It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara is a gripping psychological thriller that explores grief, guilt, and long-buried secrets. The story follows a woman haunted by the murder of her sister years earlier—a tragedy that still casts a shadow over her life. When new information surfaces, it triggers a tense journey into the past where nothing is quite as it seems.

Mara’s writing is compelling and atmospheric, with strong emotional undercurrents that make the characters feel real and relatable. The mystery unfolds at a steady pace, with twists that are clever without feeling forced. Some parts might feel a bit slow for readers craving nonstop action, but the payoff is worth it.

A well-crafted thriller with heart, ideal for fans who enjoy psychological depth alongside suspense.

Thank you for the arc!
It Should Have Been You is a sharp domestic thriller about a new mom whose accidental group chat message exposes secrets and triggers a deadly chain of events. When threats start rolling in and someone with her address is murdered, Susan realizes she may be next. Tense, twisty, and all too relatable, this fast-paced read taps into modern anxieties and keeps you guessing until the final page.

This book was amazingly written. I was pulled in from the beginning, and the suspense kept me reading and wanting more. So many different twists and turns, all caused by one message sent to the wrong group. Everything spiraled, and as many times as I thought I had one plot figured out, I ended up not being correct and another plot twist came into play for yet another event stemming from the sent message. It kept me guessing till the very end. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves to be surprised and enjoys twists of thrillers. It was unputdownable. This was my first book by this author, and I will be seeking out more of her work in the near future.

Andrea Mara will be on my list of must read authors after this multi-layered thriller/mystery. The author twists several different characters and story lines together into a cohesive story with a satisfying ending. Very well-written and paced that kept me turning pages from the very first page!

This one was so fun!! New mom, Susan, makes a horrible mistake when she accidently sends a message to her housing community WhatsApp group, instead of to her sisters! The message is mean (if not brutally honest) and full of secrets regarding one of her neighbors. Rumors begin to fly, and then Susan starts to receive threats. Someone wants her dead for the information she shared. When someone in a different neighborhood, but with the same address, winds up dead, Susan is convinced they had killed the wrong person, and that they’re coming for her.
This was such a wild ride! Mysteries and thrilling. Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

If you’re a fan of thrillers and a Desperate Housewives feel, you’ll love this one! Definitely a very captivating plot throughout. Normally I get lost or easily distracted by multiple POVs, but the author did a great job with everyone’s backstories and parts. So many twists that kept me guessing from the prologue to the last chapter. Crazy how secrets can cause such a reaction. This is my first read from the author I received as an ARC reader and I’m pleased to say the rest of her writings will be added to my TBR. Will be buying a physical copy to keep on my shelf as well.

It happens to all of us: a message intended for someone else ends up in the wrong hands. That’s all it took in It Should Have Been You. Susan, a new mom trying to make it through each day and night in a new world that is all about her tiny baby finds herself falling into the trap of social media. A small mistake takes us on a spiral through mingled perspectives and stories that all come together in murder, deception, affairs, and sadness. This must read domestic thriller keeps readers engaged until the very end as they try to figure out who really did it.

This book was a page turner at the beginning but I found I lost motivation to finish it towards the end. The idea behind the story, a simple text message, setting off a chain of events felt really unique which I liked

One misstep is all it took. Susan MEANT to send the gossipy What's App message to her sisters only, but she accidentally sends it to her entire community instead. This sets off a chain of deadly events that nobody could have expected. Another engrossing page turner by Andrea Mara that you will continue to think about after you've finished the book!

Andrea Mara does it again with It Should Have Been You—a chilling, fast-paced psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first chapter. What starts as a relatable, slightly awkward moment (who hasn’t panicked after sending a message to the wrong group chat?) quickly spirals into a dark, twisty exploration of trust, secrets, and the fine line between ordinary life and disaster.

Susan is a new mom just trying to survive the chaos of everyday life. But one sleep-deprived slip—a message sent to the whole neighborhood instead of just her sisters—sets off a chain reaction that pulls her into a nightmare of threats, suspicion, and even murder. The tension builds with every page, and the short, punchy chapters make it nearly impossible to stop reading.

What I loved most is how Mara captures the subtle anxieties of modern life—how quickly things can spiral, how fragile our reputations are, and how much we don’t know about the people we live next to. It’s sharp, relatable, and unsettling in all the right ways.

If you enjoy domestic thrillers with a strong female lead, tight plotting, and twists that will keep you up past bedtime, It Should Have Been You is a must-read!

I really enjoyed this suspenseful thriller. It keeps you wanting more and I loved the ending. It was such a great twist that I did not see coming and of course in the thriller that’s the best. I also liked the different POV I was able to get to know each character, a little bit better and really understand their point of view as the story unwinds. I like that it wasn’t just a mystery to solve but had different relationships between parents and children the sister’s husband and wife. It felt like you got to know the entire neighborhood overall a great read and I will definitely be reading this authors backlog..

What if one wrong text… cost someone their life? 😱
That’s the haunting question at the heart of Andrea Mara’s chilling thriller It Should Have Been You. If you've ever double-checked a message before hitting send, this book might just make you triple-check forever.

A perfect little neighborhood. A not-so-perfect little secret. And a single mistake that unleashes chaos. This book is like Desperate Housewives meets Gone Girl with a sinister tech twist. Let’s dive in 👇

🕵️‍♀️ The Premise: Suburbia’s Dark Side
The story kicks off with a jaw-dropper: a text message full of damning secrets about the neighbors is accidentally sent to everyone in the local WhatsApp group instead of one person. Cue collective neighborhood panic, whispers, and side-eyes. 😳

But what starts as juicy gossip quickly escalates into something far more dangerous—especially when one of the residents is murdered. Even more chilling? She lived at 26 Oakpark, just like our main character... only in another part of town. Coincidence? Yeah, right.

📚 What I Loved
✅ Twisty and fast-paced: The suspense never lets up. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Mara throws another curveball that makes you question everything.
✅ Relatable paranoia: We've all had that "oops" moment with a message—this book takes that anxiety and blows it up to terrifying proportions.
✅ Complex characters: Everyone has something to hide, and Mara does a stellar job peeling back those layers one chapter at a time.

🙈 What Gave Me Whiplash
If you like your thrillers with a tidy little bow, just know that It Should Have Been You keeps the tension high and the morality murky. There are no easy answers here—only consequences. And honestly? That made it even better. 😈

⭐ Final Verdict: 4.5/5 Stars
It Should Have Been You is the definition of a one-sitting thriller. It’s juicy, dark, and addictive—like scrolling through a neighborhood Facebook drama thread... except someone ends up dead. 💬☠️

Read this if you love:
📌 Neighborhood secrets
📌 Mistaken identity
📌 Social media gone horribly wrong
📌 That "OMG I can't believe that just happened" feeling

📖 So... Should It Be Your Next Read?
If you're into thrillers that blend real-world tech with real-life terror, It Should Have Been You should absolutely be on your TBR. Just... maybe think twice before sending your next message. 😉

This was an interesting story about a woman who means to send her sister a sparky text about some of her neighbors but instead the message ends up on a message board for everyone to read. I could feel her panic as she tried to remove it but as we know, the internet is forever.
When someone is killed, perhaps in response to the text things really ramp up.
There are several storylines going on at once and this is a page turner getting to find out the what's and why's behind them.

Andrea Mara delivers an absolute knockout with It Should Have Been You! From start to finish, this book had me completely hooked. The writing is sharp, the tension is gripping, and the way Mara weaves multiple points of view with dual timelines is nothing short of masterful.

Often, books with complex structures can feel disjointed, but here, every transition is seamless, adding an extra layer of intrigue that kept me turning the pages. The storytelling feels effortless, yet it builds so much depth and suspense. I loved every twist and turn, and the way the past and present intertwined made the mystery even more compelling.

If you love psychological thrillers that keep you guessing while delivering an emotionally charged narrative, this one is a must-read!

The book was a bit slow to start, but I truly enjoyed reading it from beginning to end! Although I could predict parts of the book, I still wanted to read every second of it! I do think we could have used more character development, but the plot was easy to follow and kept me engaged. It’s one of those books you say WHAT NOW? I highly recommend reading this book.

Thank you for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking Penguin for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book comes out about May 6, 2025

📚 It Should Have Been You
✨ by Andrea Mara
📖 Genre: Thriller
⭐ Rating: 5/5 stars

📝 Review:
WOW This book started a bit slow for me, but as more was revealed I was hooked. I was flipping through the pages quickly after about 150 pages needing to know what happened, who did what, and why. Some parts I did guess a bit, however my guess was only a piece of the truth and there was always more! If you have sisters especially and/or children this book will be relatable, a bit scary, and thrilling. Between heartwarming and hostile families, cheating husbands, mental breakdowns, and teen drama, this book has it all and you won't want to miss it!

🤔 Why You Should Read It:
This book will keep you guessing and the answers will not be what you expect. You won't want to put it down once the plot begins.

#BookReview #Bookstagram #ReadingCommunity #ShaBookNook #ItShouldHaveBeenYou

Brilliantly written with plenty of unexpected twists. I could not put it down. It did make me think about how something that seems small can actually have far reaching consequences. Highly recommend reading this wonderful novel.

This book I could not put down loved it from beginning to end. I would highly recommend!! This isn't like something I've read before.

Susan, a teacher on maternity leave, sends a snarky comment to her sisters about mutual acquaintances on What’s App and unfortunately, for her, it was sent to the neighborhood group instead.. What ensues is everyone’s worst nightmare and then some. After deleting it, she realizes that someone has screenshotted it and shared it with others. As hard as it is to believe the jealousies and anger towards others lead to murders and unexpected harm to others. This story is a page turner and keeps you wondering all the way through who the murderer was and why did these people get murdered.
The story is told through several narrators and sometimes can be a bit confusing, but overall, it was a very enjoyable book to read. Thanks to NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.