Book Review: How Will I Know You?

How Will I Know You?

By: Jessica Treadway

Published By: Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date: December 6, 2016

Page Count: 407

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: Kindly Provided by Publisher

Adult - Mystery/Thriller

How Will I Know You? is an amazing mystery novel and an intense character study. Teenager Joy Enright is found murdered and a 24 yo graduate student is arrested for the crime. It is told from the points of view of 4 different characters - Harper, Joy's best friend; Susanne, Joy's mother, Tom, the son-in-law of the interim police chief, and Martin, the accused killer. 

 The author weaves a complicated tale of deceit and intrigue. So many people in the small town of Chilton are connected in some way. And all of their choices, whether good or bad, have consequences that affect so many others in the town. 

 It turns out, Harper wasn't really Joy's best friend. At least she hadn't been in the few months before Joy's death. And Susanne had been having an affair with Martin, who also happened to be her student at art school. Tom has a very contentious relationship with his father-in-law and it seems everything thing he does makes it worse. 

 One of the main issues brought out in this book is racism. Martin happens to be one of the few black people in town and Doug Armstrong, the temporary police chief, is clearly a racist. It's hard to realize that things like things continue in our country today. 

 This is the first novel I've read by Jessica Treadway and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it for anyone who is a mystery fan!!

Summary:

On a cold December day in northern upstate New York, the body of high school senior Joy Enright is discovered in the woods at the edge of a pond. She had been presumed drowned, but an autopsy shows that she was, in fact, strangled. As the investigation unfolds, four characters tell the story from widely divergent perspectives: Susanne, Joy's mother and a professor at the local art college; Martin, a black graduate student suspected of the murder; Harper, Joy's best friend and a potential eyewitness; and Tom, a rescue diver and son-in-law of the town's police chief. As a web of small-town secrets comes to light, a dramatic conclusion reveals the truth about Joy's death.