"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞."

Shari LaPena is back with another overall solid domestic suspense novel.

LaPena’s skill at creating a story surrounding small-town secrets is on display in her latest. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, especially at the beginning, partly because of all the connections to popular girl Diana, the victim at the heart of the town and story; this really highlights the small-town nature where everyone is connected and knows of each other. One of my favourite things LaPena does in her multi-character books is have them all experience a moment (like a breaking news story) at the same time from their different points of view; it feels very cinematic and I can easily see it playing out on the screen. Riley and Evan, two of Diana’s best friends, were two of my favourite characters; both seem loyal to Diana (and in turn, each other) but also make hasty decisions like teenagers do. LaPena captures that teenage essence well, without it coming across as petulant or annoying to read. Her skill at dialogue continues to shine here The short chapters make it an easy read, even if the pacing is designed to be a slow burn. The final reveal was pretty obvious, and felt rushed with not enough detail for the motive to feel fully satisfying.

What Have You Done isn’t LaPena’s strongest work, but is still an enjoyable suburban drama that has me looking forward to her next. Thank you to DoubleDay Canada, and NetGalley for the ARC!

i LOVE shari lapena but this was mid. i knew who the killer was in the first 1/4. the storyline with ghosts was interesting but it still didn't save the book.