I 100% requested this because of the cover. The premise wasn’t entirely intriguing to me, and I definitely judged this book by it’s cover. I don’t know why, but I LOVE it! But I was pleasantly surprised and ended up really enjoying this one! It’s a clever and unique spin on the classic locked in murder mystery. I was entertained and engaged the entire time. I was so confident that I knew who the bad guy was really early on. And I don’t wanna give anything away, but I was both right AND wrong. None of the characters are likeable, but could you expect to like them based on the title of the book? I did feel like something was missing from this one though to push it to 5 stars, but overall this was a great murder mystery with plenty of murder.

This was a good read, but it had a few flaws or hiccups for me. The characters are meant to be unlikeable, but I wish I could have become more attached to the book. Decent read.

A lot of dull filler used in this book. Other than that, it reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel and I don't like Agatha Christie.

This book had me hooked from the beginning to the end. All through the book I tried to figure out who wrote the diary and what actually happened. Some of my suspicions turned out to be right. The only thing I didn’t really enjoy was the ending. I thought that the person who ended up being the bad guy could have been introduced more in the book and it did feel a little cliché.

But this is definitely a book that I enjoyed and had a hard time to put down.

Closed room thrillers are the mystery du jour and I am really developing a taste for them. Housemates move in, one dies and someone wants to get to the bottom of the death years later. Some many time jumps, it’s a little dizzying until you get into the rhythm and then the twists and turns throw you as much as the other characters. This builds to a great satisfying ending and at the end, was a great read! And yes, they all did bad things.

I am not sure how I feel about this book. It was a good book that had me guessing what is going to happen and it did have a very shocking ending. The way it ends makes me believe there will be a sequel.I also enjoyed the story line. However, I was not thrilled with the book. I am not sure though what I didn't like. It just was not as good as what I felt it could be. However, it was still a good book just not a WOW book for me. The ending was pretty good though because I had no idea it would end the way it did.

"So that's what I know about people. People hide and people cheat and people lie and people only look out got themselves because people are shit and very few deserve better."

In 1995, six students moved into 215 Caldwell Street. But only 5 leave. They all know the death of their roommate wasn't accidental. But they don't know who killed him and no one wants to take any blame. They convince the police it was an accident and move on with their lives.
But somebody doesn't want them to move on. Twenty years on, somebody lures them to the secluded Wolfheather House. Someone who has given them a choice. Confess, or die...

This was without doubt my favourite read so far this year. I could NOT stop reading. This book had so many surprising twists and I loved every second of it.
The characters weren't very likeable, but they were never supposed to be liked. The jumping from past to present, and from person to person was a pain at times but it still made for a fantastic read. And that ending? Absolutely amazing.
I don't say this often, but I would LOVE to see this as a movie.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

In 1995, six university students rent rooms in a seedy run down house, all of them expecting a different experience; some just wanted to study, some to party., some to make friends, but what they became at the end of that school year was accomplices as only five of the six walked away from the seedy house on Caldwell Street. Of these five, one of them is responsible for Callum's death, but are they all guilty?

Now twenty some odd years later, they have all ended up at the same out of the way inn on the Scottish Isle of Doon, all for different reasons and are surprised to see the others from that house on Caldwell Street when they arrive. The arguing starts right away and by the next morning and their host is missing they realize that they are there for a nefarious reason and that they may not make it out alive. Now they have to wonder which of them, if any, to trust.

A classic whodunnit, lots of twists and turns, and a great ending. I really enjoyed this book. As we uncover the mystery with the help of a diary left behind, I was surprised many times but the turn of events.

Quick synopsis: In the mid 90s, six roommates move into 215 Caldwell St. One dies in what's believed to be an accident, but the other roommates know that's not really what happened that night. Over 20 years later, they are all reunited, unknowingly, to pay for their crimes.

Overall: This started off as fast paced and captured my interest immediately. However, by about the 1/3 mark, it started to slow down. I always enjoy the concept of locked door suspenses, but would've liked to see more depth and development with the characters.  None were likeable in the least (and all were likely sociopaths), which may have been the author's intention.

I also struggled a bit with the nonlinear narrative in this one. It may have just been my eARC copy, but there wasn't any indication of when we were in present day and when we were in the past in Caldwell St. Then, the text would jump back to to something that happened "16 hours earlier" or "3 months earlier", but this didnt really add anything to the story.  The ending and reasonings of the murderer's actions were a bit difficult to grasp, and I was left with a few unanswered questions.

Thanks to netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a So-so thriller. I had high expectations about where the story could go. It started off a lot like the movie Clue and I was intrigued for a while but then it became very convoluted and I was just ready for the story to end. I really liked the premise around the story and the ending left a bit of a cliffhanger which might make for an interesting follow up book but this one just didn’t live up to its full potential.

I adored the plot, but hated all the characters.
EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.
So, while I got totally engrossed in the story, it was with many many eye rolls and face scrunches that I finished this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for my DRC.

I'll start by saying that the premise is good, it's been done before but that's ok because the author put their own spin on it. I thought the writing was also good because I freaking hated every one of these characters, which is what I assume the author was going for. I did find them a little hard to believe, like who acts that way?! At times their characterizations were OTT so I found myself rolling my eyes. But honestly, I was enthralled and wanted to see whodunit so when talking about a mystery, I'd say that's a home run!

This started off hard for me to get into. But once I did, it was really good. The time hopping can easily confuse you, so this a book that you will need to pay attention to put the pieces together.

I could not put this book down. It’s hooks you from the beginning. I enjoyed the way the author wrote it. Keep in mind the story jumps between past and present but the author does it effortlessly!

They Did Bad Things has a wonderful premise perfect for a thriller: a group of uni flatmates are reunited under mysterious circumstances at an inn in Scotland. Over the weekend, they confront each other on the roles they played in the death of their friend in 1995.

The idea behind this book is brilliant. The characters were all three dimensional and I found it easy to distinguish between them. The interpersonal dynamics were easy to follow and translated well between the past and present day. I thought the ending was terrific and worth waiting for. I particularly enjoyed how vivid the scenes in the 90s were. This was the strongest parts of the book for me. I truly felt like I had wandered into their flat share.

Unfortunately, I found this book hard to get into. It found its mojo about halfway through the book but it was hard to stay interested up to that point because I was not emotionally invested.

One aspect of the book that I found difficult was making sense of the physical space of the hotel. There is a lot of movement between rooms and floors and I could not follow it. It seemed enormous but yet had no staff and that did not make sense to me. The diary entries were confusing but I think that was due to formatting.

In the end, I could not put it down because I wanted to know who did it and who would make it out alive.

Thank you to NetGalley and Arcade Crimewise for this ARC.

In 1995, six college students lived together at 215 Caldwell Street. Only five made it out alive. Years later, the survivors have put the past behind them, never speaking of what happened the night their roommate died. When they are lured under false pretenses to Wolfheather House, a crumbling, secluded mansion on the Scottish isle of Doon, they realize they have been brought together for a reason, and this time, they might not make it out alive.

This is the first book by Lauren A. Forry that I have read, and while I enjoyed the premise, I despised the characters. I didn't like their personalities or the decisions they made, but I assume this was intentional. What kept me reading was the mystery surrounding that night and the intriguing setting. Overall, this was a quick, entertaining read, and I recommend it to those who enjoy Agatha Christie-type stories, where characters are "locked in" place.

Lauren A. Forry has written a solid and engrossing page turner of a read with They Did Bad Things! Well worth your time.

Six university students, back in the 1990s, lived together in 215 Caldwell Street. At the end of the year, one of them was found dead. The police dismissed the case as an accident, but the students knew that it wasn’t, they knew it was one of them who killed him.
The remaining five never saw each other again – at least until they were lured to a secluded hotel in the middle of a raging storm, cutting them from the outside world. They have no other choice than to confront the truth – or die.
I quite liked the story, I couldn’t put it down until I knew who did it. The parts where the characters are locked in the house and are trying not to get murdered are very well done and quite creepy too. I read half of the book at night in the dark and I could not sleep after because of all the noises my flat produced. :D
The end is satisfying in a way, but at the same time I felt the motivation a bit off. Even though the characters were not likeable, I found that some of them didn’t really do anything to deserve all this mess. Yes, they did bad things, as the title says, but nowhere near as bad as the story wants it to be.

Another book influenced by And Then There Were None. Five college roommates are reunited at Wolfheather House, a secluded hotel, under false pretenses. They all share a dark secret and it seems someone is digging up the past. I found the plot interesting but it was confusing at times. There are alternating narrators, timelines and diary entries that start in the middle of a sentence. There are some interesting twists but the ending seems a bit far fetched.
Thank you to NetGalley and Arcade Crimewise for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Arcade Crimewise for the ARC of They Did Bad Things by Lauren A. Forry. I was intrigued by this title when I read the description as a mix between The Last Time I Lied and And Then There Were None, two of my favorite thrillers.

Five people are lured to Wolfheather House, a secluded mansion, under varying pretenses. Once assembled, the guests realize that they are all the former tenants of 215 Caldwell Street from 1995. The roommates have been holding on to a secret for over 20 years. One of their roommates, Callum, died under strange circumstances and they know the truth about what actually happened that day. They are told in notes left around the house that they must confess their role in Callum’s death or die. Who is behind this assembly? What do they know? Will the guests make it out alive?

This story begins a lot like the movie Clue, which is a favorite. Yes! I was immediately interested in the plot. But then it became very confusing. It is told by alternating narrators in alternating timelines. Then all of a sudden a diary entry in introduced. The entries begin in the middle of a sentence, so I thought part was missing. As I was reading an ARC, I thought it was a due to being an uncorrected proof. It turns out to be part of the plot, but was still very confusing until the reason is revealed three quarters of the way through the book. There is a surprise ending, but it does seem far fetched. I think that this book has a lot of potential, as the story is clever, but suffers due to the jumbled execution.

3/5 stars