Crystal Love is intelligent, devious, scheming, and fights any inklings of empathy or guilt that might pop into her head for the misfortune of others, whether she caused that misfortune directly or as collateral damage. Crystal is a large overweight woman and this fact is always in Crystal's mind, coloring how she views herself and how she knows others view her. The setting of Santa Barbara plays a part in how Crystal views herself because she is among the rich, whose view of others demands that one is the trimmest, best dressed, perfectly fake woman, that money can buy.

Then there is Kathi Wright, who is one of those rich, fake, "perfect" people, until her bank president husband dies and all those trappings fall to the ground and leave her with frozen assets and the FBI on her doorsteps, demanding information about the fraud that her husband had conducted against the bank and other people. Kathy has always hid behind her husband and his controlling demands and had no idea of the state of their financial affairs. While everyone she's known drops or shuns her because she no longer fits their perfectly fake lives, Kathi is bewildered that the life she thought she was living is even faker than she ever imagined.

The book is told in alternating viewpoints of Crystal and Kathi with timelines that finally diverge at the end of the book. As we read Kathi's "now" timeline, we start with Crystal's timeline at about a year before Kathi's starts. This allows us to slowly learn how Crystal has engineered the events that lead Kathi to be under the eye of the FBI and without her husband and former trappings.

I could not relate to either woman and it was impossible for me to take a side. Neither woman has many redeeming qualities, especially qualities that really matter in life, such as kindness and concern for other's well-being. But still, it was interesting to watch as two timelines make their way towards each other so we can see what Crystal has done to Kathi Wright and her husband, and why she did those things.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley & Thomas and Mercer for the ARC. Another book in the world of finance where a woman with some fat on her body is considered lower than people with black souls. From the get go, I did not enjoy this book. Not only did it take place in finance (which I can’t stand - not the author’s fault, I just detest my job in finance, why would I want to escape into it?), but the characters were unlovable and one dimensional. I am hoping that I was unable to connect with this world and these characters and feel anything but bored and annoyed just because I was blinded by the banking and its lingo - which is not what I want to read about outside of work. I was very underwhelmed.

CATHARINE RIGGS first novel , What She Gave Away , is a very promising Beginning for a new novelist. I really enjoyed this suspenseful book.

What She Gave Away follows two main characters, Kathi and Crystal in two different timelines that eventually collide in a shocking twist. Both women's storylines revolve around Kathi's husband Richard, a prominent member of the bank. Upon his death, the authorities begin investigating Rich and his dealings at the bank where Crystal worked.

Neither of these women were likeable at all, Kathi was whiney, gullible and weak whilst Crystal was evil, manipulating and had no remorse for her actions and the repercussions they had caused. None of the side characters were particularly heartwarming either and the more we learnt about the majority of the cast, the more reasons we had to dislike them, however, this is not a criticism of the novel as I felt that this added the necessary dimensions to the characters to suit the story arc it was taking. This was a bit of a slower read, but it maintained my interest throughout and I would recommend this to both newbies to the genre and veterans as it would appeal to all audiences.

I enjoyed this book, it kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen. The ending blew me away. I definitely recommend

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this story ok, it started slow but ended strong. The story is told through the two main characters view points in separate years. The main characters are so different it made it made it easy to keep their stories apart. Both frustrating in their own ways, but not completely unlikeable or unrelatable as some other reviewers stated.

This is a light easy thriller. The length was good, there is a twist in the story, that after reading seemed obvious but I did not see coming. Well written, with good descriptions which made some of the parts absolutely heart breaking to read.

My favorite characters were Mimi and the cat. I did think they the ending was safe, but I found it an acceptable ending to this thriller. Overall it was pretty good, not my favorite read this summer, but definitely not the worst.

New debut book, which is exciting IF you love it, and can look forward to more books by a new author. The great news is, I loved it, and look forward to the next book. I enjoyed the suspense and the many twists and turns that kept me reading when I should have been sleeping! Characters were intriguing and interesting, the storyline kept me guessing right up until the end.

In my opinion, "What She Gave Away" by Catharine Riggs is a mild psychological thriller. This story is packed full of murder, suicide, banking fraud and even more lies and manipulation. But who is at fault or is it just a series of unfortunate tragic events? The main characters, Crystal and Kathi, are both unreliable narrators which slightly complicates matters.

Crystal is an intelligent, conniving banker who seems to leave a trail of destruction behind her. Her actions are motivated by an underlying hate for everyone she comes in contact with. Crystal quietly plays a psychological game of "whats the worst that can happen" to anyone that might upset her. Often Crystal will manipulate circumstances resulting in harm to those around her.

Kathi is a naive trophy wife who drinks so much that she doesn't even know how to formulate her own opinions much of the time. She struggles to survive and conform to society's expectations of her. In the midst of complete financial disaster Kathi strives to keep some sense of normality in the life she has created. Her world is slowly collapsing around her and she has no idea how to help herself or who to trust.

The main conflict in the story is manipulated by Crystal's actions. She is the catalyst behind everything that happens. Psychologically traumatized during her childhood, Crystal just wants to internally rage and secretly plot to destroy the lives around her. As the story progresses, Crystal gets more and more brave and her actions cause more and more harm. Add in a probation officer who has connected a few dots and is keen on investigating suspicious suicides and you have a story!

What are my overall impressions? I think the writing style is on point despite other reviewers complaints about the alternating point of view. That being said, I would have liked to know more about what Kathi was actually thinking. The novel has a first person point of view for Kathi but yet she doesn't even seem to have an opinion much of the time so I found it hard to connect with her character. The length of the novel was appropriate and didn't seem too lengthy. Crystal was sneaky and manipulative, but she could have come across as being more paranoid; she was too confident.

My two big criticisms of the novel are the suspense and the conclusion. There wasn't enough drama and suspense for me to really say it was a huge thriller. It was more on point with say a John Grisham novel than of a nail bitting thriller.

Secondly, the conclusion was too lengthy and tidy for me. I would have omitted the Epilogue completely and just wrapped up the novel without it. And why jump to 2020? Without giving away the ending, why tie things up so neatly? Leave something for the imagination or unknown and don't give us a happy, we are all friends ending to a story starring two characters who are morally corrupt and have a distorted sense of reality.

If thrillers are your thing, I say give it a chance! I enjoyed reading <b>What She Gave Away</b> by Catharine Riggs and if it were not for the ending and a bit more suspense, I would have given it 5 out of 5.

I also want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the chance to read and review the Kindle copy of this book.

What She Gave Away was a very well written novel. However, it was very difficult for me to enjoy as it was written in alternating first person view.

I always enjoy psychological thrillers and the excerpt made me want to read this immediately. I was not drawn or attached to any characters in the entire story and finished it out of habit.

I do think that this was well written in terms of writing, but not my most favorite read. I will give this book 3 stars for the writing and the idea

The synopsis of this book, firmly in the psychological thriller genre, drew me in immediately. Riggs did a fantastic job with character development. Crystal's background provided excellent motivation for her manipulation, while it was clear that the nature of Kathi's marriage shaped her future. Peppering Kathi's journal entries throughout the book was an excellent way of building suspense and an extended reveal.

I wish that more risks had been taken by Crystal. Her manipulation could have been taken up several notches, garnering far more shock and excitement. Still, she was a character I loved to hate. On the other hand, I truly wish Kathi wasn't quite so simpering and pathetic. True, her journal entries were pivotal, yet they painted a picture of a woman who was no simply repressed for years, but one with zero insight or personal growth. Her final entries as a grown woman read like the uncertain ramblings of a preteen.

The story was wrapped up in far too neat a package for my liking. I felt that the final chapter, with a happily ever after, belonged in a completely different book.

All in all, it was a quick, twisty thriller.

Excellent book.. Fast paced and easy to follow for the most part as the story is told from two points of view but the two narrators are worlds apart in personality so their tales are easy to keep separate.
The ending was maybe a little too pat but in honesty, I still highly recommend to anyone who likes a suspenseful story where the bad guy is fed some justice.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.