Book Review: The Things We Knew
When their tragic past begins to resurface, can he help her remember the things she can’t?
After her mother’s death twelve years ago, Lynette Carlisle watched her close-knit family unravel. One by one, her four older siblings left their Nantucket home and never returned. All seem to blame their father for their mother’s death, but nobody will talk about that tragic day. And Lynette’s memory only speaks through nightmares.
Then Nicholas Cooper returns to Nantucket, bringing the past with him. Once Lynette’s adolescent crush, Nick knows more about her mother’s death than he lets on. The truth could tear apart his own family—and destroy his fragile friendship with Lynette, the woman he no longer thinks of as a kid sister.
As their father’s failing health and financial concerns bring the Carlisle siblings home, secrets surface that will either restore their shattered relationships or separate the siblings forever. But pulling up anchor on the past propels them into the perfect storm, powerful enough to make them question their faith, their willingness to forgive, and the very truth of all the things they thought they knew.
Have you ever read a book and you could feel the tension? THE THINGS WE KNEW felt like an approaching thunderstorm as Lynette tries to keep things together for her ailing dad but secrets, hardship, illness, and her boyhood crush and neighbor, Nick, come crashing in and around her and her childhood home.
What I love, just like watching a storm, is THE THINGS WE KNEW doesn’t disappoint. The crescendo comes where all the truth about Lynette’s mother and her mysterious death come out. Nick’s secrets. Lynette’s siblings. They are left with hiding the aftermath or pulling together and heal as a cohesive unit.
I thought this was a strong story with equally strong secondary stories, especially with Lynette’s brother, Gray. This reminded me of a more stressful Baxter Series book by Karen Kingsbury, maybe more realistic is a better word. Whatever comparison I’m trying to make, THE THINGS WE KNEW is definitely worth reading.
To purchase THE THINGS WE KNEW, click here.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
