---
product_id: 21758383
title: "What She Knew: A Novel"
brand: "gilly macmillan"
price: "$U1578"
currency: UYU
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.uy/products/21758383-what-she-knew-a-novel
store_origin: UY
region: Uruguay
---

# What She Knew: A Novel

**Brand:** gilly macmillan
**Price:** $U1578
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

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- **What is this?** What She Knew: A Novel by gilly macmillan
- **How much does it cost?** $U1578 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.uy](https://www.desertcart.uy/products/21758383-what-she-knew-a-novel)

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## Description

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## Images

![What She Knew: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51yoS5TTOXL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Deftly written suspense tale
  

*by J***E on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 3, 2017*

Rachel Jenner and her son Ben are enjoying a frequent tradition: spending time in the park with their dog, Skittle, when things take a turn. Ben asks to run ahead to the rope swing, and Rachel agrees. That's the last she sees of her son. It's as if Ben has vanished into thin air, and Rachel feels her world cleave into two. The police are called, and the investigation is handed over to DI James Clemo. This is Jim's first major investigation as lead, and he's determined to do it right. Meanwhile Rachel is reeling from her decision to allow Ben to run ahead--one that's quickly questioned by her ex-husband and soon, the media. As days pass by without a break in the case, the media quickly turns its harsh glare directly onto Rachel. Rachel, meanwhile, starts questioning herself--and those around her.I absolutely adored Gilly Macmillan's mystery The Perfect Girl, so when I saw she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to read it. I didn't realize it was part of a series (apparently featuring Jim Clemo), so I decided to read this one first. It's Macmillan's first book, but, of course, you can barely tell, because she's an amazing writer. She's going to be one of my favorite mystery writers going forward.The format of the novel is unique -- we get Jim and Rachel's point of view, broken down by Day 1, 2, 3, etc. of Ben's disappearance. But we also get transcript pieces of Clemo's meetings with a psychologist, whom he is meeting with a good year after Ben's disappearance. The gist is that Ben's case has so clearly affected Clemo and his job performance that meeting with this woman--in hopes of getting a good report--is the only way he may be able to remain on the job.It's an effective format and certainly ratchets up the suspense and tension as we wonder exactly what happened to Ben: who took him? Will he return home safely to his mother and father? Is anyone in this novel telling the truth? It's a slow-burning book, with no major sudden twists and turns, but deftly written, with each character superbly fleshed out. Our cast is small, but well-done: Ben's mother and father, his teachers and schoolmates, his troubled aunt, and those investigating his case.The standouts, of course, though are Rachel and Jim--our storytellers. Rachel is reeling from her divorce, telling us her story directly, and delving into her own flaws. It allows Macmillan to illustrate the power (not always positive) of modern day society's relentless media focus and what those anonymous people in social forums can do to real, actual people. Rachel isn't always a sympathetic character, though my heart often went out to her, but she's real--a flawed, authentic mother.And, speaking of flaws, Jim is a fascinating character. We get bits and pieces of how he's formed by his past. He's not a one-dimensional, stereotypical policeman, but a very intricate character. He's driven, but honestly, he's really quite a mess. As a result, he's intriguing but also frustrating in many ways. I'll be quite interested to see where he is in Macmillan's second novel in the series.So, while this novel is filled with complicated characters, it is also a mystery at its core. Our intricate cast slows things down a bit, but luckily the plot keeps you guessing and wanting to turn the pages. I had various suspicions, throughout, but the ending completely surprised me (something that's hard to do). The novel takes a lot of unexpected turns. At the halfway point, I was completely befuddled, but invested.Overall, this one is pretty captivating. I actually found myself keeping my daughters closer to me while reading and feeling nervous when they ran off. The night after I finished it, I had creepy dreams about a child being kidnapped--I rarely, if ever, dream about the books I'm reading! Sweet Ben really touched me and, as I mentioned, while I didn't always like Rachel, I very much empathized with her. Macmillan is a wonderful writer, and I'm very excited to be starting ODD CHILD OUT in the next couple of days.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A well -written emotional thriller with some problems  (spoilers)
  

*by R***D on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 14, 2018*

Overall a very literary and affecting book about a young boy who disappears while he is on a walk in the woods with his mother.About three-quarters of the way in I did find myself skimming pages wondering when we were going to finally get to the “who-done-it” and when we finally do find out who the perpetrator is, we’ve literally run out of any other viable suspects. (Why the endless passages about the investigating officer’s psychotherapy sessions - especially since we are never told WHY he’s in therapy in the first place other than now he has “anxiety”? Why are these here when we already have half the story narrated BY him and we know first-hand how the case is affecting him?)The agony of a parent of a missing child is well written and I did appreciate that everything isn’t all wrapped up in a neat “happy family” bow at the end. Every single person in this story - from the investigative officers to the family are all very clearly damaged by Ben’s abduction (most of all Ben himself) and it was a relief to see this portrayed realistically and not smoothed over with platitudes and bland assurances that it’s all OK when Ben is finally rescued. There is no “Perry Mason” style ending here where all is revealed -which I found very real and very effective.There were however two  big plot problems for me:1) Maybe it’s just me - but as a criminal justice professional I’m never a big fan of the “I had to take the law into my own hands” angle and I’ll just say if this was the real world the actions of our main character Rachel would have pretty much guaranteed the suspect would have got away with the crime (illegal search, unauthorized entry, breaking and entering ... and that’s just the beginning). This kind of thing makes for great TV and a thrill -but in the real world cases just don’t work like that and I do get very tired of this kind of behavior being rewarded. Rachel decides she knows best (which has literally gone very badly every other time) and refuses to wait a few hours to speak to the officers handling the case which - again -in the real world - would have entirely jeopardized the case with her rash decision to investigate on her own. Of course she alone solves the mystery (as is always the case with this irritating theme) but it might have made an even better story if her actions damaged the case against the kidnapper. (Especially since, at this point, while Rachel is illegally snooping around -  we know Ben has been found)2) I could have done without the “infertility =crazy” plot twist. This would almost be acceptable if we had any real sense of the kidnapper or their motives - but a major point is that they steadfastly refuse to discuss any of the reasons why they took young Ben - so their  infertility is literally offered as a fait accompli - they found out that they couldn’t have children so naturally, they went nuts.My problem is that the story would have made perfect sense without this - we have a depressed, somewhat neglectful mother obsessed with hating her ex and his new wife -who grills Ben every time he comes back from visitations to the point that he says negative things to please her about how bad it is. In fact Rachel is so distracted by her own misery at her husband leaving her that at one point she sends Ben to school with what turns out to be a broken arm - despite the fact that he is obviously in great pain. Certainly that in and of itself would have been enough for a caring person to tip over the edge and become obsessed with a child they saw as living with an unfit and even dangerous parent and who needed “rescuing” - So why add the insulting  and tired trope that women who can’t have children are “bad” and “crazy”?Despite this , “What She Knew” is better than most in this genre and contains some genuinely touching and heartfelt moments as the search for a missing child becomes a news and internet obsession.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Enjoyable thriller
  

*by J***L on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 5, 2022*

Enjoy the movement among characters but is sometimes frustrating to remember who is who. Do recommend for a pretty quick read of an interesting tale with twists and turns.

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*Product available on Desertcart Uruguay*
*Store origin: UY*
*Last updated: 2026-02-19*