Overwhelming dread and page-turning suspense.
Ashley Audrain’s debut novel, The Push, was a New York Times, Sunday Times, and number-one international bestseller, and a Good Morning America Book Club pick. It has sold in more than forty territories, and a limited television series is currently in development. Her second novel, The Whispers, is also a number-one international bestseller. The Things You’ll Never Know is forthcoming in January 2027. Audrain previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada, and prior to that she worked in public relations. She lives in Toronto.
I’m a huge fan of Ashley Audrain so I was delighted to receive an advanced copy of her latest novel. The Things You’ll Never Know is a story about motherhood, betrayal, and a woman’s closest relationships. It explores themes of loss and performative identities women often mask their true desires with, told from the perspective of a mother after her own death.
I loved the direction this story took immediately, narrating from Fiona’s point of view beyond the grave. It really elevated the entertainment value, allowing her to get inside other characters’ heads and understand their thoughts and feelings without doing a bunch of head hopping. It felt natural and fluid. I was hooked from the start and had many theories going in (all proved wrong), the twist did surprise me and it was very believable. Nobody tells the horrors of motherhood like Audrain, and her ability to weave so much dread into the mundane is genius. I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages at the end of each chapter, desperate to find out what happened next. The character work was impressive, and I appreciate her focus on men’s mental health struggles. The pacing was steady throughout, picking up in the third act. I couldn’t put this one down!
Synopsis:
Fiona stares up at the faces of her husband, Adam, and their children. They’ve found her on the hallway floor. The double doors slam on the ambulance, and Fiona watches it take her body away—but how can that be, if she’s still here in her home, with her family? That’s when she realizes her worst fear has come true: Fiona is dead.
In the days that follow, Fiona moves quietly among them, as they become increasingly suspicious about her death. Everyone seems to be hiding something—her depressive husband, her devoted best friend, her estranged younger sister, her precocious six-year-old son, and most of all, Fiona herself. That is, until her teenage daughter discovers Fiona’s diary—and the stunning betrayal she had been hiding.
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