I enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall’s debut adult thriller, What Lies in the Woods, so I definitely wanted to try her 2024 novel, which is a December BOTM pick. Is this book for you? Check out my Review With Spoilers for No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall below. This post includes spoilers for No One Can Know and the ending explained.
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
To be published by Flatiron Books on January 23, 2024. Thanks so much to the publisher for providing an advance copy so that I could write my review.
Jen’s Quick Take on No One Can Know.
- No One Can Know has a very intriguing premise
- I love a sister story!
- An amnesia plot, if you are okay with that
- Plus some Dark Family Secrets
- No One Can Know has a 3.73 Goodreads rating, and some readers found it slow-paced
- Requires some suspension of disbelief
Review with Spoilers for No One Can Know
To me, No One Can Know is one of those books that had great elements and then some things that I did find frustrating as a reader.
Let’s break it down:
The premise: awesome!
The idea of the return of three sisters to a murder house was one that I was excited about.
Some readers found the book’s pace slow at times
I thought the beginning of the book was strong, making it seem like it was possible that any of the sisters could be responsible for their parents’ murders. Intriguing!
I agree that the middle bogged down a bit. The book has a past/present narrative structure that alternates between the three sisters’ POVs in both the past and the present. Because you had to hear all the perspectives, that part of the book felt a bit like a holding pattern to me and made the book feel longer than 330 pages.
The end of the book was FILLED with revelations, something that confused some readers, including me! I’ll discuss the ending below in my spoiler section.
There were things that seemed odd to me.
The whole book revolves around a premise that you may or may not find plausible: that these three sisters cut off all contact with either other and NEVER discuss the night of their parents’ murders, even after Emma was blamed at the time. I can accept this because trauma can do that.
I think you will like No One Can Know if:
- You are fine with suspense books with multiple unreliable narrators and a hazy feel.
- You enjoy books with lots of family drama and secrets
- You don’t mind a slower paced book
- You are okay with a fair amount of ambiguity.
If you are one of my Popcorn Thriller fans who loves a fast-paced read with a straightforward plot, then No One Can Know might not be the best fit for you.
If you like twisty books with family drama, you might enjoy this and could also try Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena or check out my list of Thrillers About Evil Families.
SPOILERS for No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
Four people end up dead (and one nearly dead) in the book:
Randolph and Irene Palmer (the parents of Emma, JJ, and Daphne)
Kenneth Mahoney (Gabe’s father)
Nathan Gates (Emma’s husband)
Rick Hadley (police officer and friend of Randolph) – thanks to a commenter who points out that he is still (barely) alive.
In the present, Rick Hadley pulls a gun on Emma and then tries to strangle her. Daphne shows up and hits Hadley in the head with a rock, nearly killing him.
JJ (Juliette), who was under the influence on the night of her parents’ murders, claims that she has finally remembered who killed Randolph and Irene. She tells the police Rick Hadley killed her parents and that she found the murder weapon (which Daphne hid in the carriage house on the night of the murder along with a flash drive with evidence that Randolph was involved in smuggling.)
JJ also says that Rick Hadley killed Nathan (in the present) because Nathan found the gun and the flash drive in the carriage house and called the police to report this. Given all the evidence, the police concur that Hadley is responsible for those three murders. Case closed.
Who Killed Randolph and Irene?
The sisters aren’t so sure. JJ and Emma both wonder if Irene, who was having an affair with Rick Hadley, killed Randolph and then herself.
In the end, twelve year-old Daphne was responsible
First, Emma found her mother Irene’s lockbox. The box had a secret stash of cash (to fund Irene’s escape from her abusive husband Randolph) plus a flash drive with dirty secrets on her husband collected by a private detective. Emma took the cash (which she gave to Gabe’s mom) and flash drive. But the flash drive fell out of her pocket.
Daphne then found the flash drive.
Randolph caught Daphne looking at the flash drive.
Daphne (then only twelve years old!) went and got the gun that Hadley, Irene’s lover, had given Irene for protection. Daphne shot her father. Then Irene took the gun from Daphne and shot herself.
Did Daphne then smother her mother?
Kelly points out in comments that it also seems like Daphne smothered Irene, who wasn’t dead, to “put her out of her misery”.
YES I think Kelly is right.
Daphne remembers watching her father kill a rat (!) and then decides (after Irene shoots herself?) that her mother is in pain, thinks of the rat and puts her hand over her mother’s nose and mouth. But then someone shows up (we aren’t told who) so maybe she removes the hand?
Later on, Daphne remembers Juliette showing up and saying “what are you doing?”, so I’m assuming Juliette is the someone Daphne sees in the part above. Daphne looks down at her mother, who has stopped breathing and thinks “out of her misery.”
Alternate Theory: Did Daphne Shoot Both Her Parents?
In comments, someone also suggests that maybe Daphne shot both her parents. After shooting Randolph, Daphne says that “something had to be done and she’d done it.” I agree that part is very ambiguous and a little confusing.
Here’s the timeline as I interpreted it:
1) Daphne says that she shot her father.
2) A stunned Irene tells Daphne to “hand over the gun and get out.” Then the book says; “So Daphne had done what she was told.” Meaning (I thought) Daphne handed over the gun to her mother and left the room.
3) The next sentence after “So Daphne had done what she was told” is “Until she heard the second shot. She had to protect them. All of them. Something had to be done and she’d done it.”
4) I still think Irene then used the gun to take her own life, based on the second shot that Daphne says she only heard, which suggests to me that she did hand the gun over and leave the room. I assume Irene told Daphne to get out so she wouldn’t see what Irene was about to do. Once Irene was dead too, Daphne had to “do what had to be done. To protect her sisters.” By hiding the evidence. AND maybe by smothering her mother too.
It’s really not 100% clear. What do you think?
In any case, after the deaths of her parents, Daphne hid both the gun and the flash drive in the carriage house, where they remained for years.
Daphne also killed Nathan. Now back in town in the present, Daphne went to the carriage house to look for the flash drive and gun. She overheard Nathan talking to his mistress about how he was going to ditch Emma. Nathan had found the flash drive and the gun, which he pointed at Daphne. She wrestled it away and shot him. Then she hid that gun, the same one that killed both Irene and Randolph, in Hadley’s garage to frame him.
What Did You Think of the Ending of No One Can Know?
I had two suspects: Chris (the lawyer, who seemed too good to be true) and Daphne, because JJ and Emma seemed too obvious.
I don’t know, for me this is a LOT for a twelve year-old to do. Murder her father (and possibly her mother) Hide a gun and a flash drive. Not say a word to her sisters or anyone. No one talks about any of it. JJ conveniently has amnesia.
My Questions (feel free to answer any or all in the comments!)
What is your theory about the “second shot” and Daphne’s cryptic statement (see the comments!)
Did Rick know about the flash drive all along?
Was Irene planning to take the children with her, or was she just going to run off with Rick and leave them with their abusive father?
Why did Addison (Nathan’s mistress) stick with him through Emma’s accident, Nathan losing his job and moving away and then suddenly tell him “she’s not waiting around forever.”
If Chris was such a smart guy and so close to Randolph and Kenneth, why was he so completely clueless about Randolph’s shady dealings and Kenneth’s murder? Irene told him that she had something on her husband, so he must have known that had something to do with all the murders.
Added from comments: who was messaging Addison, Nathan’s mistress? If you have a theory, share it in the comments!
Please leave comments and questions in the comment box. Spoilers are fine!
Great breakdown of the plot, especially the spoilers and lingering questions–it’s enough for me to take it out my tbr. Thanks, Jen.
Hi Lisa!
I am happy that you found my new 2024 post format helpful (and that you don’t mind spoilers…)
Send spoiler notes for No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
Hi Ben!
Sorry, a bit confused as to what you are asking!
I’m also curious who was sending threatening messages to Nathan’s mistress
Good question. Hadley denies it and Emma thinks it wasn’t Juliette. I’d guess Hadley but I have no proof. I’ll continue to investigate and add your question to the post!
I suspect it was Daphne! She didn’t approve of Nathan at the wedding and seemed to know about the affair before she should have.
Ooh, thanks for the theory 🙂
Thank you for your detailed analogy. Nathan’s character isn’t believable in story.
The threatening messages have to come from Daphne. She had several online profiles, was stalking Nathan online and seemed to have known or guessed right about the the affair
Thanks so much – that makes sense. She was quite the behind the scenes operator!
I just finished it and from what I gathered was Daphne in fact killed her mother also. She did what she told until she heard the 2nd shot so that would be her going towards her mother and then bang! Also,Hadley didn’t die. They were waiting for him to wake up.
Hello and thanks so much for coming to help me figure all this out! Often things weren’t stated outright, which was very frustrating to me.
Here’s how I interpreted the Irene thing:
1) Daphne says that she shot her father.
2) A stunned Irene tells Daphne to “hand over the gun and get out.” Then the book says; “So Daphne had done what she was told.” Meaning (I thought) Daphne handed over the gun to her mother and left the room.
3) The next sentence after “So Daphne had done what she was told” is “Until she heard the second shot. She had to protect them. All of them. Something had to be done and she’d done it.”
4) I still think Irene then used the gun to take her own life, based on the second shot that Daphne heard after she handed the gun over and left the room. I assume Irene tells Daphne to get out so she doesn’t have to witness that. I thought that meant that Daphne wasn’t expecting the second shot. She thought Irene was an adult and going to fix things. But now that Irene was dead too, Daphne had to do what had to be done. To protect her sisters. By, I guess hiding the gun and the flash drive.
Unless there is some other interpretation for the second shot that I am missing. It is not completely clear to me. This book was confusing!! I’m going to add your theory to the post and see what others think.
And whoops on Rick Hadley. You are 1000% right on that (and the book is clear.) I completely missed the sentence where Daphne (I think) said he was still clinging to life. I will fix that and credit you, so thanks!
Am I misremembering or did Daphne say she covered her mother’s face to put her out of her misery?
Kelly! This book is just a LOT. But thanks – I added your comment to the post.
In chapter 33, Daphne remembers watching her father kill a rat (!) and then yes, decides (after Irene shoots herself?) that her mother is in pain, thinks of the rat and puts her hand over her mother’s nose and mouth. But then someone shows up (we aren’t told who) so maybe she removes the hand?
Then in chapter 44 there’s a bit more. Juliette shows up and says “what are you doing?”, so I’m assuming she’s the one Daphne sees in chap 33. Daphne looks down at her mother, who has stopped breathing and thinks “out of her misery.”
I knew that Nathan wasn’t good from the beginning!! Because he if knew that Emma and her sisters owned a house prior to suggesting that they move there WHY DIDN’T HE try to get her to fix the place up and sale?! Something tells me that he knew more about his in laws murder then he lead on too. Because no sane person would move thier pregnant wife somewhere where she’ll be stressed ALL THE TIME!
My question is why did Irene kill herself? It appears she was hoping to leave her husband. Why was his death enough to make her shoot herself?
We discuss this a bit in comments, and I will try to summarize that in the post itself. Some readers thought that Daphne killed both her parents, some of us think that Daphne shot her father, Irene shot herself, and then Daphne, seeing her mother mortally injured, smothered her.
If Irene did shoot herself (which I think she did) I’d guess it was because her affair was now exposed and that it had triggered Daphne killing her own father. Plus all the stuff on the flash drive would probably be made public.