Unfolding Story of Sibling Relationships and Secrets

The Things We Knew by Catherine West is a story about 5 siblings whose mother died 12 years before.  But none of them ever knew all details of her death.  In The Things We Knew, we see how the secrets they kept impacted their lives and relationships with each other for many years.

I would like to thank the Litfuse Group for providing me a copy of this book to review.  All opinions here are my own.  This post includes affiliate links.  Read my disclosure policy here.

You may have noticed I usually review non-fiction books on this blog and I usually read non-fiction books for personal reading too.  But sometimes, you come across a book with a title and description so intriguing you just can’t resist it like The Things We Knew.

The Things We Knew is the story of 5 siblings who have grown apart in the 12 years since their mother’s tragic death.  While it seemed her death was an accident, each of them knew some of the details of what happened on the day she died. None of the siblings knew all the details and none of them shared anything they knew with the others.  We see in the story the devastating consequences on each them from the secrets they kept, and the power of the truth and forgiveness.

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The Things We Knew was the first novel I have read by Catherine West.  I enjoyed her writing style.  The characters in this story have complications in their lives (just like we do).  She develops their stories so we can understand each of them.  The story moves at good pace.  I was constantly interested in next chapter especially the last one-quarter of the book when everything climaxes.

If you love reading fiction, I recommend The Things We Knew.  It’s an enjoyable read that will keep you turning the pages.  You could enjoy reading this book on a vacation at the beach or in the mountains.  I enjoyed reading a few chapters each evening before I went to bed.