by Rose Carlyle
Publisher: Text Publishing, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
Eve Sylvester is young and broke and needs a job fast. After years of foster homes, backpacking and a sailing trip across the Pacific Ocean, she has lost contact with friends and family. She is alone, desperate—and pregnant.
Then she meets Julia and Christopher Hygate, a charming and glamorous couple, who seem to have the perfect life: loads of money and a breathtakingly beautiful mansion on a remote Tasmanian island. They make her a lucrative offer. Eve can move into their empty summerhouse and take up a very easy job.
Eve thinks she’s fallen on her feet—she has found a home, and her child will grow up in the aptly named Paradise Bay. But some things about the job don’t add up. Why must Eve stay out of sight? Why have the Hygates employed an ex-con to run their yacht-charter business? And what about the mysterious boats sailing in and out of the Hygates’ private marina? Has Eve made a deal with the devil? It’s too late to ask questions. Eve is already in far too deep.
Set against the stunning backdrop of a windswept island and its mysterious lighthouse, No One Will Know is a propulsive, seductive novel of suspense that reveals the terrible consequences of greed, staggering lies and fatal mistakes.
Review
by Ola Kwintowski
Eve is all alone. She’s broke. Homeless. And pregnant. Her desperation led her to take a lucrative offer from a stranger that is promising her the world: a home, employment and opportunities she could only have dreamt of for her unborn child. Despite her youth and naivety, once Eve meets her new employers, Julia and Chris, she starts to sense that when things seem to be too good, there’s usually a catch… but her options are limited.
What is the catch? To find out, you’ll be taken on a delightful whirlwind of plot twists. Brace yourself! Set on a remote island in Tasmania, Rose Carlyle does a magnificent job of creating a wilderness of ‘golden horizons’, of the air being ‘soft [and] mysterious’, dangerous cliff faces, ferocious ocean waves and she transports readers into an exciting and dangerous landscape. Carlyle’s choice of an isolated setting complements Eve’s isolation, both physically and emotionally. She is constantly struggling to fit in and navigate trust. Carlyle digs into the psychology of belonging. Eve is always second guessing her choices and her worth. This means making decisions is hard as her judgement is easily swayed and confounded by the feeling of inclusion.
Opposite Eve’s character is Julia: confident, rich and loved. But while she glimmers on the outside, she has a lot of darkness within. This allows for an interesting exploration of her character making you wonder till the very end whether she’s good, evil, or somewhere in between. Alongside Julia, is her sidekick, Zelde, a cranky old lady who loves to snigger. I adored her inclusion in the story. And dear old Zelde delivers till the very end where a small revelation about her allows the reader to reflect on her actions and enjoy her all over again. I would vote for her as ‘best supporting actor’.
The novel maintains great tension and pace throughout, with time-jumps that are seamlessly executed and easy to follow. It’s an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable story. Be sure to add No One Will Know to your must-read list this summer.