What Have You Done? – Book Review

The new binge-worthy novel from the “queen of the one-sit read,” and New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. But this morning that will change. And one innocent question could be deadly. What have you done?

The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked.

But Diana Brewer isn’t lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer.

How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects, a place of fear and paranoia.

Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers.

Shari Lapena is one of those thriller authors that I would auto buy–meaning I will literally buy any books written by Shari Lapena. What Have You Done? is her latest novel which was released last year.

The story begin with Roy Ressler as he discovers a body of a teenage girl naked in the fields. The girl’s name is Diana Brewer and she was beloved by nearly the whole town in the small town. Many of her family and friends are strongly affected by Diana’s death–the most affected were Riley who is determined that Diana’s killer will go behind the bars and Diana’s own mother. There are also many suspects who would have wanted Diana dead–Diana’s boyfriend Cameron, a creepy guy named Joe who was stalking Diana and Diana’s own coach Brad Turner. The police must find the killer before the killer can affect anyone else.

I did like the plot and there is also a horror element in the story. The story was simple, fast paced and there are some twists and turns. However, compared to other Shari Lapena books, this book wasn’t really her best. Although the plot was interesting, I thought the way the story was executed wasn’t great. There were too many characters, some characters not really necessary although to me, despite there are too many characters, I managed to find their connections, and the ending seemed rushed in my opinion. However, as always, this book had a thriller element in it. The ending was OK and I kind of expected that type of ending. Overall this book is only worth 3.5 stars.