A review by sophiareads_
The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings: violence, death, child abuse (neglect), suicide (mentioned) 
 
This was SUCH an intense read (in a good way!) This novel felt to me like a mix of Donna Tartt's The Secret History and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl - a captivating thriller which feels like a car crash you can't take your eyes off. 
 
Clare leaves her grandmother's home in Hull to attend the University of Edinburgh, where she falls in with a clique of wealthier students, led my the charismatic and commanding Tabitha. Tabitha's attention and the place Clare finds in this cohort are enticing and addictive, but it doesn't take long before Clare's new beginning in Edinburgh begins to take on sinister undertones. 
 
I expected this to be more dark academia than it was - the university setting and The Secret History-esque clique of unhinged rich kids kinda do that to you, but I think that expectation set me up for wanting more in depth themes than this thriller really has to offer, so at first it felt a little shallow to me. However, as soon as I realised this novel was much more of a pure thriller (with just a hint of dark academia making this a good start-of-autumn read) I really enjoyed it. It's well paced and easy to read - reveals are satisfying and surprising. I'm notoriously picky about thrillers, but this one was really excellent. I could really feel the building unease as the story unfolded, and even in the slower moments, plot-wise, the twisted relationships between our main characters had me fascinated. Overall, it was just a really enjoyable reading experience. 
 
Where I have to get picky is with the fact that this book is set in my country (it's REALLY hard not to get picky about that, I find). The novel totally plays into the reputation the University of Edinburgh has among Scots - full of spoilt rich English and American kids - which I found kinda funny. I know it's so petty, but Clare's scathing description of ceilidhs (which are AMAZING, by the way) lost her any sort of sympathy she might have gotten from me as a reader. Luckily, Clare is not a character you are supposed to like, so this didn't ruin the book for me. My only other gripe - Shetland was repeatedly called 'the Shetlands'? Is that a thing? I've literally never heard that before, it's just Shetland. 
 
I managed to get over my petty gripes as a Scot reading a book set in Scotland by a non-Scottish author though, I swear. This was a great debut novel, I really did enjoy it - definitely a rec for the thriller girlies! 
 
Thank you to NetGalley, Heather Darwent, and Bantam for the ARC of this novel. 
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