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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
'What you did' is a tale of six old college friends who get together after a long while. They are in their 40s, and the story begins on the night of this reunion. It involves a crime, and in the rest of the book, the protagonist tries to understand the how, the why, and the who.
There are some flashbacks that connect to the current story, but I think, they are not wholesome enough. The characters are not peeled out enough.
On the whole, I understand what the writer has tried to do, but while I was reading it, I felt that something was always missing. It was a quick read for me.
There are some flashbacks that connect to the current story, but I think, they are not wholesome enough. The characters are not peeled out enough.
On the whole, I understand what the writer has tried to do, but while I was reading it, I felt that something was always missing. It was a quick read for me.
Just meh. I found myself scanning through pages at a time waiting for something of substance to happen. It’s an interesting premise, and I think it could’ve been explored in a much better way. That said, I did finish it and the final twists truly surprised me.
Kindle - Amazon first reads
Kindle - Amazon first reads
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What would you do if your Best Friend is viciously assaulted and your Husband is the one accused of doing it? Who would you trust? Who do you support? What lengths would you go to protect the life your have as it falls apart around you?
Claire McGowan does a phenomenal job of emersing you so deeply into the story that it will for you to ask yourself the most uncomfortable and complicated questions. How would I react?
But such as in life, what appears to be black and white on the surface is never truly the case. There's always secrets hidden so deeply that by the time they finally surface no one's life will ever be the same.
This novel was so well written and will stay with me for days wondering how differently it all could have turned out.
Claire McGowan does a phenomenal job of emersing you so deeply into the story that it will for you to ask yourself the most uncomfortable and complicated questions. How would I react?
But such as in life, what appears to be black and white on the surface is never truly the case. There's always secrets hidden so deeply that by the time they finally surface no one's life will ever be the same.
This novel was so well written and will stay with me for days wondering how differently it all could have turned out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Infertility, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Alcohol
Hoo, boy! Talk about a book you can’t put down!
Six university friends meet up for a reunion after twenty years. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before in another book review but it bears repeating : reunions are bad! Nothing ever goes the way you think it will. We’re not just talking about people changing, having nothing in common anymore, petty jealousies and the like. Oh no, this reunion right here is a total disaster!
It all starts when Karen staggers in from the garden, traumatised and bleeding, saying she’s been raped. Bad enough. But Karen claims her attacker is none other than her best friend Ali’s husband, Mike. Who should Karen believe? Her best friend who’s always been there for her? Or her husband who’s given her more than she ever could have imagined?
I rather quickly came up with a theory but I was left to second-guess myself at every turn throughout the story. It didn’t help that I didn’t particularly liked Karen and was unsure whether I could trust her version of events. That seemed rather apt though, considering Ali’s standpoint. She works for a Women’s Refuge, has experience in the field of domestic abuse and dealing with rape victims and yet, it was fascinating to see her doubts, to see her almost go against everything she stands for because things are just so different when they involve people you know and love.
To get a feel for the dynamics in these friendships, we are also taken back to the nineties, when the six friends were at university. But there are darker memories, things that suddenly look rather different now and an accumulation of bad decisions that may just come back to haunt Ali and her friends.
Full of secrets, lies and deceit, my loyalties kept shifting. It’s just impossible to determine which one of these friends can be trusted. From the very first page, What You Did is extremely addictive and utterly compelling. Claire McGowan has delivered a truly clever plot and a fantastic page turner. This is definitely one to read in one glorious sitting, if you can! And just when you think it’s all over, there’s a delightful little sting in its tail. This is often such a tricky genre but I think Claire McGowan nailed it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to read more by her!
Six university friends meet up for a reunion after twenty years. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before in another book review but it bears repeating : reunions are bad! Nothing ever goes the way you think it will. We’re not just talking about people changing, having nothing in common anymore, petty jealousies and the like. Oh no, this reunion right here is a total disaster!
It all starts when Karen staggers in from the garden, traumatised and bleeding, saying she’s been raped. Bad enough. But Karen claims her attacker is none other than her best friend Ali’s husband, Mike. Who should Karen believe? Her best friend who’s always been there for her? Or her husband who’s given her more than she ever could have imagined?
I rather quickly came up with a theory but I was left to second-guess myself at every turn throughout the story. It didn’t help that I didn’t particularly liked Karen and was unsure whether I could trust her version of events. That seemed rather apt though, considering Ali’s standpoint. She works for a Women’s Refuge, has experience in the field of domestic abuse and dealing with rape victims and yet, it was fascinating to see her doubts, to see her almost go against everything she stands for because things are just so different when they involve people you know and love.
To get a feel for the dynamics in these friendships, we are also taken back to the nineties, when the six friends were at university. But there are darker memories, things that suddenly look rather different now and an accumulation of bad decisions that may just come back to haunt Ali and her friends.
Full of secrets, lies and deceit, my loyalties kept shifting. It’s just impossible to determine which one of these friends can be trusted. From the very first page, What You Did is extremely addictive and utterly compelling. Claire McGowan has delivered a truly clever plot and a fantastic page turner. This is definitely one to read in one glorious sitting, if you can! And just when you think it’s all over, there’s a delightful little sting in its tail. This is often such a tricky genre but I think Claire McGowan nailed it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to read more by her!
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Finished reading: August 4th 2019
"We always think we want to know secrets, but what we forget it that they come with their own weights, heavy as millstones, and if you aren't careful this weight can crush you."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
After being bombarded by positive reviews during the respective blog tour, I just couldn't help giving in and request a copy when I saw it on Netgalley... There is no doubt that the premise of What You Did sounds absolutely intriguing and I couldn't resist picking up this story almost immediately. And while I ended up having mixed thoughts myself, I can also see why others have a more positive reaction to this story.
It's all in the characters. What You Did fits the definition of a slower paced and character driven psychological thriller perfectly, and this means that your reaction to the different main characters as a reader is fundamental and directly linked to your experience with a book. Sadly, it wasn't ment to be between the main characters of What You Did and me. Out of all the main characters, I think the only one I actually liked was Bill, and I still wanted to hit him for certain actions and basically for having no backbone. The other characters... Sigh. Where do I even begin? I don't want to give away too much to avoid spoilers, but let's just say it involves things like a love triangle, lying to someone for twenty five years, abusing the trust of someone close to you, forgiving someone even though they don't deserve it at all... I could go on and on, but I don't want to spoil the fun. Ali was so so frustratingly ignorant and stupid and I basically wanted to shout at her to get a grip and open her eyes already. I don't think her actions and reactions were natural at all and she managed to frustrate me A LOT. Likewise, Karen, Mike and Callum were basically disgusting and I really didn't care about what was happening to their characters as they were unable to raise sympathy at all. I know some of them were ment to be unlikeable, but still... My feelings of frustration prevented me from enjoying this story as much as I thought I would.
As for the plot... At first I liked the idea of six university friends meeting again after twenty five years during a reunion. These situations always make for an interesting backdrop and gives the story a lot of posibilities; both by introducing possible flashbacks and character development and growth in general. What You Did gives us both, but not to the degree I would have liked to see... The flashbacks to the events of their final ball of the final university year, 1993, felt rather rushed and I would have liked more background and development here. I guess the main focus of this story is on the present and what happens during their reunion... I wasn't sure up to what point certain aspects of the plot were completely credible though, and I did see some twists coming quite early on, but as a whole I guess the plot was entertaining enough if you enjoy slower paced stories with a few bursts of suspense.
The writing itself is engaging enough and made it quite easy to keep turning the pages despite my reaction to the characters. These were my personal feelings about said characters though, and if you can stomach unlikeable characters and enjoy a good character driven psychological thriller that packs a punch, you might consider adding What You Did to your wishlist.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
Kept me guessing
This book started out as somewhat angsty and boring at first, but then picked up quickly.
It was interesting in they way that it demonstrated how quick we are in so many situations to blame women for the bad behavior of men.
Probably had about five too many plot twists for plausibility, and I thought the Jodi character was far too underdeveloped, but it was a good beach read.
This book started out as somewhat angsty and boring at first, but then picked up quickly.
It was interesting in they way that it demonstrated how quick we are in so many situations to blame women for the bad behavior of men.
Probably had about five too many plot twists for plausibility, and I thought the Jodi character was far too underdeveloped, but it was a good beach read.
The writing was fine and I was intrigued because the characters are close to my age but the “twist” was so obvious that I thought it had to just be a red herring but nope, it was what I saw coming all along. If you need a decently written thriller, this isn’t bad but don’t prepare to be surprised.