All her life Ellie Enderlin had been known as Lila's sister. Then one day, without warning, the shape of their family changed forever. Twenty years ago, Lila, a top math student at Stanford, was murdered in a crime that was never solved. In the aftermath of her sister's death, Ellie entrusted her most intimate feelings to a man who turned the story into a bestselling true crime book—a book that both devastated her family and identified one of Lila's professors as the killer.
Decades later, two Americans meet in a remote village in Nicaragua. Ellie is now a professional coffee buyer, an inveterate traveler incapable of trust. Peter is a ruined academic. Their meeting is not by chance. As rain beats down on the steaming rooftops of the village, Peter leaves Ellie with a gift—the notebook that Lila carried everywhere, a piece of evidence not found with her body. Stunned, Ellie returns home to San Francisco to explore the mysteries of Lila's notebook, filled with mathematical equations, and begin a search that has been waiting for her for two decades. It will lead her to a hundred-year-old mathematical puzzle, to a lover no one knew Lila had, to the motives and fate of the man who profited from their family's anguish—and to the deepest secrets even sisters keep from each other. As she connects with people whose lives unknowingly swirled around her own, Ellie will confront a series of startling revelations—from the eloquent truths of numbers to confessions of love, pain, and loss.
A novel about the stories and lies that strangers, lovers, and families tell—and the secrets we keep even from ourselves—Michelle Richmond's novel is a work of astonishing depth and beauty, at once heartbreaking, provocative, and impossible to put down.
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"Picked this book up off the "buy one/get one half off" table at Borders just before a plane trip thinking it was a puffy "sisters" novel that would kill some time on a cross country trip and was more than estatic to find it was an extremely well-written fully fleshed-out novel with well-rounded, interesting, deep (even flawed) characters and an (at the risk of being cliche) "gripping" *whodunit* mystery to boot -- the solution of which was more than satisfying. (<--Run on? Sorry.) As a former SF resident I probably enjoyed it more than most and as a former United Artists employee the mention of the original Coronet lighting fixtures thrilled me more than about 99% than most of the readers I'm guessing, lol."
— betsy (5 out of 5 stars)
“Michelle Richmond never strikes a false note in No One You Know…It’s an intelligent, emotionally convincing tale about a family tragedy and the process of storytelling.”
— Boston Globe“Richmond sets out to create not a straight-up thriller, but a novel that explores love, family, work, guilt, and the responsibility of the writer to his or her subject, all within the framework of a murder mystery.”
— San Francisco Chronicle“As complex and beautiful as a mathematical proof, this gripping, thought-provoking novel will keep you thinking long after the last page has been turned.”
— Family Circle“Carrington MacDuffie reflects the character of Ellie as she ages and matures…In her characterizations MacDuffie contrasts Ellie’s steady energy with the self-absorbed arrogance of Thorpe. Without overplaying the story’s strong emotions or sad events MacDuffie gives depth to Ellie’s narrative voice.”
— AudioFile" oh it's awesomeeee. I loved it all - and you're going to have to read it yourself to find out why. no hints =) "
— Hannah, 2/18/2014" Good twist and original idea. I kind of liked how this book was not what you would expect. Not a book that I'd rush out to share with others, but it was ok. If you run across it, then give it a go, but don't go out of your way to find it. "
— Linde, 2/14/2014" I wan't sure about this book when i started it but the story really sucked me in . I HAD to know what happened. I am glad she ended the book with some closure but not in the direction I thought it would go. Some of her writing was a little intense/academic at times and I never understood some of the math concepts. "
— Tamara, 2/9/2014" Quick read, kind of a beach read type. Family drama, mystery solving, I read it in one day. I'd read something else by her also! "
— Lisa, 1/25/2014" I really liked this one. The bits about maths and coffee were interesting. "
— Becca.s, 1/24/2014" Michelle Richmond read in the author series at Foothill, inspiring me to buy her book. Great murder mystery, and I like characters with interesting professions, in this case, a mathematician and a coffee taster. "
— Mary, 1/20/2014" I am so disappointed when a book jacket oversells the content of a book. The message in this story can be found on the last 2 pages. The writing is not very good and the plot cliche. "
— Sapna, 1/19/2014" Nat, this book made me think of you because the sister is obsessed with Math and proving proofs etc. You might find all that mathematical jargon fascinating ;) Overall, the book was about a sister trying to find her sister's killer. "
— Rebecca, 1/19/2014" Family flashbacks and two sisters who are so different. I was happy that the author lead us to a conclusion, and didn't leave us hanging. Still, a surprise... "
— Marta, 12/29/2013" Good story, interesting twists, liked the references to places I know in San Francisco "
— Tyra, 11/27/2013" I really liked this book and Michelle Richmond is quickly becoming a favorite author. I read this, as well, as "The Year of Fog." She has pretty interesting plot lines and much of the narrative gives you a real understanding of how the characters see the world. An easy, but complelling read. "
— Tonya, 11/14/2013Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and story collections, including The Marriage Pact, Golden State, The Year of Fog, and Hum. She received the Truman Capote Prize for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Short Story. Her books have been published in thirty languages.
Carrington MacDuffie is a voice actor and recording artist who has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, received numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has been a frequent finalist for the Audie Award, including for her original audiobook, Many Things Invisible. Alongside her narration work, she has released a new album of original songs, Only an Angel.