I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Each character was so well written and had so much depth, which was great, as normally authors focus on one or two and forget the rest.

I started off with this book feeling that it wasn't really a thriller but it definitely turned into one. Brilliant.

I really really liked this book - but I wanted to love it and I just didn’t quite.
It had all the right bits but they didn’t just fit together perfectly for it to be a 5 star but it’s a really healthy 4.

The story was well written and I liked the characters - the women more than men, but it felt too lightweight for the subject of the reveal and it just knocked the balance.

Great holiday read and would recommend

This book took me a while to get into as all the characters are introduced and then the story takes off.
One family and so many secrets......

The holidays are here. The extended family has gathered. The cars are packed. and the convoy sets off. The cottage is a few hours drive - but not everyone will see it.


For Jill, her three sons, their wives and children, a terrifying road crash will tear apart the family. The crash will be an accident but the shattering that follows has been a long time coming. Because at the heart of this family lies a secret.

Set in Australia: Jill and her extended family are travelling to a holiday home where they were spending their Christmas holidays when they were involved in a traffic collision. It seems as if all of the family members are hiding secrets. The story is told from multiple points of view and flips back to before the crash and after. This is an easy to read family drama with lots of twists. The pace is steady. In the last 20%, the revelations kept coming. I liked the authors writing style. The story held my attention throughout.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #PenguinMichaelJosephUK and the author #NicolaMoriarty for my ARC of #YouNeedToKnow in exchange for an honest review'

This was fantastic!

As seems to be the usual for a Moriarty novel, You Need to Know is written in multiple POVs and multiple timelines- firstly alternating between the accident and the month leading up to it, and then the aftermath. There are so many characters in this novel but I didn’t have any trouble keeping them all straight in my head as each one has their own voice and personality- and not to mention their own problems! I liked that while the novel is focused around the three brothers, it’s mostly their wives who have the POV chapters. I think the brothers themselves were quite similar so having them all as POV characters would have been quite hard to read. It also means the excellent twist is not revealed too early as our POV characters don’t know about it!

Speaking of twists, this novel is full of them! It should come as no surprise that I was kept guessing right up until literally the last page.

I must read more Moriarty novels soon!

I wouldnt describe this book as a thriller but more of a family drama told from several different points of view. It was an OK read but not one that I would class as outstanding

This book is more of a drama than a thiller, because let's be honest - there is NOTHING thrillery about it. There's a lot of family drama though so if you're into it then it might be a book for you
I'm not unfortunately.

There are multiple POVs, which I normally like, but here they were annoying as all of the chcracters spoke with the same voice and I found myself often checking whose POV Im currently reading.
The writing isn't bad but it's not great and the dialogues felt cringy at times.

It took me almost two weeks to plough through this book and I don't feel it was worth it to be honest.
The final twist was very unsurprising and the endong for me, as a parent, was eye-rolling at best.

The main premise of the book is an accident involving a family and the repercussions afterwards. But before you find out what this is, the story delves a bit into various family members. There's gorgeous Mimi with her recently born twin girls, as well as her 8 yr old Tara and 16 yr old Callie. Her husband Pete really wanted the last pregnancy to bring forth a son but that didn't happen. Pete and his two brothers are all authors of varying genres. Add to this the fact that Mimi illustrates Pete's work.

Darren has recently broken up with his girlfriend and is having issues with her moving on and choosing her new partner.

Tony and Andrea have no children and Andrea decides to broach the subject with him, as she wants to revisit whether they might have children in the future. He says they will revisit the situation in a few months.

Then there is the matriarch of the family, Jill. Is she the glue that holds her family together. Or are there cracks that threaten to split it apart. She writes letters to her husband Frank even though we find out that he died a year ago.

And what is the mysterious email that Jill receives that she doesn't want to read and acknowledge it's contents.

I thought it was a great portrayal of family life and all the issues that a family could (and do) face.

There are many issues that are raised here that I believe are dealt with care. A highly enjoyable read.

This book covers a couple of weeks in the run up to a Christmas vacation, and each chapter is told by a different member of the family which allows you to see the different threads of lives inter weave.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book but wouldn't class it as your usual thriller. I really didn't know where the book was going to go - its more family drama and real life rather than a twisty turny thriller.
The ending closed out a bit too quickly for my liking but overall a good read.

You Need To Know by Nicola Moriarty. Pub Date: 15 April 21
The holidays are here. The extended family has gathered. The cars are packed, and the convoy sets off.
The cottage is a few hours' drive - but not everyone will live to see it. A serious road traffic accident brings an end to their journey.
The family consists of Jill, the matriarch who writes letters to her deceased husband Frank, who died the previous Christmas, their three sons Pete, Darren, and Tony. Pete is married to Mimi, who never says no to a glass or three of wine; they share four daughters, Callie, Tara and twin girls James and Elliot. Tony and his wife Andrea chose not to have children; is it too late to have a change of heart? Darren is single; he tries hard not to be but struggles to get over the end of his relationship with Charlotte, even though she has moved on with Stephanie.
Set in Australia, this is a domestic drama chock-full of family secrets with everyone having something climactic going on presently or in the past.
Told from the family members' different perspectives on the lead up to Christmas, we learn about their lives and the secrets they each harbour.
A slow starter, layered with tension, stay with it; it's worth the read.
I am happy to recommend it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and Nicola Moriarty for a pre-publication copy to review.

I really enjoyed this book. Told from multiple characters perspective and flipping between timeliness, the story is complex and well thought out. Some fabulous characters and lots of secrets revealed!

I found this book to be very good, it was an unusual slant on a family story. A bereaved mother, plus 4 sons and some wives. The way the story progresses really sucks you in and you find yourself wondering where it is going, but it really is skilfully handled.
Very enjoyable.

Great plot with interesting characters. I'm sure this will be a success, but it just didn't 'grab' me as I thought it would.

Have I been reading the same book?
Try as I might I could not get into this book and everytime came back to read some I couldn’t recall what had happened previously
There seemed lots of characters and stories and must be me but felt very complex

You Need To Know is a book full of family secrets with everyone seemingly having something dramatic happening now or in the past. The main characters are the matriarch character, Jill, who was widowed the previous Christmas, and her three adult sons Pete, Darren and Tony. Pete is married to Mimi and they have 4 daughters ranging from a teenager to baby twins. Tony is married to Andrea and they've chosen not to have children....or have they chosen? Darren is single but getting over his last serious relationship with Charlotte who now comes up with a rather startling request to Darren as she is in a new relationship.

I found the first half slow paced with a lot of dialogue about the twin girls who were called Elliot and James. The explanation for this being that their father wanted sons after having two daughters already. I wondered if one of the twists or secrets would be about the gender of these twins but it it wasn't.

The second half was a lot more pacy as the family history and many secrets emerged and there was a dramatic happening which was referenced in short chapters throughout the book.

A great read in the end despite the slow start. With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love reading a Nicola Moriarty book and I seem to only remember her when I come across one of her books.
You can't but love this extended family, reading about their tragedy and their secrets, their ups and downs. I just loved the book. I was curious about just about everyone and could not put the book down.
This was great reading.
Nicola Moriarty at her best.

This sounded a decent read but the more I read the more I found myself gripped by it. Told from several perspectives of different family members in the lead up to Christmas we find out about their lives generally and the secrets they each keep, at the same time we know there has been a car crash on Christmas Eve involving them and the details of it are gradually revealed. I found this to be more more of a family drama than a thriller but it had me equally keen to find out what had happened to who and why. I found the pace just right, it told you the key details but didn’t drag them out and you got real feel for each character. The fallout from the car crash seemed very feasible and it was well concluded, 9/10

4.25-4.5*
A new author to me. I like the writing style it is relaxed and chatty.
A domestic drama around secrets we keep, lies, and truths that won’t stay hidden.
It evolves around Jill, her 3 sons, their wives and grandchildren so quite a few characters to get to grips with. I enjoyed finding out the characters back story.
There are lots of secrets with each having an impact on their owner. What I like is the ordinariness of the family.
The time frame is on the run up to Christmas with Jill coming up to the first anniversary of her husbands death but still determined to maintain the usual tradition of the family going to the holiday cabin.
I especially engaged with Andrea in the beginning. Darren also tugged on my heartstrings. It’s a slow burn for much of the book, but at 80% in it really ramps up in intensity. The tension is palpable. It is riveting. I really felt for the family.
The revelations kept on coming...
For most of the book it was running at 4* the ending was terrific and 4.5* so overall the book lies between 4.25 and 4.5* for me.

Multiple characters from the same family, each with their own secret.
Had my heart in my mouth when we got to the accident, which we had been given snippets of during the book.
A really great book with some unexpected twists

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review

A solid four star read. Good premise. Great characters. Enjoyed t writing style. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. It even had a twist that I didn’t see