I Know Who You Are! by Alice Feeney narrated by Stephanie Racine @alicewriterland @HQStories @Joe_Thomas25 #audiobookreview

Source: Review copy
Publication: 16 May 2019 from Harper Collins
Listening Time: 10 hours 14 minutes

Aimee Sinclair: the actress everyone thinks they know but can’t remember where from. But I know exactly who you are. I know what you’ve done. And I am watching you.

When Aimee comes home and discovers her husband is missing, she doesn’t seem to know what to do or how to act. The police think she’s hiding something and they’re right, she is – but perhaps not what they thought. Aimee has a secret she’s never shared, and yet, she suspects that someone knows. As she struggles to keep her career and sanity intact, her past comes back to haunt her in ways more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

I have been listening to more audiobooks recently and finding them an enjoyable way to pass the time whilst driving or travelling, or late in the evening when I am too tired to read but want to have a story in my head.

I Know Who You Are is a great choice for this.  Told in short chapters, this is a story narrated by Aimee, an actress and rising theatrical star on the verge of a big break into film. The reader is not sure, though, just how reliable a narrator Aimee really is. Certainly she has a dark past which she keeps well hidden, but could it have anything to do with the present troubles she is facing?

Married for only two years, Aimee’s husband, journalist Ben Bailey, suddenly vanishes from their London home, leaving his wallet and mobile phone behind. Then Aimee discovers that their joint account has been emptied, and when she queries the withdrawal, she is told that she was the one who made it – and there’s video footage from security cameras to confirm it.

Aimee is squarely in the frame as the Police’s No 1 suspect, though there are other suspicious characters on whom the listener’s thoughts may dwell.

This story is told in alternating chapters and a dual timeline, between the late 1980’s where a dark and suspense filled story is being revealed and present day 2017, which could have made for a challenging listen. But in the skillful hands of narrator Stefanie Racine this never becomes an issue and it is always clear to the listener what time frame we are listening to.

As the story unfolds we learn a little more about Aimee with every chapter and begin to understand how she became the woman she is today.   A slow but steady build-up of detail and characters leads us into the realisation that Aimee’s life was once very different and the tension that surrounds her and which gives the listener cause to hold their breath more than once is very real.

As a seemingly bewildered Aimee tries to make sense of what’s happening to her life, her past and present are intertwined and the chilling twists and turns in the narrative that Feeney employs come home to roost with a massive crunch that will leave the reader feeling as if they have been punched in the stomach.

This is most certainly a very unsettling listen and as Feeney wraps up her story, the conclusion will not be to everyone’s taste and is certainly not for the faint-hearted.  I enjoyed the twisted, tension filled story, but the ending completely creeped me out.

Nevertheless Alice Feeney is a talented writer with a flair for storytelling and this audiobook was a genuine delight to listen to.

Verdict: I Know Who You Are is a chilling psychological thriller with excellent characterisation, a strong plot and good execution which will keep the reader guessing until the final reveal.

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