and tension as we wonder exactly what happened to Ben: who took him? Will he return home safely to his mother and father? Is anyone in this novel telling the truth? It's a slow-burning book, with no major sudden twists and turns, but deftly written, with each character superbly fleshed out. Our cast is small, but well-done: Ben's mother and father, his teachers and schoolmates, his troubled aunt, and those investigating his case. The standouts, of course, though are Rachel and Jim--our storytellers. Rachel is reeling from her divorce, telling us her story directly, and delving into her own flaws. It allows Macmillan to illustrate the power (not always positive) of modern day society's relentless media focus and what those anonymous people in social forums can do to real, actual people. Rachel isn't always a sympathetic character, though my heart often went out to her, but she's real--a flawed, authentic mother. And, speaking of flaws, Jim is a fascinating character. We get bits and pieces of how he's formed by his past. He's not a one-dimensional, stereotypical policeman, but a very intricate character. He's driven, but honestly, he's really quite a mess. As a result, he's intriguing but also frustrating in many ways. I'll be quite interested to see where he is in Macmillan's second novel in the series. So, while this novel is filled with complicated characters, it is also a mystery at its core. Our intricate cast slows things down a bit, but luckily the plot keeps you guessing and wanting to turn the pages. I had various suspicions, throughout, but the ending completely surprised me (something that's hard to do). The novel takes a lot of unexpected turns. At the halfway point, I was completely befuddled, but invested. Overall, this one is pretty captivating. I actually found myself keeping my daughters closer to me while reading and feeling nervous when they ran off. The night after I finished it, I had creepy dreams about a child being kidnapped--I rarely, if ever, dream about the books I'm reading! Sweet Ben really touched me and, as I mentioned, while I didn't always like Rachel, I very much empathized with her. Macmillan is a wonderful writer, and I'm very excited to be starting ODD CHILD OUT in the next couple of days.

Firstly I do understand why some readers gave this book only one star as they had read it under another title. I do think however, that you should have complained to Amazon as they should have made it quite clear that the title had been changed, whether or not this was for the American market I don't know, but the previous title should have been in parentheses, as this was their responsibility. Now I will give the review as this really is a very well written book. In fact I would go to say one of the best written mystery/thrillers that I have read for a long time. There are plenty of twists, characters well developed and the descriptions the author uses of woods, the police station, surrounding area, even the child's bedroom are so well written that you actually want to read the paragraphs, rather than as in many books we are simply bored and skip through to the exciting parts. I thought the author gave us a very good example of the spiteful comments that we read every day during these cases. How much pain it must inflict on the parents of missing children, all accused if not of the actual murder, then of neglect. Even the mainstream media relishes in pointing out the faults and it must be heartbreaking for close family that are already suffering. Excellent first book and I have already purchased the latest novel, which for me is extremely rare.

Overall a very literary and affecting book about a young boy who disappears while he is on a walk in the woods with his mother. About three-quarters of the way in I did find myself skimming pages wondering when we were going to finally get to the “who-done-it” and when we finally do find out who the perpetrator is, we’ve literally run out of any other viable suspects. (Why the endless passages about the investigating officer’s psychotherapy sessions - especially since we are never told WHY he’s in therapy in the first place other than now he has “anxiety”? Why are these here when we already have half the story narrated BY him and we know first-hand how the case is affecting him?) The agony of a parent of a missing child is well written and I did appreciate that everything isn’t all wrapped up in a neat “happy family” bow at the end. Every single person in this story - from the investigative officers to the family are all very clearly damaged by Ben’s abduction (most of all Ben himself) and it was a relief to see this portrayed realistically and not smoothed over with platitudes and bland assurances that it’s all OK when Ben is finally rescued. There is no “Perry Mason” style ending here where all is revealed -which I found very real and very effective. There were however two big plot problems for me: 1) Maybe it’s just me - but as a criminal justice professional I’m never a big fan of the “I had to take the law into my own hands” angle and I’ll just say if this was the real world the actions of our main character Rachel would have pretty much guaranteed the suspect would have got away with the crime (illegal search, unauthorized entry, breaking and entering ... and that’s just the beginning). This kind of thing makes for great TV and a thrill -but in the real world cases just don’t work like that and I do get very tired of this kind of behavior being rewarded. Rachel decides she knows best (which has literally gone very badly every other time) and refuses to wait a few hours to speak to the officers handling the case which - again -in the real world - would have entirely jeopardized the case with her rash decision to investigate on her own. Of course she alone solves the mystery (as is always the case with this irritating theme) but it might have made an even better story if her actions damaged the case against the kidnapper. (Especially since, at this point, while Rachel is illegally snooping around - we know Ben has been found) 2) I could have done without the “infertility =crazy” plot twist. This would almost be acceptable if we had any real sense of the kidnapper or their motives - but a major point is that they steadfastly refuse to discuss any of the reasons why they took young Ben - so their infertility is literally offered as a fait accompli - they found out that they couldn’t have children so naturally, they went nuts. My problem is that the story would have made perfect sense without this - we have a depressed, somewhat neglectful mother obsessed with hating her ex and his new wife -who grills Ben every time he comes back from visitations to the point that he says negative things to please her about how bad it is. In fact Rachel is so distracted by her own misery at her husband leaving her that at one point she sends Ben to school with what turns out to be a broken arm - despite the fact that he is obviously in great pain. Certainly that in and of itself would have been enough for a caring person to tip over the edge and become obsessed with a child they saw as living with an unfit and even dangerous parent and who needed “rescuing” - So why add the insulting and tired trope that women who can’t have children are “bad” and “crazy”? Despite this , “What She Knew” is better than most in this genre and contains some genuinely touching and heartfelt moments as the search for a missing child becomes a news and internet obsession.

Recommended to me by Princess Cruises, a great read! Now to join their book club on our cruise next week.

“If there’s so much potential for others to judge us wrongly, then how can we be sure that our assessment of them in any way resembles the real person that lies underneath?” (citation pos. 152) Content Rachel Jenner, recently divorced, photographer, loves to go for a walk with her son Ben, eight years old, and their dog Skittle. When he wants to run ahead to go on the rope swing, Skittle on his side, she tries not to listen to her maternal voice and allows it, because it is not far and he knows the way. After a short phone call with her sister, Rachel arrives at the rope – and Ben is not here. He is missing, without any traces. Every day that passes makes the search and the questions more desperate. Theme and Genre This thriller is about the impact of a case of a missing child on the family, friends and the investigating police. An important topic is the psychological point of view, the feelings of the persons involved. The story also shows the pressure of the public opinion, of journalists, of strangers gathering and sharing their opinions via social media, hate postings and bullying. Characters Rachel sometimes still struggles to get over her divorce. She feels guilty for letting Ben run ahead in the wood and with the public opinion calling her a bad mother almost breaks her down, as well as having to wait for results of the investigation. But she never gives up. DI James Clemo leads the investigation team, knowing that time is important and if the want to find Ben, they first have to find out who took him. Plot and Writing Rachel and Jim, beginning with a prolog one year after Ben’s disappearance, tell the captivating story. Each day is a chapter and begins with notes from an OJJDP law report about Missing and Abducted Children, Rachel’s description of the events and Jim who tells his part to the story to his therapist. Together with extracts from the blog, it is this special and brilliant plotting, that makes the story so breathtaking, deeply impressing and thrilling. Conclusion A gripping, unputdownable story and definitely not a book that is closed with the last page, shelved and soon forgotten. An amazing read that remains in the readers thoughts.

This book is a must for anyone enjoying a psychological mystery book. Fast paced and hard to put down. I would highly recommend it.

I highly recommend this book. Absolutely enthralling and exciting read, full of passion of a mothers love for her child . Twist and turns from the investigating side keepi g you guessing to the end.

This book grips you right from the beginning, as you follow the unfolding story of a mother losing her son in the most unimaginable way. It keeps you guessing all the way through, making you change your mind about who's the guilty party. It even had a proper ending, something that so many books lack lately. I definitely recommend this debut novel and look forward to reading more by this author.