What You Did

Product Information

Secrets start to unravel and the reader is forced to think what kind of a friendship did the six share as everybody is hiding something or the other from everybody else. The rape accusation also reveals a murder of a common friend Martha while they were still in college. The plot becomes more and more complex as the story progresses.

While most of the story centres around the reunion and it’s outcome, the story of their college years is mixed in along with some teenage angst. Ali, being a crisis and rape victim activist has some very set beliefs in rape that are challenged when her husband is the one accused of rape. Each character is written with depth and precision and if you searched your own group of friends you'd likely find the variety of characters among them - although maybe milder. The planning that Claire McGowan must have done to prepare for this is phenomenal. Each chapter weaves a small thread of the story whilst developing the characters and their changing relationships. As a new thread is added, you are forced to re-evaluate your opinions and everything you had previously thought making this a suspenseful novel full of twists and surprises. The first half of this book was AMAZING. I was hooked. It covered some really difficult topics perfectly and I actually enjoyed how the author made the main character (Ali) unlikeable. Unfortunately as the book progressed it got a little boring and I was a little unsure of where the end was going to go. The ending was underwhelming and I think could have taken so many other/better directions. I have read other books by this author and was not disappointed. I'm hoping this one was just an anomaly. I will be happy to read her future books.

Featured Reviews

Most of it is modern day and concerns Ali, wife of the charged man and ‘best friend’ of the victim. She was a character who baffled and annoyed me the more I read. Her obsession with image, her snobbery and especially her noticing that her daughter Cassie had chipped nail varnish on her toes when she had a lot more to think about. Absorbing, timely, and beautifully written, What You Did is a superior psychological thriller from a major talent." - Mark Edwards

I had originally liked Ali, or at least felt a sort of understanding for the position she was put in, but as the story moves forward and she begins to make certain choices, I really soured on her and her self-serving motives. Her unease only deepens after renovations begin, when the builders find sinister dolls hidden in the walls. As Helen digs into the house’s past, she discovers that the previous owner was not only rumoured to be a witch; she was also imprisoned for a brutal triple murder thirty years earlier. We all claim to know what to do when it comes to giving support to those who need it, but do we really when your family and reputation are on the line?I didn’t know what to say, and so I left, feeling deeply ashamed of the person I’d become. Or maybe it was even worse than that. Maybe I’d been like this all along.” Cassie, her brother Benji and Jake, Karen’s son, were the only characters I really liked. They were the only ones who could see how tragic the events of the night and the few days after were and they were not thinking about the consequences for themselves. It was meant to be a relaxed weekend and reunion of old friends, but then it turns into an absolute nightmare. It’s been 25 years that Ali and her husband Mike first met their friends Karen, Jodi, Bill and Callum at university, a reason to celebrate in their new home. Yet, after a lot of alcohol, a loud cry from Karen suddenly ends the joyful get together: Karen claims to have been assaulted by Mike, her bleeding and overall status seem confirm her accusation. After Mike’s arrest, Ali’s world slowly crumbles and falls, the more she learns about her husband, the more she has to ask herself if she really knew whom she has been married to for all those years. Not only did he have an affair all those years, but also are there money transfers to an unknown account and more pieces of information that are far beyond just being inconvenient: they are purely frightening. But this is just the beginning. You see, I am huge of The Fall. I really like Claire McGowan and I am pretty excited to read The Other Wife but this book just wasn't it. It didn't feel like it is by Claire. One of the positive things I have to say about this book is that I enjoyed reading the last chapter and epilogue, not because the book finally came to end (okay, maybe, a little) or because I felt something was missing but because, it had a hint of essence of Claire's work.

At first, it was hard to Ali; I know women like her, who would turn a blind eye to any transgression a spouse has done as long as she is able to live in her plastic delusional bubble that her family is fine; that nothing is wrong with anyone and anything.I really enjoyed this book. It was clever without being hard work. As with most psychological thrillers the truth is not what it first appears to be, in fact there are multiple truths uncovered as the story unfolds, some of which are life ruining and others life changing. It’s the 25th anniversary reunion for the group of 6 that created a bond while in university, a bond that is still strong today. But is it?

I don’t believe that the current ( not past) romance between Ali & Bill was necessary, nor did it add anything of value to the plot. Ali and Mike host a disastrous 25th reunion (from the day they started) for their university friends. Karen is first to arrive as Ali gets a frantic call from the "feminist" group (charity) that she chairs. She leaves for just a while. As Ali arrives home, Jodi (8 months pregnant) and her husband, Callum. pull up. Bill arrives later on his motorcycle. Rounding out the group are Jake (17), Karen's son - and Ali and Mike's two children: Cassie and Benji. This is the sort of book you wont want to put down even to write a few words for a review. I found most of the characters unreliable, couldnt warm to any of them and even felt annoyed by one or two. Far from putting me off it just seemed to add to my enjoyment. I guess there isn’t any rule to say we HAVE to live the characters and I suspected this might have been a deliberate act by the writer. Also at times I could feel the emotional undercurrents between them. It also made me think how tragedy can draw people closer or fracture their relationships forever.Tiny Synopsis: Ali Morris has her friends from her Oxford Uni days visit for the weekend to catch up after for a reunion. It seems Ali has the most charmed life with the amazing successful husband, 2 great kids, beautiful home, and a respectable job helping women in need. However it all comes crumbling down when her best friend, Karen, accuses Ali's husband Mike of the most unthinkable crime: rape. It all spirals down from there as Ali has to grapple with trusting the word of her husband or her own best friend. This also brings up other aspects of their past at Oxford and the mysterious death of their friend whilst in college.