This was a pretty good book! It was a typical locked door murder mystery at sea, and it was filled with multiple POVs, unlikeable characters, lots of wondering who did it, and some twists and turns! Overall it was good and it was also enjoyable, thank you!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

(3.5 rounded down) This is going to sound like a diss and I don’t mean it to at all - if you go in with low expectations and an appetite for a popcorn thriller, you’ll enjoy this. It’s exactly what it claims to be : a mystery/thriller with a long list of unlikable characters & a locked room murder mystery on a yacht. There are multiple storylines & perspectives, and a bunch of twists, some obvious, some not. If you read Sian Gilbert’s debut, “She Started It” and enjoyed it, you’ll vibe with this. I had a good time and was able to tune out the outside world, which is exactly what I was craving. This doesn’t reinvent the wheel and I probably won’t be thinking about in a month, but not every book needs to check those boxes! This was perfect for what it was.

I love locked-room mysteries and tales set at sea, so I jumped at the chance to read this book. Who can resist a below-deck setting, dark secrets, and murder?! Written from multiple POVs, the story follows the crew of the super yacht Ophelia on her voyage to New York.

The book opens with murder, no less, and then introduces us to the working crew. We meet Sasha, a last-minute hire for a week-long Atlantic crossing after a former stewardess was abruptly dismissed. Then there’s Jade, the rigid chief stewardess, and the three other stewardesses — Imogen, Euphemia, and Lola — blonde, model-gorgeous, and nearly indistinguishable in appearance.

The crew also includes a couple of deckhands, a cook, the ship’s engineer, the bosun, the captain, and the first mate. Since a stewardess from the previous charter disappeared, the atmosphere is tense, emotions run high, and dangerous undercurrents swirl just beneath the surface.

The plot thickens when billionaire guests Benjamin and Digby join the cruise with their glamorous companions, Eva and Jasmine. The cruise takes a lethal turn when expensive jewelry starts disappearing, and a crew member turns up dead. Trust becomes a luxury no one can afford. Everyone harbors secrets — some deadlier than others.

Join the crew on this perilous voyage filled with unpredictable twists and turns. The suspense kept me turning pages, and I never lost interest. Themes of trust, loss, friendship, betrayal, sexual harassment, and flawed human nature are intricately woven into the story.

Life aboard a luxury yacht isn’t all flowers and roses for the crew. The work is exhausting, the demands endless, and they must cater to the guests' every whim while maintaining a polished facade. Rivalries, petty fights, and simmering resentments run rampant.

I didn’t like most of the characters, as they were portrayed in an unflattering light. Sasha and Jasmine were far more likable and less petty than the rest. The rest of the stewardesses were catty and competitive, each thinking she was superior. Their dynamics made me cringe. The men weren’t much better — some treated the women as disposable objects.

The book is divided into five parts. The first part felt slow, reminiscent of a telenovela with its melodramatic plots and exaggerated emotions. But things picked up in the second part, and once a body was discovered, I couldn’t stop reading. The multiple perspectives offered a fascinating glimpse into the characters’ minds. Some even evolved by the end, earning a bit of my sympathy, though I still didn’t like them much.

The ending was breathlessly intense and tied everything together, though I wasn’t entirely satisfied with it. I’m tired of seeing people get away with their misdeeds. Because of that and the slow start, I deducted one star from my rating.

Overall, this is a well-crafted story that keeps you turning the pages with its unpredictable twists and vivid character portrayals. Despite my reservations about the conclusion, the excellent writing and gripping mystery make it well worth the read.


* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

I read this authors debut and decided that I wanted to read all future works. So I was definitely excited to receive this ARC. This author has the ability to throw many characters and complex story lines at you, leading to wondering what exactly is happening. I thought this was a very interesting story and it was hard to tell who was who. Locked murder mystery on a superyacht…don’t miss it.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC. This will be out in June of 2025!

I really enjoyed this and flew through it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I loved Gilbert’s debut, She Started It, and was so excited to get my hands on an early copy of her sophomore novel. I knew from the premise I was most likely going to love this story, and it did not disappoint!

I Did Warn Her hits all my thriller must-haves: multiple POV, complex characters, can’t trust anyone, twists upon twists, didn’t see that coming, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. I loved that it took place on a super yacht and I truly felt like I was watching a reality tv show, only the cameras stopped rolling. I could easily picture the characters and the entire deck of Ophelia.

I enjoyed getting an inside look at each character’s motivations, especially Sasha’s and Jasmine’s, and how the plot was divided into parts. This kept me guessing throughout the novel, and the ending was the perfect knot that tied everything together. If you’re looking for your next locked-room thriller, I highly recommend adding I Did Warn Her to your list. It’s sure to engage you from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome aboard the Super Yacht Ophelia! If you’ve ever indulged in even a few minutes of Below Deck, then this is a book you won’t want to miss. Picture a luxurious mega-yacht staffed with deckhands, a no-nonsense captain, a skilled cook, a meticulous first mate, and five stewardesses, all hired to cater to the whims of their wealthy, enigmatic passengers.

Sasha, the newest addition to the crew, arrives to find an unsettling surprise: she looks strikingly similar to the other stewardesses. It’s eerie enough to make her question whether this job was a good choice, but with her personal life in shambles after a disastrous incident at her last workplace, she knows she has few options left.

Thrown into a high-pressure environment where appearances and precision are everything, Sasha has to learn fast. The stakes become even higher when a group of billionaire clients and their glamorous, mysterious companions board the yacht. Everyone on the Ophelia seems to have secrets, and the veneer of luxury begins to crack.

When one of the guests Sasha has a spat with turns up dead, what was already a high-stakes job becomes a fight for survival. Trapped on the open seas, Sasha must navigate the treacherous dynamics of the crew, the sinister undercurrents among the guests, and her own growing fear. Who can she trust when everyone seems to be hiding something?

Sian Gilbert crafts a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller that combines the glamor of high-end yachting with the chilling suspense of a whodunit. With compelling characters, swift pacing, and twists at every turn, I Did Warn Her keeps readers hooked until the very last page.

#IDidWarnHer #WilliamMorrow #SianGilbert #Thriller

I really enjoyed this thriller! I’m a huge fan of below deck so definitely loved the premise of a charter on a super yacht. I didn’t love this, since I felt pacing was super off in the beginning and then everything happened at once. Still a 4 star read since I was super captivated by the writing and suspense, such a page turner!

I feel like a broken record because I always find myself saying this when I write reviews for mysteries/thrillers: this had such a good concept and had so much potential. But unlike other times, I'm not nearly as disappointed as I usually am when I say that.

Like I just said, such a cool concept: murder on a mega-yacht! I still had a lot of fun when reading this, but I just wish there was something to hook me a little more than the premise alone. I think my main problem was that I didn't find the characters all that interesting.

I would still recommend this book, because I do think this is a rather unique concept and I did have fun. I just want a little more oomph. A little more pizzazz.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I love locked-door mysteries, and this one — set on a super yacht — sounded so interesting. Unfortunately, it's not a fit for me. The many, many (many) perspectives felt distracting and to be completely honest, the way the women were portrayed and treated bummed me out. I know it's fiction, but some of the descriptions and narrations made it hard for me to escape into the story.