Five people arrive separately at Wolfheather House, a secluded mansion on an isle in Scotland, after being lured by false pretenses. What do these 5 people have in common? Twenty years ago, they all lived together in a house while attending university along with one other person. But that sixth person had been found dead on the couch one morning after a party almost 20 years ago. The death was ruled an accident, but the five other housemates know the truth. Now they are trapped together in the mansion and they either have to confess their crimes or die.

This book sounded interesting and although I didn’t find myself bored per say, I did find it hard to follow along due to the formatting and writing. I’m not sure if this was caused from it being an electronic early reviewer copy or not.

*I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In 1995, six college students come together in a ramshackle house. They share a tenuous bond, sometimes getting along, but more than often not. After a raucous party, one of them ends up dead, and though it’s ruled an accident, the living five know it’s absolutely the opposite.

And they go on with their lives. But the dead don’t stay forgotten, and 20 years after the murder, someone wants to take revenge on those who are responsible.

My first thought upon reading this was “what is wrong with these people?” Seriously, they’re all just awful. But I loved the story and I thought the author did a great job giving each character a clear voice. Though there are multiple points of view and the narrative switches from past to present, it wasn’t at all difficult to keep up with the story.

I was also invested to know just exactly “whodunit” and why (the original murder) and also who was behind the revenge plot. This was a fun read and didn’t devolve into too much gore, though it certainly could have.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for providing this review copy.

The story had a lot of potential, but I kept getting lost in the differing POVs/time periods. There was nothing to indicate if it was a flashback or current day. And with such a large cast of characters, it was hard to keep track on their personality traits. I really enjoyed the story itself and was interested to read to the end.

I like this one. It was weird and creepy and atmospheric and I liked the back and forth as the secrets unraveled... I like the nod to Dame Agatha and the classic closed room mystery. I thought the revelations were managed well, delivered with an uneven and off-kilter pacing that kept things interesting and kept me guessing throughout. I've read a handful of these back and forth in time, *reunions after something terrible happened to that we've all kept secret for years" mysteries. This was one of my favorites. Despite the characters being fairly odious, I found them believable and their story credible, for the most part, and even when they weren't I found the story entertaining and engaging. It was an easy and quick read and I would definitely look for more from this author. It's not going to change your life, but it's definitely a great way to spend an afternoon...

They Did Bad Things by Lauren A. Forry is a riveting locked-room mystery about five people who unexpectedly reunite after twenty years under mysterious circumstances at a secluded mansion.
However, things turn ugly as they soon realize they have been bought together to confront the role they played in the death of their housemate that occurred in 1995 while they were university students living under one roof.
He was found on the sofa the morning after their end-of-year party. His death was ruled an accident by the police, however, the remaining five students knew it wasn't. But secrets don't remain buried forever and now someone wants them to pay for it.

Trapped inside with no connection to the outside world, they receive strange clues reminding them of their very own dead housemate and are given only one choice: confess to their crimes or die.
As the blame game starts and tensions arise, I found myself at the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next. This book has been compared to 'And Then There Were None' and 'The Last Time I Lied'. I personally think fans of the latter might be disappointed if they go into this expecting to have a similar reading experience. However, it definitely has the Agatha Christie vibes, true to its marketing claim.

The author did a wonderful job in setting up a creepy environment, and though it has multiple narrators with dual timelines, I was able to keep up with the story with a bit of concentration. With not much likeable characters and a twist that I couldn't see coming, the book kept me engaged and entertained throughout though I also found it to be repetitive at times.
Overall 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished They Did Bad Things and loved it! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who loves a good who-dun-it with twists and turns. The book kept things interesting with the changes from past to present, and always kept you feeling like you were in the Wolfheather house with the group. It was the perfect amount of creepy and suspenseful without being scary. The ending wasn’t what I was expecting!

*Thank you to the author and publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!*

When I first began this book, I was skeptical because of how ridiculously unlikeable the characters are - but soon realized that’s the whole point of the story.
After I got farther into it, I couldn’t put it down!!

The end left me hanging a little, wondering if there would be a sequel but overall, I really enjoyed it!!

3.5 stars, rounded up!

This review is a little hard to write because:

1. Everyone in it was a jack wagon.

2. The introduction of the characters and the time hopping made it a little hard to get into, but...

3. Once I got into it, I was really invested!

4. It ended REALLY well, and that is always awesome.

Overall, if you are a fan of closed room mysteries, give it a try.

Thank you to Lauren A. Forry, Skyhorse Publishing and Edelweiss for giving me this DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Now this one was crazy! I did not know what to expect at first and wasn’t sure if I would like it but am definitely glad I kept on reading! Such an awesome read. I highly recommend.

Wow, this is definitely a book I am excited for others to read! It’s so well written, chilling, and shocking! I love the atmosphere, needed to get to the bottom because the characters were fleshed out excellently! Be prepared for chills, thrills, shocks, and much more when reading this book! I highly, highly recommend!
Will make sure to buzz it up on all the different platforms!

This was a pretty enjoyable page-turner of a whodunit, I did feel like it was lacking in character development (as in, I found myself not really caring about or engaging with any of them), which held it back from being great.

I really enjoyed this book! I was quite confused at times and had to turn back but all in all this was a really good book and would definitely recommend.

3.5 stars. Take one slightly seedy country manor on a remote Scottish island. Add five guests who are surprised to see each other, various acts of sabotage and no ferry over the weekend. Stir the mixture with a nasty storm and you have They Did Bad Things.

The five guests have been lured there under false pretences. 20 odd years ago things came to a nasty head in a house share for six university students when one of them, Callum, died after a wild party. The others all claimed ignorance of how the tragedy occurred to the police and swore to themselves to forget about it and move on. But someone didn’t forget. Someone knows what really happened and seems intent on payback.

This was a classic “locked room” mystery and if I hadn’t recently read a couple of these I could have rated it higher. The story was well written. The characters, even in their 40s seemed a bit childish however, and, while the pacing was proficient and the clues were doled out at the appropriate times, it was not quite as atmospheric as it could have been. Still and all - a very good story.

This book started with great promise but soon devolved into a miasma of no likeable characters, graphic and extreme violence and unlikely action.

They Did Bad Things is a well paced, page turning read! While the characters weren't strong, the plot sure was! I wish I was able to connect to them more but there was something missing in their development. Other than this, I found the mystery to be very intriguing and I was frantically flipping the pages all the way through to the end.

Six strangers house share for their freshman year at university. During the nine months of classes they become frenemies; one becomes a murderer.
20 years later the remaining housemates are lured to a bed and breakfast weekend getaway under false pretenses. To their dismay they are all together again because someone has to pay for the housemate who didn't make it. But who?
I enjoyed 60% of this book. The premise was excellent. The writing was engaging. I felt the isolation and the tension within the hotel. I loved the slasher/thriller element of the story.
Then about 60%-65% into the storyline it starts to falter as we are introduced to a new character. Why? It completely took me out of the mystery.
I turned the Kindle off at 80% because of the massive exposition dump. It would have been better if the information was dispersed throughout the story as it naturally evolved. I eventually finished the book but was disappointed at the end.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this digital ARC.

I was excited to read a thriller which I don’t read too often. The premise sounded great. I enjoyed the setting, but the plot really fell flat for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and the thriller element fell short. There were a few moments, but overall it was a slow read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ebook in exchange for a review.

DNF at 25%

When I read the synopsis of a modern day And Then There Were None, I was excited! Unfortunately this just isn’t doing it for me. There isn’t much to keep my attention span. I may return to this at a different time

Bad people gleefully doing bad things to each other meet someone even worse in this tight and twisty thriller that propelled me along at breakneck speed.

As soon as I saw the description for They Did Bad Things by Lauren A. Forry I couldn’t wait to dive in. And yes they certainly did some bad things! I loved how the story unfolds between the past and present and told through all the main characters of the story. It keeps you guessing and thinking you are close to knowing the truth and then nope, not yet. At times, I found it creepy and thought maybe I shouldn’t be reading this so late at night. The atmosphere of the old hotel during a dark storm adds to the dark elements of the story. I really enjoyed it! Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing Arcade Crimewise for the ARC!