Very enjoyable listen, have reccomended to the girls in the book club. Liked the ending especially. Thought the plot worked well for the characters. 4/5

DNF. I can’t read about so much rape. I like the narrator and the main character is intriguing; I am curious what happens with her story / history / how she’s evaded law enforcement but there’s just too much rape.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This is a story about a successful lawyer with a husband and children, but she has a secret…. she murdered someone years ago. Now someone has appeared in her new life that knows her secret and is threatening to ruin everything she has worked for. I did like the story, but it was a bit repetitive and I felt like it could have been edited down for more enjoyment.

What a ride. So much goodness in this book!! I was on the edge of my seat trying to guess what was gonna happen next. .

More of a suspense/ family drama than a thriller, but a great read nonetheless. There is three major plot lines within the book and all were connected in a way. I didn’t realize the book was almost 500 pages because it was such a fast paced read! The ending did fall a little flat, but getting there was the best part.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for review.

If You Only Knew by Cynthia Clark
Narrated by Jessica Preddy

The first timeline starts sixteen years ago when college student, Elizabeth, is forced to kill to save her life. No one could fault her for what she did although most people would probably suggest she take different actions afterwards. But Elizabeth was scared, upset, and traumatized so she took actions that will keep her looking over her shoulder forever. The memories never fade and she suffers from untreated PTSD and horrible nightmares. Her husband, Miles, knows she is hiding something but can't get her to open up to him.

The present day timeline gives us Elizabeth as a successful lawyer who will do pro bono work on the side for girls and women who need protection from abusers. Elizabeth, Miles, and their two children live in a very nice neighborhood and have a mature for her age teenage babysitter that the kids adore. Life is good except that Elizabeth's secrets eat at her all the time and her relationship with Miles isn't really as idyllic as it might look on the outside.

And now she is getting notes from someone who knows what happened all those years ago. As the threats continue, Elizabeth's nightmares get worse and she has panic attacks. She cannot lose her family after losing so much in the past. Yet her secrets are driving Miles away and are possibly clouding her work decisions. There is more to the story than I am mentioning but I just have to say that Miles makes me very mad.

The audiobook narration is very good and I'll be looking for more books narrated by Jessica Preddy. I will also read more by Cynthia Clark. Even though I can't understand all of Elizabeth's earlier actions she has my sympathy. Do be aware that there is a graphic assault toward the beginning of the story.

Thank you to Saga Egmont Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

By the end of this it feels more like women’s fiction or fiction than mystery, thriller, or romance as I saw it listed.

That being said it wasn’t bad. The book starts rough with rape and murder. I mention this for trigger warning reasons.

Overall I don’t think this was my kind of story and it dragged a bit. I’d change the advertise genre because I’m the end the mystery/thriller felt sort of like a throw away. Which left me feeling tricked into continuing the story with the promise of a confrontation scene that is usually promo thriller/mystery.

The story really is about the women whose life’s are affected by the actions of a rapist in different ways and in the end how they find some closure.

The audiobook was well done.

Narrated by Jessica Preddy
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great voice

Author Cynthia Clark ⭐⭐⭐ 3.5
For a debut novel it was impressive.
That begging hit you hard in the face and the story was really interesting. I feel like I'm definitely going to be seeing this talked alot about in my book group.
Definitely keen to read another book by this author so I'll be following her closely on Amazon.

I’m surprised this was a debut novel. It was actually really good! Although I will agree, it does lack that big twist that I usually love in a good book; this one unraveled together really well. I read it in less than 24 hours.

I would give it a solid 3.5-4 stars!

I was quite stunned to note that this is a debut novel. What an absolutely incredible debut it is. I was drawn to like Liz immediately, a lawyer working a rape case of a young girl who has driven over and paralysed her attacker. She is sympathetic and compassionate and we soon discover Liz can relate, Liz can relate because she’s been there herself. She murdered a serial rapist and for 15 years has managed to remain at liberty. However when Mia her neighbour and nanny starts to look for her biological parents, Liz is sent into turmoil.
This novel flips flawless for past to present. The characters are well developed. The narration was perfect. I loved it. If you enjoy the likes of Nina Manning, Lisa Jewel and Shalini Boland you’ll love this.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

A dramatic storyline that is brought to life by excellent narration. Some parts dragged for my own preferences, and it was a bit too much of a slow burn for my liking. However, despite this, it was enjoyable to listen to and recommend to any audiobook and genre fan.

This storyline focuses on sensitive topics that some readers/listeners may find upsetting.

I'm finding this review a little difficult to write. On the one hand I want to say that I did not enjoy this book, but on the other, that wouldn't strictly be true. I did enjoy it, for the most part, but there are a number of things that put me off.

Firstly, right from the start, I have to ask why on earth was Elizabeth so hard on herself? John Larkin got exactly what he deserved. She kept saying how sorry she was to have killed him, but that's ridiculous. He would certainly have killed her, never mind the psychological and physical horrors he would have inflicted on her first. I was amazed at Maya's bad attitude, after all, she was the one who wanted to find her birth mother in the first place. Ellen's response seemed a little over the top regarding the document on Mrs Larkin's marriage, but Ellen was a bit flaky right from the start.

I've saved my biggest gripe till last, Miles. What a condescending, pompous man. Perhaps I'm seeing things through rose-tinted spectacles, but surely a husband would be outraged at what had happened, and not judgemental and sanctimonious? Insisting she 'came clean', what would have happened if she ended up in prison? Easy to take the moral high ground when you aren't the one facing the firing squad.

Thank you for my ARC.

3 Stars.

I started out liking this but I don't really feel like it went anywhere? Elizabeth is hiding a terrible secret: she killed her abuser in an act of self-defense. So why is she hiding it? Great question! She was literally saving herself. The entire book is about her being tormented by her decision and trying to figure out if she should tell the truth. There was some random blackmailing thrown in to put the pressure on. I was waiting for a big twist but it ended with a sigh. And I could not stand Miles for the whole book and expected some revelation about him, but there was none.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Plenty of angst and times you want to shout out instructions on how to avoid more drama. Secrets and lies with lies and secrets. I enjoyed it but felt quite frustrated at times. I also thought it was somewhat predictable.

I am not usually an audiobook listener, but this story sounded so tempting that I had to give it a try! The story centers around a terrifying night in Elizabeth’s past, and how that night’s effects ripple throughout her life. The book alternates between present day, where Elizabeth is a successful lawyer who often takes on pro bono work to defend victims of rape, and the past where one terrible night she is forced to make decisions no young girl should have to make.

Parts of the past story were very difficult to listen to and should have a trigger warning. The consequences from the night in her past are far reaching, and the author put together the pieces of that like a puzzle in a brilliant way. All of the strands tie together neatly in the end. I had a lot of sympathy for Elizabeth, but she still did several things that shocked me and made me question her actions.

The narrator did an excellent job with this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Edmonton Audio for the audio in exchange for my honest opinion.

Liz has been holding onto a secret for 15 years. Now working as a lawyer and representing a girl who's situation seems similar to her's all those years ago, Liz can't help but remember her past. Surely she can keep her secret a bit longer....or will it all come tumbling out?

Listened to this one on audio and absolutely devoured it almost in one sitting. Amazing storyline that had me gripped right from the start. Hard to believe it's a debut novel. Definitely will be on the lookout for more by this author!

One too many drinks leads to one wrong decision that leaves Elizabeth with a dark secret she will do anything to keep hidden. Years later, she is a wife and mother trying to juggle work and caring for her children and no one suspects that she is also a killer. Elizabeth thinks her secret is safe until anonymous notes start arriving threatening to expose her. Things are made worse when a DNA test reopens an old murder case on her college campus. Can Elizabeth keep her secrets hidden or will she lose the life she loves and has worked so hard to create?

I definitely enjoyed this domestic thriller! The first part of the book switches between past and present slowly revealing the main character’s back story and then focuses on the present as the investigation unfolds. There were a few plot points that were a bit predictable but they led to twists that were not. Speaking of twists, this book has plenty of them! It definitely kept me on my toes.

While this book is a twisty suspenseful thriller it also deals with some heavy topics and I experienced so many emotions while reading it! I was heartbroken, enraged, and had a few glistening happy tears at one point.

The narration by Jessica Preddy was perfect. It reminded me of the narrator who reads Sally Hepworth’s books.

I definitely recommend this twisty and thought provoking thriller!

This is a well written thriller about the psychology and consequences of the doubt of being believed, guilt, reacting when scared, and lies coming back to bite. I had mixed emotions for the characters in this book. I wanted some to suffer for their actions, and others who had my complete sympathy and cheered on to the end. Thank you to Saga Egmont publishers and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine freely given.

Thank you for the advanced audiobook. I listened to this straight through my work day. I loved it! The narrator was perfect and I really felt for our protagonist. The combination was wonderful.. I am so glad I got to listen to this one. It kept me entertained all day.
I loved the ending too.

In college, Elizabeth found herself accepting a ride from a stranger after he struck her bicycle with his truck. She awakened in a windowless room to hell on earth. Years later, Elizabeth is leading a seemingly normal life with a family and a successful career as a lawyer, but the decision she made all those years has come back to haunt her. At the time she was forced to make a terrible choice, kill or be killed and she has kept what happened a secret from everyone she knows. But now someone threatens to reveal what happened that terrible night, can she make that same decision again, this time to save her family?

Thank you Saga Egmont Audio and Netgalley for the audio. I really liked the narration. Was really something special. I liked the story after.. but not the story before. The reason was not for me. I immagined this strong woman more couragious and I hoped at the end her husband would think different. Otherwise I have no complains. It was a greeping story, I wanted to see all the was how the things would be worked out. I was realy glad or.maybe even pround of the femails that had main characterd. And the side character shocked me really, first in negative and then in positive way. I was glade was something I was not excpecting. Love the books that surprised me.