I Know You

Written by Claire McGowan

Narrated by Esther Wane

In this tense thriller from the bestselling author of What You Did and The Other Wife, a woman finds a dead body. Will she make the same mistake as last time?

Rachel lives a quiet life in the peaceful countryside, content with her perfect man and her lovely dog. But when she stumbles upon a body in the woods one day, all that shatters. She knows what she has to do: run. Don’t get accused of murder. But when this victim is identified as her boyfriend’s estranged wife, Rachel realises she’s already the prime suspect.

With mounting evidence against her, Rachel’s only hope is to keep her past well hidden. Because before she was Rachel, she was Casey, a young nanny trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles—and when the family she worked for were brutally murdered, she narrowly escaped the death penalty. Now, she’ll do anything to save the life she’s spent years piecing back together.

But the police are closing in, and Rachel can’t help wondering: Was her discovery in the woods really just an awful coincidence, or is someone framing her for murder? Someone who knows who she is, and wants revenge…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781713601760

Claire McGowan

Claire McGowan was born in 1981 in a small Irish village where the most exciting thing that ever happened was some cows getting loose on the road. She is the author of The Fall, What You Did, The Other Wife and the acclaimed Paula Maguire crime series. She also writes women’s fiction under the name Eva Woods.

Reviews for I Know You

[abeermehilba · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a very entertaining audiobook, I loved the narrator's voice and I really liked the pacing of the story and how the timeline shifted between past and present.

It's a murder mystery story, nothing that's unique in it's core and would make a really nice 90's movie.
I did however find many plot holes, things that defied logic - even for a 19 year old rather sheltered girl. Some actions were - yes, explained; But that explanation was still lacking.

I do not want to put spoilers here, but there were several parts that got me thinking "who would think/ do that?" I know of course we live in a diverse world and people do all sorts of things that are rather non logical, but at the same time I was hoping for a more complex inner monologue and driving the story on only by relying on the stupidity of everyone's actions in the story.

[Cilica · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An ambitious storyline with the two timelines. The author kept all straightforward. The characters, well written plot weaved with twists. I knew who killed. Had an idea about the 1st set of murders and who killed Anna.

[macaylaathomas · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I like the plot of this book, but it is so obviously written in 2021 era. The author weaves many woke themes into the plot, heavy stereotyping of Americans and pushing for sympathy of a side character who killed her children in a murder-suicide in an anti death row theme throughout. Still quite an interesting book with depth to the main character, but if you don’t care for the woke agenda, it is a bit overdone. (Normally this author is great)

[Leigh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.75 Good plot…. Except police were sure incompetent. Protagonist believable.

[Kandace Simpson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! Oh my goodness the storyline and how well it was written. I couldn’t put it down.

[Debbee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the characters. A lot of twists in there which were surprising. Very good book. And the narrative was great!

[Catherine Penrod · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good story. I did have it figured out early on. I realize the character was a young 19-year-old, but her naivete was almost unbelievable. I also was not fond of the narrator in the Casey role. She was quite whiney. Rachel was better but still gullible and made repeatedly bad choices. I really despised what happened to Madison.

[Natshedge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really like the authors writing style. Gripping story. Touched on some disturbing themes. Suspend belief and enjoy the story.

[susan.h.schofield · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a well written and interesting thriller. I liked the dual timelines of Casey in the past and Rachel in the present. I definitely had my suspicions about what happened in the past and what was going on with Anna's death but was still surprised by some of the twists. I definitely enjoy Claire McGowan's writing and will be reading more by her in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

[jfe16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review of eBookWhen Rachel Caldwell takes her dog, Brandy, for her usual morning walk in her favorite part of the woods, she comes upon a body lying in the leaves.Stunned, she runs.Rachel chooses to do nothing at all . . . no call to the police, no returning to make certain the person in the clearing is dead. Nothing.She knows what happens when you find a dead body. And she desperately doesn’t want to be that person again.Things become more complicated when it turns out that she’d had a run-in with the dead woman . . . Alex’s estranged wife. Alex, the first man she’d allowed herself to have feelings for, the first relationship she’d seriously considered in some twenty years. The first time since she’d found the bodies . . . .She was sixteen; off to America for a position as a nanny for a Hollywood producer and his actress wife. Their daughter, Madison, was five; the baby, Carson, just six months old. She was Casey, then. Casey Adams. A girl with stars in her eyes and a dream of an acting career.But the evidence in the brutal murders of the Safran family pointed to Casey as the culprit and she landed in prison. Five years later, an appeal ended her imprisonment and she returned to England.Now Casey goes by her middle name, Rachel, and the surname of her ex-husband, Caldwell. She doesn't want any connection with the past, with the catastrophe that fell upon Casey Adams. But as the detectives investigate Anna’s death, all the evidence points to Rachel as the murderer. All her secrets . . . her lies . . . make her look guilty. But, could it be that someone is framing her for Anna’s murder?Is Rachel guilty? And what happened in the Safran home twenty years ago?Well-defined, believable characters populate this tale of family and secrets, of deception and danger. Two murder stories evolve alternately, one in the present, one twenty years in the past. Complex, compelling, and dark, things move quickly in this story that’s sprinkled with newspaper clippings and podcast conversations.With the suspense constantly building, readers will find themselves guessing while some surprising twists in the plot ramp up the tension and keep the pages turning as the intriguing mysteries unfold. Pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset, readers will find it difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.Highly recommended.I received a free copy of this eBook from Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley#IKnowYou #NetGalley

[grumpydan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This novel begins with two stories, the first involves Rachel who finds a dead body while walking her dog in the English woods. The other is a flashback to America some twenty years earlier about an English nanny named Casey, working for a Hollywood producer and his family. I was intrigued by this method and wanted to know the connection and as the stories unfold and become involved, we find out. I enjoyed the writing and the characters were interesting, but I kind of figured some of the twists, but not the ending. Overall, it was enjoyable, but no wow moment. I received an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review.

[miss.mesmerized · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When teenager Casey Adams leaves for Los Angeles, she hopes that her job as a nanny with a Hollywood film maker will be the first step in a career. Yet, David is hardly at home and his wife Abby is not only frustrated as she does not get any acting offers anymore but also totally unable to cope with her two kids, 5-year-old Madison and baby Carson. All is left to Casey who herself struggles with the tasks being young and unexperienced with kids. Things develop in the worst imaginable way ending in a family drama. Twenty years later in England, Rachel finds herself accused of the murder of her boy-friend’s wife. All evidence is against her, why did she run when she accidentally stumbled over the body in the woods and not call the police? Rachel has a reason to stay away from murder as she knows how death row feels.Claire McGowan has created another highly suspenseful and complex psychological thriller. Casey's and Rachel's story alternate, it only takes a couple of pages to realise how they are linked and why the two plot lines are connected over such a long time and two quite unalike places. Both murder cases are interesting to follow even though they could hardly be more different and the fact that there is a common ground gives it a little extra of suspense.It is easy to comprehend Casey's feeling of exhaustion as she is not really prepared for her job as a nanny. Working for a glamorous family sounded great only on paper, reality hits her hard, but she has a good heart and tries to do what is best for the kids. It takes some time for her to understand the underlying mechanics of the family, that David and Abby's relationship is going down the plughole and that all she can do is make sure the kids are all right. Until they aren't anymore. Being accused of multiple murder, nobody wants to believe her, that is the hardest part of the story because you can easily empathise with her despair in telling them about her innocence without being heard. Yet, there are some gaps in her story and the question is looming if she can actually be believed.Rachel on the other hand, is a lot stronger but nevertheless also a prime suspect whom everybody turns their back to when the police start to question her. She is also alone and tries to prove her innocence. It is obvious that somebody tries to frame her, the big question is just: who would want to do such a thing and why?A great read that I totally adored. Two wonderful protagonists who are multifaceted in their character traits and a suspenseful plot which brilliantly links the two stories.