{"id":6431,"date":"2026-05-26T12:06:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6431"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:06:00","slug":"is-it-someone-you-know-by-jill-carol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6431","title":{"rendered":"Is It Someone You Know by Jill Carol"},"content":{"rendered":"

Childhood dreams, shattered futures, and a community under siege<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Is It Someone You Know?<\/em> by Jill Carol follows the story of Detective Jennifer Cot, a 38-year-old investigator working tirelessly to uncover a mysterious killer targeting 11-year-old boys in Levittown, New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jennifer is at a transitional point in her life, trying to quit smoking and adjust to her son leaving home, while still holding herself together through the emotional demands of her job. We are also introduced to Amy, a Future Officer in Training, whom Jennifer mentors, along with several members of the police force who collaborate to solve the unfolding murders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most compelling characters, however, are the boys themselves\u2014ordinary children with dreams, flaws, and futures ahead of them, whose lives are violently cut short by the killer known as Phoenix. The central goal of the book is to follow Jennifer\u2019s pursuit of this killer while she navigates the emotional weight of repeated loss and grief in the community.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The story opens with Devin Mastro, a young boy who dreams of becoming an Olympic runner. Despite a difficult background, with a mother incarcerated for drug-related offenses, Devin is determined to make his grandmother proud. His life, like many others in the book, is grounded in small ambitions and everyday moments.<\/p>\n

Alongside his best friend, Charlie Cloud, Devin ventures into a dangerous, abandoned industrial park in search of wood for a treehouse they plan to build. This decision, though innocent in intent, leads to a terrifying encounter when they realize they are being followed. Panic forces them to split up, one escaping toward survival, the other toward tragedy.<\/p>\n

Devin\u2019s death becomes the first in a series of murders that shake the community. When clues begin to surface, including a disturbing signature left by the killer, Jennifer Cot steps fully into the investigation. As more cases emerge, the urgency intensifies, and the task force works against time to prevent further loss.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t help but become emotionally invested in these victims. Characters like Devin Mastro are not just plot devices; they are fully human. Devin\u2019s ambition to become an Olympic runner, his relationship with his grandmother, and his resilience despite hardship make his fate particularly heartbreaking. The same applies to the other boys. Whether they are ambitious, troubled, or simply navigating childhood, each one feels real. This makes every loss land with emotional weight.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Cot is strong and believable too. She copes with trauma but continues on with her work, and she\u2019s not just a detective but a mentor; she\u2019s shaping the future of policing. This responsibility adds depth to her character.<\/p>\n

The book\u2019s pacing is another strength. The short, sharp chapters give it a cinematic quality, almost like watching episodes of a crime series. And there\u2019s no wasted space\u2014even the shortest chapters manage to push the narrative forward and maintain tension.<\/p>\n

The suspects don\u2019t feel quite as compelling however. They don\u2019t stand out much to anchor suspicion, so you don\u2019t really get to play that mystery game where you form defendable theories about who it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is It Someone You Know?<\/em> balances investigation with human vulnerability. It leaves readers with a lingering sense of unease, not just about the mystery, but about how fragile ordinary lives can be when they\u2019re placed in the path of something senseless and violent.<\/p>\n

The post Is It Someone You Know by Jill Carol<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Childhood dreams, shattered futures, and a community under siege Is It Someone You Know? by Jill Carol follows the story of Detective Jennifer Cot, a 38-year-old investigator working tirelessly to uncover a mysterious killer targeting 11-year-old boys in Levittown, New York.\u00a0 Jennifer is at a transitional point in her life, trying to quit smoking and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6431\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}