I didn’t dislike this book, but there were no likable characters which made it extremely difficult to care or empathize with any of the major players in the story.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44107392

This story centres around the 25 year reunion of six college/university friends, two teenagers and a 10 year old child.

The night starts well with a meal, reminiscing about old times but as the drinks start to flow half of the party can't keep up the pace and retire to bed.

Several hours later, in the early hours, Karen comes running in, screaming that she's been attacked by Ali's husband, Mike. The irony is that Ali volunteers at a women's shelter, advocating for women who are sexually and physically abused. Who will Ali stick by, her husband, or her best friend Karen? Will she go against her own beliefs?

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.

What really went on in the garden that night and will their lives ever be the same.

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.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book although I'm not sure that I really warmed to the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in return for an honest review.

A big Thank you to @amazonpublishing, Thomas & Mercer, & Netgalley for sending me this e-book for my honest review! My first "ARC." :)

Tiny Synopsis: Ali Morris has her friends from her Oxford Uni days visit for the weekend to catch up after for a reunion. It seems Ali has the most charmed life with the amazing successful husband, 2 great kids, beautiful home, and a respectable job helping women in need. However it all comes crumbling down when her best friend, Karen, accuses Ali's husband Mike of the most unthinkable crime: rape. It all spirals down from there as Ali has to grapple with trusting the word of her husband or her own best friend. This also brings up other aspects of their past at Oxford and the mysterious death of their friend whilst in college.

Review: 3.5 /5

What a gripping page-turner of a book! I was going back and forth on who and what really happened at college when their friend Martha was murdered. As I kept reading, I thought I had it all figured out who did what. I was SO wrong. This book just has you guessing every chapter. My gripe is that I did not like the multiple perspectives because it made the tone of the story a bit inconsistent - from Benji (10 years old) to Ali then to Karen again then back to Ali. I felt it would have been stronger with just Ali's POV to be honest. Also, I really did not care for some of these characters and possible that the author did this purposefully to make everyone feel like a suspect. Her husband and her friend: I almost wanted to scream to Ali to leave them both as she deserved so much better than what these 2 were doing to her throughout the story. It's a fast read, entertaining, and great for mystery/crime fiction lovers like me.

I thought the book was well written, however a lot of it seemed repetitive and overdrawn. I felt like yelling at Ali at multiple points in the book. She came from an abusive home and saw her husband, Michael, as a way to move beyond this and she was completely oblivious to him and his actions. She could not see beyond her own needs, although this is something she ditched a relationship with her mom over. She is looking for someone to take care of her needs in the middle of the tragedy. I felt she came across as whiny and needy when she needed to be strong and woke. I would like to see what else this author can write, as this just did not really reach me as a reader.

Thank you Amazon and Net Galley for an early release of this book. Verrrrry consuming, I really liked it. Each chapter something else was revealed. This book drew me in from the beginning and kept me there. A very good read.

Can't really rate this above ok,mainly as there doesn't seem to be a likeable character in the whole thing... I'm even discounting Bill for being pathetic.
A story of friends who don't really like each other it would seem... or if they Do,they have a funny way of showing it.
Fairly predictable up to the last page.
That gave it a nice twist.

Got pulled in right from the very first paragraph. This story shows that you don’t always know people, even your own spouse, as well as you think you do. Mike, Ali’s husband is accused of raping a mutual friend between them during a party in which all of their college friends are present. Now that he is sitting in a jail cell being interrogated, Ali tries to get to the bottom of exactly what happened between her friend Karen and her husband. The story takes a very serious turn almost immediately after all of this happens with another violent crime and I have to admit that completely floored me. Once the family skeletons start tumbling out of the closet it’s a fast ride from here on out! I kind of saw the revelation, the big one, coming near the middle but it was still kind of unbelievable even though I’d gotten the sense that this is what had occurred. Towards the end of the book, just when I thought I knew everything a new suspect pops up, at least in MY mind. This throws everything into a spin for me as multiple people began to appear guilty of the crime. Not to mention a previous crime which had occurred back when all the characters were in college in 1993. About 90% into the book the story shifts again and brings yet another suspect to light! I feel that the author did a really good job at casting suspicion around to the different people in Ali’s social circle. At this point I really had no idea who committed this crime now or the crime that happened back in 1993. The suspense element is definitely there because now I’m itching to know who did this. So by the end of the book I’m completely blown away by all that has transpired. All in all I felt this was a really good book, and even after the people that committed the crimes were found out there were even further surprises right at the very end of the book that completely caught me off guard. What a story! I would definitely read something else by this author.

Holy smokes! This book had a lot of twists and turns. It did get a bit tedious and dragged at times, but WOW.
Six friends get together for a reunion of sorts. The night is filled with laughter and drinking. Several hours later, in the dead of night, Karen comes running in, screaming that she'd been raped by her friend Mike, Ali's husband. In a bit of irony, Ali volunteers at a women's shelter, advocating for women who are sexually and physically abused. Does Ali stick by her husband, or her best friend Karen?

What ensues is a twisting tale of previous misdeeds as we learn that all the characters have their secrets-including the children.

This novel was wonderfully written, delving deep into the characters lives. A definite page turner to add to your collection.

This was an excellent book which starts out quite simply with a reunion of university friends from Oxford but this quickly spirals out of control with the assault and rape of one of the party. This was story telling and writing at its best as it delves deeper and deeper into those early heady days as wayward students 25 years ago. Just before reading this I read the latest book by Nicci French, The Lying Room, which starts out in a slightly similar vein but nowhere hits the highs and lows of this book, this over shadowed it by miles. Just when you thought the mystery was solved another variable appeared, on and on until you thought you knew everything there was to know about each of the close friends. Right until the last moment, new revelations that shocked and surprised appeared again and again.about those in the frame for Karen's assault and also the truth about Jodie's baby and her marriage not forgetting, the death of the haunting and beautiful Martha. Wound further into this is Mike's ultimate betrayal regarding Jake and the woes of being a teenager in today's social media challenged society where girls are badgered into having sex. . A brilliant read I highly recommend. Loved the character of Bill so much.

This was such a good book. Could not put it down when I started reading it. The way the characters inter-twine with each other and work off of each other is magic. I really enjoyed this book and hope she has more soon.

I really enjoyed this book but found some of the characters difficult to connect with. Some good twists but not sure the overall premise is believable. Well written and compelling enough to read to end but the finale was a bit of a let down.

I really love books like this one. Reunion of friends and lots of secrets and mystery. This book was so good that I read it in one night. I couldn't put it down. Great characters and great story.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The twenty five year reunion of six uni friends ends in rape, one of them charged with the crime and another betrayed. Recent events force memories of a tragic accident to resurface leaving them to doubt each other and themselves. How many of them will lie to keep the life they always wanted and how far will they go to achieve that?
At times like this everything valued seems meaningless and you become stranger to yourself.
This is the sort of book you wont want to put down even to write a few words for a review. I found most of the characters unreliable, couldnt warm to any of them and even felt annoyed by one or two. Far from putting me off it just seemed to add to my enjoyment. I guess there isn’t any rule to say we HAVE to live the characters and I suspected this might have been a deliberate act by the writer. Also at times I could feel the emotional undercurrents between them. It also made me think how tragedy can draw people closer or fracture their relationships forever.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Wow what a great book! This started with a reunion of six college friends who had not seen each other in twenty-five years. The party started out fine but things quickly went awry. Ali the main character was naive and didn't have a clue about so much that had been happening right under her nose for years. It seems everyone has something to hide! The author did a great job of creating scenarios to through us off track about who the real culprit was. I was very surprised to the very last page which ,to me, is the definition of a great read.
I definitely recommend this one .It is five stars for me.

"What You Did" by Claire McGowan follows the story of a group of university friends who are reuniting after 20 years. University boyfriend and girlfriend and now well-off married couple Ali and Mike are hosting the reunion dinner in the beautiful family home they share with their son and daughter and Ali can't wait to show off her perfect life to her old friends - particularly her one-time best friend Karen.
Following a night filled with food, drink and reminiscing Ali retires to bed leaving several of the guests to carry on the party but wakes during the night to discover Karen bleeding and hysterical and making a shocking accusation of rape against Mike. Mike vehemently denies this accusation and Ali's perfect life is suddenly blown apart and she finds herself torn between her husband and her best friend.
I absolutely loved this book and found myself completely engrossed. I particularly enjoyed the flashbacks to the groups' university days which delved into the relationships in more detail and the tragic death of a fellow student.
I found it impossible to guess at the ending as there are many twists, turns and red herrings along the way and the writing style absolutely flowed for me.
This was a 5 star read for me and huge thanks to Netgalley, publishers and the author for the review copy - a thoroughly brilliant read!

“What You Did” by Claire McGowan

What’s it about: University friends get together for a reunion and chaos ensues. The main character named Ali is shocked to learn that her husband is accused of sexually-assaulting her best friend. She tries to discover the shocking truth about what really happened.

What I liked about this book: This book has two narratives-the current situation and the backstory about the characters when they attended university. This split narrative is interesting and gives insights into the characters. I also liked that the book has some commentary about class and what it means to believe victims of assault.

What I disliked: The book starts off strong and gets slow in the middle. It picks up in the ending but overall the ending was rather average. I also found some of the characters one-dimensional. Some people found the main character unlikeable, but I didn’t.

Overall impression: 3/5 stars it wasn’t bad but not overly good. There are some amazing thrillers out there and this is middle of the road.

This is the first book I've read by Claire McGowan and I found it a gripping read. I would give it 4.5/5 stars. It takes you back to time at University and how decisions made amid youth and alcohol and lust can stay with you forever, even when you think it's far behind you. The book moves between 1993 and present day and gradually the secrets are revealed. The ending was a real twist and left me with a strong dislike for two of the characters I hadn't given much thought to! I will definitely be looking out for other books by this author.

Ali and her husband Mike are having an anniversary party with their old university friends. They are celebrating knowing them for 25 years, staying up late drinking and reminiscing about the past. They are awoken by Karen who is Ali’s best friend crying that she was raped by Mike.

Ali is stuck between a rock and a hard place as she wants to believe her husband is innocent but why would her friend lie?

The story goes back to when all the friends met at Oxford University, leading up to the ball where a tragedy occurs and secrets are kept.

The reunion party is told from different people’s prospectives and you come to realise their friendship is woven together with lies and secrets, just like Pandora’s box being opened, once these secrets are revealed the consequence can be fatal!!

Although this book deals with the subject of rape I thought it was written in a sensitive way. The fact that Ali had worked with people who had been victims of an attack and had supported this women to testify, gave the book a different angle as Ali has to chose between supporting her husband or her best friend.

Read this practically in 1 sitting. The tension kept building throughout and I was desperate to find out who and why was Karen attacked. This had me on the edge of my seat with goosebumps.

The ending was quite unexpected and made me race back to the party to see if I had missed any clues!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

So good ! An excellent thriller. Keeps you on the edge of your seat right until the very end. A must read for all lovers of mystery and suspense. #buythebook

I really enjoyed this book and was surprised by the ending. It was a really easy read and hooked me from the start. I really liked all of the characters and liked the chapters set in the past. So many things happened in this book which helped to keep me interested. It was a real page turner and very well written. I felt really sorry for Karen and it was an impossible situation for Ali to be in. I developed an emotional attachment to the characters and was desperate to know what had happened. This book is the perfect read for all thriller lovers and I definitely recommend it!