Cover Image: What I Know

What I Know

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Member Reviews

A little of a slow start but it really picked up and I was absolutely hooked. Some really good twists, especially around the brother.

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I haven't read much by Ms Smith before, but this was an overall good solid read. There isn't many surprises throughout the book, but it was well written and ended nicely, all loose threads tied up.

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DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

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A little slow to start, and while it did pick up pace I personally found it a little predictable. For me the only likeable character was Della....but even then I wasnt drawn in. Not for me, but I can see why others would enjoy this story of true psychopathic behaviour.

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A fabulous book which I could not put down. Really easy to read, gripping and wonderfully told story that I would recommend to others!!

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This was an interesting read! While the first half was a bit slow and dry for me, the book picked up during the second half. This was my first book by this author but definitely won’t be my last. As for predictability, this book was not predictable at all!

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Great book. Highly recommend and will most defiantly read more by this author and suggest to others!

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Della'a brother Brian is evil and all her life she made excuses for him. A book packed with drama and intrigue that kept me turning the pages until the last chapter.

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What I Know is a tense thriller that kept me turning the pages and staying up way too late. Really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more from this author.

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I really enjoyed this thriller. I haven’t read any other books from this author but I fully intend to do so now. This book had me hooked from the first page.

Many thanks to netgalley and Miranda Smith for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

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A taut, compelling thriller that kept me turning the pages. Recommended! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC

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Absolutely loved this book! The family drama is something that I typically don't enjoy, but it kept me hooked in this book.
Loved the switching back and forth from past to present here as well.
It's one of those ones where you never know what you would do if you were put in the characters position, but the story felt so real, I was captivated.

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Family can be evil. People can be evil. And evil can make its presence felt.

The story opens with the words "My brother was thirteen the first time he tried to kill me". Okay. So that gives sibling rivalry a whole new meaning in that case. But Della's brother Brian was not normal. Not in the sense that we know it. Brian was a psychopath - that much was clear. Even at 13 years of age. And if he wasn't a psychopath he was just plain cruel. I hated him on sight. And that wasn't the first time he tried to kill her either. The whole watermelon wrestle I could see that coming...besides the fact the juvenile game was dangerous and went against pool safety anyway. And what was it about Della's mum? Brian could do no wrong in her eyes. Was the woman blind, or what? Everything, and I mean everything, was always Della's fault. She needed a good slap and I felt like delivering it more than once.

Then the story moves into the present day. Della is now a teacher of American Literature (why can't they just call it English like everyone else?) and happily married to her brothers former best friend Danny Mayfair, a doctor now in general practice. The couple live, not an extravagant life, but a comfortable one with no children so they could enjoy late nights and have the means to travel to various parts of the world on holiday. Della was adamant that she didn't want children...not after her childhood growing up with Brian. Brian who was no in prison for murder. And she put him there. Della and Danny escaped Florida to start their lives somewhere new...somewhere where they were unknown and people wouldn't be pointing the finger at Della and knowing what her brother did.

As a teacher at Victory Falls, Della has kept her past a secret and only Danny and her therapist know pain and shame she bears. She spends every day trying to block out any memory of her past...and she's succeeded fairly well. Until a new student arrives late in the school year, just a few weeks until summer. Something about Zoey Peterson reminds her of Brian. Her eyes have that same dead stare he gave her most of her childhood. They are cold and calculating. They are empty of emotion. Like black pools of nothingness. Zoey gets under Della's skin from the moment she arrives, causing controversy over the literature they are reading which Zoey claims to have read "just for fun".

And when, with that dead stare of hers, Zoey mentions she is from Florida Della freezes and feels her heartrate quicken. But upon checking with admin she learns that there is no mention of Zoey having come from Florida. So why did she say that she was? She can't know about her past...can she? Something about this girl doesn't ring true. Something about her is dangerous and Della feels she must do something before it's too late.

But Della's fears go unnoticed by others. The other teachers think Zoey is charming and don't take Della's suspicions that she may be dangerous seriously. But instinctively Della knows there is something evil about Zoey. Just like before, when no one believed her about her brother - the town's darling - no one sees the evil in Zoey. But psychopaths can be charming. They can be likeable. They can be the person next door. But that's what makes them so dangerous...their ability to blend in and appear normal. A chameleon.

But Della knows that if she doesn't do something soon before it's too late that history will repeat itself.

One word for this book - besides boring - is evil. Evil made its presence felt. And I felt it from the first pages, despite it not being enough to hold my interest. I've no idea why I requested this book and upon re-reading the premise I'm still none the wiser. But I dived in with an open mind ready to devour whatever it threw at me. However, I only got 15% in when I couldn't stomach any more and flipped to the final three chapters to find out how it all ended. It was really no surprise and if there was a big reveal, then I missed it.

The premise did promise a dark, disturbing creepy thriller and I guess it was that but...everyone just irritated me too damn much! From Della to her mum to Brian to Zoey to basically everyone. They were all pretty much unlikeable. And I felt like I knew the ending before I had barely begun. Brian and Zoey was just too evil for words and I honestly couldn't stomach them...or really anyone else for that matter.

Maybe it's just me, having come from a brilliant read I devoured in a day to something as confusing and as disturbing as this...I don't know. I usually enjoy deliciously dark and disturbing. I love creepy and twisted. But this just didn't do it for me. It could be that I prefer British thrillers and American personalities are a whole lot different. Or that I am just not a fan of teenage angst and anger and behaviour. I generally don't read books where the focus is on a school and teenagers.

Whatever it is, WHAT I KNOW just didn't do it for me. I couldn't finish it and at the same time I feel like I didn't miss much either. I really hope her next one is better as I am on the publicity tour for it.

I would like to thank #MirandaSmith, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #WhatIKnow in exchange for an honest review.

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Della is the main character, she is a teacher at the local high school and married to her teen sweetheart who was her brothers best friend. hen new girl Zoe joins the school Della feels there is something off with her. She can’t pinpoint what though. As things progress Della sees the red flags that she is sure are the same as she saw with her brother many years and thinks Zoe may be the same. Trying to convince anyone of this is proving very hard, no one believes her!
This was an excellent read, I felt like I was reading a movie or TV show script is flowed so well. It was written perfectly and kept me engaged from start to finish. I was a little shocked at what happened at the end.
I liked that we had a picture of what Della went through as a child living with her parents and brother, seeing what he was like and figuring out what he had done. It was very brave of her at that age.
I enjoyed What I Know and look forward to reading more from Miranda Smith.

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Aghhh I absolutely loved this story! It grabbed me from the start and kept me gripped until the very end! Fantastically written, gripping, thrilling and suspenseful. Would definitely recommend!

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Della is a loving wife and teacher who was thirteen when her brother first tried to kill her and though she has moved she has never forgotten. When new girls Zoey joins her English class she notices straightaway that Zoey has an evil streak, she sees in the calculating way she stares at her and she knows that look because her brother had the same look too and the traumatic events of her past come rushing back to haunt her. Then a student gets viciously attacked and when Della sees the detailed account of what happened she is positive Zoey is the culprit and sets out to prove it, nobody believes her so she en a so she will have to risk everything to prove it!!!!!

I found the storyline gripping and it sucked me in straightaway and held my interest the whole way through, i was however disappointed that the shocking twist I was waiting and hoping for never came but it was still a very enjoyable psychological thriller and I look forward to reading more of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Miranda Smith fir the ARC of What I know my review is honest and unbiased.

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The first line of this book will hook you in straight away "My brother was thirteen the first time he tried to kill me".

Della is a teacher now and she meets a new student in her class, Zoey, who reminds her of her brother in many ways. It comes as no surprise that none of the other teachers find this weirdness in Zoey. The stares, and the general feelings of unease do not sit well with Della. No-one believes her though, so what happens next?

I was gripped by this story, and so will you be. Definitely a must read!

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This was a great read, and I was pulled in from the first sentence.
Della lives with her parents and brother Brian, a seemingly normal every day family. Only Brian is evil, Della knows it but no one else will believe her.
The stories switch between the past, when Della and Brian are at high school, and the present, where Della is a teacher in Victory Falls, somewhere she has escaped to following her traumatic teenage years.
A new student starts in one of Della’s classes; Zoey Peterson is confident, aloof and seems to know a lot about her teachers pasts.
As events unfold; there is a dark side Zoey, but can she live with herself if she doesn’t act this time round?

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4 STARS

"My brother was thirteen the first time he tried to kill me."

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.
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I mean, with a first line like that how can this book not be amazing?! Chilling, thrilling and twisted, GOOD GIRL was exactly the kind of book I've come to expect from Miranda Smith.

Della has done her best to put her past far behind her. But she hasn’t forgotten the lessons she learned. When a new student unexpectedly shows up in her English classroom, she can't shake the feeling that evil is lurking behind her confident smile - just like her brother. When a student is brutally attacked at a party, Della knows exactly who is to blame. She just needs to prove it...

GOOD GIRL is a slow burn psychological drama. As an educator myself, I found this book especially thrilling as I honestly don't know what I would have done in her - or her colleges - position. Part of me was rooting for Della and the other half was cringing with anxiety and worry by the extremes that she was willing to go to, to find out the truth. Smith did a fantastic job of building tension and had me questioning Della's actions at every turn!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC! GOOD GIRL is out now.

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This book is definately a roller coaster ride which you cant put down. The book has a past and present theme and the characters in the book were easy to connect to. I couldnt wait to find out what was happening at the end and I loved the ending.

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