What You Did

Product Information

The reason that this book did not get a five star from me was because I felt that the story line and pacing was a bit too slow. At times it was repetitive and could have been cut down some. This took me much longer to read than a normal thriller would. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of What You Did by Claire McGowan. This thriller kept me guessing, although I did have my suspicions. I just couldn't reconcile the scene with my suspicions, but then it all came together in the end. The last line was particularly chilling! Ireland in the 1990s seemed a safe place for women. With the news dominated by the Troubles, it was easy to ignore non-political murders and sexual violence, to trust that you weren’t going to be dragged into the shadows and killed. But beneath the surface, a far darker reality had taken hold. The author then proceeds to lead her readers on a rather clever, merry dance into the past as we see how the relationships between these 6 ‘friends’ actually started and evolved into what exists today. Between groups of people, especially when men and women are involved, the balance is never equal. There’s always someone who’s weaker and someone else who holds the power – who these people are might differ over time as circumstances change, but it all boils down to who needs something from the others. It’s intriguing to delve into this tangled web and discover where the power lies. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for this arc. I adore Claire McGowan as a human being; I've been to her Masterclasses a few times and she's a brilliant speaker and seems lovely. I wanted to like this book more than I actually did for a number of reasons I'll discuss below.

What ensues is a twisting tale full of secrets and lies as we learn that all the characters have been hiding things, including the children. There is decent character development; you get to know Ali the most, followed by Karen, and understand each individual's personality and motivation as to who they are and why they do what they do.

Advance Praise

It’s the 25th anniversary reunion for the group of 6 that created a bond while in university, a bond that is still strong today. But is it? However, despite it’s promising start and compelling premise, What You Did kind of fizzled out for me. To be honest, the vast majority of the characters are very difficult to like or really empathise with in any way. That is not necessarily a problem, I’ve enjoyed plenty of books with unlikeable characters but in this case it just didn’t work for me. The story took some odd twists and turns which also didn’t totally come off. This thriller had a few twists throughout but I did guess quite early on who was to blame but I couldn't really put it together so it still kept me guessing. I don’t believe that the current ( not past) romance between Ali & Bill was necessary, nor did it add anything of value to the plot. McGowan reveals an Ireland not of leprechauns and craic but of outdated social and sexual mores, where women and their bodies were of secondary importance to perceived propriety and misguided politics―a place of well-buttoned lips and stony silence, inadequate police and paramilitary threat.

It sounded great ... but then the choice of main voice over Pearl Hewitt, for me spoiled the story as I thought she seemed far too old and staid for the character she was portraying. The result was all I could picture was the group of friends who seemed interesting and vibrant and then a much older, stodgy and dull main character. But the exciting and anticipated reunion would not end well as one guest in a drunken stupor, bloody and hysterical, runs in with a claim of rape. By Ali’s husband. But that can’t be. It couldn’t possibly be true. But who is lying? Her husband or her best friend? A novel with a bland plot can often be redeemed by charming characters, or expert prose. Sadly, What You Did can boast neither. McGowan’s style is mostly nondescript, with only the occasional sprinkling of awful to catch your attention. One particularly shoddy excerpt made me laugh aloud:Her unease only deepens after renovations begin, when the builders find sinister dolls hidden in the walls. As Helen digs into the house’s past, she discovers that the previous owner was not only rumoured to be a witch; she was also imprisoned for a brutal triple murder thirty years earlier. I also find it hard to believe that a main character so in tune with her inner feminist could be so naive at her husband’s indiscretions.

The Dead Ground is the second installment in the Paula McGuire book series. It begins from where, The Lost, the first installment had left off from. The protagonist, Paula McGuire is still a forensic psychologist who resides in the small town of Ballyterrin, North Ireland. Paula lives with her father, who is a former policeman, while at the same time she is still chasing the ghost of her mother that has constantly been haunting her. With that said, Paula is an exceedingly likable character, who made lots of mistakes, with Aiden O’Hara, the newspaper owner, and DI-Guy, her boss. However, despite the number of mistakes that Paula has done, she still has work to do, considering the fact that a baby has been snatched from the hospital and everyone is racing against time to locate the missing baby. Apart from having the theme of pregnancy, this book also has the theme of missing babies, which proved to be both compelling and disturbing at the same time. I'm not sure where to start with this one. I feel like I should get a few start for being able to finish it. The protagonist is one of the most unlikable characters I've ever read about in a book. That in and of itself is not the problem - the problem is that I don't think it was the author's intent. As her family and best friend go through the unthinkable, she worries about her beautiful home and her beautiful things, and that's just a start.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." - William Shaw The author creates urgency and keeps up a steady pace as events unfold, secrets are exposed and characters are left reeling from the aftermath, dealing with it in their own troubled methods. From the very beginning of this book I was hooked. It started off so dramatic with the assault on Karen during a weekend get together of long time college friends. You thought you knew who did the assault, but weren’t so sure as the story and characters unfolded. So many different secrets and twists are slowly revealed. And that ending just threw me completely! I certainly didn’t see that ending coming.