What You Don't Know

JoAnn Chaney's dark debut, What You Don't Know, tells the story of the three victims the murderer didn't kill but whose lives he ruined all the same . . . A crime like this isn't only about the killer. There are others to consider . . . Seven years ago, Detective Paul Hoskins and his larger-than-life partner solved one of the biggest serial killer cases of the decade. They dug up 31 bodies in a crawlspace belonging to the beloved Jacky Seever, a pillar of the community and a successful businessman. Sammie Peterson was the lead reporter on the case. Her byline was on the front page of the newspaper every day. Seever's wife, Gloria, claimed to be as surprised as everyone else. But when you get that close to a killer, can you really just move on? Today, Hoskins has been banished to the basement of the police station, Sammie is selling make-up at the shopping mall, and Gloria is trying to navigate a world where she can't escape condemnation. Then a series of copycat killings take place, with the victims all connected to Seever. While Gloria is determined not to be forced into the spotlight again, Hoskins and Sammie see a chance to get their lives back. But it could mean forfeiting their humanity in the process . . . It isn't over. It'll never be over.

This outstanding dark debut . . . paints an absorbing, graphic portrait of the dangers of getting too close to evil, and is breathtaking from first page to the last, JoAnn Chaney's book, mysterious with all that is concealed and undeclared, compels the reader to acknowledge that things are not as simple as we like to believe, and to recognize that evil does not always lay outside of us, but deep within us. Chaney's psychological insights and social perceptions are infallible - brutal, indignant, and full of surprises, Superb characters, sparkling dialogue, and a gripping, terrifying plot, plus flashes of humour to boot; this book has it all. It's very hard to believe this is Ms. Chaney's first novel, In WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW, JoAnn Chaney beautifully analyzes the effect a monster can have on those in their orbit and how, in the need to catch one, so much is revealed about the monsters we hide in ourselves. A masterclass in character study, a beautifully woven story, and truly chilling at its core, this is a literary crime novel not to be missed!, What makes Chaney's book superior to the endless trashy serial killer thrillers out there is its focus on what happens after the killer has been caught . . . This is a scary and insightful debut from a writer of real promise

JoAnn Chaney is a graduate of UC Riverside's Palm Desert MFA program. She lives in Colorado with her family. What You Don't Know is her first novel.