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I Know Who You Are

Review

I Know Who You Are

Just as actress Aimee Sinclair is on the brink of huge success, she is plunged into a police investigation when her husband, Ben, goes missing. They had a fight the previous night, but that has happened before. This time, though, it’s different. Ben left behind his keys, phone and wallet. Even Aimee can see how odd that looks. The detectives who arrive to take her statement obviously suspect her, and with good reason. She’s not telling them everything.

Aimee is a good actress. She learned, early on, how to play a role. That ability has pushed her to great heights, but it also has cast doubts on who she really is. To understand, one has to look back at events of her childhood. Not many young girls grow up the way Aimee did, so frankly it’s something of a miracle that she turned out as normal as she did. But just how did those traumatic years affect her? Is it possible that the police are right, that she is involved? No, she believes Ben has disappeared, although she doesn’t know why. Maybe he is punishing her for what she said that night. He has a temper, to be certain, and has hurt her before. This could be his new way of inflicting pain, of making her pay.

"The switchbacks in I KNOW WHO YOU ARE will almost make you dizzy, but the ride is worth it."

As the police focus more and more on Aimee, she cooperates less and less. She already has told them about a woman who stalked her. She has proof in the form of handwritten postcards. Ben saw the woman, too, but of course he’s not here to back her up on that. Why aren’t they looking into the possibility that the stalker may be involved? The detectives show Aimee evidence that appears damning even to her, and she finds doubts creeping into her earlier certainty. Could she have done something to Ben? After all, she has kept that gun close, and it too has gone missing. Of course, she didn’t tell the police about that.

In her troubled and frustrated state, Aimee reluctantly turns to her co-star, Jack, for help. Media people have camped outside her house. She can’t go home. Plus, one particularly annoying journalist has dogged her on the set, at private parties, seemingly everywhere. Aimee somehow needs to find a way to figure this out. Then she starts to piece together an idea bit by bit. There’s no reason to tell the police; they won’t believe her anyway. And as for Jack, Aimee doesn’t want to bother him with any more of her troubles, at least until she’s sure. So she heads out on her own and discovers the truth. Except the truth may kill her.

Bouncing between Aimee now and Aimee growing up in the late 1980s, readers slowly learn what made Aimee who she is and how she became a star actress. Author Alice Feeney takes us inside young Aimee’s head, experiencing the five-year-old’s fear and confusion, revulsion and acceptance. The child dodged lies and craziness, danger and very bad people. Now, as an adult, she’s been pulled back into the madness of her childhood. And she never dreamed it could be this person who drew her there. The switchbacks in I KNOW WHO YOU ARE will almost make you dizzy, but the ride is worth it.

Reviewed by Kate Ayers on April 26, 2019

I Know Who You Are
by Alice Feeney