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I Thought I Knew You: The Most Thought-provoking and Compelling Read of the Year Kindle Edition

4.3 out of 5 stars 1,022 ratings

For fans of He Said/She Said and Anatomy of a Scandal, Penny Hancock’s I Thought I Knew You is about secrets and lies – and whose side you take when it really matters.

Who do you know better? Your oldest friend? Or your child?
And who should you believe when one accuses the other of an abhorrent crime?


Jules and Holly have been best friends since university. They tell each other everything, trading revelations and confessions, and sharing both the big moments and the small details of their lives: Holly is the only person who knows about Jules’s affair; Jules was there for Holly when her husband died. And their two children – just four years apart – have grown up together.

So when Jules’s daughter Saffie makes a rape allegation against Holly’s son Saul, neither woman is prepared for the devastating impact this will have on their friendship or their families.

Especially as Holly, in spite of her principles, refuses to believe her son is guilty.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Penny Hancock is the author of Tideline, The Darkening Hour, and A Trick of the Mind. She works at Anglia Ruskin University, supporting students with their writing.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07K6PH62H
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mantle
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 7, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 959 KB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 326 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1509867882
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 1,022 ratings

About the author

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Penny Hancock
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Penny is the author of five novels including TIDELINE, a Richard and Judy Summer Read, I THOUGHT I KNEW YOU ( East Anglian book of the year fiction 2019), and THE CHOICE.

Penny has also writes on family and relationships in The Independent, The Guardian, Junior Magazine, Child Education, the Times Educational Supplement, amongst others. She has also written graded readers for English Language Students and a course for young children.

Penny has two grown up daughters, a son and three granddaughters.

Fascinated by fhe complexities of family dynamics and the darker side of our personalities, swimming in cold water is where she gets her best, and often most frightening ideas!

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
1,022 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2019
    Whoa!

    Great read. So many interesting themes arise in this book - friendship, romantic intimacy, parenting, feminism, masculinity, truth - and that's just the start of it! But it's not just a read with a point to make - it's entertaining, too! The characters intrigued me, and the story line is very real. I loved watching the friendship between Holly and Jules and the fractures it endured. I highly recommended this book. It gripped me!

    Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Pan MacMillan!
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2020
    Format: Kindle
    I Thought I Knew You is a gripping, domestic drama that delves into the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child and reminds us that when push comes to shove a mother will defend her child to the detriment of all other relationships regardless of how close or enduring.

    The prose is eloquent and absorbing. The characters are multilayered, well developed, and troubled. And the plot told from two different perspectives uses an alternating, back-and-forth style to create tension and unease as it subtly unravels all the personalities, behaviours, relationships, and histories within it.

    I Thought I Knew You is, ultimately, a novel about parenting, friendship, trust, loyalty, secrets, betrayal, repercussions, scandal, and community fallout. It is certainly an edgy novel by Hancock that is not only thought-provoking but emotionally compelling.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2019
    Format: Hardcover
    Claire's husband goes on a business trip and never returns. The more Claire digs into his disappearance the more she finds out about her husband. It occurs to her that she knew nothing about him.
    Didn't really like Claire. And, was totally surprised by the big reveal.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Susan Elliot Wright
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, beautifully written, and emotionally compelling
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is one of those rare novels that is both an absolute page turner and an emotionally compelling read. The premise gripped me from the start – what happens when your best friend’s daughter makes a serious allegation against your own son? As the story unfolded, the twists and turns kept me guessing about what had really happened. So cleverly plotted! I found myself sympathising with each of the main characters. They both made mistakes and said things they regretted, but I could see where they were coming from as mothers. This is a beautifully written thriller with emotional depth. The author portrays the characters’ emotions so believably that I was moved to tears more than once, especially towards the end of the novel. The relationships between each mother and her child were totally convincing and relatable, and I also loved the relationships between each mother and her friend’s child – we often have great affection for our friends’ children, especially when we’ve known them since birth, and the author captures this perfectly. I loved the setting, too – there’s a strong sense of place, and the descriptions of the Fens, of certain parts of London, and of the weather were wonderful and added to the atmosphere of this novel. I’ve read Penny Hancock’s work before, and I think this may be her best yet. Dramatic, emotional, and extremely well written – this has Sunday night drama written all over it!!
  • Patricia Dumas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great story
    Reviewed in Canada on April 6, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I really enjoyed this book. Great storyline and great characters.
    I also really liked her style of writing. I'll definitely be looking forward to more of her books.
  • Alexandra
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good, good, good
    Reviewed in Spain on May 12, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I enjoy a lot reading this book, not knowing how it was going to finish. And it finishes as life it self. Sometimes we think we know each other, and ourselves, but life has many faces and so we have.
  • cherryred
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good story-thought provoking
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I love all Penny Hancock's books. This one as usual has a great story line and believable characters but also as in her other books there is plenty of stuff to make you think. Who would you believe? What would you do? It makes you wonder what happens to the characters after the end of the story. Her books are never just a light read always deeper and sometimes uncomfortable but definitely worth reading.
  • Alexa B
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - a must read!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2019
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This is an absolutely brilliant read! I loved it and read it in a day. I haven’t read a book so quickly for years but I just couldn’t put it down. It is so cleverly written and the author draws the reader into the lives of best friends Holly and Jules so completely that you have to keep reading. Widowed Holly moves to be near Jules and her family but Jules’s 13 year old daughter Saffie accuses Holly’s son Saul of a terrible crime. It is an extremely well-paced novel with a deeply involving plot and beautiful, evocative descriptions of the Fens. I felt so invested in the characters’ lives, as if they were my friends! It really makes you think about friendship and what happens when it is tested to the limit. An excellent book, I highly recommend it.

    Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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