Two siblings. One murder. So many lies.
Siblings Allison and Luke have been through a lot together. They’ve always stood by each other. They’d do anything for each other.
Or so it seems.
When Allison’s husband, Finley, is murdered, the investigation threatens to expose the siblings’ darkest secrets. An illicit affair. A decades-old accident. A stunning deception. How do these events explain Finley’s death? How far will Allison and Luke go to keep their secrets buried? And can the siblings even trust one another anymore?
As the investigation winds tighter and past and present collide, the most shocking betrayal might lie a little too close to home…
Book Info: 363 pages. Publisher: G P Putnam’s Sons. Publication Date: 30 June 2026
My Review:
I absolutely LOVED David Ellis’s previous book Look Closer and when I saw he had a new book out this year I was so excited. I patiently requested it on Libby on 7th June and waited and waited and waited. When I received notification yesterday that it was available I abandoned my current read and started KEEP THEM CLOSE at 9am. It had actually been so long since I requested it that I had actually forgotten what it was about, but I was too eager to check Goodreads so went in blind.
Firstly, I don’t often read books in one-sitting (except for Dearest Mother last Friday), so once again it was a pleasure and a privilege to start a book at 9am and finish it less than 5 hours later without stopping (or releasing a breath I didn’t know I was holding (IYKYK)).
WOWSERS. Simply breath-taking and he’s done it again, written the perfect psychological thriller full of complex characters, pacy plotlines and tantalising twists.
Keep Them Close is the tale of two siblings, Allison Bruce, a high-flying, well respected Chicago attorney and her older brother Luke, a former baseball prodigy whose career was cut-short by a childhood accident.
The story centres around the murder of Allison’s husband Finley which is being investigated by the police. The fact that Allison and Finley had recently separated due to his infidelity and Allison’s refusal to help the police with their enquires puts her firmly into the list of top suspects.
The story has multiple narrators and the reader is taken on a rollercoaster of a journey following the differing points of view and various shifts between timelines as slowly the secrets are revealed.
I absolutely LOVED the dark humour throughout and Allison reminded me of a Grandmaster Chess player as she appeared to be at least 2 steps ahead of everyone throughout the story.
There were quite a few jaw-dropping moments and several twists I just did not see coming. David Ellis has a wonderful talent for misdirection, letting the reader smugly think they know who/what/why and then throws in a sucker-punch that leaves you reeling.
Another brilliantly plotted, highly originally and completely unputdownable thriller with a very easy 5 stars from me.
