Months after losing her only son in the Virginia Tech shooting, Ann Miller remains consumed by grief. The tragedy is made all the more jarring by her profession; she works for a gun rights organization. When she receives an AK-47 to deliver to her boss, the weapon inexplicably discharges, killing 13 people in a single, horrifying moment. Ann insists it was an accident. But was it? Or did the sorrow of losing her son drive her to a calculated act of violence?

In Only Ann Knows, Baird Smart crafts a riveting crime and mystery novel that unfolds with measured intensity. The courtroom drama echoes the legal tension of John Grisham’s best work, yet Smart’s voice remains distinct. The narrative hinges on a single, devastating question: Did Ann pull the trigger on purpose?

What elevates this novel is its commitment to character. Ann is an enigma, vulnerable, composed, inscrutable. Smart reveals just enough of her inner life to make her real, while withholding enough to keep her mysterious. She is, in every way, the novel’s anchor.

Smart manipulates reader expectation with impressive precision. Just when you think you understand Ann’s motives, new details shift your perspective. This is not a story that offers easy answers.

Equally compelling are the two FBI agents assigned to the case, distinct in temperament and method, yet both indispensable to the investigation. Their dynamic adds further layers to a narrative already thick with ambiguity and moral complexity.

Timely in theme and meticulous in execution, Only Ann Knows is a masterclass in suspense. Few novels manage to maintain this level of tension without veering into melodrama. Fewer still offer a conclusion that feels both shocking and entirely earned. Smart delivers both.

Only Ann Knows is a gripping, immersive thriller that doesn’t let go. A standout in the genre, thought-provoking, emotionally charged, and impossible to predict.

Pages: 371 | ASIN : B0D8R9LRB2