Book Review: Everybody Knows

EVERYBODY KNOWS | Jordan Harper
01.10.2023 | Mulholland Books
Rating: 4/5 stars

Welcome to Mae Pruett’s Los Angeles, where  “Nobody talks. But everybody whispers.”  As a “black-bag” publicist tasked not with letting the good news out but keeping the bad news in, Mae works for one of LA’s most powerful and sought-after crisis PR firms, at the center of a sprawling web of lawyers, PR flaks, and private security firms she calls “The Beast.” They protect the rich and powerful and depraved by any means necessary. After her boss is gunned down in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel in a random attack, Mae takes it upon herself to investigate and runs headfirst into The Beast’s lawless machinations and the twisted systems it exists to perpetuate. It takes her on a roving neon joyride through a Los Angeles full of influencers pumped full of pills and fillers; sprawling mansions footsteps away from sprawling homeless encampments; crooked cops and mysterious wrecking crews in the middle of the night.

Everybody Knows has to be one of the more unique premises I’ve picked up for a thriller or crime fiction read. I loved everything about this dangerous and terrifying underground Hollywood world. I was uncomfortable and nervous for several characters throughout the story. While Harper chooses to tell the story through the voices of Mae and Chris, that doesn’t stop the secondary characters from being important. I might not have remembered all their names, but I certainly didn’t forget their deeds. There were a few times the story lost track for me, but it always found a way to bring me back into the curiosity for what was going to happen. Overall, Everybody Knows is a quick read with an action TV show or movie vibe filled with tension that will leave you wondering what’s coming next. 

On a side note…I wish this book had a different cover. I know people say not to judge a book by its cover, but I think we all do that and this one is not doing enough to sell this book! 

A huge thank you to Mulholland Books and Novel Suspects for my gifted copy!