Book Review: "I Know Where You Live" by Gregg Olsen

I was a blooming flower, or maybe a snake shedding its skin. Changed.

I have no real idea of how I came across this book apart from the fact I wanted to read something that was a cross between John Marrs, Sally Hepworth and maybe even hints of Lucinda Berry. Gregg Olsen's I Know Where You Live starts off with a man having a medical emergency at his grand-daughter's wedding. It was also a wedding he wasn't invited to. It was even a wedding that his grand-daughter didn't want him at. Narrated by various characters including three main women: Violet - the woman marrying at the beginning of the book, Lily - her younger sister and Rose - the mother, this book is a family drama packed with secrets and twists. With constant inner-thoughts and a possible murder on the records, this book delves deep into the beating heart of generational trauma and what happens when families stay silent.

Violet is getting married and her mother is doing her best to make the entire day about herself instead. When Violet mentions something to her mother though, her mother sees red and violently slaps her daughter. But the thing that Violet mentions is entirely true. What happened did truly happen. The family buried it and even her own father doesn't know. Once the wedding is underway, Violet's grandfather suffers a medical emergency in which he is rushed off to the hospital dying later that night but in very strange circumstances that don't fully add up. As Violet scrolls through social media, she sees an odd video of the wedding party uploaded by her sister Lily of a short time before her grandfather died though he is not in the video. It shows someone wiping a plate in a strange manner. Gregg Olsen opens up a mystery which goes silent on Violet's end though the investigation by police is already underway. This is our first storyline which is odd enough given the fact that Violet is about to open herself up in ways she perhaps doesn't fully understand. And though we are cheering her on, there are definitely dangerous people out there that Violet is about to encounter.

Violet attends a support group but also notes how she can help others experiencing this trauma. When she finds out about a girl who committed suicide years after her abuse because her rapist was let out of jail early on good behaviour, she starts to track him down and get revenge for what happened to this girl. Honestly, that part is invigorating and I love the way in which the author discusses the differences in the punishment suffered by the victim and the punishment suffered by the perpetrator. There's a lot of talk about how the justice system basically does nothing for the victims except for put them in a place where one day, they may have to watch as the person who ruined their life walks free, gets married, gets a job and has children - living a life that the victim themselves will never get to have.

There's only one downside I kept finding to this book. The title. I don't think the title fit with the storyline especially for the fact that I was constantly trying to see why it sounded so sinister if we are supposed to be supporting this person. It can be pretty jarring when the mode set by the title doesn't actually fit the tone set for the book and if you're looking for the reason then you're probably not going to find it.

The other problem I had with the book is the pacing. The chapters are very short but they don't vary and so the reader is at this consistently high, fast pace. I get it, but there are no real moments to slow down and thus practically everything is tense. It doesn't really work once you get to chapters that start with 'thirty-' because the pace has been fast for so long the shock wears off.

All in all, though I found the book compelling, I did have to sit back and think about it for some time and thus relocated myself as standing firmly in the middle. It has its flaws.

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