This book was different than I am use to reading, it took a little bit to really begin to understand what all was going on. This book was almost like it was more than one story inside of another, and eventually the stories start to interconnect. Hannah is important to one part of the story and her life is full of self doubt and dissatisfaction that leads to having life difficulties. While the other part of the story includes Denise and Miri; their lives and full of twists and turns that connect eventually with Hannah. This is twisting and turning until the very end. Thank you NetGalley and Brooke Magnanti for allowing me to read and give an honest review of this book.

It did take me a couple of chapters to really become fully immersed in "You don't know me". Once the story starts flowing it captured me and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Harriet as a character is fighting alcohol addiction and i wasn't sure how much that was affecting her judgement but the twist at the very end was great. Definitely a read for anyone who likes twists and psychological thrillers.

I am not too sure what to say about this book. It is a bit of everything: psychological thriller, police procedural, subplots, sleazy politicians, prostitution....but it just did not work for me. I could not find any likeable characters and the book was slow to start. The writer did not shy away from discussing domestic abuse and corrupt politicians but I found this all a bit unbelievable. My thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon.

I've always enjoyed Brooke Magnanti's fresh take on reality- her experiences in sex work put her in a prime position to write a book that crosses into a world that isn't well understood. As a result, this piece of narrative fiction is a take on sex work that maybe isn't too frequent. I particularly enjoyed a moment where Magnanti draws attention to the poor treatment by law enforcement of sex workers who attempt to work together to remain safe.The narrative also focuses in on the systematic abuse of women online through men's rights activists and pick up artists, as well as shedding some light on the political news cycle, all of which made for a very modern take on a murder mystery.

On the whole, the book receives 3 stars from me because the 'twist' ending was easily discernible and the character of Miri, so well built over so many pages, was non sustained well in the bigger picture. Denise is an interesting character, torn between her past and her future, her choices driven by the loss of a friend and her own distressing relationship. In order to keep the narrative pushing forward, Denise's choices are barely examined, when they may be the most interesting thing about the book.

This is worth a read for a few reasons, but mostly because it shows sex work without the usual clichéd bias, which is long overdue in fiction.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of You Don't Know Me, a stand alone novel set in Cameron Bridge, a fictional town in the Highlands and Newcastle.

A mummified body is found among the rubbish in an alleyway in Cameron Bridge. It is finally identified as Miriam "Miri" Goldstein, a high class prostitute and soon the police have a suspect in custody.

This novel is slow to get started and doesn't really go anywhere until the second half. The first half comprises of scene setting from 2 points of view, Harriet Hitchin the pathologist and Denise Ang, Miri's former friend. We learn much about both these women's troubled lives and much about free spirited Miri through Denise's eyes but while they are good character studies they add very little to the novel as crime fiction. The second half has much more action involving expensive call girls, hitmen and gunrunning. It's not very plausible and is in marked contrast to the first half but I think it is slightly tongue in cheek although it's not obvious.

The problem with You Don't Know Me is that it tries to cover too much ground and ends up being a bit of everything. The obvious theme running through it is Harriet and Denise's independent decisions to overcome the past and become stronger women. I really like Denise and the decisions she takes - karma - but I think Harriet is not as strong or likeable so her story is less convincing.

There is a subplot about the connivings of politicians and the sleazier side of journalism. Ms Magnanti has obviously let her imagination run riot in some of it although sadly none of it is beyond the realms of possibility. She does, however, have some valid points of view and her pen does not miss its targets. What I fail to see, however, is a more than tangential link to the crime and as such they are largely superfluous.

I think the crime is more a hook to hang these other interests on than the main focus of the novel and I think the fact that Ian, the mortuary assistant with a black, trenchant humour, is my favourite character says it all.