What Alice Knew by T. A. Cotterell

How far would you go to keep a secret?
Alice has a perfect life – a great job, happy kids, a wonderful husband. Until he goes missing one night; she receives a suspicious phone call; things don’t quite add up.
Alice needs to know what’s going on. But when she uncovers the truth she faces a brutal choice. And how can she be sure it is the truth?
Sometimes it’s better not to know.

I absolutely loved this book. Both the writing and the story had me hooked from the very start and I couldn’t put the book down until I had read the very last sentence. After reading the description for the book I thought I had an idea of how the story was going to happen, but I was totally wrong. What Alice Knew was a completely different story from what I thought it was going to be, but it was still as gripping and engaging as I hoped it would be.

I don’t want to talk about the plot too much because this is the sort of book you need to go in knowing very little. But I will say that the first 100 pages or so sets up the plot and the mystery aspect of the book. Once you pass that mark I think if you are like me and already invested in the characters and the story, you will find it very difficult to put the book down until you have read the last page.

Everything about this book is superb, but one of the reasons is because of the characters. Alice is the main character and throughout the book you can see the things that have happened in the story have not only effected her but also her work. With her being a portrait painter she shows her feelings through her art, but as the story continues she is unable to put her feelings into her painting because she is scared she will give something away. I liked that as the story continues Alice was struggling to cope in all aspects of her life and I think it showed how developed and throughout her character was in the book.

Cotterell’s writing is addictive. As you start to read the book he grabs you with his words and you just want to read page after page. The one little niggle I had with the book was that there were a few to many art references. I understand the main character is an artist and the book need to included some facts and information, but I think it could of done with less. Most of the information went over my head, but it does show that the author did some background into the topic. I liked the way the writing flowed and it never got boring or dull, it always kept me entertained and interested.

I would highly recommend this book for any readers looking for a very different mystery thriller. This book will have you glued to each page and your seat for a long time. And also it will leave you asking questions when you reach the end, which I always think is a good sign of a good book. I was still thinking about the book a week after I finished it. I have already recommend this book to my friends because I know they would love it. Definitely go and pick this book up, you wont regret it.