Artist Annie Shaw seems to have created the perfect life for herself, her husband, and her teenage daughter, but when Annie's mother, a Vietnamese immigrant, dies suddenly, the police start scrutinizing Annie's life, and her OCD tendencies and her carefully curated life starts to unravel.

This book is beautifully crafted. The writing, the plot, the characters. Annie's OCD tendencies. The horror, the thrill, the mystery. The relationship between Annie and her daughter. Utter perfection. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This didn’t work for me. It was slow and I couldn’t connect with the story.

****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

"You Know What You Did" is an absolute masterpiece that had me hooked from the very first page. K.T. Nguyen weaves a web of suspense and emotion that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire journey.

Annie Shaw, the protagonist, is a complex and relatable character whose struggles and triumphs make her story all the more compelling. As her carefully constructed life crumbles after her mother's sudden death, Annie's battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder resurfaces, adding a layer of raw authenticity to her character. Nguyen's portrayal of Annie's inner turmoil is so vivid that you can't help but feel every ounce of her pain.

The intricate plot is a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns that leave you constantly questioning what's real and what's imagined. The pacing is masterful, steadily building tension until you're practically breathless, desperate to uncover the truth alongside Annie.

What truly sets this book apart is its exploration of themes that strike a chord. Nguyen delves into the refugee experience with sensitivity, painting a picture of Annie's mother's journey and the impact it has on Annie's own life. The complex relationships between mothers and daughters are also beautifully depicted, as Annie grapples with the desire to protect her daughter at all costs.

The ending completely blindsided me – in the best way possible. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Nguyen expertly pulled the rug out from under the reader, delivering a finale that left me speechless and in awe of the author's storytelling prowess.

"You Know What You Did" is not just a thriller; it's a thought-provoking and emotionally charged story that lingers in your mind long after you've turned the last page. K.T. Nguyen's writing is a symphony of emotions, weaving together suspense, heartbreak, and resilience into an unforgettable tale. If you're a fan of gripping thrillers that also tug at your heartstrings, this book is an absolute must-read.

This was a bit of a difficult read. At least at first. It wad a slow build with several aimless, pointless tangents. But once the story finally got going and was on track it wad a suspenseful ride with sharp twists and unexpected turns.

Oh my goodness I wanted to love this book so much, it just honestly fell a bit flat in my opinion. It just wasn’t for me.

This was so freaking good, didn’t really know where this was going to go. Towards the end I figured things out but still I was soooooo thrown!!!! Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I kept reading because I wanted to see where it was going and how it ended, so points for holding my interest. The beginning of the book was slow. There were parts that didn’t seem necessary (the husband’s war experience, for example). I also found it disjointed; the time jumps and stream of consciousness was difficult to follow for me. The mother and daughter were fascinating characters. I felt empathy for both. The relationship with the teenager daughter/granddaughter was odd to me. I feel with a little more editing and fleshing some parts out this book could be a 5 star read. For now, it was a 3 star.

* Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

You Know What You Did is a domestic psychological thriller that explores the complicated relationship between a refugee mother with mental illness, her adult daughter, and her teenage granddaughter. In the wake of her mother's death, Annie is struggling with not just being a good wife and mom, but with debilitating bouts of OCD - and someone is stalking her.

I'll be honest: there were aspects of this book I just didn't love. For my personal thriller tastes, there was a bit too much social commentary going on. The main character is constantly judging her teen daughter and thinking about how her daughter uses moments for "social currency" and making odd remarks that remind me of old people shaking their fists and saying "The youths these days!" Additionally, this book had a bit of the Side Character Syndrome. None of the side characters were fleshed out beyond the purpose they served as Side Characters, and that meant that interactions with them often felt... odd. I really liked Ike, and I wished we'd seen more of him, and that his storyline with our MC was tied up - but honestly it felt like a lot of the storylines just stopped once we got to the whodunnit.

The whodunnit was predictable, but honestly still interesting. Honestly, I was curious to keep reading because I really wanted to know: Was Annie "crazy" or was someone out to get her? I won't spoil it, but ultimately I didn't hate the ending and actually liked how the mystery was resolved.

If you're a big fan of domestic psychological thrillers where the narrator (and everyone around them) is unreliable this book is for you.

Love how this book is kind of strange and unexpected. I didn’t know what was happening/going to happen, and that’s exactly what I want from a thriller! It’s a pretty fast read (I read it in two sittings). It’s also a psychological thriller that handles OCD in a thoughtful way. The description mentions Celeste Ng and I think Everything I Never Told You is a pretty good comparison. Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for providing this electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot and especially the exploration of intergenerational trauma and mental illness (OCD). I thought the descriptions of Annie’s OCD symptoms were incredibly evocative and showed a deft handling of a mental illness that is too often poorly represented in the thriller genre.

However, there were two issues that I had with this book that made me give it a 3.5-star rating. The chapters in this book are really short, especially in Part 1, which wouldn’t necessarily be a problem in and of itself but for the first part of the book, every other chapter is a flashback, a dream, a memory, or a flash forward. The reader is constantly being pulled in multiple directions instead of being introduced to the characters or premise. This is only for the first part of the book as the chapters eventually get longer and the number of flashbacks, etc decreases. I actually quite liked the flashbacks to Annie’s childhood later on.

The bigger issue I noticed while reading was how the main character’s actions and emotions are over-explained. As a reader, it feels like I’m being spoon-fed character development as if I can’t figure out anything on my own. It’s already very clear how Annie is feeling at all times because the reader is shown her emotional state through her words and actions. Instead of showing or telling, the author seems to have opted for both showing and telling, repeatedly, to ensure that the reader could not possibly misunderstand anything. For example, if Annie is having an argument with someone, the text will literally explain that she said something because she was feeling angry or confused.

Finally, though this is not necessarily bad, it’s also extremely easy to figure out the plot twist early on in the book. Before I had even finished Part 1, I knew who the antagonist was going to be since there were basically no other credible suspects.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was fortunate enough to be given an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley.

This story was a good mixture of suspense and drama. The description says it tells the story of three generations of women, but the primary focus was on Annie. She faces grief, mental health concerns, trauma, and relationship struggles as he world quickly starts to unravel.

This book was a little bit of a slow burn. I tend to typically gravitate towards faster paced thrillers, but this one was worth the wait and kept me questioning until the end.

Thank you, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the copy of You Know What You Did by K. T. Nguyen. Annie overcame a difficult childhood and has a great life until her mother dies, and everything starts to fall apart. Learning about Annie’s OCD and her rituals was intriguing and I felt a lot of empathy for her, even though she was not a likable character. If you want a well-written thriller, where every character could be guilty and the story is filled with twists, don’t miss this amazing, hypnotic debut!

oh. my. god. i could not put this book down.

i read "you know what you did" in one sitting. it's just that good. nguyen's novel is a horror, a thriller, and an introspective novel about intergeneration trauma as well as the bonds between mother and daughter. it's twisty, it's beautiful, and it will keep your entertained. when annie's elderly mother (a vietnamese refugee) passes away, her life goes to shit. her ocd tendencies return, her daughter doesn't want to spend time with her anymore, and her husband keeps pushing her to get help. she starts losing bits and pieces of her memory, drinking too much, and finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. did she do this? how could she do this? is her mother's ghost haunting her?

this novel is so damn crazy in the best way. i love nguyens writing style and attention to detail. i felt as if i was forgetting things, just like annie. this had me hooked from the start to the very end. you've gotta read this book, you really do. it's such a treat.

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thrilling Vietnamese-American thriller!
You Know What You Did features three generations of Vietnamese/Vietnamese-American women. When the story opens, Artist Annie Shaw's elderly mother has died. There seems to be a question about what caused the death and just what kind of mother she was. Join Annie as she transcends into darkness while she searches for answers about herself, her mother and her life.

Not for the faint to heart, Nguyen does a fantastic job illustrating the hold obsessive compulsions have over a person. There is hoarding, there is abuse, it's quite dark yet enthralling.

Welcome this new thriller writer to the fold and grab You Know What You Did!
#Penguin #Dutton #KTNguyen #Youknowwhatyoudid