Review | I Know Everything by Matthew Farrell (ARC)

Randall Brock is living the perfect life. He’s married to wonderful Amanda, his work is going well and he’s looking forward to the holidays. Then Amanda dies in a car accident. Distraught, Randall’s life turns upside down when a stranger turns up and claims Amanda was actually murdered. He will tell Randall what really happened. But only if Randall tells him the truth about his past.

He took a breath, then picked up the remote and pressed play, easing himself against the wall, watching as the session began to unfold on video. He knew what was coming and knew how things would end. It wasn’t good.

A fast and twisty read, I Know Everything has plenty of surprises. It’s been a while since I’ve read a psychological thriller so I enjoyed when certain events took me off-guard.

Randall is an unreliable narrator and keeps his secrets close, which unfortunately makes him a blank page. His behaviour in light of his wife’s death made me feel for him, but when a stranger approaches him with information he starts behaving erratically. When we eventually learn the truth about his past, it puts a question mark on his sanity and makes us wonder whether he can be trusted. Of course, he isn’t the only one with secrets so who else could want Amanda dead?

The other main character is Investigator Susan Adler, tasked with investigating the car accident. She is accompanied by a new officer, Tommy, and they start digging into Randall’s life when Amanda’s death is ruled as a homicide. I liked the investigation scenes and while her portrayal is nothing special, I liked Adler enough to root for her. It’s just that I’ve seen this kind of female cop character – dedicated to job, divorced, single parent to small kids – too many times for her character to stand out. The other supporting characters are similarly serviceable and generic.

I’m not too sure about the medical aspects and the way mental illness is discussed. I can’t say more without spoiling but how much you’ll enjoy the book depends on how much you’re willing to overlook the science. I do think it could have gone deeper into the trauma of victims and how the human mind reacts to being forced to do something they abhor. What I didn’t like was the abundance of tortures and deaths of women. Instead of letting us know who they are as people, they are there so we feel sorry for the men in their lives. It feels tiring at this point and I wish thrillers wouldn’t resort so quickly to torturing women for the drama.

I was confused by the ending because a character is introduced like he is important to the story, even though he has not appeared before. Turns out he’s a character from the author’s previous book which I haven’t read. While I usually enjoy when authors put Easter eggs referencing their other work, this feels out of place. Overall, I Know Everything is a thriller that keeps you guessing although don’t expect a deep character study.

I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley, I Know Everything is out on 6/8.

About the author: Matthew Farrell

Photo by Maria Teneva