I Know What You Did is a mystery/thriller that keep me guessing until the very last scene! The novel follows Petal (Petta) as she learns her full name is being used in a hit novel in a fictionalized version of a tragic event she lived through while in high school. As she reads through the novel, she finds herself compelled to go back to Madison, WI to try to find the author of the book who is blaming everything on her. As she starts searching for the anonymous author, she is threatened and told to stop looking. Will Petta find the author that is trying to place the blame of the tragedy all on her? Will she come to terms with her past without putting her future in jeopardy?

I stayed up late to finish this book! Petta is an interesting character. Her trauma filled past has made her an introvert that has very little trust for other people. I loved how we learned of the past first through experts of the fictionalized story, a book within a book! The story can be slower in places but overall has a good pace. The last few chapters keep me guessing and the final twist had me on the edge of my seat!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me an E-ACR in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the concept of this book, but it felt like key details were missing. Why did her parents die by suicide? What was Gus’ background? Some of it just seemed to fall flat for me

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! I love the voice of Petal and would read anything else she is in or Cayce Osbourne writes.

Petal Woznewski is living a secluded life in NYC when she hears that an up and coming novel is all the rage and featured a character with her exact name. It isn't long before she realizes that the so-called novel is a fictionalization of her childhood in Madison Wisconsin. It's been 30 years, but Petal is driven to return home to determine who is trying to "out" her and reveal secrets best kept buried.

The book is peppered with well written chapters from the newly released book. The drama and tension rise but even at the worst of times I can't get enough of Petals razor sharpe observations. If you want a new heroine, love a hometown mystery or just want to read a new up and coming author, I Know What You Did is for you!
#CrookedLaneBooks #CayceOsborne #IKnowWhatYouDid

I really enjoyed this book. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, I didn’t. And I absolutely love that. The book also isn’t very long, so it was the best length and did not feel drug out. Highly recommend for those who like thriller and mystery books!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of I Know What You Did!

The premise of this book is similar to a lot of thrillers: secrets of the past come to light. However, two things initially drew me in; the main character, who very much comes across as an entire-personality-is-a-trauma-response introvert. Her sarcasm and thought processes had me laughing in the beginning because I could relate!

The second thing that drew me in was the book within a book concept. The main character has a unique name, so when it’s used in a new-bestselling work of fiction, she is immediately associated with the book. Everyone is telling her to read it, even her OBGYN in the middle of a Pap smear!

We learn the two tellings of the main character’s past, and drama and danger ensues. Unfortunately, this is where I began to lose investment in the story. There’s a lot description surrounding the main character forgetting to eat, her food choices, not feeling well, etc. Blah.

The final “showdown” was interesting and went in a direction I was not fully expecting.

I give this book three stars because of the beginning and end, and I would read future works from this author!

I didnt really relate to Petal(the main character)but the book was really entertaining and kept me guessing until the end.

3.5
This was a twist on the classic growing up and friendship gone wrong story. I enjoyed the storyline of this but confess I didn’t like Petal.

A great debut novel! The plot was very intriguing and well executed and the ending was surprising. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC!

I'm a big fan of the crime books by Crooked lane so I was so excited to get my hands on this. The first few chapters got my interest and had me on my seats but a point, the book began to take a very slow pace.
By the time I made it to the end(which was pretty good), I didn't care so much but the writing style was on point.

“Was that what reading did, if you let it? Did you get so consumed by the story that the world fell away?”

In the instance of this book- YES. Holy cats, Batman! What. A. Book. You’re going to keep guessing up until the very end. Who is doing this to Petal? Why? What do they want? Petal is an utter delight (probably to her horror) and her inner dialogue was amazing. Do not miss this book.

A multi-layered, slow-burn thriller I couldn't put down. A great debut novel. I loved the novel excerpts sprinkled throughout. Kept the book fresh.

When Petal Woznewski becomes the protagonist of a novel in which she is blamed for the death of her friend, she decides to take matters into her own hands and find out who the author is.
The book is narrated from Petal's point of view alternating with fragments of the aforementioned novel, which manages to maintain the intrigue, although at times the protagonist's digressions and thoughts slow down the pace. The protagonist, in my case, has not been a close character and I have not been able to empathize with her problems.
That said, the book is entertaining and reads very easily which encourages me to follow this author in her next works.

ARC from Crooked Lane and NetGalley. My first from this author, but I really liked the style of writing. Solid 3 star read.

The MC isn't super relatable, which is fine, except that where that is the case I need some reason to care what's happening to her. By the time the good bits of her story finally came out (a little too late in the game, in my opinion) I'd thoroughly lost interest.

Thanks Net Galley and Cooked Lane Books for this advanced readers copy!
I was excited to dive into I Know What You Did. The concept of the “story within the story” intrigued me. I wanted to know why the main character’s true past was being brought up in a new best seller. I wanted to know who was the author behind the story.
However, I did not like the main character at all, and enjoying a book when you can’t stand the MC is very difficult. If you do the math, it appears Petal is currently 46/47 years old, but she acts like she’s about 21. I grew tired of all the detail about the junk food she was about to consume and the weed she was about to smoke.
In the end, I didn’t find the thrill to be worth much. I wanted to like this since it’s a debut, but sadly it just didn’t give me the satisfaction that I want to receive from thrillers.

I almost put this book down 15% of the way through, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. While I didn't really connect with Petta's (Petal) voice, the premise is interesting and the clues were fantastic. The further she gets into unraveling the mystery, the more the anonymous author seems to taunt her. I read a lot of thrillers, and often the elements that keep the plot moving are expected or, even worse, annoying. However, the surprises that kept popping up were not only, well, surprising, but they were so bold that I couldn't stop reading.

MIXED BAG FOR ME

A NY Times bestseller has Petal Woznewski’s name all over it—literally. Appearing in both the dedication and the blurb, Petal wants to know why. But a sinking feeling tells her she already knows. For thirty years, a deep dark secret has remained buried in her psyche, and she’d like it to stay that way. But the book threatens to expose the ugly truth to the world unless SHE can find a way to stop it.

The solid plot of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID by Cayce Osborne had my hopes up, but, unfortunately, it didn’t deliver. The main problem was that the book seemed to be written by committee and that’s never a good thing. What happens is that when the author tweaks one thing, there’s a facet at the reciprocal end that remains as is causing discrepancies. And the book is rife with these continuity discrepancies. The other part of the problem is that the author chose to mix a moody psychological thriller with humor. It’s a fine line that one must tread, and means respecting the noir vibe running throughout the pages, but the humor used doesn’t. Instead it often dilutes the story into being cartoonish and silly. One example would be the peculiar choice of ending a segment where the protagonist is frantically trying to find a classmate she hopes will be able to shine light on the situation with the word “burp.” It’s totally inappropriate and pulled my head out of the story and wondering how that got by the editor … or the author. But there were other problems that also did the same thing … and I will try not to give spoilers.

1) In the very first chapter, after the protagonist learns about this mysterious book during a gynecological exam (hated that intro by the way), the very next of chapter 1 begins with the narrative explaining that the Pap was clear and that Petal got the results by email a couple of days later. So we rightly assume that the timeframe is … two days after the appointment as is stated. We especially think that because there are SIX paragraphs that confirm the assumption in not contradicting this statement. But, no, in the seventh paragraph, the author creates confusion by tossing in that it’s now ‘the Monday’ after her appointment … huh? Am I supposed to know how many days that makes it? This is a bad way to advance a book. It’s clumsy and sloppy but the hits keep on coming. 2) In the twelfth paragraph following the above (still in the first chapter), it states that the protagonist knows the book is about to expose her deepest darkest secret to the world. And in Chapter 2, she double downs on that statement in saying it’s life changing. But a couple of paragraphs later, she begins reading the actual book and is surprised that … the book is about her secret? Why? She said herself she intuitively knew what would be contained and that it would be life-changing. There’s no reason given for the explosive reaction … and that’s the point. We’re left to guess. I mean, who knows? Perhaps having the intuitive sense become a reality was the problem, but it’s up to the author to explain that to us. 3) Still in the first chapter, there’s the part where she visits Gus, the guy she’s been seeing. What happens in that scene is just ridiculous, impossible, and turns the psychological thriller into one involving paranormal because the series of events that he explains could never have happened. Never. Not unless someone deliberately left “the package” and were following Petal around NYC which they were not. But the thing is that there was no need to put this paranormal element where the book has magic powers and the universe is conspiring against her in the story. In fact, the entirely of chapter 1 should have been trashed and rewritten.

There are many so more instances I could give. Like not recognizing the identity of someone even though there are clues left like a phone number … and a city derived from the area code. Petal still calls it a hunch that this unnamed character ran her mouth when the character admitted she had. Therefore, it’s not a hunch. Then there’s the leaving out of why her parents died … and what happened to their money … and the author having Petal ending up blaming rich people? Let’s see, Petal used to be rich … her parents were rich and all of them never committed crimes. Her aunt was no pauper. And Petal’s friend who she’s still mourning was also rich … as was this friend’s parents … and they weren’t serial killing sociopaths so the stereotyping was unnecessary. Oh, and the climactic ending? Yeah, it continued in this haphazard way. That scene was so long and protracted and repetitive. I was begging for it to stop. Especially when Petal had the advantage in the position she took. It’s why castles were built on hills, but the author seemed to not acknowledge this. And after all the bloodshed and violence, it ended with Petal stopping someone from using a cliché, but then using one of her own and topping it with a … yes, a joke! Someone she loves is being put in an ambulance and there she is again … cracking inappropriate jokes. I’ll stop there.

I’m ending up giving I KNOW WHAT YOU DID three stars. Why? Because I would read other works by Cayce Osborne. The premise of this one is good … the character of Petal one that could have been really interesting … and the core of the storyline one that should have worked. More importantly, there is a section in this book … from around chapter five until maybe eight … where the author hunkers down and writes so I know Ms. Osborne can write. I just think she needs to be more authoritative and confident in what she’s doing. Then there’s her managing to stay in the lane of the story she’s writing. That includes cutting down repetitive thoughts. Yes, authors have the propensity to be creative. It means that they can come up with a lot of ways to explain the same thing, but not all the explanations should be included. So pick one and put that one down and the reader will get it. And that one that is included will trigger the reader to think up their own different perspectives. That’s what happens in a really great book. The reader is inspired to explore these other options. So I look forward to more of Ms. Osborne’s writing and look forward to seeing how she develops.

It all started with the gynaecologist. The one who told Petal about the book he was reading that has a character with Petal’s full name - Petal Woznewski. It’s not exactly a common name. The books dedication: “I know what you did, Petal Woznewski. And now everyone else will too.” She knows the past and the secrets she’s been running from for so long have finally caught up with her. Who is doing this? What do they want? Could she be in danger?

I really enjoyed this! It caught my attention from the beginning. There was a lot of subtle humour in this and I loved it. That was definitely a highlight for me. As for the storyline, I loved that too. Especially later on as the suspense and sense of danger increases but the entire plot is so clever and engaging. I also really liked the book within a book aspect. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and finished reading it in less than a day because it was a real page turner!

(4.5 stars rounded up to 5)

This thriller was incredibly fun and was able to pull the wool over my eyes a few times.

I never thought I would like a book where the main character doesn't read and loves Michael Bay movies, but here we are.

I didn't feel too much for any of the characters but I stayed glued to the pages to find out the mystery at the end.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc.

The premise of this book intrigued me from the start and I can honestly say that this book did not disappoint. The writing is fantastic, the plot is engaging, and there were enough red herrings that the twists were actually quite surprising— even for an experienced thriller reader! While the plot became a little repetitive at times, and the ending wrapped up a little too neatly (in my opinion), I would definitely recommend giving this book a read.

3.8 rounded down to four stars!