Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

9 reviews

candaaaace's review against another edition

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

4.0

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garbitch_baby's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Reflective of complicated family dynamics and how that plays out when not everyone has the same information
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kareimer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.25

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juanat77's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

What Have You Done? By Shari Lapena 

This was a fast paced whodunnit thriller set in a small town with multiple POVs including the victim’s. Short chapters made you want to continue on and on.  The author’s engaging writing style held my interest throughout the story. Though I guessed “whodunnit” early on, Lapena threw in twists that threw me off the path a couple times. 

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys fast paced, easy, suspenseful, intense thrillers with a whodunnit vibe. 

#sharilapena #whathaveyoudone #pameladormanbooks
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enbylibrarian's review against another edition

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2.0

Didn't wow me but I didn't necessarily hate it. I could tell who the killer was about 1/4 of the way in. 

I enjoyed the dead girl ghost aspect. Wish that would've been explored more. I love an Ouija scene!
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javafenn's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

I sped through this because I HAD to know. The twist was kind of predictable but mostly because I’ve read most of her books so it’s pretty common for someone unsuspecting to be the killer/bad guy but I was thinking it was a different person mostly because the others were too obvious. It’s too difficult to say much more but it was pretty good! I liked the ghost Diana aspect, that was new!
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shesflippinpages's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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amalauna's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-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? No

4.0

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bibliomania_express's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena is a small town murder mystery that explores secrets, grief, and what lurks beneath the surface of people and places. Sixteen year old Diana Brewer is found murdered, sending her small town of Fairhill, Vermont into a frenzy of fear. Who killed Diana, and why? As Diana's ghost watches, we follow her mother, friends, teachers, and potential murderers. Fact and fiction are challenged, as Lapena shows how stories are shaped, voices are silenced, and everything comes down to the choices we make about who to believe. 

This is a great book with gripping prose, a fast-paced plot, and so many nuances I was trying to track the ways Lapena might be bluffing or double-bluffing based on the expectations of thriller readers. I'll admit, I haven't read too many thrillers in a while, but this one reminded me of why I'll pick them up. I didn't guess the killer, but I saw all the details that Lapena planted once the culprit was revealed. 

This really is a thriller that makes you think about the characters. There are so many people trying their best, and so many awful people making bad choices, that Lapena makes it difficult to suss out the actual murderer. The ghost aspect added a paranormal element that really didn't affect the plot, but had some significance. 

I would enter this one with care. Besides an on-page description of the murder from the murderer's POV, this book also deals with pedophilia, sexual harrassment, sexual assault (not rape), and the failure of authority figures to protect girls from predators. 

If I have one small critique, it's that I found the number of unlocked doors and cars very unbelievable, even for a small town, especially in this day and age. 
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