What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan DIY Mom Book Review and Thoughts

On a Sunday afternoon, photographer and single mother Rachel Jenner and her eight year old son Ben leave a wooded area of Bristol Park when Ben asks if he can run ahead. Rachel agrees and that’s the last time she sees Ben. A full-scale search is launched, with DI Jim Clemo as point man. 

When media hounds and a nasty blogger successfully turn public opinion against Rachel, the additional stress adds to the family’s mounting grief. The clock is ticking and as the days fall away, the chances of finding Ben alive sharply decline.

What She Knew is a clever suspense novel, filled with many twists, turns, red herrings and revelations. Long buried secrets are dragged out into the light and formerly trusted friends and family members soon find themselves suspects.

I found Ms. Macmillan’s writing to be engrossing, with several story layers to keep things moving at a brisk pace. The book is 560 pages long, but it goes fast. I was thoroughly immersed in the story from beginning to end and was surprised when I finished the book in little over a day.

I had definite mixed feelings about What She Knew. A few things irked me about this book, not to the point where I wanted to stop reading, yet enough for me to mention them in my review. The first thing was that there was much ado made about Rachel allowing eight year old Ben to “run ahead” of her in the park, but I found this to be a bit thin. It wasn’t as if Ben was a toddler and they were walking through Times Square. Rachel beat herself up repeatedly about that one decision and was made out to be a Bad Mother in the public eye because of it. It just didn’t ring true to me.

The second thing was the ridiculous manner in which DI Clemo confronted Rachel’s sister Nicky about their unusual childhood. Why was he holding Nicky accountable for this when Nicky herself was only nine when the event occurred? She was a child at the time and Clemo’s viciousness seemed way out of line to me.

Then, and I’ve noticed other readers mentioning this, why are all the female characters in books lately so darn dysfunctional? And why are female authors still writing about them in this manner? How about writing about some really strong, fully functioning women? They certainly exist, so authors PLEASE start including them in your books.

Lastly, the revelation of who the abductor was came out of left field. I honestly didn't think readers had the proper background regarding this particular character. I also had to wonder how this person managed to pull off the abduction so quickly and conveniently, given that the tree swing was still literally swinging when Rachel entered the clearing. The ending was a bit contrived in my opinion, yet still satisfactory as far as endings go all the same.

Despite what I considered plot flaws, I’d still recommend reading What She Knew to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful whodunit style of read.

3 of 5 Stars, Review by Susan Barton, DIY Mom Blog