Some men deserve to be killed. Anthony Carmichael, the deplorable disgusting degenerate child molester is a shining example. So killed he gets, by one of the kids whose lives he marred so brutally, but who survived the abuse and went on to have a picturesque life in a small town. Surprisingly easy to kill, especially considering that the murderess is a mild mannered shop owner, made all the more mild mannered by being so very British. It’s the getting away with it portion that’s going to be a challenge. Even if she does have a perfect spouse (based it seems on the author’s own one) and a perfect 16 year old son and a younger sister who may be not quite perfect, conventionally speaking, but is very eager and willing to help. And then there’s a reporter, so obsessed with Carmichael’s case for 15 years and so desperately in need of a huge story that she might be prepared to forgo a scruple or two. So that’s the basic plot of this novel, not so much a crime drama as a drama about a crime, driven by an ever increasing disquiet mixed with an ever increasing suspense. Told in a very detailed manner. And I mean very detailed. It’s easily the most noticeable thing about this book. It’s like reading a real time account told in a meticulously play by play fashion. And I love details, to e they bring the story to life and lend it much needed verisimilitude, but here the technique might have (possibly just maybe) slightly overused. The details are exhaustive. But fortuitously not exhausting, because the book still works and well, making for an immersive engaging read, made all the more so by its lovely Britishness. Not just their accents in my mind, but also the deliciously polite reserve, whether it’s a meaningless social interaction of burying a body. You just can’t beat good manners. Not even with a giant festive log (and that’s a murder weapon reference). So yes, I enjoyed this book very much, read it in one prolonged sitting and was thoroughly entertained, even the all too quaint ending was nice. Turns out the author has quite a few books under her literary belt and this is the first time I’m finding out about her, with this novel as a pretty auspicious introduction, so that’s worth looking up. For fans of British flavored slow boiling dramatic psychological suspense this is just the thing. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

What We Did by author Christobel Kent, a novel about childhood gone wrong and the revenge of it. Tense and heart wrenching with the thrill there too.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of What We Did in exchange for an honest review.