Behind The Book You Know Why With J.T. Ellison 

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times Bestselling Author of mystery thriller and under her Joss Walker name she writes fantasy. I’m so happy Rachel Tarlow Gul reunited me with J.T. to discuss her upcoming release You Know Why! You Know Why will be available on August 25^th wherever you get your books! If I were you, I would pre-order a copy now if you enjoy mysteries full of twists and turns and if you weren’t lucky enough like I was to read an early copy! 

Welcome back to Book Notions J.T.! 

J.T: Happy to be here!

Q: Would you please give a brief description of You Know Why & discuss where the idea for the book came from?

A: You Know Why is a dual-pronged story about two women whose lives intersect on a plane: the first, Brooklyn Locke, married to Trey Locke, who is on a last-second holiday vacation to Italy. A dream trip that’s interrupted when her husband disappears from the airport before getting on their connecting flight. The second storyline belongs to Eden Barrow, an airline employee who is flying home from a business trip and sees her sister’s long-lost murderer in the row in front of her.  Da-dum-dah!

It came from a couple of incidents I’ve had stored away in my memory banks—one seeing a young, well-to-do family on a flight and the parents bickering and thinking, why? You have it all, the pretty family, the perfect life (but did they?) coupled with a long-standing idea of a father disappearing from the airport mid-journey. It seems so easy to walk away from your life like that. Marry the two, and it became an explosive tale. 

Q: How long did it take you to write You Know Why? 

I’m on a book a year schedule, which is the perfect amount of time, barring unforeseen issues. I did a lot of thinking and planning about this one in the fall of 2024, then started writing in earnest in January 2025. I finished at the beginning of September. So, a full nine months of writing time—interrupted, of course, by the release of LAST SEEN. We’re always writing a book, editing a book, and promoting a book. That’s the annual schedule. 

Q: What are some themes & any messages you hope readers discover in You Know Why? For me it is you think you know someone well and then they do something to where you realize you don’t know them at all.

That’s a big one—that the people we think we know the best can—do—hide their true selves from us. It’s Janus twin, though: can you put aside the hurt at finding out you’ve been sold a lie and still love that person, is another fun exploration. And how far you would go to protect the ones you love is absolutely at the core of this story, too. 

Q: Which scenes did you enjoy writing the most in You Know Why & why was that?

A: That’s a fun question. I did a lot of research on a few places I’d never been, namely Thiviers, France and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Bringing them to life requires a little extra effort. I also loved the opening, that horrible Christmas murder scene, the juxtaposition of joy and anguish, hope and dread, the music playing on a loop… The staccato rhythm of that scene was a new style for me, too. I tend to get a little florid in my descriptions, and I wanted to pare that back to the bones to make the most impact possible. That’s the fun of being a writer, testing out new voices and scenarios. I think it works. 

Q: If you were to write a sequel to You Know Why, what would Brooklyn, Trey, Margot, the kids and Theresa be doing right now?

A: Assuming everyone made it to the end of the book? I would hope the adults would be drinking Bellinis at Harry’s Bar in Venice and the kids riding the vaporetto around the waterways, all of them living happily ever after. We can dream, right?

Q: When You Know Why eventually gets adapted in Hollywood, would you want more A list actors & actresses or new faces or a combination of both to play the characters you created?

A: I love your enthusiasm, thank you! I would love to see this one adapted. I think there’s a rich vein of suspense running through it that would really grab viewers and hold them tight. As far as casting, I am always excited about new faces, especially diverse ones. You need a few A-listers to give it gravitas. There are so many storylines in this book that there’s room for all, even a few character actors! 

About J.T

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels of psychological suspense, including the Lt. Taylor Jackson series, the Dr. Samantha Owens series, and numerous acclaimed standalones. She is the Emmy Award–winning cohost of A Word on Words, the literary television series on PBS. Over a twenty-year career, her work has earned widespread critical recognition, with titles optioned for television and published in thirty countries, and millions of copies in print worldwide. A dedicated voice in the writing community, she also publishes The Creative Edge, a newsletter and blog for writers navigating the craft and business of fiction. She lives with her husband and twin kittens—one of whom is a ghost—in Nashville, Tennessee.