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Somebody Knows Something
A child heads outside to play on a cold November afternoon and disappears without a trace.
Twenty years later, two strangers are simultaneously drawn to her tragic story: one, determined to uncover the truth; the other, desperate to keep it buried. . .
Twenty years later, two strangers are simultaneously drawn to her tragic story: one, determined to uncover the truth; the other, desperate to keep it buried. . .
46 pages, ebook
First published January 26, 2022
54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 23, 2023
A good short novella about a lost child and look forward to reading more of this author in the future
February 8, 2022
**I was given a free copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.
This was a quick, enjoyable read. The synopsis was quite clear and I almost think it was too detailed in its appraisal of the book. For the most part, we get some insight into two people invested in the story behind the disappearance of Olive: Daniel and Ginger. They both had very strong voices, and I appreciated the use of dialect to bring them to life. The writing executed their natural flow of thought extremely well, but I thought it was most impactful when it came to Ginger. When the characters themselves described ordinary details, it added some flair and made the image that much more vivid in my mind. For example, I think this early excerpt about something as mundane as stone step oozed character:
“Right now, I’m sitting on my porch. Actually, it’s just barely what you’d call a porch; for sure it’s not a good porch and by that, I mean it isn’t high up and it doesn’t give a good view. It’s small and low, just the one step up and it’s not a good step, just formed cement and kind of crumbly. And the porch isn’t wide and sweeping; just a small cement slab; just a place to stand on all hunched over like I was this morning with my back to the wind, trying to get my key to work that lock.”
I liked Ginger, and her clumsy, lackadaisical attitude made her authentic. However, I don’t think she owned the story as much as I would’ve liked. The research about Olive and the case was quite shallow, and I thought that it was a detriment to the suspense of the story. Aside from the fact , the letter from the mother of Olive Copely was probably the only moment that grounded Ginger’s involvement with Olive’s case.
On the other hand, the connection between Daniel and Olive was much more tangible yet twisted. The novella introduces the friends Brian and Danno the moments before that life-altering moment, and I thought that the brief scene was an amazing way to start the novella. I was hooked by their dialogue immediately, and I only regret that I wasn’t able to get more insight into Brian as well.
I think that the personal events of his life were laid out quite well to achieve the escalation in guilt throughout the story. As a character, he was somewhat all over the place, but it felt genuine given his internal conflict about his involvement in the past murder of a young girl and his current role as a father to his daughter. There were a few moments that I thought were great for characterization and emphasized the emotional weight of his burden, like the association of his favorite color purple with his friend’s car used for the kidnap . Then again with a purple butterfly that fluttered like Olive’s hat on the day she died. A family-man from Ohio with a terrible secret, I appreciated his perspective as he was tortured by his choice although I think the cursing somewhat blurred his voice at times.
The novella ends somewhat abruptly . I must admit that I was dissatisfied with the ending although I believe it to be realistic. I’m not sure if my critiques of the novella were simply a symptom of the length of the story, but all of that aside, I enjoyed getting to read what was a snippet of life for these characters. I recommend :)
This was a quick, enjoyable read. The synopsis was quite clear and I almost think it was too detailed in its appraisal of the book. For the most part, we get some insight into two people invested in the story behind the disappearance of Olive: Daniel and Ginger. They both had very strong voices, and I appreciated the use of dialect to bring them to life. The writing executed their natural flow of thought extremely well, but I thought it was most impactful when it came to Ginger. When the characters themselves described ordinary details, it added some flair and made the image that much more vivid in my mind. For example, I think this early excerpt about something as mundane as stone step oozed character:
“Right now, I’m sitting on my porch. Actually, it’s just barely what you’d call a porch; for sure it’s not a good porch and by that, I mean it isn’t high up and it doesn’t give a good view. It’s small and low, just the one step up and it’s not a good step, just formed cement and kind of crumbly. And the porch isn’t wide and sweeping; just a small cement slab; just a place to stand on all hunched over like I was this morning with my back to the wind, trying to get my key to work that lock.”
I liked Ginger, and her clumsy, lackadaisical attitude made her authentic. However, I don’t think she owned the story as much as I would’ve liked. The research about Olive and the case was quite shallow, and I thought that it was a detriment to the suspense of the story. Aside from the fact , the letter from the mother of Olive Copely was probably the only moment that grounded Ginger’s involvement with Olive’s case.
On the other hand, the connection between Daniel and Olive was much more tangible yet twisted. The novella introduces the friends Brian and Danno the moments before that life-altering moment, and I thought that the brief scene was an amazing way to start the novella. I was hooked by their dialogue immediately, and I only regret that I wasn’t able to get more insight into Brian as well.
I think that the personal events of his life were laid out quite well to achieve the escalation in guilt throughout the story. As a character, he was somewhat all over the place, but it felt genuine given his internal conflict about his involvement in the past murder of a young girl and his current role as a father to his daughter. There were a few moments that I thought were great for characterization and emphasized the emotional weight of his burden, like the association of his favorite color purple with his friend’s car used for the kidnap . Then again with a purple butterfly that fluttered like Olive’s hat on the day she died. A family-man from Ohio with a terrible secret, I appreciated his perspective as he was tortured by his choice although I think the cursing somewhat blurred his voice at times.
The novella ends somewhat abruptly . I must admit that I was dissatisfied with the ending although I believe it to be realistic. I’m not sure if my critiques of the novella were simply a symptom of the length of the story, but all of that aside, I enjoyed getting to read what was a snippet of life for these characters. I recommend :)
January 31, 2022
Somebody Knows Something hooks you from the first page and doesn't let go.
The voice is clear and compelling, each character distinctly drawn in a world you can feel and almost touch as well as hear. Lonely roads and crumbling structures--past and present--let the reader see the complete picture and serve as foreshadowing while juxtaposed against sparse holiday celebrations and little girls' obsessions.
Daniel isn't a likable character, but he isn't meant to be, and we feel his struggle throughout. I was as interested in what would happen to him as I was to find out what happened to Olive.
KK Edwards keeps the tension going throughout the novella, even as the reader knows this won't end well for poor little Olive.
This novella is a must read for readers who love suspense and those who love voice driven narratives.
The voice is clear and compelling, each character distinctly drawn in a world you can feel and almost touch as well as hear. Lonely roads and crumbling structures--past and present--let the reader see the complete picture and serve as foreshadowing while juxtaposed against sparse holiday celebrations and little girls' obsessions.
Daniel isn't a likable character, but he isn't meant to be, and we feel his struggle throughout. I was as interested in what would happen to him as I was to find out what happened to Olive.
KK Edwards keeps the tension going throughout the novella, even as the reader knows this won't end well for poor little Olive.
This novella is a must read for readers who love suspense and those who love voice driven narratives.
January 7, 2022
Thoroughly gripping novella which I could not put down. Really well written and gets you really into the minds of the characters, especially Ginger and Daniel. I really enjoyed the ending, it was done really well and there were bits that I didn't expect. Short book so would really recommend it to anyone who likes a thriller and is pushed for time.
February 13, 2022
A very smart and engrossing read. This is a novella, which means one can get all the pleasure of reading in one sitting. Somebody Knows Something examines the mystery of a little girl's unsolved disappearance narrated from different viewpoints and times. It's easy to put one's self into each of the characters and feel sympathy for them, even the ones who are hard to like. The main narrator, Ginger, is a bit hapless in her attempts to research and chronicle the disappearance of little Olive Copely, who vanished from her own backyard when she was just six years old. Almost despite herself, Ginger's persistence helps to bring the mystery back into the public eye. For most of the book, Olive seems like a remembered dream; less like a real child and more like a fragile creature caught in amber - like one of the fossils she so loves. Seeing her through the eyes of others, we find ourselves wanting and praying like her mother that somebody who knows something will help bring Olive back home.
July 15, 2022
I didn't want to like this book, but I found myself unable to put it down once I started reading! As a mental health clinician, working everyday in the world of trauma, this was not the kind of book I would have chosen to read to relax and unwind. Instead, I found myself drawn into the characters thoughts and wanting to know where it would lead. I particularly did not want to like one of the characters, but somehow I found myself interested in what he was thinking, and hoping that he might make a decision to set things right.
The author had me at the first few pages, and her writing style, although blunt and unfiltered, works well to give the reader a good sense of the characters and the lens through which they see the world and their life experiences.
This little book is a quick read, but delivers a huge level of intrigue, suspense and bang for the buck. Check it out, you will be pleasantly surprised!
The author had me at the first few pages, and her writing style, although blunt and unfiltered, works well to give the reader a good sense of the characters and the lens through which they see the world and their life experiences.
This little book is a quick read, but delivers a huge level of intrigue, suspense and bang for the buck. Check it out, you will be pleasantly surprised!
January 27, 2022
Somebody Knows Something was a genuinely chilling read. I read with growing trepidation crawling up my spine, and literally raced to the end to find out what had happened to little Olive Copely. The characters were very well drawn and the suspense from start to finish kept me hooked from the start. I also enjoyed her descriptions of the lonely backroads, which felt rather creepy in themselves where any manner of nastiness could happen. I would definitely recommend a read of KK Edwards novella.
February 9, 2022
K.K. Edwards book, 'Somebody Knows Something', is a well written suspense thriller that immediately caught my attention and held me captive throughout. The characters seem like real people, and I found myself thinking about them for days after reading K.K. Edwards novella. The writing is really good and the story flows easily. I liked how it was organized. The reader gets a sense of each character in how they speak, think, act, respond, etc. I love how the authors descriptions immediately create a mental picture of a particular scene, or place or thing consistently throughout the novel. The story comes alive and is relatable. Although the novel is short (quick read - less than 1 hr) it is packed with rich detail about characters and their experiences around the missing child, Olive, as well as Olive herself. The novel seems like it's 'bigger' than its number of pages/words. With the character Daniel, there's a span of 20+ years that's covered. The story transitions easily back and forth between his past and present experiences. Throughout, the descriptions of Daniel's mental/emotional/spiritual anguish and how he tries to deal with it over the years makes him seem real and I couldn't help but feel empathy towards him. Then there's Ginger, who is a beginning author herself, and uses the phrase, 'for posterity' a lot and loves her kitty, Charlie. I can picture this young woman and can relate to her own struggles with self-doubt and procrastination at times. I think the author is very talented in the use of small, yet significant details to bring the characters to life. It was a riveting and intense read which I thoroughly enjoyed. I can't wait to see what's next in the works of K.K. Edwards!
February 7, 2022
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
Short, but suspense-full
The story: Small town. Single mother - Mary. Her little girl – Olive - goes missing from the front yard. And nobody knows anything. Or so it seems.
20 years later a young girl Ginger lives in the house, where Mary and Olive used to live. She decides to write a story about Olive, since she was never found, in hope of somebody coming forward with information.
I can’t say I didn’t like anything about the book, however, I would mention the writing - it is simple and has a lot of swearing. It was not a problem for me, and at most times it was appropriate, however, it seemed like Daniel and Ginger talked the same way, if that makes sense.
What I liked:
-the story. It is written from Ginger and Daniel’s POVs. I always like it when the story is told from different points, especially when one of the narrators is hiding something. In this case, Daniel knows the truth, but he ain’t telling nothing.
-the structure. I enjoyed the gradual development of the events. Although it is a short story, and everything happened pretty quickly, the author managed to keep the intrigue and interest in the story till the end.
-the ending. Oh, what an ending it was! Not something I expected, honestly. But I can understand, why it was this way. And I liked that the author explained everything and all questions were answered. At least mine.
Every time I had a minute, I reached for the book to find out what really happened to Olive. So, overall, it was a great short read and I enjoyed it.
Short, but suspense-full
The story: Small town. Single mother - Mary. Her little girl – Olive - goes missing from the front yard. And nobody knows anything. Or so it seems.
20 years later a young girl Ginger lives in the house, where Mary and Olive used to live. She decides to write a story about Olive, since she was never found, in hope of somebody coming forward with information.
I can’t say I didn’t like anything about the book, however, I would mention the writing - it is simple and has a lot of swearing. It was not a problem for me, and at most times it was appropriate, however, it seemed like Daniel and Ginger talked the same way, if that makes sense.
What I liked:
-the story. It is written from Ginger and Daniel’s POVs. I always like it when the story is told from different points, especially when one of the narrators is hiding something. In this case, Daniel knows the truth, but he ain’t telling nothing.
-the structure. I enjoyed the gradual development of the events. Although it is a short story, and everything happened pretty quickly, the author managed to keep the intrigue and interest in the story till the end.
-the ending. Oh, what an ending it was! Not something I expected, honestly. But I can understand, why it was this way. And I liked that the author explained everything and all questions were answered. At least mine.
Every time I had a minute, I reached for the book to find out what really happened to Olive. So, overall, it was a great short read and I enjoyed it.
February 2, 2022
3.5*
Thank you to the author for providing me a copy!
This story was an interesting. It wasn't too bad and it was a quick read. However, I wish the novella was slight a bit longer. I think there were things that could've been dragged out a bit such as the mystery. I felt as though the mystery wasn't suspenseful enough. I wished Ginger continued to do more research rather than reading articles as they can only provide so much of information.
Regardless, I did liked Ginger more than Daniel, which seemed to be the goal what the author was doing with Daniel. He wasn't a likeable character. The writing was great; easy to read. And the ending was interesting; not quite what I expected so it was an interesting way to finish off the book.
Nevertheless, I do recommend this book "Somebody knows Something" for a quick and easy read.
Thank you to the author for providing me a copy!
This story was an interesting. It wasn't too bad and it was a quick read. However, I wish the novella was slight a bit longer. I think there were things that could've been dragged out a bit such as the mystery. I felt as though the mystery wasn't suspenseful enough. I wished Ginger continued to do more research rather than reading articles as they can only provide so much of information.
Regardless, I did liked Ginger more than Daniel, which seemed to be the goal what the author was doing with Daniel. He wasn't a likeable character. The writing was great; easy to read. And the ending was interesting; not quite what I expected so it was an interesting way to finish off the book.
Nevertheless, I do recommend this book "Somebody knows Something" for a quick and easy read.
January 29, 2023
I got the book directly from the author and I'm gladly leaving an honest review for the book.
**Spoiler Alert ⚠️ **
The book is a short read to be finished in a couple of hours. I feel like even though it was a short read I struggled with connecting with the book initially as there were a lot of information that might not have been of great essence to the story line. The synopsis of the book surrounds the mysterious disappearance of a young girl 20 years earlier and was never found and how the fate of two people are played out due to the tragic incident. Initially, I thought this was going to be about like them trying to find out what went wrong. Reading the book, I found out It was more about somebody (one of the culprit) going on to live his life as a family man but being haunted by the thought of what happens on that fateful day and the other character who wasn't originally involved in the story comes about to live in the house the girl disappeared from and feel some sort of need on her part to make people aware of what happened to that little girl. In case of the writer, Ginger feeling a sense of need to tell the story to the world, it could be that house in which the little girl lived and ginger has come to live told it's own version of the story and which led Ginger to want to tell the story to the world. The second chapter introduced a Daniel who used to go by Danno when he was much younger and from what we see is that he is being haunted by a memory of something that he did when was much younger where he and his best mate were involved in what happened to a little girl.
I didn't feel the usual thrilling experience with the book as I'm not going on the suspense of what is going to happen but the mystery in the book is we don't know exactly what happened to the girl. We went as far some 40 pages or so without knowing what exactly happened to the girl even though we know that she went missing from beginning.
Ginger, the writer in this book who wanted to tell the world the story was not able to achieve this directly as the publishing house she submitted the story to claimed she didn't have so much of a substance in what she wrote. What Ginger wrote as we read was majorly dependent on what the girl's mother had to say and told her via the letter she sent back to her. Though, the purpose of her action was fulfilled, just that the story that was later published wasn't hers.
What stood out for me in the book is the fact that I feel like a lot of unnecessary information that we probably don't need especially where ginger was describing every single detail about the house. It makes me lose my train of thought when it comes to the connecting with story. I was looking to connect with the characters of the story. Though we needed some sort of description of the house from which the girl went missing because if you go back to the story, it says something about the girl always playing outside the house. What I would have expected is some description of the location of the house and how it was that nobody saw her when she was being picked up by the guys or if that the house was in a lonely street or that there there was no busybody sort of person on the street who knows what goes on with everybody on the block or the house been close to or far from where kids generally run around in the streets .
I think the writer's writing style is quite simple and straight-forward. You are not double-checking or trying to see if there is a double meaning attached to a word he uses.
Getting to the point of what happened to the girl, we see the character of two boys that was involved in the girl's disappearance. The didn't clear up some information on the guys initial interest in the girl from my perspective. Was it something the guys do for fun to pick on young girls? Do they have something sinister that they do children? Was it just fascination of seeing the girl outside the house? Or was it a sexual thing? Or what was their intention when they took the girl and took her to that area? I was wondering all this because at the end of the day, nothing actually played out on that end just that they wanted to make the girl not scream and the situation went worse.
The way the girl was just so plainly simple, she lost her breath as they were trying to cover her mouth from screaming.
Looking at the Daniel guy, we could explore what goes on in the mind after someone commits their first crime and how this experience doesn't leave them forever. He wasn't able to open up to anyone about it amd now that he has his own family and kid, will always become paranoid if any slight thing happens to the kid.
Overall, the is a story that with a little more depth and character development will be phenomenal.
Big ups to the writer and looking to read more work.
**Spoiler Alert ⚠️ **
The book is a short read to be finished in a couple of hours. I feel like even though it was a short read I struggled with connecting with the book initially as there were a lot of information that might not have been of great essence to the story line. The synopsis of the book surrounds the mysterious disappearance of a young girl 20 years earlier and was never found and how the fate of two people are played out due to the tragic incident. Initially, I thought this was going to be about like them trying to find out what went wrong. Reading the book, I found out It was more about somebody (one of the culprit) going on to live his life as a family man but being haunted by the thought of what happens on that fateful day and the other character who wasn't originally involved in the story comes about to live in the house the girl disappeared from and feel some sort of need on her part to make people aware of what happened to that little girl. In case of the writer, Ginger feeling a sense of need to tell the story to the world, it could be that house in which the little girl lived and ginger has come to live told it's own version of the story and which led Ginger to want to tell the story to the world. The second chapter introduced a Daniel who used to go by Danno when he was much younger and from what we see is that he is being haunted by a memory of something that he did when was much younger where he and his best mate were involved in what happened to a little girl.
I didn't feel the usual thrilling experience with the book as I'm not going on the suspense of what is going to happen but the mystery in the book is we don't know exactly what happened to the girl. We went as far some 40 pages or so without knowing what exactly happened to the girl even though we know that she went missing from beginning.
Ginger, the writer in this book who wanted to tell the world the story was not able to achieve this directly as the publishing house she submitted the story to claimed she didn't have so much of a substance in what she wrote. What Ginger wrote as we read was majorly dependent on what the girl's mother had to say and told her via the letter she sent back to her. Though, the purpose of her action was fulfilled, just that the story that was later published wasn't hers.
What stood out for me in the book is the fact that I feel like a lot of unnecessary information that we probably don't need especially where ginger was describing every single detail about the house. It makes me lose my train of thought when it comes to the connecting with story. I was looking to connect with the characters of the story. Though we needed some sort of description of the house from which the girl went missing because if you go back to the story, it says something about the girl always playing outside the house. What I would have expected is some description of the location of the house and how it was that nobody saw her when she was being picked up by the guys or if that the house was in a lonely street or that there there was no busybody sort of person on the street who knows what goes on with everybody on the block or the house been close to or far from where kids generally run around in the streets .
I think the writer's writing style is quite simple and straight-forward. You are not double-checking or trying to see if there is a double meaning attached to a word he uses.
Getting to the point of what happened to the girl, we see the character of two boys that was involved in the girl's disappearance. The didn't clear up some information on the guys initial interest in the girl from my perspective. Was it something the guys do for fun to pick on young girls? Do they have something sinister that they do children? Was it just fascination of seeing the girl outside the house? Or was it a sexual thing? Or what was their intention when they took the girl and took her to that area? I was wondering all this because at the end of the day, nothing actually played out on that end just that they wanted to make the girl not scream and the situation went worse.
The way the girl was just so plainly simple, she lost her breath as they were trying to cover her mouth from screaming.
Looking at the Daniel guy, we could explore what goes on in the mind after someone commits their first crime and how this experience doesn't leave them forever. He wasn't able to open up to anyone about it amd now that he has his own family and kid, will always become paranoid if any slight thing happens to the kid.
Overall, the is a story that with a little more depth and character development will be phenomenal.
Big ups to the writer and looking to read more work.
January 26, 2023
Inciting incident of a missing little girl of 6 years, Olive Copely, whom Daniel Simmons (Danno) and Brian, only if he was alive, could tell her fate, makes the story interesting to the reader. The story shows how the celebration of the birthday of Anna, Danno's daughter, stirred up a criminal act Danno committed, which haunts him at the sight of Anna and also in dreams. Daniel's internal conflict propels the reader to read further.
The story becomes more interesting with a writer, Ginger Norton who faces lots of conflict and tension trying to find some relevant facts from the library, Google, Mary ( Olive Copely's mother,), and the plight of writers in the hands of agents or publishers.
In the end, the writer, K. K. Edward broke the suspense in the novella and gave the revelation of who and what somebody knows something means.
The story becomes more interesting with a writer, Ginger Norton who faces lots of conflict and tension trying to find some relevant facts from the library, Google, Mary ( Olive Copely's mother,), and the plight of writers in the hands of agents or publishers.
In the end, the writer, K. K. Edward broke the suspense in the novella and gave the revelation of who and what somebody knows something means.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews