What She Knew - Miranda Rijks

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from Booksprout

Official Blurb:

They thought they'd buried their secrets with her. They were wrong.
Life has been good to Stephanie. Married to college professor, Oliver, with two adorable children, she lives in a lovely house, surrounded by beautiful things.
It hasn’t always been like this.
Nine years ago, Stephanie’s flatmate Alison vanished, presumed murdered. It was a horrible time, and Stephanie tries hard not to think about it.
But when a TV researcher working on a true crime series wants to interview her about the case, Stephanie is forced to confront the past and recognise that she has a deep need to answer one burning question – what happened to Alison?
It soon becomes clear that someone doesn’t want her digging for the truth and is willing to do anything to conceal a shocking web of lies. As her perfect life unravels, Stephanie realises that by opening a door into the past she has woken a sleeping monster. And now her own life is on the line…

My Thoughts:

This had all the suspense and intrigue you would expect from a Miranda Rijks book, but I’m afraid this wasn’t my favourite of her endings.
I’m usually shocked and blown away by the big reveal at the end. The writing is always cleverly manipulated to take you by surprise but still be completely in keeping with the story you have read. The whole way through this book, I was trying to guess an outside of the box theory of what could have happened to Alison. However, the conclusion that was presented to me just felt a little flat and uninspiring. It was entirely out of left-field, and I was a little disappointed when it was all revealed.
A lot of it just didn’t make sense either, especially the notes Steph was getting. Yes, we find out who sent them, but the content had no relevance whatsoever. I was expecting there to be a big twist involving this vein of the story, but it wasn’t there. The last two chapters are dedicated to the aftermath, one set a little while after and another a year later. Throughout these, I was waiting for the big shocker to come, but it didn’t. It was more Steph coming to terms with what had happened and her fighting her conscience to put things right for other people. It felt a little too twee for my liking. It had too much of a ‘happy ever after’ for a Psych Thriller.
The book had kept me gripped throughout; however, it was just the ending that let me down. Maybe my expectations of Rijks’ books have become too high, or perhaps this one just wasn’t quite right for me. I am still looking forward to future works by this author, and I’m hoping this was just a minor blip. Still, a solid three-star read for keeping the fast-paced story throughout and keeping me hooked.

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