⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Summary: Sasha is a last minute, fill In hire for a crew that is setting sale for the horizon. A glittering yacht; a mansion that floats basically; lavish food and drink, and five star amenities. All for two men and their two beautiful women, to take a trip of a lifetime. All it takes is a shifty crew of stewards, a captain, and deck hands to help move this cruise along. Not all is as perfect as it seems on the outside though. Especially not when, mid cruise, dark and deadly secrets start to rise to the surface and a body is found floating.
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Review: This was actually so much fun!! A twisty “who did it” type of read but in the middle of the ocean. There is a current of POVs and plot twists and trying to keep up with the narrative and the story being poured out from our unreliable narrators, good luck keeping your head above water.
Filled to the brim with secrets, lies, hidden identities and hidden villains this book will have you guessing until the last chapter.
Once I picked this book up it was hard to stop, it’s like watching an accident happen in real time you just can’t rip your eyes away from it, even though it’s messy and uncomfortable. At first, I didn’t really enjoy any of our characters, and wasn’t really sure that I cared about what happened to them but rest assured, as the book goes on at least one of them grows on you. It feels weird saying that because I normally wouldn’t read a book so high if I didn’t like most of the characters, but I think it plays really well into the story! The ending was much deserved and I enjoyed it immensely.
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🚢Murder mystery
🌊Cruise ship setting
🚢Plot twists & drama
🌊Sabotage & revenge

~~*~~*Thank you to the Harper Collins and NetGalley for an early advance digital copy of this book!~~*~~

Quick thriller read! With short chapters and multiple POVs, this thriller is a fast and easy read. Everyone on board has a backstory and a reason to not be trusted. But who will resort to murder to keep that backstory behind them?

Below Deck meets Murder Mystery Train (well, yacht?!)

Huge thank you to @harpercollins and @netgalley for the ARC of “I Did Warn Her” 🛥️⚓️🔪

I was quickly drawn to Sian’s twisty tale following the Crew of “Ophelia” both as a lover of thrillers and and avid Below Deck girly.

Absolutely everybody on this boat has a backstory, a secret and something they’re hoping will not wash a shore when they dock in New York, that is, if they’ll dock…

I personally love any book that has an unreliable narrator as well as multiple points of view. Especially in the case of “I Did Warn Her”, by hopping into each character’s mind we were constantly turning over what truly happened, what we’re being told and who we can trust.

Devoured this almost as quickly as I had “She Started It”, cannot wait to see what else Gilbert has coming!!

As a final note: there was a handful of times in the book that the author describes a character going through a panic attack and overcoming their anxiety symptoms, which was extremely well done and extremely realistic (as someone who’s suffered from them)

The pacing of this story was rather slow at the beginning and felt like the attempts to wrap it up were too messy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of I Did Warn Her.

I love thrillers and mysteries and read those genres exclusively but this was not for me.

I'm definitely not the reader for this.

I dislike reality shows and I Did Warn Her was basically a reality show written out.

There are a lot of characters and POVs, which I dislike very much. It was hard to remember who was who and their backstories.

Everyone has something to hide or knows something and there are plenty of misunderstandings and backstabbing and gossiping and petty arguments and sleeping around.

It was all nonsense and silliness; maybe I'm just too old for this kind of story but I was exhausted from all the POVs and keeping track of who was doing what and to whom.

When the twists arrived, there was no surprise; in fact, the author does what many authors of this genre are doing; throw every twist and the kitchen sink at the reader hoping something will stick.

All these twists soon became hard to suspend disbelief for but if you can, then read this.

The writing was okay, but I didn't like any of the characters nor did I sympathize with anyone.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

This was a surprisingly engaging read. I thought I had a solid grasp on what was happening and who was behind it all, but I have to admit—I was caught off guard by the big reveal. I didn’t expect to get so absorbed, but I ended up finishing the book in just two days. To me, a good thriller should pull you in enough that you have to keep reading, and in that sense, this one absolutely delivered.

The modern setting of this novel belies how much it follows the classic template made famous by Dame Agatha. A contained, exotic setting where a cast of characters are all hiding something; several crimes that have nothing to do with the murder; twists based on mistaken assumptions… well, if Christie lived today and watched “Below the deck” she might have come up with this fast-paced mystery. Some of the characters are very unlikable and several twists border the implausible but, overall, the plot is solid and suspenseful. This is also a choral novel, with different chapters told by multiple POVs. A few of the narrators are almost irredeemable and too hard to root for. But what could be considered the protagonist is relatable, so it was easy to care about her and, by extension, everyone else. There was also superyacht Ophelia, an over-the-top luxurious setting for the action and the fascinating world that the 1% inhabit. An entertaining, addictive read.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/William Morrow.

Thank you to netgalley for this arc!
Pub date: June 17, 2025
Rating: 3.5
I enjoyed this book from the start. It gives off below deck vibes with a mix of a the game clue on a yacht.
There were so many twists and turns. Every time I thought I figured out the twists, another came. This book held my attention and I enjoyed it. It's not often my thriller/mystery books take place on a yacht, so l enjoyed the change of scenery in this one. I Did Warn Her was a quick page turner. There are a bunch of characters and I enjoyed trying to figure more about each of them! If you love mystery and thrillers.. I highly recommend this one!! You'll love it!

⭐️ 5/5
First person POV, multiple narratives
Linear timeline
Setting: Transatlantic voyage on super yacht
Murder mystery, suspense, thriller

Sasha is a new stewardess on a super yacht after leaving her nursing job and running away from the trauma and drama she endured with it.
What she finds at her new job though is the other stewardesses all look exactly like her and there’s weird things happening around the yacht: missing items, stolen jewelry, inappropriate guests, and unique coworkers who all seem to have their own baggage and mysteries. We read the story unfold and murder investigation from the viewpoint of Sasha and 5 other women on the yacht.

I devoured this book! The mystery was complex and the suspense was thrilling and exciting. It all tied together cleverly and the twists and turns had me captivated and unable to put the book down. The characters had the perfect amount of depth and side stories that remained relevant to the main storyline. The action and adventure was a big theme here too and had me holding my breath a lot of times!

This is my second book by Sian, and I have truly enjoyed both. I love "locked door" thrillers where they're trapped with nowhere to go, and this one did not disappoint. As soon as I saw it was set aboard a billionaire's luxury yacht, I knew we were in for some good drama and madness. Many of the characters were entirely unlikable, but I feel like that is always a plus in a thriller, because it makes them not only suspects, but people you wouldn't mind seeing offed next. This one definitely gave me Below Deck vibes, which I loved. Nearly everyone in this story is hiding something, and you really have to work through all of the lies and deception to even begin to comprehend who did it or what is happening. There is so much tension, resentment, drama and manipulation throughout this story that I was truly intrigued and entertained throughout,

Beautiful people, money to burn, too many secrets to hide, set on a super-yacht in the middle of the ocean and there's a killer on board? No one to trust and, literally, no way to escape!

Unique setting, unhinged cast of characters and enough plot twists to give you whiplash...I couldn't put it down! Maybe a bit longer than necessary for me personally, but this story is absolutely worth the ride.

Thanks to netgalley & HarperCollins for the ARC.

I Did Warn Her by Sian Gilbert is a locked-room mystery set aboard the luxurious yacht The Ophelia during an Atlantic crossing, where the staff is expected to cater to the guests' every whim. Told from multiple points of view, the novel introduces a large cast of characters, all of whom play significant roles in the unfolding drama. When a stewardess dies under suspicious circumstances, tensions rise, and accusations fly as secrets begin to unravel and this is just the tip of the drama on board.

Most of the characters are deeply flawed, almost entirely unlikeable, with a level of nastiness and immaturity that feels exaggerated. Despite the confined setting, the story feels expansive, with numerous threads that need untangling. While it runs a bit long, I found it to be an engaging thriller, and the epilogue was especially satisfying. Overall, an entertaining and twisty read.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Gilbert’s debut novel is one of my favorite thrillers. Her new novel is not a follow-up but takes place on a fancy yacht and gives serious Below Deck vibes. I loved the setting but it felt so over the top and messy. It had so many twists, many that were easily guessed that it became hard to believe. I did have to force myself to finish at times.

I devoured Sian Gilbert’s debut novel “She Started It” and this book was just as captivating! I love the multiple perspectives and the Who-Done-It feel!

Sasha is newbie to super-yachts and joins the crew of Ophelia to escape the drama going on in her own life. Little does she know she’s walking into even more chaos! The stewardesses are all look-alikes, a fact that is embedded in so many of the secrets on board! The billionaires, the guests, the captain, the chief, the chef, the bosun and deckhands are all hiding things and all ready to turn on each other to save themselves!

The constant dramatic inner monologues and finger pointing of who did what kept me intrigued throughout the story! Just when I thought there would be details that didn’t get addressed, BAM! Sian Gilbert strikes again and gave a shocking ending that tied everything up!

Sasha is a last minute hire on the luxurious yacht, The Ophelia. Sasha and her fellow stewardesses were tempted to work for the yacht and indulge in the guest's every wish by high wages and the chance to leave their problems behind. Not everything on the Ophelia is as it seems and the owner and his guests have lots of secrets. When a crew member turns up dead everyone is a suspect.

there were many perspectives and twists throughout the book. You are constantly wondering who did it as more and more secrets are revealed. I really enjoyed the author's sarcastic tone through the book. Some of the characters were likable and others not so much but each brought something to the story.

I just finished I Did Warn Her by Sian Gilbert, and I have thoughts. This book took me on a ride I didn’t fully expect, and I’m still sitting with the aftershocks.

Right away, the setting and premise pulled me in—an exclusive hen party on a remote island, full of wealthy, glamorous women who all seem to be hiding something. I’m always a sucker for isolated settings where things start to unravel, and this one delivers on that front. The tension builds steadily, and the island feels increasingly claustrophobic as the story progresses. You can practically hear the waves crashing and feel the creeping dread as secrets start surfacing.

The structure alternates between the perspectives of the woman who organized the trip and the one who wasn’t invited. I loved this narrative choice—it added a layer of suspense and made me question everything I thought I knew. You can feel the simmering resentment, the subtle manipulation, and the complicated dynamics between so-called friends. It’s very much a story about privilege, power, and the toxicity that can brew underneath picture-perfect lives.

There were moments when I genuinely didn’t know who to trust. I found myself flipping back and forth, trying to piece together what was really happening. The twist when it comes hits hard—not in a completely out-of-left-field way, but more like a gut punch you realize was winding up the whole time. That’s one of the things I appreciated most: the breadcrumbs are there if you’re paying attention.

That said, some of the characters felt a bit caricatured at times, especially in how cruel or shallow they were. But honestly, it kind of worked for the story, since it’s all about appearances vs. reality. The psychological tension outweighed any nitpicks I had about believability.

Overall, if you're into twisty thrillers with a dark edge, I Did Warn Her is a great pick. It’s chilling in all the right ways and makes you think twice about who you trust—and who you choose to leave behind.

Fantastic book! I would highly recommend both this book and other books by this author. Be sure to read this book!

somewhere between 4.25-4.5⭐️ on this one but i’m rounding up!

this was a thriller that felt like reading Titanic conspiracy theory fanfiction. like what really went on on a fancy boat full of rich people and the staff who were forced to cater to their every whim?? 👀

everyone had secrets, everyone was lying, everyone DESPISED at least one other person onboard, and while at times this *bordered* on confusing (esp in the beginning when we were just getting to know everyone), i actually felt like that element of slight befuddlement is what kept me on my toes the entire time

i FLEW through this in 24 hours and i think that’s the best way to consume it. this was so bingeable and so tense and had me doubting everyone, questioning everything, and i loved it

as far as this author goes, i think she nailed it with her sophomore release after “She Started It” which i read in fall 2023 and i think i liked this one even a little bit MORE

thank you to netgalley and william morrow for this arc!

I Did Warn Her by Sian Gilbert is a fun read about the crew on a luxury super yacht and their trip ends up going horribly wrong. Of course, it’s not the first time a voyage of this super yacht went badly, either. If you like twists and turns this book is full of them, almost too many really. The POV also shifts between six different characters and with one going by a nickname for most of the book but not her chapter titles, it can get a bit confusing. Between trying to keep the twists straight and keep the characters straight every time the chapter and POV changed it seemed a little much at times. I did have fun reading it and I definitely didn’t guess quite a few of these twists but I could see how the 6 different POVs alone could be too much for some people.