This book should be made into a movie. In You Don’t Know Me, Susan May Warren
takes the reader on an adventure through love, grace, and forgiveness. Her
characters wrestle with their deepest, darkest secrets and will discover that
life isn’t as bad as they think it will be if those secrets are exposed. There
is great opportunity for the reader to grow along with her characters as the
story progresses.
Throughout the novel, we get to know Annalise Decker and her
seemingly perfect small town family. Except that her husband, who is running for
mayor, is the black sheep of the town. Or so he thinks. And so does his mother.
Who lives across the street. However, Annalise is carrying a secret no one
knows and has kept it for twenty years. Until Uncle Frank shows up. Then, her
seemingly perfect life begins to unravel.
Throughout the novel, Susan leaves the reader wondering if
it will all work out in the end…or not, which makes it a page-turner. Dealing
with the issues of trust, loyalty, judgment, faithfulness, forgiveness, and so
many more, she touches on the question of whether one would stick by a spouse
who has kept one too many important secrets over a vast number of years. The
thoughtfulness that went into her writing makes it incredibly realistic for a
fiction read. Emotions run deep, and you may wish to read with a box of tissues
nearby, particularly toward the final chapters.
Susan writes from multiple character viewpoints. One moment,
we’re in Annalise’s point of view. The next, we’re in Nathan’s. We also get to
know Uncle Frank, Grandma Helen, and Colleen’s boyfriend Tucker from these
points of view. The only thing I found slightly frustrating (but not enough,
apparently, because I devoured this book and can’t wait to read the next one)
was the switching. The only reason it bothered me at all is because of the time
overlaps. Annalise would be somewhere doing something and then on to the next
thing a few hours later, and we’d back up to the moment she left and hear from
Frank or Nathan. This doesn’t happen consistently, but when it does, it feels
like a rewind in the movie reel of the reader’s mind.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading You Don’t Know Me by Susan May Warren. I highly recommend it for
those who enjoy a suspense novel that isn’t afraid to talk about the realities
of life that we all deal with.
