Not quite what I was expecting based on the description of the book, but I can't quiet tell you what I think it was missing. It just felt a little incomplete. Overall it was a decent story and book, just not a winner for me.

While still staying true to the thriller genre, You Know What You Did adds so much to it. This had depth and character development AND the twists and turns. A sure win.

I can’t recommend this to my audience due to a horrific dog death that occurs about 25-30% into the book. It’s gruesomely described. I mentioned I was reading the book in a weekly roundup, but I won’t be posting a review as it’s a DNF for me. This is a personal preference of mine; I do not recommend books where animal deaths, especially dogs, are covered in such a way. At that point in the story it felt completely unnecessary and added nothing.

I was willing to suffer the icks of trypophobia when Annie described lotus pods because I get it; it’s a psychological thriller. The dog death doesn’t add to the psychological aspect.

I found it heartrending to read about the frightening images that her obsessive compulsive disorder brought to Annie. Her mother's death became horrid in these intrusive thoughts, and I barely was able to distinguish between her fantasy and her true life.

Themes of immigrants from Vietnam and their memories and trauma from war add to the hardship of fitting into a new country. Annie's life is American but her inherited trauma from her mother's experiences and from her mother's own mental illness add to Annie's difficulty with her OCD symptoms.

The description of her mother's extreme hoarding and refusal to live any other way was troubling to both Annie and to the reader. Mental health, the aftereffects of war and displacement, are themes that make for a harrowing but insightful read into not only OCD, but immigrant trauma from past wars and upheavals.

I really enjoyed this one. I can't believe this is a debut novel. I really cant wait to see what else K.T. Nguyen writes. This fits the mold for a perfect thriller for me. I really enjoyed the emphasis on mental health and struggles with mental health in this book. This one definitely took time to build suspense but the payoff was well worth it. This book also touched on the immigrant experience which I think is a really important topic and not one I typically see covered in books (especially this genre.)

People close to her are dying….

….but Annie Shaw can’t be sure whether she might somehow be responsible for the deaths. After surviving an unstable childhood, Annie was able to use her artistic talents to land a scholarship to a prestigious art school. She met and married a handsome and kind man, Duncan, a journalist with family money and a lot of patience. They have a lovely home in the Virginia countryside, and have raised their daughter Tabby there. Appearances can be deceiving, though…..Annie has struggled to live with a variation of OCD, and the sudden death of her disturbed mother renews the disease’s hold on her. Suddenly everything in her life is spinning out of control, including her career as an artist, her marriage, and her relationship with her daughter. When the local art patron who has championed Annie’s work first disappears and then turns up dead, Annie is the police’s prime suspect. Things will get worse, and who can Annie trust when she can’t even trust herself?

A twisty psychological thriller with a highly unreliable narrator, this is a novel that not only explores the mystery of what is happening in Annie’s life in the current day, but also what happened in her and her mother’s past. Me, her mother, escaped Vietnam when she was pregnant with Annie, and was brought to the US as a refugee. Her husband and son did not make it out with her, though we aren’t told just what happened them till very late in the book. A single woman with little English, damaged psychologically from what she lived through before she escaped her war torn country, Annie’s mother is barely able to provide the basic necessities for the two of them but refuses to reach out for help. She is a very troubled woman who collects and hoards things and distrusts the outside world. This in turn has affected Annie, and has cast a shadow over her life. Duncan is very protective and understanding, but he is definitely the one pulling the weight in the relationship. Will he reach his limit? Can Annie overcome her dysfunctional relationship with her own mother in order to be a good mother to Tabby? Me regularly taunted Annie by saying, “You know what you did,”….what was it, and why does it haunt Annie? The present is being destroyed by the secrets of the past, and Annie’s battle with her compulsions are heart wrenching. It’s a book that was hard to put down once I started reading, and kept me intrigued to the very end. I had my suspicions early on about who in Annie’s life might not be the ally that they seem, but couldn’t pin it down to just one person. Readers of authors like Celeste Ng, Jenny Hollander and Lisa Scottoline would find You Know What You Did to their liking. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for allowing me early access to this well-paced thriller.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley for providing me this ARC.

I had a hard time getting into this one. It was a decent mystery but it was very slow. It was really past the half way mark in the book before anything seemed to happed. .

I would likely not recommend this book. I would however give this author another try.

K. T. Nguyen is a former magazine editor, which i imagine inspires this whole "dream career, a stunning home, and a devoted husband and daughter." what is the publishing writing publishing affair genre that has a hold on the industry right now? nevertheless, i love seeing internet writers entering the literary world. The imagery is raw and vivid—and very necessary to realistically portray how this chronic disorder can affect people's everyday lives, how it can make you feel like a prisoner in your own body. While I predicted the ending, I found the commentary on generational trauma and mother/daughter relationships to be both real and poignant.

A propulsive thriller that mostly satisfies, even if the ending did not feel quite so earned. Where the book really shines is in its exploration of generational trauma, complex mother-daughter relationships and immigrant and 2nd-generation themes.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
You Know What You Did is my first book by K.T. Nguyen, but it won’t be my last. I’m a sucker for an engaging, well-written psychological thriller, and this fits the bill perfectly.
One aspect that I was drawn to immediately was the solid character work. Anh Le, who goes by Annie, deals with OCD, and I love the way her symptoms were depicted, with her spiraling contributing beautifully to the suspense, in a way that has you questioning everything along with her. This, along with the issue of the immigrant experience and how this was reflected in her complex relationship with her now deceased mother was also a highlight.
As you might expect, this was a somewhat discombobulating reading experience. I had no idea where the story was going for at least the first half, with it really taking its time to build suspense. But along with the suspense, came anticipation and a desire for answers, and the story came together wonderfully in the second half.
This was a thrilling read, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in a thriller that also highlights social issues like mental health care and the immigrant experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an opportunity to read this book.

Annie is a Vietnamese American artist, suffering from generational trauma and OCD, when she becomes linked to mysterious deaths and fails to provide answers for what happens.

This is where the book shines best and would be great for readers who are drawn into stories about the trauma that is passed down to us and would appreciate the insight into someone who suffers from OCD. It was clear the author spoke with authority when it came to the struggles and intrusive thoughts of the main character.

But as a thriller, this did not hold my attention at all. It took three fourths of the way into it to gain any real tread into the story.

I think it could strike a chord with many readers though.

This month has been super slumpy for me, and unfortunately, that includes this one. The premise is awesome, and I've seen a ton of fantastic reviews. I did end up putting it down at around 40% because I really struggled to get invested in the plot.

I couldn't get into this one. I thought the premise was unique but ultimately I couldn't understand what was happening most of the time to make the plot make sense.

I slogged through this. The title of the book was overused throughout the book, the ending was predictable, the characters were hard to like and it took way too long for the 'real' story to begin. I felt like the husband was constantly patronizing Anh Le (which makes sense, ultimately), and daughter was such a brat. The repeated dynamic between Anh and her Me was tiresome. I understand it was needed to set up the story, but ad nauseum? I did appreciate the author touching on OCD and other trauma-related disorders, but unfortunately, it was just a miss for me. I say this, but I would probably give this author another try, as I did appreciate the potential concept of the story.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Definitely recommend this suspenseful mystery thriller. The characters and topics added depth to the engaging plot.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Annie is a first generation American, her mother was a Vietnamese refugee after the war and came to the states when she was pregnant with Annie (this is the part of the story that sounded interesting to me). Annie has been managing OCD her entire life, but it spirals out of control when her mother dies (who also battled some mental health issues in her life), her beloved dog dies, her relationship with her teenage daughter and husband deteriorates, and projects at work are falling through. When people in her life start turning up dead, Annie has a hard time explaining away the coincidences. I really liked this story until the end, which just felt overdone, I was hoping for things to come together more creatively. I mostly enjoyed the reading experience here though, so would recommend!

"You Know What You Did" by K. T. Nguyen is a gripping thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The novel masterfully weaves together the past and present, creating a seamless narrative that unravels the complex web of secrets and lies.

This is a taught thriller that has you on the edge of your seat. It’s fascinating and terrifying at the same time. I was intrigued by the character motivations. Good suspenseful book.

This one was a bit slower in areas and kinda dragged. The ending was also kinda predictable.
Idk if I’d recommend this one to many.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

A decent mystery. I felt like I had to make it halfway through the book before it gained any momentum.

The author did write the OCD symptoms and behavior very well, it definitely made me anxious at times!