Artist Annie Shaw seems to have it a dream career, devoted husband and whip-smart teenage daughter, even a lavishly restored Virginia home complete with a cottage for her elderly mother, a Vietnam War refugee.

A really well-done mystery with a gothic tinge. I really enjoyed it!

The book is about how the actions of our parents haunt us. Annie grew up with her mother constantly telling her something bad would happen. This caused her to live her life imagining the worst.

At times this is a hard book to read. Annie keeps making mistake after mistake. And the way she interacts with Tabby makes your heart hurt because you know she doesn’t mean it.

Like most thrillers, this story has many twists and turns that make you question what is going on. Is Annie telling the truth or is she another unreliable narrator in a thriller?

I enjoyed this book but it was not always easy to read because there is a lot of trauma going on. I am a big fan of mother/daughter relationships and all of the ones in this book are strained. The synopsis mentions three generations of Vietnamese women coming to terms with their past and while three generations are in this book I don’t think that’s the focus. I think maybe the book would’ve been more interesting if you have POV chapters for Me and Tabby.

Thank you to NetGalley, K.T. Nguyen and Penguin Book Dutton for the opportunity to read You Know What You Did. I have written this review voluntarily.

I was so creeped out and I loved it! The first generation immigrant mother-daughter relationship (with toxicity way turned up) was interesting to explore. The OCD manifesting in disgust made it extra creepy for me,

This was a very dramatic and thrilling read. I went in not knowing what to expect, but it was such a wonderful ride! I found the writing style to be very interesting. The three generations of women perspective of the book was a great twist and added a new level of interest for me!

Synopsis:

Annie Shaw seems to have it all: a blooming painting career, a devoted husband, a clever teenage daughter, and a dream house. However, when her mom, Me, unexpectedly dies, she finds herself trying to hold together a carefully curated life as it unravels. Annie has spent her entire adult life trying to build a new life away from the poverty and isolation of her childhood with her Vietnam War refugee mom. As she attempts to keep her life and her daughter's life idyllic, her obsessive-compulsive disorder comes roaring back. After years of successfully keeping it at bay, Annie's OCD begins to overtake her life as her fixations seem to come alive. When her art benefactor goes missing, Annie is considered the prime suspect. As she works to clear her name, she pushes everyone further away until she wakes up in a hotel room, naked, beside a man's lifeless body. The police have more questions, but Annie's fractured mind makes it impossible to uncover the truth. Annie is willing to do anything to protect and shelter her daughter, even if it means losing herself in the process.


Review:

Let's begin with what I enjoyed.

Nguyen's novel is a fast-paced and compulsively readable thriller. As a reader, you are invested in the plot and the characters and want to figure out what is actually happening. Her writing style is easy to read and enjoyable. Perhaps the most interesting part of the novel is reading about Annie's relationship with her mom. We get the present-day chapters as we watch Annie try to cope with her mother's death and the mounting pressure from the police. We also get chapters from Grace Falls, Ohio in 1984. In the past chapters, we gain an understanding of Annie's childhood and Me's struggle with OCD. These chapters add another dimension to both Annie and her mother. Giving the readers insight into her mother's background explains a lot about Annie and her problems.

One of the most compelling parts of the novel is certainly the commentary about intergenerational trauma and what we inherit from our parents. Me's life in a war-torn Vietnam and her escape as a refugee left her feeling powerless and without control for much of her life. To compensate for the lack of control she feels, she becomes a hoarder and tries to control every part of Annie's life. Reasonably, Me wants to have some power and say in what happens in her life, and while she may have gone about it in an unhealthy way, we are unable to judge her trauma response. Me's OCD impacts Annie's life and creates similar responses in her adult life. Where Me attempts to control her life and those around her, Annie's compulsions revolve around cleanliness and routine. Annie's OCD swallows up any form of logic and reason and leaves her flailing in the void. She cannot function in places where she feels that she may be contaminated in some way. Her compulsions exhibit themselves by carefully being in public and removing all of her clothes prior to moving throughout the house so she can avoid further contamination. Annie's compulsions seem to be the exact opposite of Me's, which I find intriguing. Me's life as a refugee has long-term implications, which were passed down to Annie. As Annie tries to control her environment, she indirectly impacts her own daughter. On her website, she mentions how trauma can seep across generations and borders, and that is exactly what she reflected in her debut novel.

Lastly, the OCD representation was enjoyable and important. There are many misconceptions about OCD, and I admit, I was not entirely sure of the intricacies of OCD. When many people think of OCD, they think of being clean and tidy, but that is not always the case. People with OCD often have fears and anxieties that are kept in check by compulsions. Readers get to see two versions of OCD: hoarding and contamination. I thought this was an interesting choice as it provided different insights into OCD and how it can present itself. Overall, the OCD representation was handled with care and felt personal. I'm not sure what Nguyen's relationship is, but clearly, she holds space for people with these compulsions.


Now, onto what I didn't enjoy.

While the book is well-written, there are some areas of the plot that are convoluted and confusing. We have various times and settings used throughout the novel: present-day, the Hotel, Grace Falls in 1984, Hong Kong in 2002, and Vietnam in 1978. While all of these are cleared up and connected at the end of the novel, it can be rather jarring to read at times, and maybe that was the intention - to leave the reader feeling as confused as Annie. However, it did not work for me. It felt like I was hopping around without much clarity as to why.

I also did not love the connection of all the events. It felt kind of lame and unexpected. Obviously, it was meant to be unexpected, but it felt so out of left field that it didn't make much logical sense with the rest of the plot. Again, maybe that was the author's intention, to create confusion for our main character, but it felt so random.


Overall, I enjoyed the novel and think that it is a solid debut thriller. I will be keeping an eye on Nguyen and her upcoming publications. I rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I had a good time reading it and felt like the commentary was timely and eye-opening, but I could have done with a more concise plot.

A massive thanks to Penguin Group Dutton for an ARC copy of this incredible book.

This is an absolute must read from me, I read the entire thing in one sitting!

An incredibly thoughtful, so well written look at intergenerational trauma. I was so captivated by both the story and the writing style I couldn’t put it down.

Such an amazing debut from K.T Nguyen, a must watch author for me moving forward!

So this book had me feeling all sorts of anxiety! It kept me guessing until the end!!

I just reviewed You Know What You Did by K. T. Nguyen. #YouKnowWhatYouDid #NetGalley

While I enjoyed this book to varying degrees, I am having a terrible time with the process of revisiting and gathering my thoughts for a review. The themes of Intergenerational trauma and mental illness in this one may hit a little too close to home for some readers. It did for me. Annie appears to living a beautiful life--one worthy of being featured as a magazine spread, as evidenced by the journalist who is visiting to get some accompanying photos the piece. A gorgeous home, a handsome, doting husband, and an art practice that while not yet a flourishing career, may be poised to take off. However, Annie's mother just died and theirs was a terribly complicated relationship. Things begin to unravel for Annie soon after her mother's death; neuroses, once under control, are resurfacing to a debilitating degree, and what's even more terrifying is that people around Annie are starting to die. I found Annie difficult to empathize with. Grief can cloud your thinking, and compounded with mental illness it's a combination not conducive to making great decisions, but I more and more began to find Annie's choices mind-bogglingly frustrating to the extent that the story became physically painful to read. Of course, I am coming into this book with my own experiences and I know that's not entirely fair. to the story,

As a Vietnamese - American, I am always always excited to see Vietnamese/VA authors expanding into different genres. I very much enjoyed this book, as I love thriller/mystery and it wasn't a typical whodunnit. I look forward to reading many more books by this author!

I was fortunate enough to be giving this arc from netgalley and it did not disappoint. What a ride it was diving through this thriller. It involves 3 generations of a Vietnamese family but largely focuses on Annie. Annie who deals with. Mental health struggles trauma and grief among other things. This was a beautifully written book that I really enjoyed.

What I “love”most about reading is when I “take something away” from the book like when I learn something, so thank you @ktnguyen_author for teaching me something and when something in the book touches my heart so thank you @ktnguyen_author for sharing with us “real life” in a fiction world.

5 Stars! I thought it was a great read! Twisty…Mental…Psychological…yet exposed us to TRUTH and how we are ALL influenced by our upbringing and childhood as well as our current surroundings.

Just when you think you have it all going for you, family, job, beautiful home, “life” happens, tragedy strikes Artist Annie Shaw. She loses her mother, which sends her spiraling down a hole stricken with OCD, it’s back!
Her husband, Duncan, most patient man in the world and her amazingly smart and independent daughter Tabby, see it coming. Things swirl in Annie’s mind, are they real?
Annie was raised by a mother, a Vietnam refugee, who struggled with her own enemies given her situation, having to save her children from war, poverty and a world fighting for power. Annie was horribly affected by her mothers mental state, abused mentally, probably.
One of Annie’s art guarantor’s goes missing. Annie is questioned as to the last time she saw her and was with her. She questions herself as they dig deeper and put pieces together between other horrific events.
Annie is determined to not let any of what’s happening affect HER daughter like she had been affected.

What I appreciated was the full circle moment @ktnguyen_author brought to “You Know What You Did”…
We learn from what we see and what we experience in life. Annie knows what she needs to do !

I recommend this psychological thriller to anyone and it’s a great suggestion for a Bookclub discussion.

Thank you @netgalley @duttonbooks @ktnguyen_author for this eARC for my honest review.

First off, I believe mental health is something that should be talked about so much more in books so I appreciate Nguyen’s portrayal of OCD in the main character. However, it is very heavy to read about and honestly gave me a little bit of anxiety while I was reading it. Should come with a trigger warning for those who have/are experiencing MH problems, especially OCD.

However, I found this one hard to get into and didn’t really look forward to reading it until the last little bit and by then I was just invested enough to know how the story ended.

I felt like it jumped around a lot too and found myself confused at times about who the MC was referring to.

Also the end was a bit abrupt. It was like Nguyen was trying to tie everything together in the last 10% of the book. While I enjoy a twisty turn, surprising ending, this just felt rushed and really out nowhere.

For a suspense thriller, it started out a bit slow for me but I pushed thru and found myself second guessing everyone and everything.

This was a deliciously terrifying read -- the inexorable slow-building tension, the raw emotionality of Annie's struggles as she struggles with so many external and internal factors, the introspective and hauntingly crisp prose. I felt like I knew Annie on a deeply personal level and felt all her pain and her fear right along with her. Usually I prefer fast-paced thrillers but it's impossible to argue with how expertly Nguyen has paced this particular tale -- it's the perfect blend of urgent and meandering that makes it impossible to look away or stop turning pages. A fantastic read!

You Know What You Did
K.T. Nguyen
April 16, 2024
Dutton
* thriller
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
The story was a good mixture of suspense and drama. The primary focus is on Annie. I typically gravitate to faster paced thrillers but this one is worth the wait. It kept me questioning until the end. Annie faces grief, mental health concerns, trauma and relationship struggles as her world is unraveling.
4 stars

Clever and all-encompassing. Brilliant twists, turns, and white-knuckled suspense. Abstract flashbacks add a layer to the plot that I have rarely seen pulled off so effortlessly. The mental health representation of OCD and PTSD is refreshingly accurate. I appreciate the depth of research the author took to represent OCD in such raw and emotional ways.

The homestretch of the last pages were a disappointment—mainly because I imagined another character being responsible for everything that transpired. Another outcome would have been better in my opinion given foreshadowing clues.

Overall, an excellent piece of work—engaging and also a great representation of mental health and the difficulties of the refugee experience.

The cover design didn't particularly appeal to me, but the story itself made a favorable impact. I did notice that the teenagers' dialogue occasionally leaned towards being overly informal, with an abundance of expressions like 'bruh,' which didn't quite match my personal taste. However, what truly captured my attention were the interactions between Amir and Marcel and the beautiful journey of rekindling their friendship. It's a remarkable narrative that underscores the enduring strength of camaraderie.

DNF Because of content. I knew this book contained OCD but not trypophobia or mysophobia, and I have both disorders.

K. T. Nguyen is a fabulous writer though! She made me experience the fears just by reading her descriptions. I wish I was brave enough to finish the story. It’s riveting!

Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and K.T. Nguyen for the ARC via NetGalley!

This was so good. I highly enjoyed this and I was totally absorbed into this story. I was hooked from the beginning and I absolutely loved this story.
I just reviewed You Know What You Did by K. T. Nguyen. #YouKnowWhatYouDid #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I would like to thank the author and the NetGalley to be selected to preview this book. Unfortunately it was a difficult ready for me. It took far to long for me to get interesting and I just couldn't get into so I didn't finish it.