The Manson Family murders of seven people in the late 1960s have become the stuff of American legend and true crime celebrity. Author Kevin O'Brien refers to the murders both explicitly and implicitly in NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW, a multi-strand thriller that hinges on Manson-type crimes and cults of personality.

Young widow Laurie Trotter is living in Ellensburg, Washington, with her baby son Joey, working as a chef and waitress in a local diner. Still mourning the loss of her husband in Afghanistan, Laurie is unprepared for the emotional trauma of the return of Tad McBride, a man with whom she had a two-week affair while her husband was overseas. Tad's sweet demeanor has changed now that he is hanging around with his dangerous brother, Ryder. Ryder seems to have a charismatic hold over a group of unstable followers, and they are all working on Tad's behalf to stalk and terrify Laurie and everyone around her. So when an opportunity to move to Seattle and cook with food truck phenom Cheryl Wheeler presents itself, Laurie and Joey sneak away from Ellensburg for a safe life somewhere new. But what Laurie finds in Seattle is a tangle of lies and a mystery that connects her new boss to the Elaina Styles murders of 1970.

"Readers would do well to suspend disbelief, overlook some of the more unbelievable aspects of the novel, and simply enjoy the dark and creepy tale of violence, secrets and revenge found here."

The work Laurie is hired to do for Cheryl involves catering the movie version of the 1970 murders and the suicides of the murders. The production is rumored to be cursed, but Laurie is determined to keep the job and do her best. She quickly realizes that Cheryl seems to be strangely interested in the murders and those involved. And, for some reason, she appears to have her eye on Laurie's godfather, a former Hollywood bigwig. In hiding from Tad and Ryder and their menacing group, Laurie finds herself in an equally threatening situation: a series of recent murders connected somehow to those of 1970 and a boss who just may be involved.

Laurie is at once suspicious and trusting, and so is drawn deeper into Cheryl's entanglement with the events of 1970, even as she is still dealing with very real threats and attacks from the McBrides. O'Brien nicely juggles the two threads of the story, though it is only Laurie that ties them together. There are plenty of aspects of the novel that are obvious even before they are revealed, but there are also some great surprises in store for readers.

NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW is a bit repetitive at times, which slows down the otherwise fast-paced and exciting action. Laurie is a generally likable central character but is often very passive and naïve, especially when it comes to the safety of herself and her son. However, that frustrating passivity helps drive the story and put the characters in the situations O'Brien needs them to be in. Readers would do well to suspend disbelief, overlook some of the more unbelievable aspects of the novel, and simply enjoy the dark and creepy tale of violence, secrets and revenge found here.