Thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.
This thriller took me a while to make it all the way through. The chapters are long and switch narrators multiple times throughout, which felt clunky for a thriller. And I had a hard time keeping the three female characters (all with 5-letter names) straight. The last 100 pages were better than the first 100 pages, but I think it's because I just wanted to finish it!

“From the first paragraph . . . readers know they have entered a splendid gothic novel, with dark shadows and a disturbing creep of horror. It then comes as an intriguing surprise that the book is set in the years following the end of WWII . . . Forry shows herself a master at seductive prose that keeps the reader turning pages, eager to discover the next shocking turn of events.”—

They did Bad Things by Lauren A. Forry is a book set up to depict the roller coaster journey that a series of events cause in the lives of 5 college buddies!
When I read the blurb it was compared to And Then There were none, so I had super high hopes from it, which this book didn't fulfill to that extent but it wasn't all disappointing!
The setup did remind me of And Then There were none and Pretty little liars in some ways!
I did find this book to be an absorbing page turner read
The best part about the book that I liked a lot was that both the the storyline was enticing and it tried to achieve a ring of authenticity while simultaneously reminding one of And Then There were none and PLL.
I found this book to be nuanced and the writing style was simple and intricate.
What I didn't like at all about this book were its characters, who were pretty detestable and there were some storyline jumps from one year to another which did create some confusion in the beginning.
The cover is okayish, it did not catch my attention as such, but the title goes correctly with the content and the blurb is true to the story!
In a nutshell, it was a one good read which is worth a shot for a lazy Sunday afternoon!

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It was readable, but I found the plot a bit far fetched. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

This book was okay but didn't hold my attention. I found it kind of slow and hard to get through. I put it down many times while I was reading it due to it being slow.

Yes, its follows the theme of _And Then There Were None_ but even so its an excellent book. It kept me on my toes and thinking the whole way through.

I really wanted to like this book but I just thought it was god awful. I can’t pinpoint why I didn’t like it but I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t really connect with it.

#NetGalley #LaurenA.Forty

Well, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Based on some other's reviews I went in not necessarily expecting to like it, but like it I did!

This story is about five teenaged college roommates who were each a party to something sinister happening to the sixth roommate. Twenty years later they are all brought together again to a weathered, aged mansion on a Scottish isle, each lured there under false pretenses. The five are given a choice of either telling the truth about what happened to the sixth roommate, or dying. The characters are really interesting in a nutty sort of way. I found myself liking the sixth roommate though; sorry to say the others, not so much. The story was told in both present and past tense, giving us enough background about each to get a feel of their character.

I was both disgusted and enraptured by this story. I found it easy to read and read it fairly quickly. Though not my favorite book, I give it a solid 4 stars because I was pulled into the story and entertained thoroughly. I couldn't put it down. I would definitely recommend to someone who enjoys a good mystery.

Thanks so much to Skyhorse Publishing for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book I exchange for my honest opinion!

What a read! I am beyond happen I chose to stick on reading this, it started off kinda slow for me.

This story centers around a group of college students who end up living in a place called the Caldwell House. During one of their many parties, something tragic happens to one the characters. He is found dead earlier morning after the party and none of the other roommates had an idea who or what happened. As the story continues you later find out one of them is keeping a secret, one of them killed him and someone has brought them back years later to get the truth.

The whole time I couldn’t figure out who the killer could of been. Then when you finally figure that out you get stuck into the next mystery of who brought them al back together years later. This is an absolutely fantastic read!!! Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for providing me this arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I expected more from this book, but it was sort of a disappointment. Six college roommates have their last party of the year when one of them ends up did in the morning. The book definitely gave me Clue movie vibes, which I'm a huge fan of. However, it got too complicated and I just didn't care what was happening.

Lauren A. Forry's They Did Bad Things is an Agatha Christie-esque mystery that is engaging but ultimately fell short of the mark. It begins with a diary found at the entrance to Wolfheather House on the Isle of Doon. Unfortunately, the diary has missing pages that have not been recovered. Pages of the diary are interspersed with the past and present of Hollis Drummond, Maeve Okafor, Eleanor Hunt, Oliver Holcombe, and Lorna Torrington. Missing from the present is Callum, who was murdered by one of the others in September 1994 while the six were living together in student housing at 215 Caldwell Street.

Each went their own way after Callum's death, putting the bad things they did behind them. Now they have each come to Wolfheather House under false pretenses, none knowing the others will be present. Who has summoned them there and why is spun out over the course of the novel as bodies begin to drop and already worn relationships fray further and old wounds and desires play out.

I love reading about shitty people. It's kind of my jam and I should probably get therapy about it. But these people weren't really interesting in their shittiness, which meant I was never invested in who did what and why. I wasn't rooting for or against anyone. The one character I thought was going to put a cool spin on things was killed early on.

There were some cool elements. I thought the concept was great and the ways the puppeteer worked them over with details from Caldwell Street was great. On the flip side, the identity of the string-puller was no great surprise, the murder of Callum was for very strange reasons and didn't have much oomph behind it, and I was not really bummed at any demise save the one. Yes, these people all did bad things, they just weren't very compellingly played out. Ultimately, I didn't care how the book ended. It does have a rockin' great cover.

What a fun one this one! A perfect mystery - 5 people are brought to an island under different reasoning but each think they are somehow there for a few days vacation. It's upon arriving that they realize something is very wrong. Because these 5 used to be 6 - 6 roommates over 20 years ago in college who shared the same house. But not all of them left college alive. One of them died in that house. And they all know - it was someone else who lived there.

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I started this. Comparing it to [book:And Then There Were None|16299] was a great example but only in place and setting. I thoroughly enjoyed the differences and the modernization of the telling. The twists and turns kept me hooked to the story and I absolutely had to finish it one day after getting past 25%. The characters are all over the place but you don't have to love or hate them in order to enjoy the story. The flipping back in time frames as you read the diary entries and then sit in the present time were well spaced and didn't disturb the story at all.

I desperately hope there is another and this becomes a series. I would absolutely read more from this author!

I could not get into this book, I tried multiple times but was not getting that "I have to finish this" feeling that I crave when I am reading thrillers. Ultimately, I DNF'ed at approximately 20% into it.

This one was definitely a mind boggler. No procrastination when reading this story as you definitely need to concentrate. I found how the story flitted from modern day to the past extremely interesting and I loved finding out about each characters past. Story was good and I loved the shocker at the end.

i will definitely look for more books from this author - kudos to the graphic design team, the cover is great

Whew, this was a ride. I really enjoyed the story, I found the plot lines pretty original and enticing, and the writing style and characters were all enjoyable and relatable. I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

2.75 Hearts Boy was this book hard to get into. To tell the truth if not for the reviews saying the end got better I would have set this book aside. But I will say it did get better but not good in my opinion.

Something was very off in this story. First off I didn’t like any of the characters. I mean none of them. I never cared what happened or why. The story was so jumpy that it was distracting. I do not mind a back and forth between time periods but this seemed (not really but it did seem) to jump every other paragraph.

I will admit that like the other reviews said it got better in the end. But by then I just didn’t care what was going on.

Just not my thing I guess.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 stars. This murder mystery keeps you guessing and turning the page to find out more. There's so much murder throughout the book! Mind games and gore. Are you really as good as you think you are? Well this book is here to let you know you aren't. I did get a bit confused at one point but the ending was fantastic. Definitely recommend to those that like murder mysteries or a tale of revenge.

Five roommates from college are lured to an old, secluded manor 20 years later under false pretences to answer the question: what happened to the 6th roommate?
Quickly realizing they’ve been tricked and are trapped inside the manor, they try to find a way out before they end up dead. This novel has a wonderful premise and tells the story of 6 diverse characters. The character development is great, even if most of them aren’t very likeable. The writing style is a bit choppy and the multiple perspectives can be confusing as they aren’t all written in first person. There is also a mystery narrator, so sometimes the writing was muddled. Sticking to first person perspective throughout the book would probably serve the story better. However, the novel did keep me guessing until the very end.

They Did Bad Things is a riveting novel by Lauren Forry. 20 years ago Hollis, Ellie, Oliver, Lorna, Maeve, and Callum lived together in run-down student accommodation at 215 Caldwell Street, while at University together. The six housemates became five after a house party. 20 years later the five remaining housemates find themselves together again at Wolfheather House, Isle of Doon, Scotland. None of them know who has summoned them or why they are there. The remote Scottish B&B holiday they had in mind isn't what they expected. I think the pink lounge on the books cover is a great touch! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy.