3.5 stars - Someone is murdered on a luxury yacht while out in the middle of the ocean. The killer is among the guests or crew and no one can leave.

I love a locked room mystery and this book executed it well. I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. There are a lot of characters and multiple chapter POVs which was a bit confusing at first. Despite multiple plot twists, I didn’t feel satisfied when they were revealed.

If you’re a fan of Mean Girls and Below Deck, you’ll enjoy I Did Warn Her.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced copy of this book from William Morrow via NetGalley.

Luxury yachts, scandalous secrets, and a touch of murder—what could go wrong? The Ophelia dives into the glittering, treacherous world of mega-yachts, where the champagne flows endlessly, the jewelry keeps disappearing, and murder might just be on the itinerary.

The story follows Sasha, the newest addition to the yacht’s all-blonde, model-perfect crew of stewardesses, as she embarks on a weeklong Atlantic crossing with a group of wealthy, enigmatic guests. The Ophelia might ooze opulence, but the luxury veneer quickly cracks when whispers of a mysterious death, missing jewels, and mounting tensions among the crew start to bubble to the surface. When a crew member turns up dead after a night of debauchery, the yacht becomes a floating pressure cooker of suspicion. Everyone aboard—crew and guests alike—has secrets to hide, and with no land in sight, there’s nowhere to run.

The premise is killer (pun intended): murder on a billionaire’s mega-yacht? Sign me up. The setting is dripping with potential, offering the perfect storm of isolation, wealth, and interpersonal drama. And while fans of Below Deck will recognize the references and dynamics of high-stakes yacht life, some gaps in authenticity might leave insiders scratching their heads. (Seriously, five stewardesses but only three deckhands? Even the real Captain Sandy would raise an eyebrow.)

The pacing is quick, and the drama unfolds steadily, but the story falters where it should shine: the characters. The crew and guests feel underdeveloped, and with so many “model-gorgeous” blondes running around, it’s hard to tell who’s who—let alone care who’s hiding what.

Still, The Ophelia is a fun, breezy read.

Felt like a lot of characters at times and sometimes got the characters mixed up. Funny I thought of "Below Deck" immediately when I started reading and then read that the author mentions it. Overall, the book was just ok for me. It was nothing truly special.

A very fun locked-room mystery at sea!

The beginning was a bittttt over the top with all the drama between stewardesses, but soon as the first murder occurs, things kick off and I really enjoyed it. Very quick read, would recommend for lovers of multi-pov mysteries where everyone's a suspect!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

A luxurious yacht sets sail to New York, hosting two business moguls—including the yacht's owner—and their glamorous companions. The crew comprises stunning, model-like blondes, indistinguishable from one another, as if they were Margot Robbie’s doubles from Barbie. Head stewardess Jade is determined to ensure everything runs smoothly—no mishaps like last year when an "accident" cost them a stewardess. Keep your cool, smile, and move on, right?

Young Sasha, fresh from quitting her nursing job under suspicious circumstances, joins the crew for a weeklong Atlantic crossing. She's hired not for her experience but her striking looks and blonde hair, perfectly matching her fellow stewardesses. Jade is a perfectionist, driven and callous. Imogen, the sharp-tongued, vengeful stewardess, targets Sasha, accusing her of stealing Alex—the handsome bosun who might be sleeping with everyone behind Imogen’s back. Effie, the narcissistic, ex-model, feigns friendliness while plotting others’ downfalls. Then there’s Lola, the youngest crew member, a spoiled rich girl disowned by her family. Though labeled naïve, she knows more about the yacht’s secrets than anyone suspects.

The yacht owner brings his best friend and two special guests, Eva and Jasmine. Jasmine, however, seems eerily familiar and pries into the events of last year. But soon, bigger problems arise: one of the stewardesses is murdered, and it’s just the beginning. Who’s targeting the crew? What schemes is the captain hiding? And who is erasing evidence to disguise murder as accidents? On this yacht, everyone has secrets, and no one is trustworthy. To survive, the stewardesses must unmask the killer—before they turn on each other.

OVERALL:
I had a great time with this book, especially laughing at Effie and Imogen’s POVs. Both were delightfully detestable, and I couldn’t decide which was worse. Normally, reading so many POVs featuring unlikable characters would make a story less enjoyable for me, but the author’s sarcastic tone and tightly woven mysteries kept me entertained. The nonstop action hooked me from the start, and the whirlwind of revelations made this an addictive read. I even shouted, Ship Ahoy! as I dove into this wild ride!

That said, the book’s length felt excessive, with numerous perspectives—including the five stewardesses and Jasmine, the enigmatic guest. I even wondered why Runa, the cook, didn’t get her own POV! The final chapters were packed with action and flash-forward scenes leading to a twisty epilogue, but I felt the biggest question readers had wasn’t fully addressed. Still, if you’re okay with a long read and juggling a large cast of flawed, chaotic characters, this book makes for a perfect popcorn mystery—thrilling, funny, and entertaining, much like the author’s previous work.

I’m rounding up my 3.5 stars to 4 and highly recommend it for fans of wild, action-packed journeys and delightfully messy characters!

This was a fun thriller to read! I loved that it reminded me of the Bravo show Below Deck if it went of the rails. I enjoyed the different perspectives and all of the details of the yacht and what was happening. There were some good twists and I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen. Lots of drama!

A luxurious yacht, a gorgeous crew with secrets and rivalries...and murder! I Did Warn Her is a cunning locked room mystery set on a billionaire’s yacht!! Good book!! This book had great suspense, fantastic mystery, murder, paid escorts, gaslighting, a great who done it and some wild twists! The story was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins William Marrow publishing for giving me the chance to read an advanced copy of this entertaining thriller.
This is the second book I've read by Sian Gilbert, and I've become a fan. The book takes place on a superyacht, which is a clever location for a thriller/mystery. The descriptions of the ship were detailed and almost a character itself. It is an expedition across the Atlantic to NY. As they travel, things keep going wrong and escalating into death.
The story is told through the perspectives of the multiple stewardesses, which is a similar style to Sian Gilbert's previous book. I'm usually not a fan of more than two perspectives, and it took maybe half of the book to finally be able to keep each name and character straight in my mind, but it helped add to the mystery. Everyone is keeping major secrets, and it was fun to not quite know who was involved in each crime and murder. There are a few characters who were decent, but most of them were complex and often cruel at times.
I enjoyed this thriller. It was fast-paced, not too graphic with violence, and it was hard to guess what would happen next. I'm looking forward to more books by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked “She Started It” better but I think that’s just because I preferred the setting to the one in this book. The twists and turns were fun and the ending was very well set up.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I Did Warn Her swept me away to a mega yacht but had enough unlikeable characters that it was no vacation I’d want to take. I’d go as far as to say it had a few too many characters for me, though that did make this mystery multi layered. No one is who they appear to be on this yacht as almost all are hiding secrets (or too despicable to bother hiding them). Finding out what exactly was afoot, as in who murderer whom, past and present, was a great way to get me invested in the story and there were plenty of twists to have me thinking I may just want to pull out a white board to connect everyone and everything to try to unearth everything.

Though many of the characters inspired hatred at many points I do wish we had maybe two fewer to keep this a bit smoother. Still mission accomplished to Sian Gilbert as her first book knocked my socks off with its creativity and this one further proves she can weave a complex tale that readers are going to be hard pressed to try to spoil for themselves before she is ready to reveal all.

Easily a top ten read for me this year( and it’s not even close) this is the first book I’ve read by Sian Gilbert and I’m so impressed. I really enjoyed being able to experience this story from so many different perspectives. The ending?? Perfection. Just when I thought I had it figured out the epilogue twist blew me away! Everything I look for in a thriller and the location was so unique and different and I loved that aspect a lot!

"Below Deck" meets murder for sure! The flow between the different viewpoints was solid and I always knew who was talking and what they were referring to. The characters were well-rounded and there were no unnecessary details or plot lines. The story was engaging and kept me intrigued the entire time (I finished this in 2 days!). Highly entertaining.

This was a pretty good book! It was a typical locked door murder mystery at sea, and it was filled with multiple POVs, unlikeable characters, lots of wondering who did it, and some twists and turns! Overall it was good and it was also enjoyable, thank you!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

(3.5 rounded down) This is going to sound like a diss and I don’t mean it to at all - if you go in with low expectations and an appetite for a popcorn thriller, you’ll enjoy this. It’s exactly what it claims to be : a mystery/thriller with a long list of unlikable characters & a locked room murder mystery on a yacht. There are multiple storylines & perspectives, and a bunch of twists, some obvious, some not. If you read Sian Gilbert’s debut, “She Started It” and enjoyed it, you’ll vibe with this. I had a good time and was able to tune out the outside world, which is exactly what I was craving. This doesn’t reinvent the wheel and I probably won’t be thinking about in a month, but not every book needs to check those boxes! This was perfect for what it was.

I love locked-room mysteries and tales set at sea, so I jumped at the chance to read this book. Who can resist a below-deck setting, dark secrets, and murder?! Written from multiple POVs, the story follows the crew of the super yacht Ophelia on her voyage to New York.

The book opens with murder, no less, and then introduces us to the working crew. We meet Sasha, a last-minute hire for a week-long Atlantic crossing after a former stewardess was abruptly dismissed. Then there’s Jade, the rigid chief stewardess, and the three other stewardesses — Imogen, Euphemia, and Lola — blonde, model-gorgeous, and nearly indistinguishable in appearance.

The crew also includes a couple of deckhands, a cook, the ship’s engineer, the bosun, the captain, and the first mate. Since a stewardess from the previous charter disappeared, the atmosphere is tense, emotions run high, and dangerous undercurrents swirl just beneath the surface.

The plot thickens when billionaire guests Benjamin and Digby join the cruise with their glamorous companions, Eva and Jasmine. The cruise takes a lethal turn when expensive jewelry starts disappearing, and a crew member turns up dead. Trust becomes a luxury no one can afford. Everyone harbors secrets — some deadlier than others.

Join the crew on this perilous voyage filled with unpredictable twists and turns. The suspense kept me turning pages, and I never lost interest. Themes of trust, loss, friendship, betrayal, sexual harassment, and flawed human nature are intricately woven into the story.

Life aboard a luxury yacht isn’t all flowers and roses for the crew. The work is exhausting, the demands endless, and they must cater to the guests' every whim while maintaining a polished facade. Rivalries, petty fights, and simmering resentments run rampant.

I didn’t like most of the characters, as they were portrayed in an unflattering light. Sasha and Jasmine were far more likable and less petty than the rest. The rest of the stewardesses were catty and competitive, each thinking she was superior. Their dynamics made me cringe. The men weren’t much better — some treated the women as disposable objects.

The book is divided into five parts. The first part felt slow, reminiscent of a telenovela with its melodramatic plots and exaggerated emotions. But things picked up in the second part, and once a body was discovered, I couldn’t stop reading. The multiple perspectives offered a fascinating glimpse into the characters’ minds. Some even evolved by the end, earning a bit of my sympathy, though I still didn’t like them much.

The ending was breathlessly intense and tied everything together, though I wasn’t entirely satisfied with it. I’m tired of seeing people get away with their misdeeds. Because of that and the slow start, I deducted one star from my rating.

Overall, this is a well-crafted story that keeps you turning the pages with its unpredictable twists and vivid character portrayals. Despite my reservations about the conclusion, the excellent writing and gripping mystery make it well worth the read.


* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

I read this authors debut and decided that I wanted to read all future works. So I was definitely excited to receive this ARC. This author has the ability to throw many characters and complex story lines at you, leading to wondering what exactly is happening. I thought this was a very interesting story and it was hard to tell who was who. Locked murder mystery on a superyacht…don’t miss it.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC. This will be out in June of 2025!

I really enjoyed this and flew through it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I loved Gilbert’s debut, She Started It, and was so excited to get my hands on an early copy of her sophomore novel. I knew from the premise I was most likely going to love this story, and it did not disappoint!

I Did Warn Her hits all my thriller must-haves: multiple POV, complex characters, can’t trust anyone, twists upon twists, didn’t see that coming, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. I loved that it took place on a super yacht and I truly felt like I was watching a reality tv show, only the cameras stopped rolling. I could easily picture the characters and the entire deck of Ophelia.

I enjoyed getting an inside look at each character’s motivations, especially Sasha’s and Jasmine’s, and how the plot was divided into parts. This kept me guessing throughout the novel, and the ending was the perfect knot that tied everything together. If you’re looking for your next locked-room thriller, I highly recommend adding I Did Warn Her to your list. It’s sure to engage you from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome aboard the Super Yacht Ophelia! If you’ve ever indulged in even a few minutes of Below Deck, then this is a book you won’t want to miss. Picture a luxurious mega-yacht staffed with deckhands, a no-nonsense captain, a skilled cook, a meticulous first mate, and five stewardesses, all hired to cater to the whims of their wealthy, enigmatic passengers.

Sasha, the newest addition to the crew, arrives to find an unsettling surprise: she looks strikingly similar to the other stewardesses. It’s eerie enough to make her question whether this job was a good choice, but with her personal life in shambles after a disastrous incident at her last workplace, she knows she has few options left.

Thrown into a high-pressure environment where appearances and precision are everything, Sasha has to learn fast. The stakes become even higher when a group of billionaire clients and their glamorous, mysterious companions board the yacht. Everyone on the Ophelia seems to have secrets, and the veneer of luxury begins to crack.

When one of the guests Sasha has a spat with turns up dead, what was already a high-stakes job becomes a fight for survival. Trapped on the open seas, Sasha must navigate the treacherous dynamics of the crew, the sinister undercurrents among the guests, and her own growing fear. Who can she trust when everyone seems to be hiding something?

Sian Gilbert crafts a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller that combines the glamor of high-end yachting with the chilling suspense of a whodunit. With compelling characters, swift pacing, and twists at every turn, I Did Warn Her keeps readers hooked until the very last page.

#IDidWarnHer #WilliamMorrow #SianGilbert #Thriller

I really enjoyed this thriller! I’m a huge fan of below deck so definitely loved the premise of a charter on a super yacht. I didn’t love this, since I felt pacing was super off in the beginning and then everything happened at once. Still a 4 star read since I was super captivated by the writing and suspense, such a page turner!