Review: No One Needs to Know by Kevin O’Brien (audio)

Title:No One Needs to Know

Author:Kevin O’Brien

Narrator:Jonathan Yen

Published:July 2015, Tantor Audio / Kensington Books

Length:16 hours 25 minutes / ARC E-copy 416 pages

Source:Personal Copy via Audible / Netgalley

A SECRET WORTH KILLING FOR…

In July 1970, actress Elaina Styles was slain in her rented Seattle
mansion along with her husband and their son’s nanny. When the baby’s
remains were found buried in a shallow grave close to a hippie commune,
police moved in—only to find all its members already dead in a grisly
mass suicide.

AGAIN…
Now, decades later, a
film about the murders is shooting at the mansion. On-set caterer
Laurie Trotter ignores gossip that the production is cursed. But then
people start dying…

AND AGAIN…
As Laurie
digs deep into what happened all those years ago, the truth emerges more
twisted than any whispered rumor, as a legacy of brutal vengeance
reaches its terrifying climax…

My thoughts:This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by Kevin O’Brien and I found myself immediately pulled in from the very beginning. There were so many things going on, I just had to know where it was all going to go.

This was a hard book to put down once I started it. There were two main story lines going on – a young mother that ends up playing detective and then a pyscho that doesn’t know when to take no for an answer. Each story in and of itself is so well-developed that they could each have been separate books – there’s that much going on. But of course, the stories twist and turn and become entwined together. It is definitely a multi-layered story.

The characters are richly drawn and they are either really likeable or really dislikable – there’s not much in-between. Laurie was one of my favorites and while there are plenty of times I found myself wanting to knock some sense into her, I loved her curiosity and unwillingness to back down until she had all the answers.

Maybe because I have been reading so many crime/mystery thrillers lately, but I found myself being suspicious of nearly everyone in the book. I kept thinking I knew who the guilty one was, only to be found mistaken when some new clue or secret was revealed. That’s what I love about reading these types of books. The twists and turns really kept me on my toes and now I can’t wait to pick up more of Kevin O‘Brien‘s books. If you’ve read any of his books, what do you suggest I read next?


Audio thoughts:This is the first time I’ve listened to Jonathan Yen narrate a book and I thought he did a great job. He did a great job with the voices, and his tone and cadences really added to the overall enjoyment of this story. I will definitely be checking out what else he has narrated.