August 28, 2026/Thomas & Mercer
It’s Christmas season, and Brooklyn (“Brook”) Locke is surprised when her husband, Trey–a predictable, flight-fearing suburban dad–surprises the family with a trip to Italy for Christmas. Brook herself is no stranger to travel, having settled down with Trey after years of working as a photographer of gourmet food in exotic locales. With their two children and life in a picturesque neighborhood in Tennessee, it seems that Brook’s wild days of adventure are behind her. But, when Trey is rattled by the spotting of a stranger from his past and abandons the family before their flight to Italy, it appears that Brook’s most dangerous experience is right ahead.
Why is this stranger–a slightly older woman named Eden– insisting that Trey’s name is Andrew? That he’s a former football star hailing from tiny Malogen, Georgia, an Air Force pilot? And, most importantly, the husband of Eden’s murdered sister, Chloe?
Instead of providing answers, Trey slips away to the airport bathroom, insisting that Eden is mistaken and instructing Brook to stay on the plane for takeoff to Italy. When Brook follows her instincts and leaves the plane, she finds that Trey has flat-out left them, ditching his phone in the trash and climbing into a black sedan. While Brook at first declines Eden’s offer to help, she accepts a place to stay when she realizes her credit cards have been cancelled. And Brook’s entire life as she knows it begins to unravel.
So opens J.T. Ellison’s domestic thriller You Know Why, which begins with the promise of the same roller coaster ride we experienced in Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me. Brooklyn is complicated, crafty, savvy–the kind of woman whose younger self we’d see as a final girl in a traditional thriller. But right when the book has reached a comfortable speed for takeoff, there’s the jolt of a narrative shift as Brook’s active involvement ends (for the most part) and it picks up with the perspectives of Trey/Andrew, Eden, and investigator Theresa Lee. Their pieces are interesting and necessary to fully develop the story, but we lose some of the sense of intrigue and urgency as we segue into unspooling the “why” of Trey’s disappearance. It seems he’s been stealing from Brook’s aunt and uncle, who had employed him as a financier but were beginning to suspect his misdeeds. He’s sifted millions of dollars from accounts, hiding the money away in crypto wallets. But, why? He and Brook don’t need the extra cash.
And what about Eden’s insistence that Trey has a past he’s never revealed to Brook? He’d claimed to come from Connecticut, but it turns out he was raised in a small town where he married his high school sweetheart, Chloe, only for her to be brutally stabbed and leaving him as the prime suspect before the investigation went cold.
For some reason, Eden–the sister of the poor girl allegedly butchered by Andrew–not only wants to help Brook, but she acts as if she wants to become family, perhaps even become Brooke. In a bizarre twist of events, within days, Eden has not only moved to Tennessee from Georgia to care for Brook’s children, but has rearranged the furniture. Brook’s twin, Margot, is so overwhelmed with the sequence of events that she lets her. Despite being the one with a head injury, it’s Brook who understands how strange Eden’s presence is. Still, Eden isn’t shooed away or carted off to the insane asylum where she obviously belongs.
On the other end is Theresa, the Malogen officer who remains haunted that there was no justice for Chloe. In her heart, Theresa feels Andrew is the killer, and she’s not willing to let this go. This is her white whale, the perfect ending to her career before she settles down with the man she’d almost lost but who is now back in her life, ironically thanks to this current investigation.
Certain books are fun because the plot twists and developments become too fantastical. This is one of them. There’s Psycho June Cleaver let-me-take-care-of-you Eden, there’s Trey and Brooke’s far-fetched meet-cute, there’s the web of shenanigans with which Trey is entangled. There’s a whole lot of extra going on here, but it works for the most part. Ellison keeps the reader dangling on the secrets she promises to answer: how nuts is Eden, really? What dark misdeeds did Brook herself commit? Where’s the money? And who’s that evil Russian dude who isn’t above cutting off fingers?
There’s no getting bored here. This is part caper, part domestic thriller, and one hundred percent worth the read, especially noting the current Kindle price.
*About the reviewer: Sarah Reida’s debut adult novel, Neighborhood Watch, received a Kirkus Star and was honored as an Amazon editorial pick as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far 2024. She is seeking representation for her sophomore novel, a small town mystery involving beer and murder. Join Sarah’s elite group of Instagram followers here
