Dr. Grethen White is a diagnosed sociopath who fights to control her self-destructive impulses every day. Raised by a wealthy yet dysfunctional family and accused of (but never held accountable for) killing her aunt, Rowen White, when she was only eight, she’s worked hard to earn an advanced degree in psychology and criminology. She is now a respected consultant for the Boston PD. In this second book in the series, Grethen is challenged to investigate the crime she was accused of thirty years ago. With the help of Det. Lauren Marconi, her friend/colleague, and despite Det. Patrick Shaughnessy, a cop who watches her day and night, waiting for her to kill again, Grethen is determined to exonerate herself and prove her innocence. What she discovers is beyond anything she could have imagined. This captivating thriller is a twisty and mesmerizing story of lies, deceit, murder, and betrayal. I would suggest reading the first book in the series, ‘A Familiar Sight,’ to understand Dr. Grethen White’s background. I think this book (and the first) has a unique take on flawed heroes that is fascinating. ( )

I loved the first Gretchen White book "A Familiar Sight" (which I read last year), so I was so excited for this one! I'm not sure why but Gretchen's character seemed more... "wild" this time around? In the first book she seemed much more refined and professional, where in this one she was a bit more unrestrained. The peeks into 8-year-old Gretchen's personality were awesome! I found the whole murder mystery aspect of the plot pretty complicated and a little hard to follow, I kept having to remind myself of things, but that's probably just me. At 90% it was just twist after twist and I couldn't put this book down! I can't wait for #3 next year! ( )

Great read ( )

The first book in this series, 'A Familiar Sight' completely captured me. I spent an entire weekend mesmerised by it. It was fresh and original, brilliantly told in lean focused prose, full of surprises and it had a main character, Dr Gretchen White, who was unashamedly different - a 'voluntarily non-violent' sociopath. And she was the one investigating the murders, not committing them. The relationship that built up between her and her Police Detective 'babysitter' Lauren Marconi was one of the strengths of the book. Marconi's ability to see beyond White's reputation and her outward aggression and to build a basis for trust gave emotional depth to the book.

So how do you write a sequel to a book like that and still deliver something fresh? Well, if you're Brianna Labuskes, you do it by putting White under so much pressure that she's likely to crack, by putting Marconi's trust in her under strain and by revealing a backstory that made me question everything I thought I'd learned about Gretchen White in the first book.

The book opens with Marconi trying to pull White out of the pattern of depression and self-destructive behaviour that she fell into after the events in 'A Familiar Sight' by getting her to focus on solving a challenging cold case: her own.

I knew from the previous book that, as a child, Gretchen White had been the prime suspect in the murder of her mother and that the policeman who investigated her case, Detective Shaughnessy, still dogs White's heals, treating her as someone who got away with murder once and will eventually murder again. Marconi wants to prove Shaughnessy wrong.

What follows is a fairly intense, plot-driven, thriller which uses two and, on one occasion, three timelines to unwrap what really happened on the night that Gretchen White was found standing next to a corpse with a bloody knife in her hand; a night that White is unable to remember.

The plot has even more surprises than I expected. One of the timelines is told from Detective Shaughnessy's point of view. He was a new Detective at the time and was the first person on the scene of the murder. One involves meeting with Gretchen White's family in the present day and trying to pry open their secrets.

The suspense kept taught throughout. Every revelation produces more doubt, uncertainty and mistrust, especially as the evidence of White's guilt builds. The ending caught me by surprise but made perfect sense.

As a surprise-laden thriller, this book worked very well. I felt that characterisation was a little overwhelmed by the plot at times. I think that moving back and forth between timelines, especially when Gretchen White is a child in one of them, meant that the relationship between White and Marconi wasn't as much at the forefront of things as in the previous book. That was mostly offset by the introduction of strong and frankly scary characters from White's family and by getting a more intimate understanding of Shaughnessy's history and motivations.

Although I didn't find 'What Can't Be Seen' to be as compelling as 'A Familiar Sight', it was still a well-above-average thriller.

I've already pre-ordered the third and I think final book in the series 'See It End', which is due for release in April 2023. ( )