A review by momobookdiary
You Shouldn't Have Done That by Liz Alterman

5.0

Dark, Twisted, and Utterly Addictive!

You Shouldn’t Have Done That is the kind of thriller that sinks its claws into you and doesn’t let go. I flew through the pages, desperate to uncover the truth, only to find myself second-guessing everything. The tension is relentless, the secrets are endless, and the shifting loyalties make for an absolutely gripping read. 

 

The Whitakers—Jane, Wade, Cal, and Emerson—and the Chapmans—Ivy, Greg, Brad, and Max—have been close for years, ever since Jane and Ivy met when their sons started preschool together. That moment set the path for the future, intertwining their families in ways that went far beyond playdates and school events. Over the years, they vacationed together, celebrated milestones together, and remained part of each other’s daily lives. But when Cal goes missing after a ski trip gone wrong, everything changes. Suspicion takes hold, and both families find themselves on opposite sides of an unthinkable situation. 

 

Brad and Cal had been skiing together when Brad was injured on the slopes—an old injury flaring up and leaving him stranded, in pain, and needing medical assistance. But Cal didn’t stop to help. Instead, he left Brad behind and carried on his way. Later, when Brad made it home after receiving treatment, he assumed Cal had simply gone off on his own—as he often did. But this time, Cal never returned. And when the police get involved, all eyes turn to Brad. 

 

And then there’s Jane. Jane. She is that character. The one who thinks she’s better than everyone else (she’s not), who puts on a show of perfection while everyone around her sees through it, who acts like she’s in control of everything but has no idea how others really see her. She’s spent years looking down on Ivy, but she’s also spent years shaping Cal into someone who believes he’s untouchable. And as the story unfolds, the consequences of that become impossible to ignore. 

 

The real brilliance of this book is how it slowly peels back the layers of these families, revealing the cracks that have been there all along. Loyalties shift, friendships crumble, and every character is forced to confront truths they’d rather keep buried. Just when you think you know where things are heading, the story twists, leaving you questioning everything. The psychological tension is unbelievable, and the way the author explores privilege, perception, and how far people will go to protect their own is masterful. 

 

This is everything I love in a psychological thriller: messy relationships, deep-rooted tension, morally grey characters, and a story that keeps you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page. A dark, twisted, and utterly unputdownable read—I loved it!