Really, the anxiety of our main character Marissa, leaked out of the pages until I was hanging on the edge of my seat for things to unfold. I enjoyed this suspenseful thriller, it kept you guessing and the reveal, which did surprise me, was held til the end.

Marissa had the unfortunate event of watching her mother murdered in front of her when she was young. Spending an anxiety filled life trying to be happy, she's always looking over her shoulder wondering if she's next.

A new friend, a new neighbor and a new business client all come into her life at the same time. They are suspects and guilty until proven other wise. Someone is after her. Could it be one of them?

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me an advanced copy to review with my own opinions.

4 stars

What she did by Carla Kovach is starkly different from her other & my favorite series following Gina Harte. Nonetheless it was a good read! Marissa was an interesting character & I kind of liked her but just couldn't get myself to really love her. For most of her life Marissa has experienced great losses in relationships, friendships and despite everything she overcome with a great attitude and some luck. For someone who's been a wallflower all thier life AND who's always been thrown life's worst, she's come out okay & therein lies her strength. She always lands on her feet. Her scars and background story makes her a very interesting character and her story felt very satisfying. This book is refreshingly different, in both plot & characters from Kovach's usual police procedural.
I would recommend this book ro anyone looking for a quick satisfying suspenseful read!

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture, & Carla Kovach for the arc!

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me. I'm sure people will read and love this book. I, however, could not get into the story. Thank you Netgalley for a copy.

This author definitely knows how to write a fast paced book full of tension and drama! This was full to the brim of all of these things and more and I couldn’t put it down.

Great thriller with a good pace on it, enjoyed this one a lot and will be liking out for more from the author.

Such a twisty read and for a long time, i wasn't sure what the truth was. Very clever as always from the author. I absolutely love her books and this standalone read is such a gripping read.

Marissa has had a very tough life seeing her mother murdered when she was young and then abused in the care of her aunt and uncle. She is still suffering from all the trauma when her uncle has been murdered. Shortly after her horrible neighbour is also murdered.
Marissa is afraid she is being followed and may be under suspicion of the murders.
Not knowing who she can trust she lives in fear with dark thoughts running through her mind causing her to be fearful of everything and everyone.
Whilst this is a good psychological thriller most of the characters, including Marissa are hard to like which is always important to me when reading.
Pacy at times but a bit too much repetition about Marissa’s worries and thoughts.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.
3.5 Stars ⭐️

I love how fast this book started out! It had my attention right from the beginning and I loved the twists and turns!

This book was just ok for me. It centers on Marissa, who is trying to pull her life together after the death of her mother as a young child. Now both her neighbor and uncle are killed and she has beef with them and a history of sleepwalking- is she being set up or is something more sinister at play?

While the storyline is good, the book dragged and actually felt a lot longer than it was. Marissa was constantly freaking out and there were many repetitive parts about her sobbing, or feeling sick, or shaking, or running away, and that got old for me really quickly. I figured out a part of the twist but not the other part; though it was a little out there, it was interesting. The end of the book left some unanswered questions and I would’ve preferred a cleaner denouement.

Overall, though I have enjoyed other books by this author, this one really didn’t do it for me, but may have been more due to my lack of connection with Marissa than to the storyline itself. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This grabbed my attention since it is a thriller read. I enjoyed the amount of time I was reading the book but the ending fell flat for me. It was still a good read overall!

3.75 stars

This one hooks you straight in, and maintains a good pace throughout the book!

Marissa Baxter is traumatised from witnessing her mother’s murder when she was a young girl to being abused by her aunt and uncle who were supposed to be looking after her after her mother’s death.

Just as life is getting a bit better and her dream of buying the cottage where she lived as a young girl with her mother, her estranged uncle is murdered in the cottage Marissa dreams of buying and she can’t remember where she was that night. Marissa has a history of sleep walking and amnesia but surely she didn’t kill him? Or did she?

And is Marissa responsible for what ends up happening to her aggressive new neighbour in the flat across the hall? Or perhaps it has something to do with the person sending Marissa threatening letters in the post?!

I had my suspicion about one of the characters in the book and was on track but the ending still had some shocking twists that I didn’t see coming!

Overall, an enjoyable read that held my interest throughout!

This books pace drops off very quickly. I guessed very early what was going on so the ending wasnt suprising. Once again it was hard to connect to the characters.

What She Did is a standalone psychological thriller by author Carla Kovach. Having enjoyed her Detective Gina Harte Series, I was interested to read this novel.

Twenty-three years ago, Marissa’s mother was murdered while she hid under the bed, as a five-year-old had been instructed by her mum. She will never forget her mother’s murder.

Marissa was sent off to live with her Aunt Caroline and monster Uncle Simon, followed by years of abuse. Marissa eventually escaped and started a new life…but always lived in fear if her mother’s murderer, who was never caught, would come looking for her, as she was the only witness to the crime.

Now Marissa, through the help of a few friends, lives in a one-bedroom apartment, and works from home as a financial advisor…but she is always looking over her shoulder.

She suffers from sleep-walking especially when she is stressed or has been drinking, so when she finds out her uncle Simon had been stabbed to death, she is in a fog and doesn’t remember anything from that night.

Then her noisy neighbor is stabbed to death…but she remembers nothing.

She tries to be in control, but it never can be.

This is a well-written standalone psychological crime thriller where Marissa’s traumatic past comes back to haunt her. The suspense level increases until the astonishing twist at the end.

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for my digital copy.

BRAVO, this was a wild ride, it kept me guessing and engaged the whole way through! New author for me and definately would pick up another Carla Kovach books! Thanks for the opportunity on this gem!

This was AMAZING! I love this author and all of her beautiful twists and stories. This was my new favorite, but I say that every time I read a new one from her! Please keep writing!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of What She Did by Carla Kovach. This is the first book I have read by this author and will definitely read more
Marissa has been through a lot in her life. She is now working full time as mortgage and insurance agent, she worked hard to get where she is with therapy and determination.  Marissa witnessed her mother's murder at a young age and rather then be place in the system, she is taken in by her aunt and uncle, this is not a happy time in her life, she suffers through this living arrangement until she turns 18 and then takes off to live on her own. Now just when she thinks everything is behind her, things start to happen, Dan moves into her apartment block, she feels she is being followed, there is a murder, Marissa has been sleepwalking, she is sure she didn't do it.
I very much enjoyed this novel, it is written in the present with flashbacks to the past, fast paced, twists and turns, keeps you guessing right until the end.

This was an awesome read. From the start this book has me utterly hooked. I didn’t want to put it down. A great story and a great set of characters.

3.5/5

A thriller similar in vein to many current popular novels. It's not bad, but not great either. With many mysteries, all the way from the narrator's memory to the intentions of every character, What She Did does keep you guessing almost the entire way through.

I was surprised to see it's actually quite a short book at under 300 pages, so it did drag a bit. At the halfway point, I did start scanning quite a bit due to the repetitive nature of a lot of the narrative, although that can be put down to the character's personality.

If you like stories with a ton of questions, unsavoury characters, and unreliable narrators (this one due to her limited memory of important events), it may still be worth a read.
3 likes.

Marissa’s life has been one of abuse and misery. When she was five years old she witnessed the murder of her mother. She had told Marissa to hide under the bed so she just saw the man’s feet. The killer was never caught and the events still haunt Marissa and she believes that one day he will come back for her. After the death of her mother Marissa went to live with her aunt and uncle who were cruel and abused her. She is now twenty eight years old, works as a financial adviser, living in an apartment and dreaming of owning the cottage that her and her mother had lived in. Marissa suffers from blackouts and sleepwalks so when the police come to inform her that her uncle has been found dead and that someone saw her car there she realises that she can’t remember being there. Marissa has been having problems with a neighbour in the flats and when he is found dead she begins to fall apart and wonder if she could be responsible for these deaths. This is a dark story, with a gripping storyline and is full of twists and turns. I found this book a brilliant read and one which I couldn’t put down.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Gripping read, kept me up all night. Somewhat predictable, but still a great book. Look forward to more from this author.