This mystery/suspense follows Petal Woznewski as she finds her name, her full name, listed in the acknowledgements in the newest hit thriller - "I know what you did, Petal Woznewski. And now everyone else will, too". She tries to go back to her regular, introverted life in NYC but she can't shake her curiosity. As she reads the book, it becomes clear that the story is based upon the true death of Petal's friend in high school. Only Petal and their other friend, Jenny, know the truth of what happened that night. There is no information available about the anonymous author, so Petal returns to her hometown to find out who wrote the book and why, after all these years, did they decide to unearth the past.

TW/CW: death of parents, suicide, death of a friend, stalking,

The standout element to this debut novel is by far Petal's voice and character. Some readers will definitely find her unlikable because she is pretty selfish and jaded. I loved her character and found that her attitude and personality quirks made perfect sense given her background. I also think these sorts of mystery/suspense that revolve around one character's past really need a strong lead character to draw the reader into the story. Half of the fun is figuring out what happened in the past that would lead them to act the way they do. Due to Petal's anti-social nature, we don't get a ton of side characters. However, the ones that we do get, I thought Osborne does a good job of building their characters out quickly and I was really able to get a sense of these characters in the short time that Petal interacts with them.

This was a fun take on the 'secrets from the past' trope, especially as Petal gets deeper into the book. She can tell immediately that the book is based on true events and everything is lining up perfectly to her memory of those days. However, then the author veers away from how the events truly happened. We get portions of the book which serve as flashbacks, of sorts, but then we get Petal immediately either agreeing with or correcting the flashback. We then get flashbacks of her own memory. It is an interesting push/pull sort of balance going on where even Petal questions her memory, at times. There are some details revealed that she didn't know but isn't quite sure if these details are even real or more creative liberties.

The stalker element was a bit understated but I think it was a real integral part to upping the stakes of the story. It acts as an occasional reminder for both Petal and the reader that this isn't just all a coincidence and that there is something bigger going on. I do wish there was more escalation with the stalker elements - either with type of stalking or frequency - so that tension really ramps up. I also think there could have been some great red herrings with the stalking element, specifically, that would have been fun. The stalker element does come into play when we get to the solution of the mystery and I always like when all the different threads in a mystery come together at the end.

The resolution to the mystery element was probably the weakest part of the book and where this really felt like a debut. I liked where we ended up, but I found the road to that resolution to be a bit rough. Like any good mystery, there were a number of red herrings but I never felt like these options were pursued in-depth enough for them to come off as real options for resolutions. Now, most mystery readers know that the resolution, most times, won't be the first option presented but I find part of the fun is having the case for that option be made so well that it makes you double guess your senses. I also found Petal's personal drive to solve the mystery to sort of wane at certain parts and if the main character isn't super driven to solve the mystery, it can be a bit of a drag to read. I will note that these choices could have been 100% on purpose, but they just didn't come together in the type of mystery read I prefer.

Overall, this was a really fun read with some interesting elements and played on my favorite tropes. I loved Petal's prickly character and though the premise of secrets being revealed via a book was fantastic. I do think the mystery reveal wasn't quite as tightly plotted as it could have been, but I enjoyed the overall resolution.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC

Publication date was July 18, 2023

Happy Pub Day!!
4.75 ⭐️ (but honestly, I couldn’t find much wrong with this.) Wow!! This is a debut?! I was having so much fun with this book!

Honest thought: I don’t know if I would have felt differently if I lived elsewhere in the country— The fact that this takes place in my home state def helps because I’m familiar with the locations. But I definitely don’t know everything about Madison, WI. And even in the author’s note, Osborne explains that she didn’t want to paint her view of the town she loves so much, but that she wanted to really hone in on her protagonist’s viewpoints of it being a place that she ran from. I appreciate that because I have to say that I LOVED our MC!!

This is our August bookclub pick and I’m not writing this way because of the fact that the author is coming to visit us— these are my genuine thoughts. As I approach 50, my rating scale varies and I have noticed in myself that I have come to really, thoroughly enjoy a good throwback, nostalgic viewpoint from a story. We get that with this novel and I WAS HERE FOR IT! When I think of authors like Alice Feeney, you expect an off-the-rails, “no one saw it coming” outcome… she is probably my favorite thriller author for that reason alone. I hate figuring out the plot halfway through book only to be right in the end. While this novel is not an “off the rails crazy”, it was so FUN (in a chase sort of way with an excellent protagonist, Petta) and kept me guessing, and I honestly didn’t predict the outcome.

This book starts out, so freaking hilarious, especially if you are a woman! That caught my attention, and I know that was her intent. It worked! Was the ending perfect or believable? Not really. But my rating here is solely based on my sadness each time I couldn’t grab the book to read because of summer break busy days… I really had fun with this one (have I said it enough? Lolol!) I think fun sometimes outweighs content or style, or if a book fits perfectly in a genre box, reiterating the fact that I can’t stick to a general star rating scale.

Super thankful that I was one of the winners of this advanced copy, and I’m looking forward to our discussion with the author in August!

4.5* Absolutely mind-blowing! I enjoyed this book within-a-book mystery thriller.
"Truth and fiction collide in this captivating debut novel..."

The story comes from a 30 year secret Petta has been hiding as well as her best friend Jenny about one of their peas in a pod friend Megan's death when they were only 14 years old in Wisconsin. Ruled as a suicide, they let it ride instead of revealing the truth.

Petta now lives in NYC mainly reclusive with her boyfriend Gus. They enjoy each other's interests in their chilled life. When a book emerges with the dedication page encrypted to someone with her name "I know what you did, Petal Woznewski. And everyone else will too.", her life is about to change. Hints and clues arrive sending her on a scavenger hunt back to Wisconsin. Jenny is missing and there is no one else that knew what happened or so she thought.
This will keep your heart racing and on edge until the end!
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. Imagine that you are a woman with a unique name (say, Petal Woznewski) and that you have some secrets in your past that you've never told anyone. Now imagine that one day you pick up a popular bestseller called No One Suspected, penned by a pseudonymous writer, and see this on the dedication page: “I know what you did, Petal Woznewski. And now everyone else will, too.”

This is the scenario in which Petal (now going by Petta) Woznewski finds herself, prompting her to leave her quiet life in New York City and travel to her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, in search of answers. As Petta delves into her past, someone dangerous is stalking her present, and her only clues to that person's identity are in the pages of a book accusing her of a horrific crime.

What a premise, right?! Cleverly utilizing a book within a book, past-and-present structure through the use of excerpts from No One Suspected, Cayce Osborne sucked me in immediately with this well-constructed, slow-burning suspense debut. Osborne is a Madison native and it shows; I Know What You Did is atmospheric and evocative.

The real strength of this novel, though, is the protagonist and her distinct narrative voice. Petta is funny and self-deprecating and damaged, shaped by a traumatic past but never self-pitying. I found her so engaging and I really rooted for her all the way through. Overcome those self-destructive tendencies, girl!

I'm rounding this one down instead of up, because the culprit kind of came out of left field for me, with a motive that was over-explained and over-the-top. I had a different person in mind for the baddie, which I think would have made this a more interesting novel as a whole. Overall, though, I Know What You Did's unique premise, compulsively readable structure, and strong protagonist make it a worthwhile read. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

Imagine picking up a copy of this years best seller. As you read, you notice a character who has your name. I am sure that's happened to a few of us from time to time. That's not too far-fetched with most names. But then again, most of us don't have a name like Petal. Where it gets really weird is when the characters seem to be reliving your past. But it doesn't stop there. This version isn't just wrong it paints you out to be responsible for one of your best friends' deaths!

Honestly, this book was a lot of fun to read. It is fairly short, paced well, characters are developed decently, and the twist will shock you. Overall, this is a solid debut novel, and I do think I will be on the lookout for books from Osborne in the future.

As always, thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review

I picked this one to read, not really sure what it was about as I requested it a while ago! This book blew me away! I wasn't expecting it at all! I really enjoyed this! 3 bestfriends go into the woods one night and only 2 come out alive, they promised each other to never tell of what happened that night. One girl being Petal. Thirty years later a book is published and the dedication page reads ' I know what you did Petal Woznewski and now everyone else will to'
I was hooked at this point I had to keep reading! I read this so quickly! It was really fast paced!

DNF at 32%. I was drawn in by the premise - when Petta learns of a bestselling book with a character that shares her very unique name and seems to be about an incident from her childhood. However the execution from there didn’t work for me and I found when I set it down I was not ever interested to get back to it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Petal Wosnewski is a bit of a loner. Most of her time is spent trying to forget her past. She grew up in Wisconsin and now, in the present is in New York City. Petta is shaken when she find out that a new bestselling novel which has a very similar story to her traumatic adolescence back in Madison, but also the protagonist shares Petals exact name. She sets out to try and find who is digging up her darkest secret. Could it be the person that swore to take that secret to the grave with...or someone else who may know their secret?

As a debut novel I was really thrilled1 I loved the structure of the chapters being mainly the narrator, with some excerpts from the book-within-the-book. Perfect! Overall, I definitely enjoyed this fun thriller and would recommend it to my thriller genre loving friends. I rated this 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book.

I loved the idea for this book, but it kind of just fell flat for me.

Petal, who as an adult goes by Petta, has a childhood marked by tragedy. Her parents commit suicide, which left her leaving with her aunt, starting her first year of high school. Petta makes friends with Megan and Jenny. Megan dies their freshman year. It was deemed an accident, but no one knows that Petta and Jenny were present when it happened, and they know the truth.

As an adult, Petta can't escape everyone talking about the new best-selling book. She picks up a copy, only to discover that the main character has her name, and the book is about her life with Megan and Jenny, pointing the finger at Petta as the murderer. The author is writing under a pseudonym, but Petta is determined to return to her hometown and find out who wrote the book, and who could possibly know so much about her friendship with the girls, and what happened that night.

The writing style wasn't for me. At times, it felt like watching a sitcom where I was waiting for Petta to stop and wait for the audience's reaction/laugh track to something she said. There were a lot of unnecessary things that I thought were trying too hard. The book opens with Petal in the middle of a gyno exam and the doctor telling her about the book. It just added nothing that it was a gyno exam and it felt like it was trying to be funny or edgy by throwing that in there. Same goes for using the name "jackhole" to describe someone she didn't like.

The actual plot didn't make sense in the end. I still wasn't fully understanding why the author targeted Petta (and then obviously tried to kill her because this is a thriller) when the author found out the true story of what happened to Megan that night. It just didn't fully make sense to me.

The main book is interspersed with chapters of the book within the book, and even the ending of the fictional book didn't fully make sense to me.

Overall, I really liked the theory and idea of the book, but the execution wasn't there for me.

The story starts with Petal and her daily routines, only to stumble upon a book which says - " I know what you did Petal Woznewski" in the dedication page? If that doesn't hook you I don't know what will. Of course, that's why I picked up to read the book in the first place. I have to say, in the beginning the protagonist is highly unlikeable. She comes across annoying and judgmental. Also what's with authors deprecating humor about readers and bloggers? I don't know what kind of readers go out of their way to solve a mystery as mentioned in this book. We are too busy reading the next book to solve any murder .. lol. The mystery is good and keeps you glued till the middle. You don't know what's happening. I didn't wanna believe that the culprits were too obvious so I gave it the benefit of doubt only to be disappointed in the end anyways. It has that underlying unreliable narrator trope somewhere in the plot. The supporting characters were interesting but no one stands out though Gus really tries. Obviously the plot is a self realizing journey for the protagonist and hence we do root for her a bit... The climax was a bit underwhelming only because it didn't feel as compelling as the majority of the book. But what works is great writing, a strong voice and consistent pace. Giving it 3.5 stars. Thank you to netgalley and crooked lane books for the Arc!

Cayce Osborne's smashing debut, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID, is a smartly crafted 'book within a book' twisty psychological suspense thriller —where truth and fiction collide in this deadly game of cat-and-mouse keeping you on the edge of your seat until the satisfying conclusion.

Petal Woznewski (now called Petta), the star of this well-developed suspense, resides in New York City, where she can get lost in the crowd—the only place noisy, vibrant, and chaotic enough to quiet her demons. She is an introvert—escaping into movies, loud music, takeout, junk foods, drinking, smoking pot, and her boyfriend (friends with benefits), Gus (loved him), whom she keeps at a distance.

Petal does not want to remember her past. She had a traumatic childhood—her parents committed suicide, and she had to go live with her aunt as a teen. Then her best friend dies, or was she murdered? The case was closed as an accident, but there has always been doubt about what happened that night. She still thinks of that night.

Three friends: Megan (rich) and Jenny (poor), BFFs in high school.

Then Petal moves to town to live with her aunt, and she becomes the 3rd in this friendship circle. Megan and Petal have more in common due to their backgrounds, and Jenny is jealous. Someone is always left out in threes—when three friends are one too many.

Then a bestselling #1 New York Times bestselling novel hits the market that rocks Peta's world. She learns of the book from her sub-gyno and later at home by Gus. The novel is fiction (with a lot of truth) centered around her childhood friend, Megan, and her death; however, the book accuses Petal of the murder and uses her real name, and the other two girls (Miri/Izzy)are fictionalized names.

The book is titled No One Suspected by ME Littleton. Who is this? She needs help finding something about the author but comes up empty. There is no photo, and the publisher keeps the author's identity a secret. The dedication page: "I know what you did, Petal Woznewski. And now everyone else will, too."

At first, she ignores it but then decides she will read it. So many things are true that are scary, and then much is false, putting her in a bad light. She cannot get any information, so she returns to her hometown of Minnesota, Wisconsin, where she swore she would never return.

Is the writer trying to lure her in? Petta must confront her past and solve this mystery. Will she be able to slay her demons and come out alive?

From dark secrets, lies, ongoing mysteries, and fast-paced—the author keeps you in suspense turning the pages to find out what happened that night with these three teen girls and who is the book's author! The setting at the reservoir and forest were atmospheric and chilling.

WHAT A WILD RIDE!

CAPTIVATING! This was a hard one to put down. The author does a fantastic job with how the book is laid out, sprinkled with excerpts from the book and alternating timelines from then and now. From voices Petta/Petal and Jenny/Izzy (book). I also enjoyed the dark humor, which added to the entertainment. I enjoyed her writing style.

I loved Gus! He was my hero and a fan of Petal with her quirky personality and her Doc Martens. I also liked Gull the Detective. Hard to believe this is a debut— an author to watch. She is on my list, and I look forward to seeing what comes next.

If you enjoy CLEVER thrillers with well-developed characters and twisty plots, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID is for you! For fans of Taylor Adams' THE LAST WORD — (another fabulous book within a book and top books of the year). I look forward to listening to the audiobook narrated by a favorite, Hillary Huber!

Thanks to #CrookedLaneBooks for a gifted ARC via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 18, 2023
My Rating: 4.5 Stars rounded to 5
July 2023 Must-Read Books

I really wanted to enjoy this one, and I might be in the minority here, but I just found the main character very flat, and I could not bond with her or enjoy reading about her at all. Therefore, this, book just wasn’t for me.

Petal is not a book person, so she never expects to have any interest in the new best seller that everyone is talking about. But when she opens the anonymously written story to find the dedication: “I know what you did, Petal Woznewski. And now everyone else will, too”, she is instantly taken back to her freshman year of high school, and the secret that only two people on earth ever knew. Frightened by this link to her past she thought she left behind, Petal revisits her hometown of Madison to try and find out who wrote this story, and why the author is targeting her by name. Clues keep appearing, each one more ominous than the last, and before long, Petal fears her real life may end as badly as it does for her named character in the novel.

This book sucked me in immediately, with descriptive passages from the novel Petal is reading interspersed with her own journey from New York to Madison. I loved guessing about the identity of the author, and there were just enough clues and dead ends throughout the story that I never lost interest! This is a great mystery with some thrilling moments, I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I Know What You Did is an unsolved murder mystery.

During a routine annual gynecological Petta's Dr. starts talking about a book he read and casually drops the bomb that she is named in the book. Shocked by this reveal at a delicate moment. She can't get it out of her mind. The book seems to be all anyone is talking about. Crabby and curious, Petta decides to buy the bestselling novel which fictionalizes the death of her childhood best friend and accuses her of the murder.

Petta tries to find Jenny, who was with her at the time, but she is missing. Petra returns to Madison WI, in order to solve the mystery of who wrote the book as well as who actually murdered her friend.

This looked to be an interesting story from the description, but I was put off by the main character. She was abrasive and not someone I was interested in getting to know. I had a hard time enjoying the story because Petta was not a nice person.

Great "who-dun-it'! Well written - fast paced - definitely a page turner easy read.

I'm definitely a new fan of this author!

Thank you to @crookedlanebooks for my advance copy! I was drawn in by this one right from the cover. It is extremely ominous looking. Which happens to fit since this is an atmospheric slow burn mystery.
Normally I am more of an action lover and don’t care for a slow burn but, this one really worked. The writing is wicked smart and full of sarcasm. I thought that our main character, Petal/Petta had a very unique and distinct voice which made me curious as to what was going to happen.
The idea of this one is unique. I mean, can you imagine picking up a book dedicated to you (your WHOLE name) and painting you as a killer?! Now imagine that you find out from your Gynecologist. Hello uncomfortable and traumatizing. I guess Petta is used to that as she has had a pretty rough life.
Since the novel is short it does not make for much characterization but I think it worked here. I did not see the ending nor did I see the “villain” which is added points. This is perfect for a quick summer read! Thank you to @netgalley for my advance copy!

4.5ish stars, rounded up. I'll fully admit that my rating is probably biased based on the fact that this is set in Madison, WI, written by a local author, and I was definitely influenced by how well she described the setting with specifics that could only be written by someone with deep ties to this place. Readers from elsewhere might not know what the author talks of when she repeatedly mentions Bagels Forever, but can still enjoy the strong sense of place this mystery has.
The plot, though, is page-turning. Petal discovers that a new bestseller by a pseudonymous author not only contains her unique first and last name as a character, but the plot contains details about Petal and of the death of her best friend their freshman year of high school that only Petal and one other person, sending her back to Madison to find out who is behind this. It's tense and unique, with a strong narrative voice.

I Know What You Did had an interesting premise but didn’t deliver.

Petta is at the gynecologist for her regular checkup, listening to her doctor drone on about a book he just finished and how he thinks Petta should read it too. Petta doesn’t think much of it at the time, but subsequently, she keeps seeing this book advertised everywhere. When Petta finally deigns to look at it, she clocks that the author ominously dedicated it to her, and it sends her into a spiral to find out who wrote the book.

I thought I would love this one, seeing as it’s receiving high praise already, but I wasn’t as invested as I had hoped I would be. I enjoyed the initial setup and the last 40%, but the rest was not so exciting. I liked the excerpts more than Petta’s attempts at finding the author.

When the reveal finally came, it came out of nowhere, and the culprit’s motivations were over-explained. Overall, it felt a bit cheesy instead of shocking.

I seem to be in the minority on this one, so there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this more than I did.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

I voluntarily read an advanced copy of I Know What You Did by Cayce Osborne. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

This was a mystery full of twists and turns. I enjoyed the regular person going into sleuthing mode to figure out who is calling her out as a killer. I also enjoyed the slow reveal of what really happened and how it connected with the people in the present. While this wasn't the smoothest plot/story I have ever read, it did keep me engaged to the final reveal. I give this book a solid 4/5 stars.

I know what you need! You need to read this epic page turner! I Know What You Did is a thriller with an unknown antagonist who you will continue to think you know but will be shocked to discover! Not only will it keep you guessing it will keep you reading!

Petal Woznewski, who likes to be called Petta is from Wisconsin but lives in New York City. A movie fanatic she and her friend with benefits, Gus have a great arrangement. Just what Petta needs. Her past is filled with death. So much death for a young girl. All she needs is to keep her mind on other things and not remember. Until Gus tells her about this book everybody is reading called No One Suspected. It’s about a high school girl’s death in Wisconsin which was ruled a suicide, but the story goes into detail as to how it was really a murder. Not really Petta’s kind of read until he tells her one of the main characters has her name. Petal Woznewski. Not a very common name. Chills run down her spine. How could anyone know what happened to her when she was in high school? Why would someone write this story? It must be someone from her past, but the only other person who knew the truth would never tell what happened that terrible night.

You see, she was best friends with two girls in high school, Megan and Jenny. Three peas in a pod, or so she thought. Until Megan dies and they rule it a suicide. But Petta and Jenny know what really happened and neither of them would ever tell. But it seems the author of the novel the mysterious ME Littleton thinks they know, and now so does the world!

Petta tries to find information on this author but is unable to get anything on them, even if it’s a man or a woman. So, she does what she never imagined ever doing in her entire life. She heads back to the scene of all her anxieties, Madison, Wisconsin to try and get information. Unfortunately for Petta that’s exactly what someone wanted her to do.

As she reads the book, she discovers inaccuracies, but some parts are too close for comfort. She knows she was not at fault for her friend’s death. But a pact is a pact, and she can’t betray what really happened. There is someone out there who wants to see her pay for the death of Megan. She begins being followed; clues are left for her as if she is on some kind of a scavenger hunt. The more she tries to discover who this is the deeper she falls into this terrible hole she has tried so hard to leave behind. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes her life is in danger. Who wants Petta dead? Why?

I Know What You did is a brain workout as you try to put the pieces of the puzzle together and root for Petta to save herself! Of course, the endgame is spectacular!

Thank you #NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks #CayceOsborne #IKnowWhatYouDid for the advanced copy.