No one writes the domestic thriller quite like Shari Lapena! This novel takes place in a small, supposedly safe town in Vermont. But one morning the body of popular, beloved high school senior, Diana, is found in a farmer's field. Who would have reason to hurt her? Her boyfriend, Cameron, who was too clingy? Her gym coach? Or a random stalker that pestered her at her part time job? The small community is thoroughly rocked to the core by her murder. Told in 3 voices, Diana's ghost, her friend, Evan, and an omniscient narrator, you'll struggle to solve this mystery until the very end.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman books for this e-arc.*

Sheri Lapena is back with another domestic suspense novel where everyone's a suspect. This is my third book by her, and I love her straightforward prose. Like her other books, this one follows multiple points of view and is also heavily focused on action vs. character development. This novel was very dark, but I felt it accurately portrayed the way predators hide in plain sight. All in all, it was an intriguing and thought-provoking book. My only criticisms are that it started to drag on about 70% of the way through, and I felt like the motive of the killer didn't quite make sense to me.

In this small town in VT, nothing bad happens. Sure there are lots of ghost stories, but it is a safe place where no one locks their door and everyone knows each other. That is until the body of 17-year old Diana is found naked and strangled in the middle of a field. Was it an outsider? Her boyfriend? A creepy customer? Pervy teacher? Or someone she thought she could trust?

This was probably my least favorite book I have ever read by this author. I HATED the inclusion of Diana's ghost. It felt like it was going for Lovely Bones, but completely missed the mark. There was also a lot of repetition in the book I could not stand and the ending just felt too obvious but only in the way that every character seemed like too obvious of red herrings.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Shari Lapena is excellent at writing a well-crafted thriller. I have enjoyed all the books I have read by her, even if this time I knew who the killer was fairly early on.
Someone murdered Diana Brewer, but who? The reader gets first person point-of-view insights into most of the characters, including Diana herself. Will you deduce who her murderer was before it's revealed? There are a lot of options: the boyfriend she was on the rocks with, a man who was creeping her out at her job, a lecherous gym teacher, or someone else?
Multiple person POVs is hard to do, but Lapena did it so well I knew whose perspective a chapter or section was based solely on the tone. I blew through this one in two evenings.
I would read again and recommend.

Everyone thinks that they're immune to tragedy. Until it happens to them. And in a small town, one tragedy affects the whole community. A high school student, Diana Brewer, is discovered dead, nude, and abandoned in a farmer's field. Her mother, a single parent of just Diana, is a local nurse. The farmer's daughter is engaged to Diana's track coach. Diana's best friends had considered her boyfriend too clingy ... and the boyfriend, was he even still her boyfriend?

There are a lot of questions, especially when a child is murdered, and in a town like Fairhill, Vermont, they are the kinds of questions that can trigger a great deal of animosity--as well as a great many lies. In a small town, your reputation is everything. And some folks, even if they're not guilty of murder, DEFINITELY have things that they want to keep hidden.

The plot of What Have You Done? my Shari Lapena is tight and compelling; the small-town atmosphere is handled with great detail. However, even with the rotating POV, I never felt very attached to any of the characters, and I felt that the addition of Diana's ghost to the cast was not only macabre, but unnecessary.

Lapena's books are always entertaining. You're guaranteed a quick mystery that's well written. Diana is murdered and it quickly unravels the whole town. So many residents telling lies, secrets to hide. Some are just misunderstandings and some are more vile than suspected. Diana as a ghost seemed unnecessary. The mystery would have been solved without her incorporeal presence. It was interesting to see how this murder affected so many in the community and how deeply it effected those close to Diana. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Another great mystery by Shari Lapena. Each of her books just continue to get better and better. A really interesting read that will captivate your attention.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Viking for an advanced copy of Shari Lapena’s newest thriller! She is a go to author for me and I always get so excited when a new novel of hers comes out! The book starts with a teenage girls dead, naked body being found in a field, and a town that is in shock. Who could do something this terrible to a student so beloved in this town? I DEVOURED this book in less than 48 hours and was genuinely surprised by the end. The perfect popcorn thriller!

A farmer finds the naked, dead body of a teenage girl in his field. So begins the “who done it” in this small town with lots of suspects. Diana was a well liked girl, but apparently had many interactions that placed people around the night of her death. Was it the boyfriend? The teacher? The creeper from work?

I thought I figured this out more than once and it was up until the final chapter that revealed what I never saw coming. Great book by Lapena!

I am giving this 3 stars because it was for most of the book. The last 10% fell into a rather predictable, but supposed to be suspenseful, ending. Still worth reading, but not her best effort.

NOTE: THIS IS A TRANSLATED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL REVIEW POSTED IN SPANISH ON GOODREADS

Score: 3.3 Stars.

A good couple of years ago I had listened to an audiobook by Shari Lapena, but it has completely disappeared from my mind, I don't even remember what book it was. Therefore, reading What Have You Done felt like reading the author for the first time, once again.

I went into this book with medium expectations. I didn't have any hype, but I didn't expect something boring either. Shari Lapena is an author who has been gaining renown in the thriller genre and has been on my radar for a long time, so I thank Pamela Dorman Books, Penguin Books Viking, and Netgalley for trusting me and sending me this advanced copy.

The novel begins straight to the point: An older man finds on his fields the naked and lifeless body of Diana, an underage girl from his town. Alarmed, he calls the police, because he has no idea what has happened there.

This is the beginning of the story, in which we will learn the profiles of three characters who will be our main suspects: Her boyfriend, her gymnastics coach, and a man who harassed her at the store where Diana worked.

Overall, the novel was entertaining. I admit that it had me glued to my Kindle every day, wanting to know what new things were going to be revealed with the turn of each page. Shari Lapena has the talent of keeping the reader in suspense and expectant to move forward with her reading.

Furthermore, the question of what really happened that night (and who the real criminal was) was left unknown until the end of the book, which I appreciate, since I didn't see what happened at the end of the novel coming.

However, there were a couple of things that didn't convince me. First, the police officers handling the case gave the impression that they didn't know what they were doing, and they were not making any progress with the case. Furthermore, they were quick to make a decision about who committed the crime, based on assumptions they themselves made up with the little evidence they had. If the detainees had a good lawyer, they would have sued the police department and left them in ruins.

On the other hand, the resolution of the case felt very rushed and lacking in foundation. Like things magically fell into place and voila, it was all over. Even with the plot twist at the end, I feel like the resolution didn't quite convince me. Was I surprised by the twist? Yes, but I'm not convinced. I won't give too many details to avoid spoilers, but Cameron didn't contribute much to the plot, and considering how the book ends, I think his entire arc was superfluous at all.

Lastly, Shari Lapena included a paranormal POV that felt completely out of place. I think having Diana's POV took away a bit of the seriousness of the story, and the plot she was reading. Also, Diana is the least trustworthy character in the story. I mean, she doesn't remember anything, and what little she remembers is wrong. Literally every time we get to Diana's narrative, nothing makes sense.

Anyway, although I had many "buts" with this reading, in general I found it an entertaining story. I think it's one of those thrillers that you should read without being too meticulous. It is simply a book that you read to spend a rainy weekend or to take on a trip, and recommended to those who are taking their first steps in thrillers. I want to read more books by Shari Lapena. The Couple Next Door really catches my attention, so I'll probably be reading it this year.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

What Have You Done? is the latest book from Shari Lapena, and it is an unputdownable mystery that kept me turning pages way past my bedtime in order to find out what happened and 'whodunnit'.

The setting of the book is Fairhill, which seems life a nice, safe, picturesque small town where everyone knows everyone. Until the body of a popular high school senior girl, Diana, is found in a farmer's field. No one seems to know who could have done such a thing.

The first suspect is Diana's boyfriend Cameron. On the surface it seemed like they had the perfect relationship and were inseparable, however, there were cracks underneath that slowly came to light, including possessive behavior. The second suspect is a local, who is a suspect in the killing a different teenage girl in a different city. This guy has suspicious written all over him and can't seem to tell the truth to save his life. The third suspect is the gym teacher at the high school, who has had at least one complaint against him for inappropriate behavior towards his young female students. His fiancée insists he is not guilty but is torn with the nagging feeling he is not the person she had planned to marry.

The author does a great job with the timeline, and I love how we get POVs from the female characters, including Diana spirit (as she observes what is happening after her death), Diana's best friend, and the fiancée of one of the teachers. It is an interesting portrayal of how women's concerns and accusations often get swept under the rug until it's too late.

This one is definitely an exciting thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. The big reveal is actually quite shocking (and I don't get shocked that easily). I loved it and will be recommending it to all my friends and book clubs! If you like mysteries & thrillers, you need to go read it!

When a teenage girl is found dead in a farmer’s field, the whole town is shocked. Nothing like this happens in their small town. So many people are suspects. This book is told from various points of view which slowly reveal what has led up to Diana Brewer’s murder. Definitely a binge worthy read.

First line: Early Friday morning, Roy Ressler drives his big tractor down the gravel road that borders his fields, his mind on his daughter’s upcoming wedding.

Summary: Fairhill, Vermont is a quiet little town where nothing ever happens until one morning when a local teenager is found dead in a field. Diana Brewer is the girl next door, pretty and popular. So when she turns up dead the town is shocked. How can this have happened here and who did it? As the police look for the murderer the townspeople realize that even quiet towns can have their dark secrets.

My Thoughts: I started out really enjoying this. The plot was moving fast and the suspect list was growing. It seemed like there was going to be lots of twists and reveals, which there was but I felt a little let down at the end. It almost seemed to come to an abrupt halt. And the final reveal just did not feel shocking. It is not that I was expecting it but it didn’t hit me like some of Lapena’s other books. There are unreliable narrators, multiple POVs and even chapters featuring the Diana’s ghost. I just didn’t feel as excited at the end of the story as I was at the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of What Have You Done?

Small town, teenager girl murdered- we see the aftermath of this horrible crime, over the course of a week or so. As always with Shari Lapena, this story is well written and fairly fast paced. I was worried that the alternating POV chapters would be confusing or boring, but it worked really well here. Not my favorite novel of hers but a very easy, quick read, with enough twists to keep you guessing. I was pretty convinced I knew who the killer was so the ending wasn't that surprising to me, but I definitely questioned myself throughout the book.

3.5 stars, rounded up

Thank you so much to Viking/Pamela Dorman Books for the ARC!

🥰Thank you so much to @vikingbooks @pameladormanbooks for the e-book!

💙This is my 6th book by Shari Lapena and is now tied with SOMEONE WE KNOW as my favorite! Her books are the perfect thrillers and I usually fly through them in a day and am then sad they're over! This was no exception!

💛The book starts out when a farmer in a small farming community in Vermont finds a dead body in his field. He soon recognizes the body as Diana Brewer, one of the most loved and popular girls in town.

💙This book follows many people's perspectives as well as the victim's own perspective from beyond the grave. I usually don't love that, but in this case it really worked for me! I loved getting to know the victim in first-person even after death. 👻👻👻

💛There were SO many possible killers, so many ways this could have gone, and I was SO surprised at the end 😳🫣🤯

💙My favorite part of Lapena's books is the DRAMA between all the characters! She writes her characters so well, they are always hiding something 👀👀, and I always feel like I know them all so well by the end of the book.

Read this if you like:

👀Small town settings
👀Highschool drama
👀Pretty Little Liars

This is a masterfully crafted psychological thriller that showcases Shari Lapena's talent for creating suspenseful and morally complex narratives. With its well-developed characters, intricate plot twists, and thought-provoking themes, the novel is a must-read for fans of the genre. It offers a thrilling and chilling exploration of the dark side of human nature, leaving readers questioning the boundaries between right and wrong.

This book was so much fun and I read it so quickly! I was so invested in finding out what happened and who was guilty. I never guessed it correctly, not even once! This book will keep you turning pages and will keep you guessing until the very last page!

This is my third book by this author- she writes unlikeable characters very well. Every one of the books also has a twist ending, which I like. The twist didn't really surprise me since I read a lot of this genre but it was a good twist nonetheless. Overall, this book made me sad for the main character and what she went through. I liked this one a lot, didn't love it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Solid thriller that’s a great crossover for teen and adult audiences. The victim and several suspects are teens, as well as teachers and other neighbors. This one will keep the readers guessing and turning the pages!