How Will I Know You? by Jessica Treadway

Sphere | December 2016 | 407 pgs

Source: Library

How Will I Know You? may seem like any other suspense thrillers but the topics in this book are often thought-provoking and mostly revolve around families, causes and consequences and a murder case with implications pertaining to race.

In a close-knit community of a small town where everyone seems to know everyone's life, they are shaken by the news of teenage Joy Enright's death. Believed to be drown in a frozen pond, the autopsy later revealed that she was strangled first before her body was found at the edge of the pond. Her death is a mystery to all; her parents couldn't understand who would want to harm their daughter and her best friend, Harper, is puzzled over Joy's cool demeanour towards her before her death. Joy's mother, Susanne, has a little secret involving her younger teaching assistant, an African American named Martin Willett and things began to escalate quickly after he is accused for causing Joy's death.

The story's background also tells another tale of Tom, who is a rescue diver and son-in-law of the town police chief, Doug, who is in charge of Joy's case. Doug is adamant about Martin being guilty but Tom doubts his own perceptions as well as his father-in-law's belief. As the story moves along, the truth unravels towards the end will make us question everything we thought we know about the ones we love.

While this is very much a suspense thriller, I thought it was also a story about family dynamics and of perceptions which would either make or break a person. The characters here are well defined and the mystery surrounding Joy's death was a huge draw to this story as readers are well aware from the beginning that Martin is wrongly convicted but what really happened and why? I also liked how the story was told in both 'Before' and 'After' the incident, as well as Martin's narrative throughout some parts of the book, allowing readers to get into his mind and to understand what he has gone through being a person of colour. Overall it was a great read and I would be curious to find out what the author would come up with next.

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