What She Knew: A Novel

New York Times Bestseller

The Changeling meets an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit but set in the UK." -The Skimm

In her enthralling debut, Gilly Macmillan explores a mother's search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller as gripping and skillful as The Girl on the Train and The Guilty One.

In a heartbeat, everything changes...

Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It's an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry--until Ben vanishes.

Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel's newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public's attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.

As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent's nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.

Where is Ben? The clock is ticking...

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512 pages

Average rating: 6.83

30 RATINGS

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7 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

JHSiess
Feb 03, 2024
8/10 stars
When eight-year-old Ben goes missing, his mother, Rachel Jenner, is not just desperate to find her child. She is also the object of scorn, judgment, and suspicion -- after all, they were parking in the park when Ben ran ahead and then simply disappeared. Gilly Macmillan points a convincing and often heartbreaking portrait of a woman trying to withstand unimaginable stress and slowly beginning to unravel under the weight of it coupled with public ...read more
Debo
May 26, 2023
8/10 stars
Enjoyable. But could be triggering for people with young children. I was surprised by the plot twist.
Anonymous
Jan 10, 2023
6/10 stars
2.7
withloveash.co
Aug 03, 2022
7/10 stars
It kind of lulled a little in the middle, but bear the end it picked up a bit. The ending was surprising but there was a lot of focus on a part in the book that could have been completely left out.
AnalisaS
Jul 06, 2022
6/10 stars
Most interesting part was the author's dedication to explaining the Walmart version of Webkinz. Also, the therapy chapters took a piece of my soul away there was absolutely no progress

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