Marissa Baxter has had a rough life. As a child her mother was murdered in front of her. Her troubles continued when she went to live with her aunt, Caroline, and uncle Simon. She was abused and lived a horrible existence in their care. Her early trauma and abuse shaped her life and left her anxiety ridden on guard and prone to sleepwalking.

As an adult she has suffered loss of a friend and mentor. She leads a quiet existence and is troubled when her new abrasive and rude neighbor throws loud parties and is threatening to her. Then she gets word that her uncle Simon has been murdered. Not long after that her noisy neighbor is found dead as well. Marissa is the common factor, and she feels she is being framed.

But that is not all - I did mention Marissa had a tough life. She has also recently met a new client who is a nasty flirt. He is overbearing, touchy, and creepy. Just what she doesn't need in her life. Marissa feels that she is being watched. Could it be her new client or someone else?

This book grabbed my attention right away. For most of the book it was a 4-star read for me, but it lost a little of its steam for me toward the end. There is a lot going on with various characters and you may get the old it's-a-small-world vibe from this book. Lots on coincidences going on here.
Having said that, this was an enjoyable read which held my attention even if it did lose a little steam for me toward the end.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley, too,
For my copy of this book, here's my honest review:

What a psychological thriller this proved to be,
With murders, sleepwalking, history and mystery.
An enthralling page turner that keeps you guessing so
I really hope you'll give it a go!

Marissa's Mum tried to protect her from danger
But she was murdered and Marissa's life got stranger.
Who can she trust to help her survive?
Can she learn how to thrive?

When murders occurs to folks that she knows
Suspicions that she's the perpetrator grows
Even she's not sure if she's guilty or not
As sleepwalking leaves her with things she's forgot.

The story is told from today and the past,
With flashbacks of hurts the pain from which still lasts.
Can she find out what happened and clear her name
Or is someone else planning a twisted game?

I found it a page turner from beginning to that twisted end
Are folks really her friend - or do they just pretend?
To find out what happened, you really need -
A copy of this book for yourself to read!

I think it is admirable when an author has a well-liked series but decides to give something else a try. It’s easy to stay with the familiar, and much harder to strike out in a new direction, because you run the risk of alienating a fan base.
The author has a popular crime-thriller series (Gina Harte), but this is a standalone novel more in the psych thriller realm, although there are aspects of crime as well. Wisely, the heroine in this novel is quite the opposite of Gina, which is one reason I think this is a successful attempt.
Marissa experienced a horrific event when she was a child, and then was put in another awful situation. This has essentially laid the course of her life. She blends in, is invisible, and prefers not to be noticed. However, somebody has been paying closer attention to her than she knows…and that’s not good.
Especially when people connected to Marissa start turning up dead. And she has no real memories of the time frames when the crimes occurred.
This book almost ends up being more of a psychological twist on the reader than on the characters. I thought the author did a great job of making Marissa non-descript to the point where she almost was invisible. That’s how I think she saw herself, but it’s also how I took her in the bigger picture.
There are periodic flashback chapters from various past events in Marissa’s life as well. At first, they seem to be unrelated or simple background for her character, but as the plot picks up, the reader sees that there is more to them than meets the eye.
I don’t want to say too much more because my dislike of plot spoilers. Let’s just say that everything happens for a reason in this book. Sometimes there are red herrings or false leads. I really didn’t get any of those because ones that seemed like it, well….
Yeah, I’m thisclose to giving something away.
But as Marissa uncovers the secrets of her past, the reader will start to see where things are connected. And just when you think both you and Marissa have things figured out, you probably don’t.
I enjoyed this book by letting it just take me for the ride. I would recommend it to anyone willing to do the same.

The overall plot and suspense is good. But the narrative is too slow that it takes a lot of time to get into the book. I read it in parts over a week. I would recommend it for readers with patience.

Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I love the Gina Harter series so I was excited to read another book of Carla’s but from outside of that series.

The beginning of this book read a bit like a women’s fiction novel. It was all very lovely. Marissa meeting her friend for dinner, getting a new client etc. Then it turned very sinister very quickly. I thought Carla did an excellent job of changing the tone and setting up the suspense.

I couldn’t decide if I like Marissa or not at times. She has obviously been through a lot and her mental state is severely damaged but there were times I thought she was a little bit of a wet fish but I had to keep reminding myself all that she had been through.

I had worked out some things by about halfway through but I wasn’t sure which way Marissa was going to go. Carla had me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what was going to happen next. Carla layered in the past really well with some chapters being now and others filling us in on relevant information for the next or previous chapter.

I enjoyed reading something a little different from Carla and I look forward to seeing what she gives us next.

What She Did • Carla Kovach

🌟🌟🌟/5 {3.5}

Happy Pub Day! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this eARC.

The very first few pages of What She Did definitely intrigued me and pulled me right in! The beginning of the book was packed with action right away, but towards the center part it did slow down a bit and became quite repetitive.

Marissa, the main character, has a lot of flashbacks of her childhood/past and has been trying to make sense of what happened while trying to move on with her life. But all along, someone has been watching her.. from the moment the murder happened to now.

There was a twist towards the ending that I didn’t see coming, but I honestly could not make sense of it. I can’t ask the question I have without giving away any spoilers, so I’ll keep it to myself. Lol

The tension builds so exquisitely with no end in sight - until the end! Multi-layered with many twists and turns - keeps you guessing!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Marissa's mother was murdered in front of her when she was 5 years old. What followed was years of living with her aunt and uncle ... years of abuse .. years of never having enough to eat. When she left, she never looked back.

She lives alone now, works out of her small flat. She still has nightmares about her mother's murderer who was never caught.

Marissa is also prone to sleep-walking, especially when she's stress ..or been drinking. So when she gets the news that her uncle has been stabbed to death, she doesn't remember anything from that night. Was she sleep-walking?

Just days later, her neighbor is also stabbed to death. It was no secret that the two of them had had words ... and again, she remembers nothing of that night.

How can she convince the police that she isn’t a killer? And, as the secrets from her past take hold of her present, is there anyone in her small world she can trust?

As you read, you’ll believe every word Marissa says. You’ll think you know where to draw the line between innocence and guilt. But blame is a dangerous thing, and nothing is ever what it seems…

This is a most interesting story with an amazing twist at the conclusion. The characters are fleshed out and bring an intensity to the telling. Suspense starts on the very first page and maintains a high level throughout.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Another winner by Carla Kovach! This stand alone doesn’t disappoint.

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the eARC.

Marissa lives alone in her apartment and is still haunted by her memories of the night her mother was murdered in front of her and she has always looked over her shoulder for the killer who may want her dead too. But when both her uncle and a frustrating neighbor are killed, she feels as though the killer is closing in and she can't trust anyone, but we, the reader, can we trust her?

I typically don't love reading books where I can't trust the words of the main character, so I was thankful that even in the synopsis we were advised that this main character may not be so trustworthy and we are getting the story through her tainted point of view. It made me question her every word and that became a part of the reading experience.

I did not predict the ending to this book and I am so glad I didn't catch it too early. While the clues were given, I was so excited the way it unfolded and the author hit it right with this one. I may have even shivered when the killer was unmasked - no spoiling, but the reveal was good!

My first Carla Kovach read, but mostly certainly not my last.

3 for neutral. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t grab me. Will definitely update if able to finish at a later date!

In many ways, this book was a struggle for me. Perhaps I expect too much from the author? After all, I truly enjoy her Gina Harte series. But, Marissa was way too fragile too early for me. I never felt like she was a character that could have survived as long as she had. Thinking she would survive the trauma during the course of the story was unbelievable. Add to that, it seemed fairly obvious who the "bad" guy was very early on. The idea that Marissa was so paranoid and overthought so much but overlooked this particular aspect seemed, again, unbelievable. Finally, at the very end is an unnecessary chapter that adds one more cheap twist to the mix. It wasn't needed and was the final "um. no" for me. Sure, I liked the book, but it was more a lukewarm like. A sad, I expected better, like.

This story alternates from the present to Marissa’s past. When she was little Marissa witnessed the murder of her mother by an unknown man. After living with her horrible aunt and uncle she started her own life. But she could never get past her childhood.

I enjoyed the suspense with this book. The different timelines let me learn small things and put them into the present.

I like the premise of the story, and I really looked forward to read it - but sadly, I struggled to finish the novel.
There is just so much misery that I can't handle it.
Every page is so gloomy, and it is loaded with the misery of the protagonist.

It is just too much!

A glorious page turner you will not be able to put down.

Twists and turns galore with a hum dinger of an ending.

Great plot and believable characters.

Highly recommended 5 stars from me

From the very talented writer of the Gina Harte series Carla Kovach, comes a brilliant stand alone read.
Marissa has had a hard life. From witnessing her mother’s brutal killing, to being placed in care with her abusive Aunt and Uncle, to having to start her adult life with nothing, she’s been through the wars. Life should be settling down for her when after therapy, she’s her own business and flat, but who can she trust when she can’t even trust herself? Brilliant twisty, turny, thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Marissa has led a quiet life since the murder of her mother when she was a young child. She was taken in by relatives after that tragedy. She was powerless as a child and is still powerless as an adult. Years later, Marissa gets notified that one of her previous guardians has been found dead. In fact, there is a witness that says that they saw Marissa's car in the area. Marissa knows she didn't kill anyone. Did she? But she cannot prove it. Her memory fails her, and for quite a specific reason.

Too add to that, recently Marissa has new neighbors, and one of them is soon found dead. Again, Marissa thinks that she couldn't have done it. Why have these two murders occurred and why is Marissa unable to trust her memory? What can Marissa do to prove to the police that she is not a killer? Or can she prove that she is not a killer, since her memory cannot be trusted?

What a conundrum to be sure! Is this book a case of an unreliable narrator? Meaning, can Marissa be trusted? Well, read this thrilling story by Carla Kovach and you just might find yourself flipping back and forth with wondering what is really going on. What a riveting read! I loved reading about someone that we are not sure could be trusted.

This book definitely had some tough emotional moments concerning Marissa's experiences. Then there is the fact that all along Marissa is rather certain that she is being stalked. That definitely brings a creepy edge to what proved to be an utterly remarkable book. Oh, and the ending! Shocking beyond belief!

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

What She Did by Carla Kovach is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Marissa Baxter lives in a small apartment, and has a room set aside for her business.  She's a financial adviser.  She really doesn't want to live there, but the cottage where she grew up in is too expensive for her to buy, but she dreams of it.  Meanwhile, she is safe here, but memories of her mother being killed right in front of her continue to haunt her.  As well, living with her aunt and uncle when she was a child was certainly no picnic.

When a new tenant moves across the hall, they immediately butt heads.

When her abusive uncle is murdered, Marissa is positive she didn't do it, but she can no longer trust her memory, as she has been sleepwalking again.  Then her obnoxious neighbour is murdered, exactly like her uncle.

She really can't trust herself right now.


My Opinions:   
Unfortunately, Marissa and I must have gotten off on the wrong foot.  I didn't like her.  Even when I realize she has had a rough life, has been mentally and emotionally scarred, I still didn't like her.  She just annoyed me.  Her actions were confrontational, and somewhat arrogant, and her consumption of alcohol didn't help things.  Have I mentioned that I didn't like her? At 40%, I wondered why I was still reading the book.  Again at 50%.  Yes, I have a hard time giving up, especially when the book is by a favorite author.  But still...

However, by the 60% mark, I realized I was finally reading to see what was going to happen next.  I still didn't like Marissa, but the story finally took me away.   Now, that is way too late for a 4 or 5 star book, but it was starting to be good!  So as long as I didn't look to closely at the protagonist, I found myself enjoying the plot, and although I had guessed most of the twists, the book ended up holding my interest.

Overall, it was good, I just spent too much time disliking the main character.  None of my complaints, however, will prevent me from picking up another book by this author!

It was quiet an entertaining book and it was suspenseful all the way but I I expected the end which wasn’t the twist I was expecting. It was worth a read but not the best book I’ve read this year . Only 4 starts from me I’m afraid

This is a standalone book from Carla Kovach.
I love the Gina Harte series so had to read this one too.
Marissa was a little girl hiding under the bed when her mother was murdered. Sent to live with her Aunt Caroline her life is not pleasant. An Uncle who sexually abuses her and her Aunt who locks her in the cellar when she feels like it, Marissa can’t wait to get away from them.
As an adult she meets Reggie who helps her find a job that she loves and Marissa starts to be happy.
She’s now living in a small apartment but enjoys her work so life is not too bad. Until a neighbour moves in and makes her life a misery. Loud music, parties and verbal abuse every time she sees him, Marissa is desperate to move out.
With the stress from this she starts sleep walking again and when her Uncle is found dead nearby, she wonders if she was involved.
Marissa meets Glen at a neighbourhood committee meeting and he acts as a friend when she needs one.
I can’t say much more as it will spoil for you, but I can say things soon spiral out if control and Marissa is left wondering if she’s a killer.
Another great read from Carla Kovach.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.