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Le cose che non sai
«Un giallo sottile, agghiacciante, scritto con una maestria assoluta.» Sarah Pinborough, autrice di Dietro i suoi occhi Di solito, quando vanno a finire bene, le brutte storie di crimine finiscono con un detective che inchioda il colpevole, e con il mostro sbattuto in galera. Questa storia è diversa: perché comincia esattamente come le altre finiscono. Con il mostro sbattuto in galera. E la vita di tutti gli altri che, da quel momento in poi, non sarà mai più la stessa. Jacky Seever, rispettato ristoratore di Denver, non ha ucciso sua moglie Gloria, né il detective che l'ha inchiodato, Hoskins, né la giornalista che ha seguito il suo caso, Sammie. No, non ha tolto loro la vita; ma di certo gliel'ha rovinata. Gloria lo amava: ma quando un discreto numero di cadaveri viene ritrovato nel suo garage, è sconvolta. Il mondo, però, la condanna lo stesso: come poteva aver davvero mantenuto la promessa fatta al marito di non andare mai a curiosare laggiù? Il detective Hoskins, a sua volta, dopo aver risolto il caso, scopre di non avere risolto le cose con se stesso, e continua a essere ossessionato da Seever: ben presto, viene spostato ai cold cases. Casi congelati come la sua carriera. Quanto a Sammie - la reporter che per prima ha raccontato la storia di Seever, legando inestricabilmente a quello scoop la sua carriera - , per qualche ragione ora vende cosmetici al centro commerciale appena fuori città. E intanto Seever è in galera - a guardarsi lo spettacolo. Così, quando una nuova serie di omicidi molto simili a quelli commessi da lui scuote la città, Gloria, Sammie e Hoskins hanno l'occasione di ricominciare da capo. E di dimostrare a se stessi che sono in grado di riprendere in mano le proprie vite, invece che lasciarle a un assassino.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 7, 2017
149 people are currently reading
3338 people want to read
About the author
JoAnn Chaney
7 books248 followersJoAnn Chaney is a Colorado-based writer. Her first novel, WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW, is out now. AS LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE is to be released in January 2019.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 341 reviews
April 4, 2017
Those are just a few, because a crime like this has a wide reach, and you can never know how many are actually affected. That’s how things like this are - a drop in still water that starts a ripple, and it spreads in every direction, going on and on, probably into infinity, never flatlining but starting other ripples that head in completely new directions. Sooner or later, the original ripple will slow, it will lose much of its urgency, but it’s still there.
It’ll never be over.
Jacky Seever murdered 31 people (mostly women, but he wasn't picky) and buried them in his crawlspace. What makes this story unique is we already know who the killer is. The story begins with his arrest and the following immediate investigation leading up to the trial where Seever is sentenced to death. It then picks up seven years later where we see the lasting affect on those involved in the case. This is a character study on those he left behind.
The narrators are: Hoskins, one of the arresting officers. Sammie, the lead reporter on the case. And Gloria, Seever's wife.
Now Hoskins is banished to the basement where he works cold cases. Sammie sells make up at the mall. And Gloria struggles to escape criticism while still visiting her husband in prison on death row and selling his artwork to make a living. What they don't realize is even though they were left behind, they are still victims of Seever's.
This is something else Sammie has learned: If you’re going to fuck someone, at least make sure they’re important.
All of the characters are pretty unlikeable and flawed. Sammie will do anything for a story. And I mean anything. Loren creeped me out on a whole other level. His behavior puzzled me. I also still have questions regarding his character. Gloria is quite clueless. Hoskins has a darker side after all the time he had to spend with Seever in interviews.
Seever told Hoskins most everything he’d done, everything, and Hoskins wishes he could forget it all, wipe his memory clean, because knowing things another person is capable of, well, those things stay with you, they change you.
I liked to hear them scream, Seever had said.
Oh and now there is a new killer dubbed the "Secondhand Killer." The victims/murders are somehow connected to Seever's. Did he had a partner who is now finishing the job? Is this a copycat killer? Or is it something else entirely? How will it affect these characters who are already struggling to get their lives back together after the first murderer?
I was so fascinated by the psychological exploration of the wife of a killer. I was intrigued by whether she really knew nothing throughout the entire time she was married to Seever or if she had some inkling of suspicion. It was also interesting to see the way the public condemned Gloria for a crime she seemingly knew nothing about.
The book is smart and even has this dose of humor. I think I would've enjoyed it more had I not read Ragdoll so recently. That one was better in terms of the mystery. I appreciate Seever's similarities to the infamous John Wayne Gacy. This one worked well with the exploration of the affects a killer leaves on those he leaves behind. If you enjoy character driven crime novels, definitely try out What You Don't Know.
November 12, 2017
This masterful debut novel focusing on the aftermath of a serial killers impact on a community and those affected by the horrors starts where most novels wrap-up; with the predator being caught, incarcerated and with thirteen-months remaining until he winds up on death row. In an original exploration of the ripple effects of one man’s atrocities on those whose lives he touched, this highly atmospheric and intense character study evokes a visceral sensation of fear with its brooding narrative. With very little in the way of gruesome detail, Chaney’s disconcertingly insightful take on the associated lives and psychological fallout makes for uncomfortably on-point reading. An excellent knack for characterisation and some memorably flawed individuals pose the question of whether the people involved in such a case can ever really move on.
What You Don’t Know opens in Denver, 2008 with Detectives Paul Hoskins and his domineering jackass of a partner, Ralph Loren, going ‘hunting’ as they enter the home of restaurateur, pillar of the community and all round genial good guy, Jacky Seever. Several months spent digging up the crawlspace within Seever’s home recover the decomposing bodies of thirty-one individuals, mostly but not exclusively, female and with Seever refusing to speak with Loren, it is Hoskins who bears the brunt of providing an audience for his twisted outpourings. Whilst Hoskins and Loren may work well in their partnership for the Denver Police Department there is definitely no love lost between the pair, with Loren’s aggressive and unstable edge making for a fractious atmosphere. For Denver Post reporter, Sammie Peterson, the case generated a host of bylines and her affair with Detective Hoskins was the key to her daily front page scoops. Jacky Seever’s wife, Gloria, claimed to be as surprised as anyone when her husband’s despicable activities were uncovered yet she attended every moment of her husband’s trial. For these individuals whose lives are marked by their memories of Seever and have seen his macabre work at close quarters, can life ever be quite the same again?
Seven years later with print media on the slide, Sammie is selling cosmetics at the mall but craves a return to the big time and Detective Paul Hoskins is languishing in the basement working cold cases after taking out his frustrations on a killer. Detective Ralph Loren has lasted the course and is still plugging away in Homicide but longing for another legendary case to see his name back up in lights. As for Seever’s erstwhile wife, Gloria, she is still visiting him at the Sterling Correctional Facility but derided by a community who are unconvinced by her claims to have known nothing of Jacky’s reign of brutality. When a string of copycat killings break out across Denver, with all the victims having come into contact with Seever and bearing the hallmarks of his crimes that were never made known to the general public, hysteria threatens to grip the community once again. Presenting an opportunity for Hoskins and Loren to resume their partnership and Sammie to reprise her days as a staffer on the Post, the trio are compelled to return to the case. Fascinated by Seever, Loren obsession with the predator sees his dress up and adopt the mannerisms as he inveigles Hoskins back into their formerly explosive partnership. As the spotlight of suspicion looms over Denver it is hard not to conclude that all three of these individuals have the potential to gain from the arrival of the ‘Secondhand Killer’. The mystery element of this novel is significantly less of a focus than in a typical thriller, yet Chaney’s sleight of hand kept me off kilter right into the close, suspecting everyone from Gloria, Detective Loren, Sammie’s husband, Dean and Sammie’s rival at the Post, journalist Chris Weber. Even more frightening though is the question of whether Jacky Seever could be the puppet-master pulling the strings of the “sloppy-seconds” murderer...
One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is it’s portrayal of the dynamics within marriages and partnerships, from Jacky and Gloria Seever, through to journalist Sammie Peterson and husband, Dean and even Detectives Hoskins and Loren. In this sense What You Don’t Know touches of the secrets we keep from each other and the secrets we keep for each other, even with those individuals who we are bound closest to. Chaney excels with some chilling mind games amongst the principal players, not solely confined to the depraved Seever. Whilst I was a little disappointed by a slightly lacklustre close and the unmasking of the copycat killer, whose identity didn’t quite ring true, the breathtaking brilliance of the brittle narrative and stark conclusions undoubtedly make this a standout read. JoAnn Chaney may not have answered every question she posed, with some realistically left up for discussion, but she certainly provided some moral dilemmas and food for thought which ensure that this resonant study leaves an indelible mark on its readers.
A powerful and very profound novel that deals in the damage that remains once a killer is eventually put behind bars. Gritty with some uncompromisingly forthright dialogue, Chaney’s expose on the cost to society of a lethal killing spree and the hysteria of a community is haunting. As expected with such an unsettling story the dialogue is a little coarse, but this aspect contributes to a superbly brutal and noirish aura. A stunning debut which will ensure that I read JoAnn Chaney’s future efforts.
What You Don’t Know opens in Denver, 2008 with Detectives Paul Hoskins and his domineering jackass of a partner, Ralph Loren, going ‘hunting’ as they enter the home of restaurateur, pillar of the community and all round genial good guy, Jacky Seever. Several months spent digging up the crawlspace within Seever’s home recover the decomposing bodies of thirty-one individuals, mostly but not exclusively, female and with Seever refusing to speak with Loren, it is Hoskins who bears the brunt of providing an audience for his twisted outpourings. Whilst Hoskins and Loren may work well in their partnership for the Denver Police Department there is definitely no love lost between the pair, with Loren’s aggressive and unstable edge making for a fractious atmosphere. For Denver Post reporter, Sammie Peterson, the case generated a host of bylines and her affair with Detective Hoskins was the key to her daily front page scoops. Jacky Seever’s wife, Gloria, claimed to be as surprised as anyone when her husband’s despicable activities were uncovered yet she attended every moment of her husband’s trial. For these individuals whose lives are marked by their memories of Seever and have seen his macabre work at close quarters, can life ever be quite the same again?
Seven years later with print media on the slide, Sammie is selling cosmetics at the mall but craves a return to the big time and Detective Paul Hoskins is languishing in the basement working cold cases after taking out his frustrations on a killer. Detective Ralph Loren has lasted the course and is still plugging away in Homicide but longing for another legendary case to see his name back up in lights. As for Seever’s erstwhile wife, Gloria, she is still visiting him at the Sterling Correctional Facility but derided by a community who are unconvinced by her claims to have known nothing of Jacky’s reign of brutality. When a string of copycat killings break out across Denver, with all the victims having come into contact with Seever and bearing the hallmarks of his crimes that were never made known to the general public, hysteria threatens to grip the community once again. Presenting an opportunity for Hoskins and Loren to resume their partnership and Sammie to reprise her days as a staffer on the Post, the trio are compelled to return to the case. Fascinated by Seever, Loren obsession with the predator sees his dress up and adopt the mannerisms as he inveigles Hoskins back into their formerly explosive partnership. As the spotlight of suspicion looms over Denver it is hard not to conclude that all three of these individuals have the potential to gain from the arrival of the ‘Secondhand Killer’. The mystery element of this novel is significantly less of a focus than in a typical thriller, yet Chaney’s sleight of hand kept me off kilter right into the close, suspecting everyone from Gloria, Detective Loren, Sammie’s husband, Dean and Sammie’s rival at the Post, journalist Chris Weber. Even more frightening though is the question of whether Jacky Seever could be the puppet-master pulling the strings of the “sloppy-seconds” murderer...
One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is it’s portrayal of the dynamics within marriages and partnerships, from Jacky and Gloria Seever, through to journalist Sammie Peterson and husband, Dean and even Detectives Hoskins and Loren. In this sense What You Don’t Know touches of the secrets we keep from each other and the secrets we keep for each other, even with those individuals who we are bound closest to. Chaney excels with some chilling mind games amongst the principal players, not solely confined to the depraved Seever. Whilst I was a little disappointed by a slightly lacklustre close and the unmasking of the copycat killer, whose identity didn’t quite ring true, the breathtaking brilliance of the brittle narrative and stark conclusions undoubtedly make this a standout read. JoAnn Chaney may not have answered every question she posed, with some realistically left up for discussion, but she certainly provided some moral dilemmas and food for thought which ensure that this resonant study leaves an indelible mark on its readers.
A powerful and very profound novel that deals in the damage that remains once a killer is eventually put behind bars. Gritty with some uncompromisingly forthright dialogue, Chaney’s expose on the cost to society of a lethal killing spree and the hysteria of a community is haunting. As expected with such an unsettling story the dialogue is a little coarse, but this aspect contributes to a superbly brutal and noirish aura. A stunning debut which will ensure that I read JoAnn Chaney’s future efforts.
February 7, 2017
This debut novel begins in 2008, when Detective Ralph Loren and Detective Paul Hoskins, arrest a man named Jacky Seever. Seever runs a string of restaurants, is a volunteer at the local hospital, a respected businessman and member of the community, a man who likes to dress up as a clown and amuse local children, a husband to wife Gloria and a man who has over thirty bodies buried below the crawl space of his house… Of course, the murderer is based upon John Wayne Gacy, but this novel then moves on from this initial arrest and looks at the aftermath and how those involved were affected.
The story moves on to seven years after these events. Seever is in prison, just over a year from having his death sentence carried out. During his incarceration, he paints pictures to pass the time and Gloria sells them, to help supplement her meagre income. Meanwhile, although the arrest of Seever brought Loren and Hoskins commendation, life has changed for them too. Loren is unable to keep a partner, while Hoskins has been shunted downstairs to a basement office, after an altercation which would have seen him sacked if it had not been for the Seever case. Lastly, we have the story of Sammie Peterson; a pretty, and ambitious, young journalist, who had an affair with Hoskins, largely in order to get a scoop on the story, but whose career has since floundered.
Seven years later though, there is suddenly murders which bear hallmarks of Seever. With him still safely behind bars, who is targeting people related to the case? Suddenly, Hoskins finds himself back in the hunt, while Sammie sees the chance to get back her career. This is a fast paced, exciting debut, with a good premise and lots of twists and turns. The author is careful to give us lots of possible suspects and the writing is assured and extremely impressive for a debut novel. I really enjoyed the scenario of how the arrest of a serial killer affects those involved; including the character of Gloria, and the question of how much she really knew about what went on in her own home. A creepy, intriguing crime novel and I look forward to reading more from this author. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
The story moves on to seven years after these events. Seever is in prison, just over a year from having his death sentence carried out. During his incarceration, he paints pictures to pass the time and Gloria sells them, to help supplement her meagre income. Meanwhile, although the arrest of Seever brought Loren and Hoskins commendation, life has changed for them too. Loren is unable to keep a partner, while Hoskins has been shunted downstairs to a basement office, after an altercation which would have seen him sacked if it had not been for the Seever case. Lastly, we have the story of Sammie Peterson; a pretty, and ambitious, young journalist, who had an affair with Hoskins, largely in order to get a scoop on the story, but whose career has since floundered.
Seven years later though, there is suddenly murders which bear hallmarks of Seever. With him still safely behind bars, who is targeting people related to the case? Suddenly, Hoskins finds himself back in the hunt, while Sammie sees the chance to get back her career. This is a fast paced, exciting debut, with a good premise and lots of twists and turns. The author is careful to give us lots of possible suspects and the writing is assured and extremely impressive for a debut novel. I really enjoyed the scenario of how the arrest of a serial killer affects those involved; including the character of Gloria, and the question of how much she really knew about what went on in her own home. A creepy, intriguing crime novel and I look forward to reading more from this author. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
July 25, 2023
My Rating: 1⭐️ started ok, fell flat and then just bored the life out of me!!!
MY REVIEW IS FULL OF MASSIVE SPOILERS - SO DON’T READ THIS IF YOU FEEL LIKE READING THIS BOOK
GoodReads Synopsis
Do you really know your neighbours? Jacky Seever was a beloved local businessman and pillar of the Denver community. Until thirty-one bodes were discovered in the crawl space of his house.
Detective Paul Hoskins was lauded for bringing down one of the most ruthless serial killers of the decade. Sammie Peterson, the lead reporter on the case, finally obtained success she craved. An Seever’s wife, Gloria? Well, she claimed to be as surprised as everyone else. But when you get that close to a killer, can you really move on?
Well well well, this certainly sounded like a winner… and it did actually start out pretty creepy and exactly what I was after… BUT… as you can see from my rating… that went pretty far down the toilet, fairly quickly I might add.
Why did I keep reading… aside from the fact I am a sucker… well I get really tired through the week so sometimes I think that its just me and I keep giving the book another chance… sometimes its a win sometimes… well… this happens.
Again review is full of spoilers along with ruining the ending… so if you have a burning desire to read this bore-fest I would tap out of this review now…
First of all - I ask you after reading that synopsis does it remind you of anything… well if you aren’t up with your serial killers from the past, let me tell you… its is basically the John Wayne Gacey case, even down to the dude being a clown. Of course there are some difference but essentially the case is mirrored on JWG. This is ok, HOWEVER, I would much prefer the author to imply or nod to the inspiration … I did not find that anywhere in the acknowledgements so I thought that was a bit of a cop out.
The focus was not really so much on the Seever (aka Gacey) case it was more to do with the post-serial killer lives of three of the main people that were affected by the case. Hoskins, Sammie and Gloria.
Hoskins, this guy is a straight up lunatic. He loses it all the time… he is severely mentally unwell and no one is really giving him any assistance just letting him go around being a lunatic. He cannot really do police work all that well. When we come back to him post-Seever he has been demoted for beating the living shit out of a woman who killed her kid… LOOK I get it… mothers who abuse their kids are tough for me too… I have issues there no doubt… and I could really get a whoop going for a piece of shit like that… BUT I am not a cop… I am not a detective investigating crimes for a living. Now clearly this dude is going through it but he didn’t just punch her he nearly killed her and had to be dragged off her… sooooo not sacked just demoted.
THEN during the copycat case… which by the way they call the copycat killer THE SECONDHAND KILLER are you f*cking with me… the worst nickname ever… instead of just coming up with a better name the author just goes… oh yeah that’s a terrible name… YOLO USING IT ANYWAY…..
But Hoskins just starts beating the crap out of all sorts of people, other cops for no apparent reason, his fave stripper coffee chick’s abusive boyfriend, after he sits and stares at her for hours on end then follows her home… UMM SORRY BUT … what is happening… this guy needs to be sacked…. NaHhhhh all good we can leave him on the force… get real.
Oh and the author loved to use shock tactics with gratuitous sexual references and dreams at one point Hoskins is dreaming about the serial killer giving him a hand job and its soooo Graphic!! Ugh I cant even bring myself to make you read it… if you love that shit please be my guest but it was just icky.
Then we have Sammie, who the author might have just called Slutty, she wrote her as a walking sex fiend to get her own way. She was sleeping with Hoskins, for stories for the paper. Which he just fed her willingly, she has a husband who shes cheating on (obviously), we get references to her sleeping with the killers YES I said KILLERS!!! Past and current… just sleep with everyone… she is basically written as a walking talking sex doll… and I am not a prude or anything but it was over kill… I am surprised she was a journalist in the story and not some mindless idiot as well. The author just made her so unlikable and to explain away her behaviour… oh I was given such good looks everytime a guy looks at me they just want to have sex with me… so I might as well… riiiiiiiiiight…. There was no substance to her at all… it’s as boring AF.
Then Gloria, she was probably the most interesting of the lot… she stayed true to her husband the whole time, always saying she knew nothing… but we get snippets of the truth throughout her POV’s which I found kind of interesting but the rest of the book was such bullshit that by the time Gloria was on I just didn’t care.
The book is told in multiple POV which I like but again didn’t redeem it… it was just so predictable… it’s one thing to guess the killer but for it to be soooo damn obvious and boring that is it for me. Why did the killer do it… omg for Sammie of course… he just had to get it on with her so he killed a bunch of people to make her happy so she could get her job back …. Booooooorrrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnngggggg!!!!
Husband to the rescue, kills bad guy and scene… pfft!! Husband should have left that cheating Hoe ages ago… cause why was she with the bad guy in the first place OH THATS RIGHT TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM!!!
Christ alive, give me a break. Anyway… I have completely ruined the book at this point… so fingers crossed you didn’t get to here if you wanted to read it….
Obviously I am not recommending this trash fire to anyone… so I hope you all find a better book than this one to read and for those that loved it as always I am so glad you had a better experience than me!!!
Its a strong NO from me!!!
MY REVIEW IS FULL OF MASSIVE SPOILERS - SO DON’T READ THIS IF YOU FEEL LIKE READING THIS BOOK
GoodReads Synopsis
Do you really know your neighbours? Jacky Seever was a beloved local businessman and pillar of the Denver community. Until thirty-one bodes were discovered in the crawl space of his house.
Detective Paul Hoskins was lauded for bringing down one of the most ruthless serial killers of the decade. Sammie Peterson, the lead reporter on the case, finally obtained success she craved. An Seever’s wife, Gloria? Well, she claimed to be as surprised as everyone else. But when you get that close to a killer, can you really move on?
Well well well, this certainly sounded like a winner… and it did actually start out pretty creepy and exactly what I was after… BUT… as you can see from my rating… that went pretty far down the toilet, fairly quickly I might add.
Why did I keep reading… aside from the fact I am a sucker… well I get really tired through the week so sometimes I think that its just me and I keep giving the book another chance… sometimes its a win sometimes… well… this happens.
Again review is full of spoilers along with ruining the ending… so if you have a burning desire to read this bore-fest I would tap out of this review now…
First of all - I ask you after reading that synopsis does it remind you of anything… well if you aren’t up with your serial killers from the past, let me tell you… its is basically the John Wayne Gacey case, even down to the dude being a clown. Of course there are some difference but essentially the case is mirrored on JWG. This is ok, HOWEVER, I would much prefer the author to imply or nod to the inspiration … I did not find that anywhere in the acknowledgements so I thought that was a bit of a cop out.
The focus was not really so much on the Seever (aka Gacey) case it was more to do with the post-serial killer lives of three of the main people that were affected by the case. Hoskins, Sammie and Gloria.
Hoskins, this guy is a straight up lunatic. He loses it all the time… he is severely mentally unwell and no one is really giving him any assistance just letting him go around being a lunatic. He cannot really do police work all that well. When we come back to him post-Seever he has been demoted for beating the living shit out of a woman who killed her kid… LOOK I get it… mothers who abuse their kids are tough for me too… I have issues there no doubt… and I could really get a whoop going for a piece of shit like that… BUT I am not a cop… I am not a detective investigating crimes for a living. Now clearly this dude is going through it but he didn’t just punch her he nearly killed her and had to be dragged off her… sooooo not sacked just demoted.
THEN during the copycat case… which by the way they call the copycat killer THE SECONDHAND KILLER are you f*cking with me… the worst nickname ever… instead of just coming up with a better name the author just goes… oh yeah that’s a terrible name… YOLO USING IT ANYWAY…..
But Hoskins just starts beating the crap out of all sorts of people, other cops for no apparent reason, his fave stripper coffee chick’s abusive boyfriend, after he sits and stares at her for hours on end then follows her home… UMM SORRY BUT … what is happening… this guy needs to be sacked…. NaHhhhh all good we can leave him on the force… get real.
Oh and the author loved to use shock tactics with gratuitous sexual references and dreams at one point Hoskins is dreaming about the serial killer giving him a hand job and its soooo Graphic!! Ugh I cant even bring myself to make you read it… if you love that shit please be my guest but it was just icky.
Then we have Sammie, who the author might have just called Slutty, she wrote her as a walking sex fiend to get her own way. She was sleeping with Hoskins, for stories for the paper. Which he just fed her willingly, she has a husband who shes cheating on (obviously), we get references to her sleeping with the killers YES I said KILLERS!!! Past and current… just sleep with everyone… she is basically written as a walking talking sex doll… and I am not a prude or anything but it was over kill… I am surprised she was a journalist in the story and not some mindless idiot as well. The author just made her so unlikable and to explain away her behaviour… oh I was given such good looks everytime a guy looks at me they just want to have sex with me… so I might as well… riiiiiiiiiight…. There was no substance to her at all… it’s as boring AF.
Then Gloria, she was probably the most interesting of the lot… she stayed true to her husband the whole time, always saying she knew nothing… but we get snippets of the truth throughout her POV’s which I found kind of interesting but the rest of the book was such bullshit that by the time Gloria was on I just didn’t care.
The book is told in multiple POV which I like but again didn’t redeem it… it was just so predictable… it’s one thing to guess the killer but for it to be soooo damn obvious and boring that is it for me. Why did the killer do it… omg for Sammie of course… he just had to get it on with her so he killed a bunch of people to make her happy so she could get her job back …. Booooooorrrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnngggggg!!!!
Husband to the rescue, kills bad guy and scene… pfft!! Husband should have left that cheating Hoe ages ago… cause why was she with the bad guy in the first place OH THATS RIGHT TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM!!!
Christ alive, give me a break. Anyway… I have completely ruined the book at this point… so fingers crossed you didn’t get to here if you wanted to read it….
Obviously I am not recommending this trash fire to anyone… so I hope you all find a better book than this one to read and for those that loved it as always I am so glad you had a better experience than me!!!
Its a strong NO from me!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2017
What You Don’t Know is a gorgeously atmospheric character driven tale about what happens to a small eclectic bunch of people in the aftermath of the capture of a serial killer…and what happens when they get sucked back in.
I loved it, a serial killer chiller with a real difference – we come into it knowing who and what, then follow along with one of the detectives responsible for the capture of Jacky Seever, the reporter who was his lover and the wife who claims to have known nothing. The fallout on all of them is emotionally resonant and when more murders occur all of them will have to deal with their past demons.
This is both mystery and character study – who is following in the footsteps of a monster v what has happened to those caught up in the trauma – the story is engaging and often very creepy and includes some beautiful twists and turns not necessarily connected to the killings. I was fascinated by Gloria, married to a killer for so many years and some light relief (and also some disturbing scenes) were brought with Hoskins relationship with his police partner. JoAnn Chaney writes beautifully, an off kilter vibe with a touch of noir, I was hooked all the way.
Clever, very clever – and highly recommended from me.
I loved it, a serial killer chiller with a real difference – we come into it knowing who and what, then follow along with one of the detectives responsible for the capture of Jacky Seever, the reporter who was his lover and the wife who claims to have known nothing. The fallout on all of them is emotionally resonant and when more murders occur all of them will have to deal with their past demons.
This is both mystery and character study – who is following in the footsteps of a monster v what has happened to those caught up in the trauma – the story is engaging and often very creepy and includes some beautiful twists and turns not necessarily connected to the killings. I was fascinated by Gloria, married to a killer for so many years and some light relief (and also some disturbing scenes) were brought with Hoskins relationship with his police partner. JoAnn Chaney writes beautifully, an off kilter vibe with a touch of noir, I was hooked all the way.
Clever, very clever – and highly recommended from me.
February 23, 2017
Download this to my kindle,and read in two sittings,I loved the characters,especially Hoskins,and Loren which have a great sense of humour under the circumstances of there investigation, which is so dark and definitely in need of actions not words are utterly,believable and brilliantly written.
Thanks a million everyone at NG,Joann Chaney and publishers would highly recommend this stunning novel to everyone.
Thanks a million everyone at NG,Joann Chaney and publishers would highly recommend this stunning novel to everyone.
December 2, 2016
What a brilliant read! I can hardly believe this is the first novel for writer Joannn Chaney. WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW pulled me in immediately. When a team of detectives finally put away a particularly vicious serial killer, people the killer was in contact with suffer from serious emotional and psychological problems. Years later a copy cat killer is on the scene. I highly recommend this novel.
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April 7, 2017Crisp, dark, brutal and worth every nightmare it gave me. Chaney’s serial killer is chilling, her characters are humanly flawed, and her story is intense which creates the perfect recipe for a page-turner. The novel changes point of view at first between three characters (a journalist willing to do anything to get back the career she’s lost; the oddest pairing of detectives; and the serial killer’s wife who can’t escape her husband’s crimes) before later adding more as the story unfolds—with the convicted serial killer in prison, who is committing the new murders? Between What You Don’t Know and The Dry both being exceptional debuts Jane Harper and JoAnn Chaney are on my anticipating-their-next-book list and Flatiron Books has become a favorite publisher.
–Jamie Canaves
from The Best Books We Read In January 2017: http://bookriot.com/2017/02/01/riot-r...
–Jamie Canaves
from The Best Books We Read In January 2017: http://bookriot.com/2017/02/01/riot-r...
April 10, 2017
3,5 stars
„What you don’t know“ starts at a point where other books are ending. The killer is arrested and is in prison for 7 years now. We learn in flashbacks how this happened.
This book tells its crime story from a new perspective. It’s a character study of the people Seever left behind.
Jacky Seever killed 31 people and buried them in his crawl space. He seemed to be a nice and normal guy but he was capable of unbelievable cruelness.
The two detectives who caught Seever and questioned him afterwards are still haunted by Seever. Hoskins has some anger issues and almost lost his job. His former partner Loren has his own way to deal with emotional distress in a very creepy way. He really is the weirdest character. The author does a very good job in showing the mental strain of the men who have to deal with horrible things every day. What happens to you when you meet a monster like Seever and be in a room with him for days and listen to his confession? How do you live on when the hunt is over and the memories won’t fade?
Then there is Gloria, Seever’s wife. She claims that she knew nothing about her husband’s doing. She still visits him every week in prison. Is it really possible to life in a house where your husband tortured and killed people and even buried them and you hear and see nothing? Gloria just wants and always wanted to live her quiet and comfortable life.
What do you do as a reporter when the best story you ever had is now old news. Sammie was the main reporter in Seever’s case. She even wrote a book about it. But everything is told now and new things happen. Somehow her career is bound to Seever. When a copycat killer shows up and begins to murder people who were connected to Seever she sees her chance to get successful again. And she is literally willing to do everything to get a good story.
The characters are all very unlikable and flawed. They are all victims of Seever’s. When the new murders happen the hunt for a killer starts again. Hoskins got his job back and works again with his partner Loren. Sammie also gets a call from her former boss and begins to write again. All their lives revolve around Seever again.
This character driven story is very unique. It has a lot of interesting characters, even if none of them is likable. The copycat killer was a surprise for me, I had some ideas but there were a lot of red herrings. But it was a bit slow going. I really liked the unusual approach and the character studies. Seever is a very impressive killer, whose greasy presence lingers throughout the whole book. It was a solid read, unusual, but also very dark, depressing and vulgar.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
„What you don’t know“ starts at a point where other books are ending. The killer is arrested and is in prison for 7 years now. We learn in flashbacks how this happened.
This book tells its crime story from a new perspective. It’s a character study of the people Seever left behind.
Jacky Seever killed 31 people and buried them in his crawl space. He seemed to be a nice and normal guy but he was capable of unbelievable cruelness.
The two detectives who caught Seever and questioned him afterwards are still haunted by Seever. Hoskins has some anger issues and almost lost his job. His former partner Loren has his own way to deal with emotional distress in a very creepy way. He really is the weirdest character. The author does a very good job in showing the mental strain of the men who have to deal with horrible things every day. What happens to you when you meet a monster like Seever and be in a room with him for days and listen to his confession? How do you live on when the hunt is over and the memories won’t fade?
Then there is Gloria, Seever’s wife. She claims that she knew nothing about her husband’s doing. She still visits him every week in prison. Is it really possible to life in a house where your husband tortured and killed people and even buried them and you hear and see nothing? Gloria just wants and always wanted to live her quiet and comfortable life.
What do you do as a reporter when the best story you ever had is now old news. Sammie was the main reporter in Seever’s case. She even wrote a book about it. But everything is told now and new things happen. Somehow her career is bound to Seever. When a copycat killer shows up and begins to murder people who were connected to Seever she sees her chance to get successful again. And she is literally willing to do everything to get a good story.
The characters are all very unlikable and flawed. They are all victims of Seever’s. When the new murders happen the hunt for a killer starts again. Hoskins got his job back and works again with his partner Loren. Sammie also gets a call from her former boss and begins to write again. All their lives revolve around Seever again.
This character driven story is very unique. It has a lot of interesting characters, even if none of them is likable. The copycat killer was a surprise for me, I had some ideas but there were a lot of red herrings. But it was a bit slow going. I really liked the unusual approach and the character studies. Seever is a very impressive killer, whose greasy presence lingers throughout the whole book. It was a solid read, unusual, but also very dark, depressing and vulgar.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
December 30, 2016
The characters in this book are so real and some so thoroughly creepy that it had me looking over my shoulder for days after I finished reading. They were characters whose darker impulses often got in the way of their more valiant motivations, which made them very intriguing.
As one character notes “Desperation is not a pretty thing. It’s the burlap sack of emotions – no one looks good wearing it.” Each character is fighting in his or her own way, not just to outrun, but to confront the evil that has touched their lives. Their faltering attempts tumbled into one another like a horrible chain of dominos that kept me guessing until the end. Fantastic read.
As one character notes “Desperation is not a pretty thing. It’s the burlap sack of emotions – no one looks good wearing it.” Each character is fighting in his or her own way, not just to outrun, but to confront the evil that has touched their lives. Their faltering attempts tumbled into one another like a horrible chain of dominos that kept me guessing until the end. Fantastic read.
April 2, 2017
Very unusual story: a charismatic serial killer is caught, with the assistance of a female victim who escaped. While awaiting execution in jail seven years later, the signature killings start anew. Author Chaney does a good job of setting up candidates for the copycat: the detectives, the wife, the newspaper reporter, the escaped victim, etc. Sadly, the ending was meh.
March 22, 2017
4 stars and a very unique read.
This book opens with a house search and the finding of bodies in the basement. I'm not giving away any major reveal in the book because within the first ten pages of the book (free sample size) you know there is a serial killer and you know who the serial killer is. That is not the storyline of the book.
The storyline becomes the characters involved in the investigation. Loren and Hoskins are the investigating detectives. Gloria is the wife of the killer. Sammie is the reporter who gets the scoop on the story. The timeline of this case is in the past.
Fast-forward to the present and guess what? The killings begin to happen again and the original killer is in prison and has little contact with anyone. Who is doing this? It had to be someone close to the investigation to know certain details. And the original characters covering the first killings have moved on to other things but yet they all bear scars.
So, this unique storyline becomes about the new killings and looking at the damage done to people caught up in the original murders. What I really enjoyed about this book was the "creepy' factor. These characters changed and not always for the best. The who-is-doing-this factor kept me guessing and the effects on the characters from working a serial killing was unsettling.
Highly recommend for a different type of murder/thriller read.
This book opens with a house search and the finding of bodies in the basement. I'm not giving away any major reveal in the book because within the first ten pages of the book (free sample size) you know there is a serial killer and you know who the serial killer is. That is not the storyline of the book.
The storyline becomes the characters involved in the investigation. Loren and Hoskins are the investigating detectives. Gloria is the wife of the killer. Sammie is the reporter who gets the scoop on the story. The timeline of this case is in the past.
Fast-forward to the present and guess what? The killings begin to happen again and the original killer is in prison and has little contact with anyone. Who is doing this? It had to be someone close to the investigation to know certain details. And the original characters covering the first killings have moved on to other things but yet they all bear scars.
So, this unique storyline becomes about the new killings and looking at the damage done to people caught up in the original murders. What I really enjoyed about this book was the "creepy' factor. These characters changed and not always for the best. The who-is-doing-this factor kept me guessing and the effects on the characters from working a serial killing was unsettling.
Highly recommend for a different type of murder/thriller read.
December 13, 2018
I love dark crime novels. But there's something about the tone of this book that just landed wrong for me. It almost felt too "look at me and how DARK I am!" (This might have bothered me less in print, in audio, the narration really leaned into this and it probably made me more sensitive to it.)
With that said, it's a smart, well-structured book. It's set in that alternate universe of many crime novels where serial killers are a thing that exists on the regular, where reporters give them catchy nicknames, and cops are haunted by what they've seen. It's not my favorite universe, but this is one of the better books set there. It isn't lazy, it doesn't rely too heavily on ridiculous clues or taunts by the impossibly slippery killer. Chaney is looking more at people, how they can spend years stuck in the heightened horrors of catching a killer and what happens when the case comes back to life. It relies on the tropes of the serial killer universe (why yes there IS a very attractive female reporter who will do anything for a story) but it is in on the joke and it's not going to play nice with us.
It's a book with bite, it doesn't try to paint over its characters flaws, instead it rolls around in them and stretches them out. Not a fancy literary thriller, but not a mass market one either, right in the middle and that's not a bad place to be.
With that said, it's a smart, well-structured book. It's set in that alternate universe of many crime novels where serial killers are a thing that exists on the regular, where reporters give them catchy nicknames, and cops are haunted by what they've seen. It's not my favorite universe, but this is one of the better books set there. It isn't lazy, it doesn't rely too heavily on ridiculous clues or taunts by the impossibly slippery killer. Chaney is looking more at people, how they can spend years stuck in the heightened horrors of catching a killer and what happens when the case comes back to life. It relies on the tropes of the serial killer universe (why yes there IS a very attractive female reporter who will do anything for a story) but it is in on the joke and it's not going to play nice with us.
It's a book with bite, it doesn't try to paint over its characters flaws, instead it rolls around in them and stretches them out. Not a fancy literary thriller, but not a mass market one either, right in the middle and that's not a bad place to be.
December 2, 2017
This book certainly kept me guessing! Again, though, most of the characters are not very likeable, but the plot sort of makes up for that. It starts out with a murderer being caught - quite different than the usual mystery! There are several characters (the first murderer, the two detectives, the gorgeous reporter and the murderer's wife), and the chapters jump around among those characters.
February 27, 2017
Just when I was becoming concerned about recent crime fiction, having read a few very average ones recently, Chaney has come up with something very refreshing, original and hugely enjoyable. And it's a first novel.
The success of 'What You Don't Know' centres around the reaction of the small town community to the capture of a major serial killer. The immediate aftermath takes place in the first few pages, but the feeling lingers throughout the novel, and Chaney's descriptions of the reaction of the community are the backbone of the novel. The characters are strongly drawn, and each in their own way deeply affected by what has taken place. Again, a tremendous strength of the story.
While Jacky Seever is incarcerated and awaiting execution there are further murders, each with the same 'style'. Is it a copycat? Has Seever somehow influenced an outsider? Did the police get the right person?
The key characters are the two police partners who arrested Seever, never friends, always at loggerheads with each other, and now split up. Paul Hoskins and Ralph Loren. Loren's character and behaviour is particularly concerning and interesting. Also Sammie Peterson, who documented the crimes for the local newspaper, and now visits Jacky in jail, trying to rekindle her time of fame. And Jacky's wife Gloria, who struggles on with the media attention she has, and with monthly visits to the jail.
If there is a weakness, it is that the ending is not as climatic as I had hoped. There are twists, but not as rewarding as the novel overall.
A really strong debut though.
The success of 'What You Don't Know' centres around the reaction of the small town community to the capture of a major serial killer. The immediate aftermath takes place in the first few pages, but the feeling lingers throughout the novel, and Chaney's descriptions of the reaction of the community are the backbone of the novel. The characters are strongly drawn, and each in their own way deeply affected by what has taken place. Again, a tremendous strength of the story.
While Jacky Seever is incarcerated and awaiting execution there are further murders, each with the same 'style'. Is it a copycat? Has Seever somehow influenced an outsider? Did the police get the right person?
The key characters are the two police partners who arrested Seever, never friends, always at loggerheads with each other, and now split up. Paul Hoskins and Ralph Loren. Loren's character and behaviour is particularly concerning and interesting. Also Sammie Peterson, who documented the crimes for the local newspaper, and now visits Jacky in jail, trying to rekindle her time of fame. And Jacky's wife Gloria, who struggles on with the media attention she has, and with monthly visits to the jail.
If there is a weakness, it is that the ending is not as climatic as I had hoped. There are twists, but not as rewarding as the novel overall.
A really strong debut though.
March 5, 2017
4.5 stars. Denver Detective Paul Hoskins and his partner Ralph Loren put serial killer Jacky Seever in prison seven years ago. Reporter Sammie Peterson's career was made because she was sleeping with Hoskins and had inside scoop on all the stories. Gloria is Jacky's wife, used to living the good life with plenty of money, and claimed she never suspected her husband of killing over 30 people and burying them in the crawl space in the basement. My, how the mighty have fallen.
Present day: Hoskins is working cold cases in the police basement and glad to have a job at all since he punched a lady in the face. Sammie was laid off at the newspaper and is now selling cosmetics at the mall. Gloria lives in a small home, only goes out to the grocery store, and hopes no one recognizes her.
Two bodies associated with Seever were tied together and washed onshore. Then the one girl who got away from Seever is tortured and murdered. Hoskins comes out of the basement and Sammie's former editor calls her. A copycat killer is on the loose in Denver.
I didn't think anybody in this book was very likeable and some of the characters were downright creepy. I stayed interested in finding out who was the copycat dubbed the Secondhand Killer. I had a list of six suspects and one of those on my list turned out to be the killer. However, several times I was almost sure someone else was guilty. The last third of the book was good enough for me to bump my rating up. Good debut novel.
I received this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.
Present day: Hoskins is working cold cases in the police basement and glad to have a job at all since he punched a lady in the face. Sammie was laid off at the newspaper and is now selling cosmetics at the mall. Gloria lives in a small home, only goes out to the grocery store, and hopes no one recognizes her.
Two bodies associated with Seever were tied together and washed onshore. Then the one girl who got away from Seever is tortured and murdered. Hoskins comes out of the basement and Sammie's former editor calls her. A copycat killer is on the loose in Denver.
I didn't think anybody in this book was very likeable and some of the characters were downright creepy. I stayed interested in finding out who was the copycat dubbed the Secondhand Killer. I had a list of six suspects and one of those on my list turned out to be the killer. However, several times I was almost sure someone else was guilty. The last third of the book was good enough for me to bump my rating up. Good debut novel.
I received this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.
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June 27, 2017I gave up 75% of the way through. I can take disgusting descriptions of murder if they're in the service of a good story. But I suddenly realized I didn't like any of the characters, nor did I care what happened to any of them. Life's too short.
August 7, 2017
This is probably the most disturbing and f'd up book I've ever read. But the excellent writing, the depth of the character development, and the intensity of the story wowed me. This author has no fear. And I may never sleep again.
October 22, 2016
Thrilling psychological novel about a group of people affected by the conviction of a serial killer and they can't move on. Meanwhile the murders resume even with the killer behind bars.
February 27, 2018
Salve lettori!
In questa recensione vi parlo di un thriller edito dalla casa editrice Piemme: "Le cose che non sai" di Joann Chaney.
Vi avverto, questo non è un thriller facile da leggere: bisogna avere una certa dimestichezza con il genere e, comunque, a volte risulterà psicologicamente pesante continuare la lettura.
Perché questo è un libro che si infiltra dentro la mente, mette radici nella nostra coscienza e non la molla neanche quando giriamo l'ultima pagina.
Da quando ho iniziato questo libro, gli incubi hanno accompagnato il mio sonno e, quando l'ho finito, ho dovuto dormire con il telefono a portata di mano per poter avere una luce ogni volta che mi svegliavo.
Ma passiamo alla storia.
Jacky Seever, all'apparenza un uomo meraviglioso, un gioviale benefattore, in realtà è uno spietato serial killer. Nel vespaio della sua enorme casa vengono ritrovati trentuno corpi, trentuno cadaveri di donne e uomini torturati e stuprati per giorni e poi lasciati a marcire senza che nessuno andasse a cercarli.
Solo dopo un estenuante pedinamento, i detective Loren e Hoskins sono riusciti ad incastrare Seever.
Quel periodo è stato un incubo per chiunque coinvolto nel caso Seever: i due detective, soprattutto Hoskins, Sammie Peterson, la giornalista che si è occupata del caso, Gloria, la moglie di Seever.
Dopo 7 anni, tentano tutti di dimenticare, ma nessuno di loro ci riesce. Soprattutto quando in città arriva un nuovo assassino che, nei suoi modi di uccidere, ricorda tanto, troppo, Jacky Seever, e le cui vittime sono tutte legate, in qualche modo, al vecchio serial killer.
Questo è un thriller che punta molto sulla suggestione psicologica, grazie anche alla forza visiva delle parole. È proprio la capacità dell'autrice di rendere tutto così reale a destabilizzare il lettore. Per questo motivo, se siete facilmente impressionabili, vi sconsiglio, anche se a malincuore, la lettura di questo romanzo.
Sono la mente e la coscienza dell'uomo il grande perno di questa storia.
La capacità di una mente subdola e malata di condizionare tutti senza che nessuno se ne accorga.
È quello che succede ai nostri personaggi, tutti satelliti intorno al potente magnetismo di Seever. Ognuno di loro ha in sé un pezzettino di lui che, quando meno se lo aspettano, ricompare.
Sono dei mostri anche loro? Stanno impazzendo? Finirà mai?
Qual è la sorte che gli verrà riservata?
"Le ripercussioni di un crimine del genere sono vaste, e non si può mai sapere quante persone vengano davvero coinvolte. Una goccia in una polla d'acqua cheta crea un'increspatura che si allarga in ogni direzione, probabilmente all'infinito, senza mai appiattirsi, generando invece altre ondulazioni in direzioni completamente nuove. Prima o poi quella originale rallenterà, perderà gran parte della sua energia, ma sarà sempre attiva. Non finirà mai."
La storia è divisa in parti ed è raccontata dal punto di vista di Hoskins, Sammie e Gloria. Più, occasionalmente, POV di personaggi secondari o, in alcune occasioni, di una voce fuori campo che in qualche modo ci risveglia, ricordandoci che è solo un libro ciò che stiamo leggendo. E fortunatamente, aggiungerei.
L'unica pecca che riesco a trovare è che, a volte, la lettura era un po' lenta per le lunghe riflessioni dei personaggi che parlavano. Ma una volta preso il ritmo è stato difficile staccarmi dal Kindle.
Che dire più lettori, "Le cose che non sai" è un thriller consigliatissimo... per chi ha uno stomaco di ferro e una mente preparata a ciò che potrebbe trovarsi davanti.
In questa recensione vi parlo di un thriller edito dalla casa editrice Piemme: "Le cose che non sai" di Joann Chaney.
Vi avverto, questo non è un thriller facile da leggere: bisogna avere una certa dimestichezza con il genere e, comunque, a volte risulterà psicologicamente pesante continuare la lettura.
Perché questo è un libro che si infiltra dentro la mente, mette radici nella nostra coscienza e non la molla neanche quando giriamo l'ultima pagina.
Da quando ho iniziato questo libro, gli incubi hanno accompagnato il mio sonno e, quando l'ho finito, ho dovuto dormire con il telefono a portata di mano per poter avere una luce ogni volta che mi svegliavo.
Ma passiamo alla storia.
Jacky Seever, all'apparenza un uomo meraviglioso, un gioviale benefattore, in realtà è uno spietato serial killer. Nel vespaio della sua enorme casa vengono ritrovati trentuno corpi, trentuno cadaveri di donne e uomini torturati e stuprati per giorni e poi lasciati a marcire senza che nessuno andasse a cercarli.
Solo dopo un estenuante pedinamento, i detective Loren e Hoskins sono riusciti ad incastrare Seever.
Quel periodo è stato un incubo per chiunque coinvolto nel caso Seever: i due detective, soprattutto Hoskins, Sammie Peterson, la giornalista che si è occupata del caso, Gloria, la moglie di Seever.
Dopo 7 anni, tentano tutti di dimenticare, ma nessuno di loro ci riesce. Soprattutto quando in città arriva un nuovo assassino che, nei suoi modi di uccidere, ricorda tanto, troppo, Jacky Seever, e le cui vittime sono tutte legate, in qualche modo, al vecchio serial killer.
Questo è un thriller che punta molto sulla suggestione psicologica, grazie anche alla forza visiva delle parole. È proprio la capacità dell'autrice di rendere tutto così reale a destabilizzare il lettore. Per questo motivo, se siete facilmente impressionabili, vi sconsiglio, anche se a malincuore, la lettura di questo romanzo.
Sono la mente e la coscienza dell'uomo il grande perno di questa storia.
La capacità di una mente subdola e malata di condizionare tutti senza che nessuno se ne accorga.
È quello che succede ai nostri personaggi, tutti satelliti intorno al potente magnetismo di Seever. Ognuno di loro ha in sé un pezzettino di lui che, quando meno se lo aspettano, ricompare.
Sono dei mostri anche loro? Stanno impazzendo? Finirà mai?
Qual è la sorte che gli verrà riservata?
"Le ripercussioni di un crimine del genere sono vaste, e non si può mai sapere quante persone vengano davvero coinvolte. Una goccia in una polla d'acqua cheta crea un'increspatura che si allarga in ogni direzione, probabilmente all'infinito, senza mai appiattirsi, generando invece altre ondulazioni in direzioni completamente nuove. Prima o poi quella originale rallenterà, perderà gran parte della sua energia, ma sarà sempre attiva. Non finirà mai."
La storia è divisa in parti ed è raccontata dal punto di vista di Hoskins, Sammie e Gloria. Più, occasionalmente, POV di personaggi secondari o, in alcune occasioni, di una voce fuori campo che in qualche modo ci risveglia, ricordandoci che è solo un libro ciò che stiamo leggendo. E fortunatamente, aggiungerei.
L'unica pecca che riesco a trovare è che, a volte, la lettura era un po' lenta per le lunghe riflessioni dei personaggi che parlavano. Ma una volta preso il ritmo è stato difficile staccarmi dal Kindle.
Che dire più lettori, "Le cose che non sai" è un thriller consigliatissimo... per chi ha uno stomaco di ferro e una mente preparata a ciò che potrebbe trovarsi davanti.
July 3, 2018
Dark and scarily chilling.
October 19, 2022
This was really great! Though completely different in tone, this reminded me a lot of Notes on an Execution in the way it unpacks the wake of destruction that heinous crimes can have on the community surrounding it.
The novel begins with a serial killer (an amalgamation of Gacy and Gein) finally being apprehended and a community rejoicing. Then we jump a decade into the future to catch up with the two lead detectives in the case, the lead reporter and the wife of the accused.
We see how the last decade has completely morphed these people into a fraction of what they once were and how this crime has literally (especially in the case of one of the detectives, Loren) shaped their identities. I really loved that exploration here.
Also, there are some HILARIOUS descriptions and encounters weaved into the darkness that just really had a whole callous, misanthropic vibe that I really loved.
Some parts were wildly over the top, but again, not a bad thing.
The novel begins with a serial killer (an amalgamation of Gacy and Gein) finally being apprehended and a community rejoicing. Then we jump a decade into the future to catch up with the two lead detectives in the case, the lead reporter and the wife of the accused.
We see how the last decade has completely morphed these people into a fraction of what they once were and how this crime has literally (especially in the case of one of the detectives, Loren) shaped their identities. I really loved that exploration here.
Also, there are some HILARIOUS descriptions and encounters weaved into the darkness that just really had a whole callous, misanthropic vibe that I really loved.
Some parts were wildly over the top, but again, not a bad thing.
February 13, 2017
3.5 rounded down
This is a solid police-procedural/thriller, and a promising debut novel from the author. It follows Detective Hoskins as he and his partner investigate a spate of what seem to be copycat killings, similar to those committed 7 years ago by serial killer Jacky Sheever.
Having read a few similar(ish) thrillers recently I found this one to be a bit slow going in comparison. It wasn't as if nothing was happening, as new characters and leads were gradually introduced, but it was like a sudden rush in the last 20% of the book as everything came to a head. I had also guessed who the killer was (something I never seem to get right!) and how it was probably going to end, not to say the ending was particularly predictable though - but when the story is following a copycat killer I guess it is going to be sort of easy to guess more or less how things will end.
Don't let my somewhere-between-3/3.5 stars put you off if you like this kind of book, I definitely didn't feel disappointed by it, and finished it in less than 24 hours. I just had a few problems with the pacing and a couple of other things, but otherwise a good read.
This is a solid police-procedural/thriller, and a promising debut novel from the author. It follows Detective Hoskins as he and his partner investigate a spate of what seem to be copycat killings, similar to those committed 7 years ago by serial killer Jacky Sheever.
Having read a few similar(ish) thrillers recently I found this one to be a bit slow going in comparison. It wasn't as if nothing was happening, as new characters and leads were gradually introduced, but it was like a sudden rush in the last 20% of the book as everything came to a head. I had also guessed who the killer was (something I never seem to get right!) and how it was probably going to end, not to say the ending was particularly predictable though - but when the story is following a copycat killer I guess it is going to be sort of easy to guess more or less how things will end.
Don't let my somewhere-between-3/3.5 stars put you off if you like this kind of book, I definitely didn't feel disappointed by it, and finished it in less than 24 hours. I just had a few problems with the pacing and a couple of other things, but otherwise a good read.
August 1, 2018
This was chilling, brutal, exceptionally written, and it gave me nightmares–I loved every minute of it. (Let’s not think too hard on what that says about me.) Chaney has written flawed characters (as humans are) that are incredibly real and rather than pushing me to dislike them I found myself constantly wondering what I would do in their situation. The novel begins by alternating point of view between three of the main characters: a pair of detectives that could not be more different from each other; a journalist who has reached the point of I’ll-do-anything to get back my career; and the serial killer’s wife, trying to start a new life. As the story unfolds–if the serial killer is in prison who is committing the new murders?!–we get more points of view added taking us deep into these characters lives, fears, desires, struggles, and need.
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: http://link.bookriot.com/view/56a8200...
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: http://link.bookriot.com/view/56a8200...
December 18, 2016
This book begins 7 years after detective Paul Hoskins and his partner Detective Loren had discovered 33 bodies buried in a crawlspace under Jackie Seevers house. Seever is now in jail and while Loren is still a detective Hoskins is checking out cold cases. The aftermath still lingers with them it is very hard to put that amount of bodies behind them and they really must catch this killer before it gets out of hand. The reporter on the Seevers case thinks this could be her way back on to the paper as she is now working in a cosmetics store she just has to beat the new reporter to the byline.
This was such a rollercoaster of a ride and my emotions were all over the place, I had no idea who to trust and no idea who or where the actual killer was. It was interesting to see how the lives of these three had been impacted on after the original case. A very enjoyable read and I will definately be looking out for more from this author.
This was such a rollercoaster of a ride and my emotions were all over the place, I had no idea who to trust and no idea who or where the actual killer was. It was interesting to see how the lives of these three had been impacted on after the original case. A very enjoyable read and I will definately be looking out for more from this author.
May 21, 2017
I found this novel very crass, the language (and I understand the characters are cops/killers, maybe they all speak this way, I don't know) quite obscene in places. I liked the overall story but found myself skipping certain parts, especially near the end, just to get past the descriptive paragraphs. I'm not a prude but some of the situations I found very disturbing.
December 20, 2017
They found 31 bodies* in the crawl space and back yard of serial killer Jacky Seever, who had savagely tortured and sexually abused his mainly female victims. Now, several years later, Seever's in jail, a matter of months away from his long-delayed execution, but it seems that his murders have started up again: the new victims are people who were involved, if sometimes only tangentially, in the original case, and each corpse bears a Seever trademark that only the cops are supposed to know about.
The trope of jailed murderer (or even already-executed murderer) seeming to start killing again is not a new one, but that's no criticism of What You Don't Know: the originality of the setup's not so very important in mysteries or thrillers; it's what you do from there that matters.
Our focus is on a quartet of characters who were in one way or another traumatized by Seever's crimes, arrest and conviction. There's Gloria, the wife who claimed she knew nothing of what her husband was up to and is now, innocent or guilty, a pariah. There are the two cops, Hoskins and Loren, who led the investigation of the original killings and finally nailed Seever. And there's Sammie, the hot Denver Post investigative journalist who screwed Hoskins all through the investigation as a means of getting the scoops. Can their psyches take the strain of this string of copycat murders?
Not one of the four is what you'd call likeable. Gloria wasn't the innocent she pretends. Hoskins is generally genial but prone to outbursts of sometimes unprovoked violence. Loren (Ralph Loren -- geddit?) seems to be only borderline sane -- in fact, he's a caricature of the maverick unorthodox cop, the kind who in real life would have been put on medical leave long before he started behaving as we see him behave here. And serial adulterer Sammie treats her astonishingly loyal husband abominably because, oooh, he's such a disappointment to her.
So who's the killer? And will the killer be caught before one of these four becomes a new victim?
To be honest, I spotted the murderer a goodly distance before the end,+ so it was as a thriller rather than a mystery that I read the novel. And certainly I was gripped by the tale Chaney was telling me, even though (and this is something that normally drives me nuts to the point that I will sometimes abandon a book) her use of tenses is a complete mess. Basically the story's in the present tense, or at least that's the intention, but the use of past tenses within that context is just a jumble.
That jumble, though, has the effect of giving the narrative a conversational feel -- and this is where Chaney scores. I was just a few pages into the novel when I started to wonder why its voice seemed so familiar. A few pages more and it struck me: The voice I was hearing was not at all unlike Ed McBain's, with the same conversational tics, the same occasional arch observation slung into the text just for the hell of it, the same felicity with everyday imagery.
This isn't to say that Chaney is another McBain -- not yet, anyway. She's not nearly as much in control of her text (those chaotic tenses!) as McBain was, and she certainly doesn't have his mastery of dialogue and digression, but there's something here nevertheless of the sense that the words have just come bubbling out spontaneously. Capturing that apparent ease of telling is a rare talent. Let's hope that Chaney soon hones it.
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* Not 33 bodies, as stated in the blurb. That was John Wayne Gacy. But the confusion's understandable in that the real-life Gacy and the fictional Seever shared the hobby of dressing up as a clown to entertain ailing children.
+ It could in theory have been Character Y rather than Character X, but Hoskins would have checked out Character Y as a matter of routine.
The trope of jailed murderer (or even already-executed murderer) seeming to start killing again is not a new one, but that's no criticism of What You Don't Know: the originality of the setup's not so very important in mysteries or thrillers; it's what you do from there that matters.
Our focus is on a quartet of characters who were in one way or another traumatized by Seever's crimes, arrest and conviction. There's Gloria, the wife who claimed she knew nothing of what her husband was up to and is now, innocent or guilty, a pariah. There are the two cops, Hoskins and Loren, who led the investigation of the original killings and finally nailed Seever. And there's Sammie, the hot Denver Post investigative journalist who screwed Hoskins all through the investigation as a means of getting the scoops. Can their psyches take the strain of this string of copycat murders?
Not one of the four is what you'd call likeable. Gloria wasn't the innocent she pretends. Hoskins is generally genial but prone to outbursts of sometimes unprovoked violence. Loren (Ralph Loren -- geddit?) seems to be only borderline sane -- in fact, he's a caricature of the maverick unorthodox cop, the kind who in real life would have been put on medical leave long before he started behaving as we see him behave here. And serial adulterer Sammie treats her astonishingly loyal husband abominably because, oooh, he's such a disappointment to her.
So who's the killer? And will the killer be caught before one of these four becomes a new victim?
To be honest, I spotted the murderer a goodly distance before the end,+ so it was as a thriller rather than a mystery that I read the novel. And certainly I was gripped by the tale Chaney was telling me, even though (and this is something that normally drives me nuts to the point that I will sometimes abandon a book) her use of tenses is a complete mess. Basically the story's in the present tense, or at least that's the intention, but the use of past tenses within that context is just a jumble.
That jumble, though, has the effect of giving the narrative a conversational feel -- and this is where Chaney scores. I was just a few pages into the novel when I started to wonder why its voice seemed so familiar. A few pages more and it struck me: The voice I was hearing was not at all unlike Ed McBain's, with the same conversational tics, the same occasional arch observation slung into the text just for the hell of it, the same felicity with everyday imagery.
This isn't to say that Chaney is another McBain -- not yet, anyway. She's not nearly as much in control of her text (those chaotic tenses!) as McBain was, and she certainly doesn't have his mastery of dialogue and digression, but there's something here nevertheless of the sense that the words have just come bubbling out spontaneously. Capturing that apparent ease of telling is a rare talent. Let's hope that Chaney soon hones it.
=====
* Not 33 bodies, as stated in the blurb. That was John Wayne Gacy. But the confusion's understandable in that the real-life Gacy and the fictional Seever shared the hobby of dressing up as a clown to entertain ailing children.
+ It could in theory have been Character Y rather than Character X, but Hoskins would have checked out Character Y as a matter of routine.
April 3, 2018
Story
A beloved businessman, Jacky Seever was loved by every one of the Denver community, until thirty-one bodies were discovered in the crawlspace of his house. Following his arrest, detective Paul Hoskins and Ralph Loren were praised for bringing down a notorious killer. Sammie Peterson, the lead reporter on the case finally got her big break. And Gloria, Seever's wife insisted on being in the dark.
Seven years have passed since the arrest of Jacky Seever, who is just a year away from facing execution. Rotting away in homicide's basement, Hoskins is still obsessed with Seever. Having lost her stardom, Sammie is no longer a reporter for the post. And Gloria is still devoted to her husband as ever. Denver is once again rattled by a killer that has the same modus operandi as Seever. Is the new killer an old accomplice of Seever? Has the obsession with Seever driven Hoskins and Loren over the edge? Will Sammie go to any lengths to get her post back?
What I loved
The aspect of the book that I loved the most is how it stood out from a typical crime thriller. Unlike the usual crime thrillers which follow the pattern of a murder-investigation-catching-the-culprit-the-end, What You Don't Know began from the very end- they already have caught the serial killer. Through this book, the author dwells into the lesser (or maybe never) trodden path of what happens once the murderer is caught.
The story progresses through the perspective of three entirely different people- Hoskins, Sammie and Gloria. The author goes into great detail the impact a serial killer has on the lives of the detective that caught him, the journalist that covered his story and his wife. The entry of the new killer after seven years further boosted the story. The suspense element was quite high, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book from the very first page to the last.
The writing was quite commendable. Joann Chaney has made a remarkable debut with an unputdownable book, with her ability to engage the readers adding the cherry on top.
What didn't work for me
Even though the book began with a brand new angle to a crime thriller, the second half of the book did not have anything new to offer-it dwindled to just another crime story. All though she kept the suspense going, I was able to figure out who the secondhand killer was.
Conclusion
What You Don't Know by Joann Chaney is an engaging, well-written, and unputdownable thriller that will keep you glued to each page. Though the suspense level was quite high in the beginning, it gets predictable towards the end. I highly recommend the book if you love crime thrillers and is looking for something different in the genre.
A beloved businessman, Jacky Seever was loved by every one of the Denver community, until thirty-one bodies were discovered in the crawlspace of his house. Following his arrest, detective Paul Hoskins and Ralph Loren were praised for bringing down a notorious killer. Sammie Peterson, the lead reporter on the case finally got her big break. And Gloria, Seever's wife insisted on being in the dark.
Seven years have passed since the arrest of Jacky Seever, who is just a year away from facing execution. Rotting away in homicide's basement, Hoskins is still obsessed with Seever. Having lost her stardom, Sammie is no longer a reporter for the post. And Gloria is still devoted to her husband as ever. Denver is once again rattled by a killer that has the same modus operandi as Seever. Is the new killer an old accomplice of Seever? Has the obsession with Seever driven Hoskins and Loren over the edge? Will Sammie go to any lengths to get her post back?
What I loved
The aspect of the book that I loved the most is how it stood out from a typical crime thriller. Unlike the usual crime thrillers which follow the pattern of a murder-investigation-catching-the-culprit-the-end, What You Don't Know began from the very end- they already have caught the serial killer. Through this book, the author dwells into the lesser (or maybe never) trodden path of what happens once the murderer is caught.
The story progresses through the perspective of three entirely different people- Hoskins, Sammie and Gloria. The author goes into great detail the impact a serial killer has on the lives of the detective that caught him, the journalist that covered his story and his wife. The entry of the new killer after seven years further boosted the story. The suspense element was quite high, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book from the very first page to the last.
The writing was quite commendable. Joann Chaney has made a remarkable debut with an unputdownable book, with her ability to engage the readers adding the cherry on top.
What didn't work for me
Even though the book began with a brand new angle to a crime thriller, the second half of the book did not have anything new to offer-it dwindled to just another crime story. All though she kept the suspense going, I was able to figure out who the secondhand killer was.
Conclusion
What You Don't Know by Joann Chaney is an engaging, well-written, and unputdownable thriller that will keep you glued to each page. Though the suspense level was quite high in the beginning, it gets predictable towards the end. I highly recommend the book if you love crime thrillers and is looking for something different in the genre.
June 12, 2017
Weird, fascinating characters and a willingness to go to darker places make this a better than usual choice in the watered-down psychological thriller genre.
February 13, 2019
Solid. Held my attention, good pacing, interesting characters, but I called the ending.
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