Alice Feeney | I KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Plot (via Goodreads):

l Know Who You Are is the brilliant tale of two stories. One is about Aimee Sinclair—well-known actress on the verge of being full-on famous. If you saw her, you’d think you knew her. One day towards the near-end of her shoot on her latest film, Aimee comes home from filming to find her husband’s cell phone and wallet on the dining room table. He never goes anywhere without them. But he’s nowhere to be found. She’s not too concerned—they had a huge fight the night before. They both said things they didn’t mean. He might have done things he didn’t mean, things she can’t forget. Even though she has a history of supposedly forgetting. After all, she’s a very good actress.

The next morning she goes for her morning run and then goes to her favorite coffee shop. But her card is denied. When she calls the bank they say her account has been emptied of $10,000. She immediately suspects her husband. But they say no, it was Aimee herself who closed out the account. And thus begins a bizarre rabbit hole into which Aimee finds herself falling where nothing is at it seems.

Alternating with Aimee’s story is that of a little girl who wandered away from home. We always tell our kids not to talk to strangers or bad things will happen. Well, bad things happen.

Review:

After Sometimes I Lie, I knew that I immediately needed to read whatever Alice Feeney releases and scoop it up ASAP. The plot to I Know Who You Are was not only more complex and confusing and plentiful than Sometimes I Lie, but I found that the pacing was dangerously effective and tantalizing. Aimee was a character that was not only fun to read, but unreliable and brilliantly written. She's unapologetic and I went back and forth so much with liking her and not liking her that her personality was almost a sub-plot.

When it comes to the plot to this one, I did enjoy that Alice Feeney kept up with the alternate timelines and perspectives but found this story to be all around more harrowing and darker than Sometimes I Lie. There was a panicking sadness to this novel that made you feel the pain of the characters, face their fears, and yet the entire time it is possible to turn away. Another area I found effective was the media aspect as Aimee is an actress. The behind the scenes of her career was not only fun to read about, but provided added another sense of wonderment about what she is capable of and where this could possibly go.

As the novel progressed and the pacing became quite palpable, I found that a few of my hunches were correct and one was unfortunate. The major twist at the end was not only one I saw coming, but just a twist I wasn't completely sold on. I found it to be a little over-the-top and I wished it would have went in a different direction compared to the shocking and phenomenal ending that was in Sometimes I Lie. Regardless, Alice Feeney wrapped up everything exceptionally well and sent a shiver down my spine in the very final page with a brilliant ending that definitely made up for the twist that I wasn't a huge fan of. I cannot wait to see what she crafts up next.

Special thanks to Flatiron Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5