“A brilliant, breathless thriller that kept me guessing to the last shocking page.” —Erin Kelly, Sunday Times bestselling author of He Said/She Said
An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller.
It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful … wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again.
When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying—but which? And why?
When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.
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What would you do it you had to choose between your husband and your best friend — who claims your husband raped her? When six friends college reunite for a weekend party, it is seemingly a chance to relieve their glory days. That is until one of them stumbles in bleeding and traumatized. Ali, the party’s hostess and the book’s central figure makes the impossible choice. Despite her job, which involves advocating for abused women, she sides with her husband. The book goes on from current day to flashback to look at not only the current rape, but a rape/murder that occurred when they were all at college together. I liked many things about the book, and found it tense throughout. What I did not like is that as we got to know the characters better, almost none of them were very likable in the end — including Ali. There were also some “twists” that were actually pretty predictable, and contributed to the general unlikeability of the characters. I will not include them because they may be spoilers for some. All in all, I liked but did not love the book, but am intrigued enough by the writer’s style to try another of her works.
A college reunion doesn’t go exactly as planned. One attendee staggers into the host’s house, bleeding, clothes torn, with an accusation that she was assaulted …. by the host’s husband.
Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? Why would this woman accuse her husband for no reason at all? Who does she trust …her husband.. or her best friend?
All this chaos brings the past to the forefront. There are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.
This psychological thriller wasn’t really a thriller. The suspense never reached a level of … I have GOT to find out what happens next. It started with a bang and then fizzled a bit. None of the characters have any redeeming qualities.
I have read other books by this author and was not disappointed. I’m hoping this one was just an anomaly. I will be happy to read her future books.
WARNING: A sexual assault is mentioned in the first few pages of the book and later goes into detail. This may be a trigger for some women.
Many thanks to the author / Thomas Mercer UK / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological drama. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
This was a tough book to read because of the subject matter and the dark reality of what someone may think or do if in the same situation.
What You Did is a triumph, a gripping story of the secrets and lies that can underpin even the closest friendships. Put some time aside — this is one you’ll want to read in a single sitting.
I absolutely devoured What You Did. Claire McGowan has created the ultimate moral dilemma in this timely and gripping psychological thriller. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
A darkly addictive thriller, packed with secrets and lies, and a twist that knocked me sideways!
I got this as a Kindle First Read, and I’m kind of regretting that decision. It read like a poorly-made soap opera. The main character/POV was Ali Morris, but periodically the POV would switch to the other main characters which was a nice change of pace. That being said, it was a little odd at times depending on which character was the focus and what they were doing. There wasn’t really a character that I particularly enjoyed (Bill was the closest), which was disappointing. Of the main group of friends, they were all not very good people and unfortunately there was no charm about them to make up for it. Ali was like a frazzled hen after the opening events of the book. As far as I could tell, she was supposed to be a media personality and journalist (part-time, I think?), yet she acts like a helpless housewife from a much earlier decade than 2018. I did like the flashbacks back to their university days, but while it did provide a fuller picture of what was going on, it didn’t help the mess that was the present day. The ending, especially the last POV of the epilogue was actually decent and had me rethinking through character choices and reactions earlier in the book. It wasn’t enough to really change my opinion of the book, but it was a good thought-provoking way to end the story.
What to do, who to believe? Ali’s best friend is raped in her garden during a college reunion and she says it’s your husband. But it can’t be, can it? There are lies and layers of lies to be unraveled in this fascinating domestic suspenser. This one hooked me from the very beginning and kept me enthralled all the way through!
A brilliant, breathless thriller that kept me guessing to the last shocking page…
Utterly compulsive. It’s the way that McGowan makes you realize that the real horror can come from the people you hold closest that makes this totally compelling.
Hitting the rare sweet spot between a satisfying read and a real page turner, this brilliantly written book deserves to fly high.
/ 5
What You Did by Claire McGowan is the ultimate page-turner that will keep you glued to the pages until the very last word. It is also not going to be for the faint of heart (see triggers for rape).
What it’s about: Ali decides to put together a reunion with her friends from university after twenty years. The six of them meet at Ali’s home where she lives with her college boyfriend turned husband, and their two kids – Cassie and Benjamin. But what is supposed to be a fun reunion turns into a nightmare when Ali’s best friend Karen stumbles inside from the garden saying Ali’s husband Mike just sexually assaulted her. Mike claims it didn’t happen, but Karen is sure it did. Ali doesn’t know who to believe, and after things from their past start coming to light, things will never be the same again.
I really, thoroughly enjoyed What You Did and I didn’t want to put it down. The chapters were all pretty short, and that combined with different character viewpoints really kept me guessing and speeding through it. I really didn’t like Mike, especially as the book goes on, but I found myself liking Ali a lot, even as she does things that are really dumb. I don’t know what I would do if my husband were accused of sexual assault, but I would like to think that I would still believe my best friend if she said he did it. In other words, this book is really makes you think.
What You Did felt like it had a little bit of everything and wasn’t strictly just about sexual assault even though that was definitely a main theme. There is also a murder mystery aspect, and I really had no idea what was going to happen. McGowan manages to make you doubt every person in the book, and completely kept me guessing. I felt like there was something going on throughout the entire book which also made it a fast read for me. The end managed to give me chills because it was so unexpected and that is something I love in a book.
Song/s the book brought to mind: Criminal by ZZ Ward.
Final Thought: I wasn’t really sure what to expect from What You Did, but I am so glad I read it. It looks like the reviews for this one are all over the place so I’m glad I liked it as much as I did. There wasn’t really anything wrong with it at all, and I really enjoyed McGowan’s writing style. Reading this makes me want to read more from her ASAP!
Thank you to Damppebbles Blog Tours and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book!