I Know You Know is the second stand-alone novel by NYT best-selling British author, Gilly Macmillan. Early in 2017, Detective Inspector John Fletcher is called to an excavation site where bones have been discovered. He and his partner, DC Danny Fryer note that it’s very near the place where they found two missing boys, victims of a fatal beating, just over twenty years earlier. For those murders, Sidney Noyce, an intellectually disabled man, went to prison, but there’s been a recent spate of interest, with a newspaper article and an ongoing podcast questioning his guilt.

The podcast, titled “It’s Time To Tell”, has been created by Cody Swift, a close friend of the two murdered boys, who himself narrowly escaped their fate. Cody has decided to remind the public of the tragic events during that hot summer of 1996, in the hope that someone will remember some vital thing that leads to the truth. The proximity of the bodies could raise questions about a possible connection between the murders, but DI Fletcher is confident that his conviction of Sidney Noyce in 1996 will stand. It does appear, though, that not everyone wants the public’s attention on this.

Macmillan uses three narrative strands to tell the story, two of these also featuring flashbacks to the events of 1996. The podcast strand consists of transcripts of interviews both past and present, with parents, police, lawyers, neighbours and friends, as well as transcripts of the 999 call made at the time, and Cody Swift’s own commentary about the events and those involved. The perspectives of DI Fletcher and one of the mothers, Jess Paige, complete the picture.

This is a cleverly constructed tale, and Macmillan touches on several topics including the difficulties faced by teenaged single mothers, in particular those in reduced circumstances without the support of parents or friends, and where self-interest can often overshadow the welfare of children. She also demonstrates how ambition and laziness can lead to unethical policing. Her characters are complex and multi-faceted, and none is quite as they first appear. This is another excellent British crime thriller, full of twists and red herrings, that will keep the reader guessing until the final pages.