Reviews

I Did It For You by Amy Engel

yangelareads's review

slow-paced

2.0

I Did It for You is a riveting mystery and a deep exploration of guilt, loss, and the ways in which a violent murder transforms both the family of the victim and the family of the killer.

It has been fourteen years since Greer Dunning’s older sister, Eliza, was murdered, and Greer’s family has never been the same. And now there has been a similar killing in Greer’s small Kansas hometown, Ludlow, after the execution of the convicted killer. A copycat, according to the authorities, but Greer is convinced there is more to the story. That Eliza’s murderer had help all those years ago.

So Greer returns to Ludlow after more than a decade away, desperate to find answers to the questions that have haunted her for years. Her drive to uncover the truth pushes her to form a bond with the unlikeliest of allies.

I was honestly so excited about this. The premise and about cold stories? I love all of that, but I struggled to engage and finish this one. It was just so slow and boring for a book that is under 300 pages. It also lacked all the elements for a mystery. There was no suspense in the book at all. It really just lacked the usual twists and turns and the overall storyline just fell flat Despite, not engaging with the mystery, but I liked the characters. I really liked the three friends and their friendship. I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately nothing in this book really worked for me. It was a decent read, but it could have been better with more drama in it.

thegirlwiththebookonthecouch's review against another edition

4.0

I am such an Amy Engel fan! I Did It For You is the perfect combination of small town thriller with complicated high school relationships. Greer’s sister Eliza was shot to death alongside her boyfriend Travis 14 years ago. Roy Matthew’s confessed to the murders and was executed soon after. But Greer always had her doubts about his guilt. When another high school couple is shot in her hometown, Greer is pulled back to search for answers she’s always wanted.

Greer’s story is a lyrically woven tale of grief, friendship, family, betrayal and forgiveness.

notlikethebeer's review

5.0

 Despite my (admittedly hard-back) copy of this appearing quite chunky, this was a super quick read - I started and finished it in an evening, both because it was so gripping, and because it was an easy enough read, at least in terms of readability. Unfortunately, I read an unmarked spoiler for the ending of this before I'd barely even started it, and that definitely affected my enjoyment of it :( Having said that, my reflexes were good enough to close the screen before I saw the what/why etc., so I still enjoyed reading it to find out all of those answers. And to be honest, the merit of this book comes almost less from the thriller aspects, and more from the quiet exploration of tragedy. The humanization of all of the characters was really stand-out, particularly within this genre; the balance and nuance with which this was handled was stunning. I really loved the inclusion of Dean, Roy's brother, and looking at how the same tragedy impacted someone you might see as being on the "other side" - the ways he felt - and was held - responsible, yet the ways he too was grieving and hurting and trying to make sense of the wreckage. There's an acknowledgement at the end for the people Amy Engel defended, and the lessons they taught her, and I think that really shone through in the writing. I also really liked the closing sentiment: the anti-climaticness of it, the way that sometimes awful, life-changing atrocities happen, and yet the reasons can be so insignificant. I will absolutely be reading more by Amy Engel.

kojicic's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

shutupiamreading's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Amy Engel is incredible at writing mysteries with a lot of heart. I love how her books are short but always pack an emotional punch. I loved The Familiar Dark slightly more because of the snowy setting, but I Did It For You was great!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, and Murder

tracey78's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

toofondofbooks's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

amyn1021's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

3.0

This was a decent mystery! I liked seeing Greer go back to her small Kansas city hometown from Chicago and grappling with the fallout of her sister Eliza's death from years ago. It was sad how Eliza was killed with her boyfriend in the car and all of the slut shaming that ensued from that. She didn't deserve it, especially since she died in such a brutal way. I never saw the twist coming that it was actually Ryan, Greer's best friend, who orchestrated the whole thing. Ryan was evil. Plain and simple. I can't believe he manipulated Roy just because he wanted Roy and Greer to stop hanging out. Roy was an innocent man in all of this, even though he was the one pulled the trigger. I felt so bad for Dean. All he ever wanted was to protect his brother Roy, but Roy wouldn't budge on telling him who told him to kill Eliza and Travis. I can't believe Ryan did it all again years later killing two innocent teenagers in the same manner of Eliza and Travis just to get Greer to come home because she was miserable in Chicago. Then the way Ryan was delusional and tried to justify it by saying he was making Greer's life better when in reality he was just some weirdo stalker. I can't believe he killed himself in the end, I wanted to see him go through the justice system and pay for his crimes. 

redheadbookgirl's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

Dark, chilling, and immersive, this was definitely more mystery than thriller but was atmospheric and intriguing, as we follow two crimes that may or may not be connected. With the small town setting, super unreliable narrator, and focus around grief, loss and trauma, it was definitely gripping but was just missing something I couldn’t put my finger on.. particularly when I thought back to how much I adored THE ROANOAKE GIRLS by Engel. 

— 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 🦇 

delena404's review

3.75

3.75✨

This is my third book by Amy Engel and probably lands right in the middle in terms of enjoyment. 
It was a quick little weekend read. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be incredibly memorable.