Suspenseful for sure. This book was chalked full of a good time. Well its a good easy read and I didn't wanna put it down.

I was asked to review K.T. Nguyen debut novel, “You Know What You Did.”

Annie faces many challenges after her mother’s death. Not only is she is questioning her own relationships, but a client disappears, and the police is investigating her. Annie’s obsessive-compulsive disorder rears its ugly head as Annie starts to question whether she is responsible for some of the events happening in her life.

I do not know much about obsessive-compulsive disorder, but this novel did a great job in immersing the reader into the madness that can result. Yet, because the story is told primarily through Annie’s perspective, you’re not sure if what she is sharing with the reader is accurate. While this novel is marketed as thriller/suspense, I did appreciate the mother-daughter perspective and the unique perspective of being raised by an immigrant/refugee parent. While this novel started slow, if you bear with it, it’s worth it.

Three and a half out of five stars.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I swear the glittering electricity that pulsated my body when I was asked to read You Know What You Did, as an early reader was real...

KT Nguyen has taken the internet by storm with her debut novel, You Know What You Did. Having said this, I have to admit, this book has captivated my soul and is currently my favorite book of the year.

Nguyen, is a natural born story teller. Her writing style will grab your attention early on and suck you in without release until the very last word in the book.

Every time a twist reveals itself you will feel as though you were gut punched! Catch your breath quickly, the next twist will be in your face within seconds.

KT Nguyen, delivers. You Know What You Did, is sure to be a hit amongst readers.

Teaser :

In this heart-pounding debut thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Celeste Ng, a first-generation Vietnamese American artist must confront nightmares past and present. . . .

Annie “Anh Le” Shaw grew up poor, but seems to have it all now: a dream career, a stunning home, and a devoted husband and daughter. When Annie’s mother, a Vietnam War refugee, dies suddenly one night, Annie’s carefully curated life begins to unravel. Her obsessive-compulsive disorder, which she thought she’d vanquished years ago, comes roaring back—but this time, the disturbing fixations swirling around in Annie’s brain might actually be coming true.

A prominent art patron disappears, and the investigation zeroes in on Annie. Spiraling with self-doubt, she distances herself from her family and friends, only to wake up in a hotel room—naked, next to a lifeless body. The police have more questions, but with her mind increasingly fractured, Annie doesn’t have answers. All she knows is this: She will do anything to protect her daughter—even if it means losing herself.

With dizzying twists, You Know What You Did is both a harrowing thriller and a heartfelt exploration of the refugee experience, the legacies we leave for our children, and the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.

Annie is a troubled artist that has been battling PTSD and OCD. As the story starts the little threads holding her life together begin to unravel. The death of her mother begins the spiral leading to her husband leaving on assignment for a few months and her daughter leaving for summer camp. After that Annie is left home with her thoughts to unearth what she actually did.

This book was a great read and very well written the characters and the way her disorder was described was incredible. The first couple chapters left me not impressed but I kept reading and I’m glad that I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Annie is a Vietnam War refugee who is now a wife, a mother, and an artist who is grappling with the effects of her upbringing in her adult life when things start happening that make her look suspicious. Surely she didn’t do anything, but wait… maybe she is capable? “You know what you did” kept me interested and feeling like I couldn’t wait to get back to my book the entire time. K.T. Nguyen did a great job bringing life to fiction and giving the reader the reality of Annie’s condition. I found the flow of the book a bit choppy and hard to follow in some areas, though. Overall, a good fast paced read.

felt weird, wacky and nonsensical in the best possible way, and i kept feeling, like Annie, as though i was missing parts of my own memory. which worked well. thanks for the arc.

this book is complex in the best ways, it is everything I could have asked for. I have been itching for a good horror (or horror-adjacent) book and this was it.

Annie is an unreliable narrator and I found myself both caring deeply for her but also disliking her (which was a perfect balance). I was compelled to know what was going to happen next and what information was being withheld, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I did feel like the resolution was a little lackluster though, and if I would tweak anything about this novel, it would be that. (spoiler) I did like, however, that the ending gave her a secret to keep (in the most vague terms possible lol) (end spoiler)

I will be back for more of what this author does in the future.

I cannot say I would recommend this to just anyone (if you are interested, consider looking at a list of trigger/content warnings), however, if you are a horror or thriller fan, this might be a great fit.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for granting me a free and advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Following the death of her mother, Annie's life begins to unravel. A client disappears, the police are all up in her business, and oh, does she really even love her husband? Her obsessive-compulsive disorder does not make it any easier for Annie to navigate these challenges. As spiraling thoughts began to consume Annie, I found myself worrying for her well-being more and more as the book went on.

K.T. Nguyen offered the reader glimpses of Annie's past which explained some of her behaviors in the present day. She endured severe emotional abuse by her mother and was subjected to the generational trauma that often occurs in immigrant families. I think this would be a great book club book because there are many components that would prompt thoughtful discussions outside of the plot.

While Nguyen's debut novel is categorized as being a thriller, I cannot stop thinking about the HORROR 🔪 elements it contained! New fear unlocked..... 😐🪲👅 I seriously am going to be thinking about that for days. Overall, I identified many parallels to a book I read recently, which I think removed the shock factor for me in reading this novel. However I am sure other readers will have different experiences and You Know What You Did will be well received! Also, there was a Cody Rigsby shoutout which I hope he finds and shares. 😆 I'll be picking up future releases by this author for sure.

This book has a lot of emotion. Anh loses her mother, which causes her to have some of her own mental health issues. She is quiet in her suburban life, but spirals into depression. There is a murder mystery and a psychological thriller. I couldn't stop reading this book. Skillfully dark of sorrow similar to Amy Tan.

Wow. Five star debut thriller from this author. Read if you like creepy psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators. I loved the OCD representation in this one. Main character development was so interesting. This one kept me guessing til the very end!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

So thankful to receive this ARC from NetGalley. My review is done purely by choice.

PUBLICATION DATE: April 16, 2024

This book was so different than anything I’ve ever read. At first, it reminded me of Mary by Nat Cassidy because the narrator is unreliable. She was all over the place and not easily connected to. But the more you read it, the more you understand it. I, for one, could not put this book down.

This book is heavy on mental health, specially OCD. I feel like this book won’t be for everyone, but I highly recommend you give it a try and really stick it out.

The author did a beautiful job at depicting what it’s like for someone to suffer from OCD. How their emotions are all over the place, their thought processes are jumbled, how they second guess everything they see and feel and how they truly can’t see how their actions aren’t “normal” It was incredible.

I honestly felt so much anxiety while reading it. My heart was racing, I was racking my brain to try and figure out what was going on. I had my guesses, but that ending was top notch. My mind was blown. It was so good.

I feel like books with a mentally unstable character is hard to write, but Nguyen did a wonderful job. These types of books need to be read. I loved it and will highly recommend it!

thank you to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, Dutton for allowing me to read this book. The plot and the story was so damn good. I was om the edge of my seat the entire time.

What a mind bender!
We meet Anh, who suffers the recent loss of her mother. What follows is an unpacking of generational trauma and mental health issues. Anh navigates her quiet suburban life while spiraling into depression. There is an unexpected murder mystery and psychological thriller. This book had me in its grip.

Rating: 4.25

I don 't know exactly what I was expecting when jumping into this book, but it was not THAT!! holy. wow. oh my. THIS WAS AMAZING. I couldn't put it down.

SYNOPSIS
Annie, "Anh Le" Shaw grew up incredibly poor, by a Vietnam War refugee. She's living the seemingly perfect life with her devoted husband, and teenage daughter. It's when Annie's mom suddenly dies one that her life begins to turn. This starts a chain of events that involve everyone Annie seems to care about most, her dog and her elderly benefactor. On top of everything, Annie's obsessive-compulsive disorder seems to be spiraling.

Annie is fixated on the cleanliness of herself and everything around her. She feels like her life is unraveling all because of her. Her only choice is to distance herself from her friends and family. Its when she wakes up in a hotel room next to a lifeless body do things go truly out of control. Now the police are questioning her and she can't remember anything.

THOUGHTS
This novel was all kinds of crazy and twisty. It was dark. It was twisty. I never knew who to trust or what to trust. Everything is in Annie's POV so you don't know if she's really a reliable narrator. Nguyen depicts trauma and mental illness so beautifully in this book. The way OCD can really take control over a person's psyche. Ugh. I am seriously in awe and PRAISE K.T. on this book. I really loved it.

Thank you NetGalley & Dutton for this ARC.

A tautly-written psychological thriller and excellent debut about a woman who loses her mother and yet can’t escape the criticism she’s passed down. Is it generational trauma, a ghost, or something worse? KT Nguyen is a fabulous writer and I can’t wait to read her next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the opportunity to read the Advance Reader Copy of this book.

this was a STRESSFUL read but I'm actually glad I pushed through and finished reading it- it helped release me from the anxiety and pain swirling around Annie. This is more of a psychological study, as the inciting incident in the book summary doesn't even happen until 40% into the book. this leans far more into horror than i expected- lots and lots of scary rat imagery!! and lots of intrusive thoughts from OCD, which I found really difficult to get through. between the mother daughter stuff, the intergenerational trauma elements, it might've hit a bit too hard for me personally. I honestly felt a bit of dread every time I picked it up. Ultimately this is very effectively written and I could probably recommend it for those who are interested in more culturally specific psychological horror books- but not my personal cup of tea.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded down.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the Digital ARC of You Know What You Did.

I love a thriller. I especially love a thriller that’s dealing with larger issues beyond the crime(s) themselves. The way Nguyen writes about the immigrant experience, PTSD, mental illness, mother/daughter relationships, and generational trauma is important and timely. At times, the messaging can be heavy handed if the reader considers themselves slightly versed in the topic(s) above, but overall the writing was a welcome addition to the thriller as a whole.

Where the novel lost me was in the pacing and time jumps. A lot of the chapters in the middle section of the book generally ended on the same note or even the same sentence. Some chapters felt like lateral moves as opposed to steps in the plot. It was also difficult to keep track of where in the overall story a certain chapter was taking place. Both of these aspects messed with the pacing and took me out of the story.

Overall, I would generally recommend this book to someone who enjoys thrillers and family dramas, but I would warn them of the pacing issues in advance.

I simply couldn't get into this book. It was kinda slow, but that wasn't the biggest issue for me. Mostly I didn't care enough about the characters to care to see what was up with them. Maybe it got better but I DNF'd this at 35%.

I think this will be received well by the thriller reading audience, but it wasn't working for me. I think the writing itself is good, but I didn't care that much about the characters or what was happening. I may try to get a hold of the physical copy when the title releases to add to my library if I can find it for a reasonable price.

The pace was too slow, and I struggled with this one. Things picked up in the latter third, but it was too little too that by that point. The title is redundant throughout the book, and it gets old fast. I was never able to connect with the characters, and I found many of them unlikeable. The story had potential, but it fell short. Overdetailing lulled the pace, and the ending was lackluster and predictable. I did like the twist, however.