The Only One Who Knows
by Lisa M. Matlin
A disgraced TV news reporter returns to her violent hometown to investigate a series of deadly shark attacks in this nail-biting suspense novel from the author of The Stranger Upstairs
Something is lurking below the surface . . . and it’s hungry.
With her polished persona as a morning show co-host, Minnow Greenwood seems to have it all. But behind the camera, something’s about to break. When a public meltdown shatters her facade, Minnow flees back to Kangaroo Bay—a grimy fishing town on Australia’s southern coast, where locals vanish and something deadly hunts in the water.
On her first night back, a horrifying shark attack rocks the town, adding another body to the unsettling list of deaths and disappearances. Then a former colleague arrives to investigate, so she reluctantly teams up with him to find answers for herself and keep her own dark secrets buried.
But with danger closing in, Minnow must unearth her town’s deadly past—and face the darkness festering inside her—before she becomes the next to disappear.
5 out of 5 fairies
Y’all, cancel your plans before you start reading this, because you won’t want to stop after chapter one. What struck me immediately, wasn’t the vivid imagery, it was how the imagery hit you. It’s not just visual, it’s emotional. If you’ve ever been in an abusive situation, whether growing up or as an adult, you’ll understand what I mean. Watching Minnow reach her breaking point and return home to her brother and the family business, I couldn’t help but cheer her on as she took control, even if it wasn’t the way she planned her life to go. I’d say I was more invested in the mystery of Minnow’s family, and her past than the mystery of the bodies. As a family drama and psychological thriller, this is absolutely a hit.
“A gothic coastal noir about generational violence and the cyclical nature of predation, The Only One Who Knows is visceral, haunting, and impossible to look away from.” – Carter Wilson, USA Today bestselling author of Tell Me What You Did
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Goodreads | StoryGraph
Lisa M. Matlin was a guitarist in a band before switching from song writing to story writing.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her golden retriever. She’s probably rewatching The Walking Dead right now and trying not to laugh at her own jokes. Matlin is a passionate mental health advocate and your dog’s number one fan.
THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS was a Book of the Month pick. Her second novel, THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS, is out March 2026.