I Know You Know by Helen A Howell

About the Book

Title: I Know You Know
Author: Helen A. Howell
Publication: Crooked Cat Publishing (16 Feb 2013)/Amazon Kindle
Summary: (Amazon) The darkest cards in the tarot deck reveal the darkest side of the man sitting opposite Janice—Mr. Edgar Kipp. She feigns an inability to read for him, but will he believe her? His parting words indicate that he knows she knows he's a serial killer. And he plans to return. The voice of her dead grandmother urges her to be careful, warning Janice she might be seeing her own future in those foreboding cards. But Janice doesn't want to listen. Gran's dead. How can she possibly help her?

What I Think

'"Well, tell me my fortune then. What do you see?" he asked in a sharp nasally voice.' From the first paragraph of the first chapter you know that Helen A Howell's second novella, I Know You Know, is going to be the bone-chilling horror story it sets out to be. There is no preamble; this novella starts in the middle of an important scene between the two main characters, Janice and Edgar Kipp. Janice is reading tarot cards for Kipp and sees something she shouldn't: that he is a serial killer. Her attempts at covering up her new-found knowledge are transparent and from chapter one we fear for her life. 

Using the technique of multiple points of view has enabled Howell to create rounded and believable characters. Edgar Kipp is a dark and despicable man who everyone seems to abhor, and through flashbacks of his life we learn (to an extent) why he is the way that he is. That doesn't stop you shuddering involuntarily when you read about him though. Janice, a tarot card reader, is a gentle and ever-so-slightly naive character, who thinks that this man will leave her alone. It's only through the pleading voice of her dead Gran that she seems to take action of any sort.  

Switching between the two main characters, and later Detective Inspector Tate as well, allows for greater suspense. Howell is an excellent storyteller and knows how to tell the tale slowly but surely, constantly building suspense, which leads to a crescendo at the end. A highly recommended read, but not for the fainthearted!  

About the Author

Helen was born in England and moved to Australia at the age of 31. Australia is now her permanent home.


She is a fiction writer, who writes in several genres which include fantasy, noir, horror and humour. Her work has appeared in both e-zines and printed publications.

In 2012 she published her first novella, a children's fantasy fiction called Jumping At Shadows. Her second novella called I Know You Know, a psychic thriller for adults, was released in February 2013 and published by Crooked Cat Publishing.