The Only One Who Knows
- Judith D Collins
- Dec 2
- 3 min read
By: Lisa M. Matlin
ISBN: 9780593599983
Publisher: Ballantine | Bantam
Publication Date: 03/03/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: TBR (ARC)
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.
“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
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.
Praise
“Lisa Matlin’s prose is as beautiful as it is brutal, cutting straight to the bone as Minnow unravels the secrets her family and her town have spent decades trying to bury. Minnow is a deeply flawed but fiercely resilient protagonist, so real she feels like she might bleed through the page. 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
“An exquisitely dark story about what lurks beneath the surface and the weight of secrets and lies—original and unexpected. Lisa Matlin knows how spin a tale. Just when you thought it was safe to crack open one of the summer’s top beach reads, Matlin will leave you reeling—and eager to turn the page.”
—Alex Finlay, bestselling author of Parents Weekend
“A story as visceral as a shark bite, The Only One Who Knows is an utterly compelling family saga wrapped in a tantalizing, impossible-to-put-down mystery that makes it clear the monsters to fear most aren’t the ones swimming in the ocean but those on land who are closest to us. Deep character work makes this a must-read for any fan of high-caliber suspense. Highly recommended!”
—Jamie Day, bestselling author of The Block Party
“As a lover of shark movies and dogs, I loved this book. I spent the whole time trying to guess who the real predators were, the sharks, the men, or the narrator herself. It’s a great vacation read, just be careful when you go in the water.”
—Tasha Coryell, author of Matchmaking for Psychopaths
About the Author
Lisa M. Matlin is the author of The Only One Who Knows and The Stranger Upstairs. She was a guitarist in a rock band before switching from songwriting to story writing. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her dogs. 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.
