Something She's Not Telling Us: A Novel

Darcey Bell

Apr 2020 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Named most anticipated book of the year by Cosmopolitan, Women's Wear Daily, Woman's Day, She Reads, The Nerd Daily, and Sassy Sarah Reads.

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Simple Favor comes an electrifying domestic thriller of how one woman’s life is turned upside down when her brother brings his new girlfriend to visit—and no one is telling the truth about who they really are.

Charlotte has everything in life that she ever could have hoped for: a doting, artistic husband, a small-but-thriving flower shop, and her sweet, smart five-year-old daughter, Daisy. Her relationship with her mother might be strained, but the distance between them helps. And her younger brother Rocco may have horrible taste in women, but when he introduces his new girlfriend to Charlotte and her family, they are cautiously optimistic that she could be The One. Daisy seems to love Ruth, and she can’t be any worse than the klepto Rocco brought home the last time. At least, that’s what Charlotte keeps telling herself. But as Rocco and Ruth’s relationship becomes more serious, Ruth’s apparent obsession with Daisy grows more obvious. Then Daisy is kidnapped, and Charlotte is convinced there’s only one person who could have taken her.

Ruth has never had much, but now she’s finally on the verge of having everything she’s ever dreamed of. A stable job at a start-up company, a rakish, handsome boyfriend with whom she falls more in love with every day—and a chance at the happy family she’s always wanted, adorable niece included. The only obstacle standing in her way is her boyfriend’s sister Charlotte, whose attitude swerves between politely cold and outright hostile. Rebuffing Ruth’s every attempt to build a friendship with her and Daisy, Charlotte watches over her daughter with a desperate protectiveness that sends chills down Ruth’s spine. Ruth knows that Charlotte has a deeply-buried secret, the only question is: what? A surprise outing with Daisy could be the key to finding out, and Ruth knows she must take the chance while she has it—for everyone’s sake.

As the two women follow each other down a chilling rabbit hole, unearthing winding paths of deceit, lies, and trauma, a family and a future will be completely—and irrevocably—shattered.

From its very first page, Something She’s Not Telling Us takes hold of readers’ imagination in a harrowing, unforgettable thriller that dives deep into the domestic psyche and asks the question: Is anyone ever really who they say they are…?

 

Ratings and reviews

Charlotte’s brother’s latest girlfriend Ruth is greeted with some justified suspicion in Darcey Bell’s Something She’s Not Telling Us. His history of dating highly unstable women, occasional lapses in sobriety and a demonstrated lack of judgement cause his family to scrutinize his latest conquest. On the other hand, Charlotte is revealed to be an overprotective, paranoid and obsessive person who has some serious problems with objectivity and a tenuous grip on reality herself. Such a character makes for an interestingly biased perspective. This type of “protagonist” is an unreliable narrator akin to those Bell has employed in the past—one that causes the reader to immediately be on guard when evaluating her version of events. Other chapters feature the point of view of Ruth, another source that is transparently skewed. Fans of A Simple Favor and the film upon which it is based may be somewhat disappointed by Bell’s latest effort, for although the novel contains some innovative twists and is well written, it suffers from an overabundance of side plots that distract and stretch credulity. The psychology of the villain is incompletely developed, and her motives are insufficiently substantial to warrant the extremity of her actions. The reader is also left guessing as to why Ruth elects to victimize Rocco’s family, and Charlotte and her family are so unlikeable that not a lot of pity is generated for them. The big revelations are a bit predictable and banal, and the ending falls short of climactic. In sum, Something She’s Not Telling Us is diverting enough as a standard suspense story, but unfortunately is not one that is particularly remarkable or memorable. Thanks to the author, Harper Collins and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

4.5 stars. Something She’s Not Telling Us by Darcey Bell is an enthralling domestic mystery. Charlotte and her husband Eli are cautious when her brother Rocco introduces them to his new girlfriend, Ruth Seagram. His dating history is full of troubled women so they do not have high hopes about the newest lady in his life. Although she is not thrilled with Ruth, Charlotte’s five year old daughter, Daisy, is absolutely crazy about her. The deeper Ruth insinuates herself into their family, the more uneasy Charlotte becomes. And her worst fears are realized when Daisy is kidnapped and Charlotte, along with Rocco, discover the depth of Ruth’s lies. Charlotte turned her love of flowers into a thriving floral business. However, due to her dysfunctional childhood, she has serious anxiety issues. She is a helicopter mother who worries constantly about Daisy who is asthmatic. Charlotte is trying to give Ruth the benefit of the doubt, but she is unhappy and envious that her daughter is enthralled with Rocco’s girlfriend. Rocco is a recovering alcoholic with a job that he loves. Unfortunately, not only does he have terrible luck with girlfriends, he has a hard time breaking up with them. But with Ruth, he feels like he has finally broken his unlucky streak. However, just before he, Ruth and the rest of the family travel to Mexico to visit his mother, Rocco learns some troubling information about his girlfriend. Although not completely mollified by her explanation, they are soon off on their vacation which becomes the catalyst for a series of shocking events. Something She’s Not Telling Us is an intriguing mystery that unfolds from multiple points of view and weaves back and forth in time. The storyline is well-written with tension building with each chapter. The characters are interesting but not always likable. With the suspense building to a fever pitch, Darcey Bell brings this compelling mystery to a twist-filled conclusion that is a little abrupt yet satisfying. Highly recommend to fans of the genre. I received a complimentary copy for review.

Read this very quickly. It starts out innocent enough but then towards the end you feel the tension of the build-up. The ending was just okay, no big twist or surprise but it did not make it less of an enjoyable read for me.

About the author

Darcey Bell was born in 1981 and raised on a dairy farm in western Iowa. She is a preschool teacher in Chicago. A Simple Favor is her first novel.