I hate to do this with a book from NetGalley, but I am going to put this book in my DNF pile. I have never done that before, but I have been chipping away at it for several weeks in my spare time and there is nothing to grab me, even at 25% of the way through. It just isn’t for me.
Here are my reasons: I love the way that it was written. The way that the author chooses to portray ideas and characters to you is excellent. I think that the parts that move the book along and make it exciting for readers was missing.
It was hard for me to match the characters actions to their individual narratives in the small part that I read. Lizzy seemed so out of it, timid, shy, unknowing, in the beginning, but so sure of herself and her actions and voice in peoples memories. The sister, there was too much skipping down memory lane for me to be paying attention to what is going on there.
I love to read about the Lizzie Borden murders, so I thought that this would be a must read for me. Maybe I will have to revisit it when I have a little more time.

I did think that the cover was beautiful, and that is what made me want to select this book in the first place.

The author does a good job at making you feel an eerie sense when reading, her descriptions almost put you on edge.

What happens when the creative writing class goes wrong...

I freely admit it – I'm pedantic. There are 171,456 words listed as being current in the Oxford English Dictionary, plus over 40,000 obsolete ones, and I feel that should be enough for most novels without the author feeling the need to create her own, or to use them in 'innovative' ways. So I quivered when, on page 1, Schmidt comes up with 'My heart beat nightmares, gallop, gallop...' When she repeats the sentence 'The clock on the mantel ticked ticked.' three times in the first few pages, it merely annoyed me three times instead of once. When she describes the maid as bringing with her 'the smell of decayed meaty-meat', I seriously considered turning vegetarian.

'...strange feelings popped across my bones', 'My teeth were cold against my teeth', 'I shooed her along, my wrist a flick and crunch', 'Her chest heaved, soft, child-suckled breasts.', 'Her lips parted, a sea.' But the clincher was 'I went to the pail of water by the well, let my hands sink into the cool sip sip...'

Since the book is unaccountably garnering positive reviews, clearly plenty of people like this kind of writing. But not me. Abandoned at 2%, since I can't begin to imagine that the story could possibly compensate for the awfulness of the prose. I shall go off now and have some cakey-cake and a mug of coffee-flavoured sip sip in the hopes of heating up my teeth...

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grove Atlantic.

There are no words to describe how good this book is. Dark, atmospheric and chilling, this book is an intense read, and one amazing debut. There are so many things I want to say about this book. It’s exquisitely written, the claustrophobic setting, the uncomfortable feelings you get all the way through the story. This is one book that has stuck with me long after I’ve finished reading it, and I’ve recommended it to just about everyone I know.

The novel is based on the real life story of Lizzie Borden, a young women who was accused of murdering her father and step-mother. Her case went to trial but she was acquitted due to lack of evidence. The story mixes the facts of the case with a narrative that switches between before the murders occurred, and the aftermath.

The book differs in point of view between that of Lizzie, her sister Emma, the housemaid Bridget and a stranger named Benjamin. The different perspectives are really fascinating because they give such differing views of the messed up Borden family. Each scene in the book is laced with familial tension, and Schmidt’s writing oozes with a sense of dark heat and atmosphere.

The thing that stands out most is the writing style of this book. Schmidt writes in such a fascinating way, often slightly poetic, every word adds another layer and the readers senses are continually assaulted by the descriptions of the tastes and smells of the Borden household. The story is certainly a vivid one, and it is completely unlike anything I have ever read. I think I read See What I Have Done in maybe two sittings, purely because I was completely sucked into the story.

I knew very little about Lizzie Borden prior to reading this book, bar of course the famous rhyme:

‘Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.’

But after finishing the book I found myself spending a large time googling Lizzie and the case, it’s such a fascinating story. The family being sick the day before the murders, Lizzie’s contradicting story and lack of remorse over the whole thing. Did she murder her father and step-mother? We’ll never know. I loved this book from start to finish. The characters were well constructed and fleshed out, the writing impeccable and the story probably one of the best I have ever read. This is easily my favourite book of 2017. I cannot wait to see what Sarah Schmidt writes next.

Axes....Murder....Mutilation....and one Creepy Family....1892 Fall River, Massachusetts.

Sarah Schmidt does a great job of presenting this work of historical fiction about the life and times of Lizzie Borden complete with factual data and Creepy atmosphere.

As a matter of fact, the whole Borden family REALLY is a bit off, and it seems everyone dislikes....well everyone including the maid Bridget who just wants to get the hell out of dodge, older sister Emma who desperately seeks separation from Crazy Creepy Lizzie and Uncle John who is just a bit too touchy with the sisters, AND has it in for their beastly father Andrew....in a deadly way.

SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE has it all.....mystery, sibling rivalry, a Creepy dangerous man hanging around the family abode......and, oh.....I wouldn't eat the food.

So..... who REALLY butchered Andrew and step-mother Abby Borden? You'll find a timeline of facts, entertaining read and an intriguing look into the past here with a brutally symbolic book-cover to help you figure it out.....or not.

One last note. Had to check out 92 Second Street NOW and THEN (interesting) AND I would be remiss if I didn't include this little rhyming ditty of Lizzie:

"Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks; When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one." (history.com)

Lizzie Borden - July 19, 1860 -- June 1, 1927

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit that I really struggled with this book. The idea behind See What I have Done is brilliant. However...there are repetitive phrases that served no purpose (the mantel ticked ticked). I realize the author was making a point; demonstrating the character's frame of mind. But for me, it was just annoying. I finished the book and thought, "hmm...nothing really happened." I would have preferred the story told was more of what the idea behind the story was.

I so wanted to love this book. The premise sounded very interesting, but in the end I found the story to be choppy and slightly confusing.

I made it about halfway through this book and I just am struggling. I am unable to connect with the authors writing style. I am disappointed because I really thought this was a interesting topic and was looking forward to reading it.

The book was off to a great start, but as the story progresses, it gets a bit confusing. Or at least it did for me. I didn’t particularly enjoy the narrative. It’s told from multiple points of views, which can make for a really great read. However, this fell short of spectacular. There was too much dialogue and it felt like all the characters were told in the same voice.

Where I found myself confused was when the story kept going back and forth between the present and the past. Whenever a character started to reminisce about their past and got lost in their thoughts, I too was lost and found myself having to backtrack.

Unfortunately, I did not want to waste anymore time and did not bother finishing it.

I have seen shows about Lizzie Borden, but have never read anything about her and what happened to her family. This book tells that story and also shows the relationships between the characters of Lizzie, Emma, Bridget and Benjamin. This book looks into the minds of the characters, but didn’t really tell what led them to the tragic conclusion. This was a very hard story to get into.

See What I Have Done is a retelling of the Lizzie Borden case. I'm sure you remember the morbid little rhyme we all innocently chanted as kids. The book takes you through the murders through the eyes of multiple people involved and the aftermath.

It's not that I didn't enjoy this book. It had everything in it that I like: multiple POVs, an intriguing murder-mystery (albeit, the "mystery" was a bit of a stretch, but you get the gist), and well-rounded characters. I'm just generally not a fan of historical fiction--but I took a leap because the premise of this sounded so interesting. It fell flat for me, but I don't think in any way it was the fault of the author. Or even the story for that matter. Just not for me, unfortunately.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read.

Australian author Sarah Schmidt’s debut is a clever, gritty, vision of one of the most infamous unsolved crimes of history, beginning on the morning of the murder, when Lizzie calls the maid, telling her:

“Someone’s killed Father”.

These things are true:

Lizzie Borden was born 19 July 1860 in Fall River, Massachusetts, she lived and died in that same town. Lizzie Andrew Borden, her full name, was tried and acquitted in 1892 for the murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts, the location of the murders was the home that they shared. The main characters in ”See What I Have Done” were the actual people in and out of the home, Lizzie’s older sister, Emma, her father Andrew, her stepmother Abby, Bridget is the maid, whose only dream is to return to her family in Ireland. John, Emma and Lizzie’s Uncle who is their mother’s – the first Mrs. Borden - brother.

Schmidt excels at making you want to really understand Lizzie Borden, get under her skin, making you want to figure out who she is, and if she’s done what the famous folk rhyme says she’s done, showing you so many possible diverse sides to this story.

For those of you who didn’t skip rope to this chant:

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

Yes, really. Up there with “Ring around the Rosie” and it’s rumoured background of it being about the Plague.

Told from different perspectives – Schmidt delivers a rather cryptic, strange, and disturbed peek into the thoughts of Lizzie, but no one is left to appear innocent. While the act itself is a fact, there remains the obvious who-done-it question.

The narrators include Emma and Lizzie, daughters of Sarah Anthony (Morse) Borden, the first Mrs. Borden, Bridget, the (Irish) family maid, and Benjamin, a man hired by Uncle John, an “outsider.”

A wonderful debut novel, this is a captivating, spellbinding and, at times, unsettling read. For me, exceptionally disquieting moments were when I was reading Lizzie’s thoughts, dark and disturbed one moment and filled with a childlike admiration and love the next – but always relayed in this childlike voice, as though she’s forever trapped in childhood. Lizzie is also a fairly fragmented, unreliable narrator, but then again, I wasn’t counting on her for an accurate retelling. Emma has her own unique view on life and her desire to shield of Lizzie, Lizzie was so young when their mother died and Emma feels responsible for Lizzie. Bridget stands out as voice of reason, contributing her the “behind the scenes” portrait of this uniquely different household in her levelheaded way, but as a maid her voice is quieted to almost a whisper. Benjamin has more than enough troubles of his own and Uncle John owes him, but he fills in his views.

I’m not sure how one would write a novel on this without including some gruesome details, but all things considered they are fairly minimal – although I would caution against eating while reading this for those with sensitive tummies. For those disturbed by this dark tale, I would recommend a dose of the Chad Mitchell Trio’s “Lizzie Borden” which I believe is only found on YouTube (unless you happen to have an old 45 of this), a much lighter take on Lizzie’s tale … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wlO-... which I found only because I was curious if there was ever a song in addition to the folk rhyme chant.

Recommended – with a cautionary twist

Pub Date: 01 Aug 2017


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Grove Atlantic / Atlantic Monthly Press

I love true crime and suspense books. Lizzie Borden's story has always intrigued me. This is a fictionalized version of one of the most talked about murder mysteries of the 19th/20th centuries.

After reading this book, I'm now of the belief that maybe Uncle John Morse, Lizzie's mother was the killer. He hadn't seen his ex brother in law in years and shows up the night before he and his new wife are murdered.

We may never know who killed Lizzie's father, Andrew and her stepmother, Abby but one thing for sure I do know, this was a chilling and well written book.

This book is told through the voices of Emma, Lizzie's sister and Lizzie herself.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Wow, this book will definitely win creepiest read of 2017. The Lizzie Borden murders have been a source of fascination for me, and the author took history and breathed life into it. I could almost smell every smell, taste every taste, feel the heat of the Borden home, every description of the author's was just that good. Very very good (and again, creepy) read.

I wish I knew more of the actual history so I could compare the narratives. As it's still a bit of a mystery, I guess that's just not going to happen. As it was, this was an interesting, if gruesome story. The was the tale was unwound was very well done and made me curious to learn more.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from netgalley.com.

On the 4 August 1892 Andrew Borden and his second wife, Abby, were brutally murdered in their home at 92 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts and Andrew’s daughter, Lizzie, was charged with the murders. She was tried and was acquitted in June 1893 and speculation about the murders and whether Lizzie was guilty or not continues to the present day. See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt is a work of fiction based on true events using various resources.

Lizzie was thirty two at the time of the murders but in this fictionalised account she seems emotionally much younger, more like a teenager than a mature woman.

The narrative is shared by Lizzie, her sister Emma, Bridget their maid and Benjamin, a ‘friend’ of Lizzie’s Uncle John, and moves backwards and forwards in time, before and after 4 August 1892. Lizzie’s account is the strangest and it takes you right inside her mind. She is a disturbed and unstable character to say the least and I had the most unsettling feeling as I read that I was right inside her crazy, demented mind.

The writing is ambiguous in parts, lending enough credence to cast doubt on Lizzie’s guilt – and then in other parts I was convinced that she had committed the murders. It’s the introduction of Benjamin, a fictional character, a vicious and violent man, that provides an explanation of what happened to the murder weapon, that the police were unable to find.

Sarah Schmidt’s prose highlights the senses – the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes are aroused. The tension is palpable, and the fear and feverish atmosphere in the Borden’s house comes to a climax in the gruesome murders. It is indeed eerie and compelling, a mesmerising book.

The Borden murders: a story we all think we know. This amazing story takes us in to the household and lets us hear the thoughts of all those invlolved in the fateful day. Some charachter's are familiar to us, others are new to this compelling tale.

Meet the Borden family. They reside at 92 Second Street, Fall River , Massachusetts.
Andrew, head of the household, is married to his second wife Abby, stepmother to his two daughters Emma and Lizzie.
On the exterior they seem your normal, average family but take a closer look and all is not what it seems.
Emma, the eldest sister is desperate to escape the confines of the family dynamics, always the one to look after younger sister, Lizzie, acquiescing to her every whim and demand just for a quiet life.
Lizzie, the longed for second child, is spoilt, and demanding, an undercurrent of something dark just bubbling below the surface.
When on August 4th 1892, Lizzie discovers her father murdered in the sitting room, and stepmother Abby dead in the guest room, the family and Lizzie are thrown into the spotlight.
It soon becomes apparent that Lizzie is the primary suspect, but did she do it, was she capable of two such horrific murders???
Using Lizzie and Emma, the maid, Bridget and petty criminal Benjamin, each potential suspects, Schmidt relates the events leading up to the murders. Each has a grievance against Andrew and Abby, their own reason why murder might benefit them.
Each character is meticulously drawn but it is LIzzie's character that stands out. Schmidt portrays her as somewhat contradictory, the deeply religious Sunday school teacher opposes the dark simmering hatred she feels for stepmother Abby, and her Father, her selfish need to be center of attention, to have everything her way. Schmidt forces us to question her innocence and I for one am convinced that she was more than capable of committing the murders.
I could not help but feel sorry for Emma, the dutiful daughter, the ever present sister bending to Lizzie's will yet desperate to escape, to live her own life away from the tensions of the household.
The imagery conjured up by Schmidt;'s writing was sublime. The mutton broth will be forever etched on my brain and at times I could even smell its rancid aroma!
Yes, this novel is about the infamous Borden murders and yes, it forces us to question who did it, but for me it was more about the characters, and its chilling portrait of a dysfunctional family just waiting to implode.
It is a novel that shall be imprinted in my mind for some time to come and definitely my novel of the year so far.

"Lizzie Borden took an axe..." or did she? That's the premise of this good, but creepy story. As wacky as this novel portrays her family perhaps they needed whacked. And the ending is just right -- satisfying and strange and perfect in tone.

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
On 4 August 1892 Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally murdered in their own home where they lived with Andrew’s daughters Lizzie and Emma and their housemaid Bridget. Lizzie was put on trial for their murder but was exonerated of the crime at her trial three months later.
Sarah Schmidt has recreated the scene on the morning of the murder, and in the months leading up to it using four different narrators: Lizzie, Bridget, Emma and the mystery character Benjamin. These four give us different views of a household which was undoubtedly full of tension with Lizzie and Emma only deigning to call Abby, Mrs Borden.
The thing that struck me most was how young Lizzie’s character seemed to be. The voice is actually a woman in her thirties, unmarried in an age where that was unusual, but she sounds far more like a petulant child. This just adds to the weird atmosphere recreated by Sarah Schmidt with many references to smells and tastes, particularly of the mutton stew which was endlessly reheated. Was this the cause of the sickness that all the members of the household, bar Lizzie were afflicted with? Or was the cause something more sinister? The stickiness of the day, the juiciness of the endless pears that were consumed from the arbour and the meticulous locking of the doors even during the daytime all add to the feeling of claustrophobia that set this household in Fall River, Massachusetts from the rest of the world.
All the best known details of the investigation into the brutal slaying of Mr and Mrs Borden are included, some in the present day narrative which runs throughout the book, some in the flashbacks that give the background to past conflicts that are still running, no doubt because the two daughters should have left long ago. We are given some insight as to why Emma stayed, which was due to the unnaturally symbiotic relationship with Lizzie, but no clue was offered as to why none of the local men had asked for Lizzie’s hand in marriage.
The style of writing took a little while to acclimatise to, but once I got into the stride of the book I was eager to see what theories as to what happened on that fateful day the author would propose and I’m glad to say that no single theory held sway over another, with Sarah Schmidt giving the reader the chance to come to their own conclusions based on the evidence produced.
I have to admit I only really sympathised with one of the characters who narrates this story and that was Bridget, the Irish housemaid who crossed the ocean for a better life and has been saving money to return home to her family but maybe that was because she had the most ‘normal’ of voices. Andrew is presented through the eyes of all of the characters as a harsh father and Abby as a spiteful and bitter step-mother. The undercurrents of distrust and outright hostility are then thrown into focus by the appearance of John Morse, the brother of the Sarah, Andrew Borden's first wife and mother to Emma and Lizzie. In some ways by the time I completed the book, whoever the murderer was, the deaths seem almost inevitable.
In conclusion See What I Have Done is an unusual and fascinating read, but far from a comfortably one; the writing so vivid I feared sensory overload and as a result I foretell a pearless future for this reader!