This kept me guessing until the last few pages when it came all together. I’m such a huge fan of Below Deck, so I immediately knew this book would be my vibe. The very cruel and disfunctional character (bosun to guests) made for a fun game of clue aboard a super yacht. Sasha should have avoided these people at all costs - and same with Tessa & Hallie.

Dark themes and lots of champagne being spilled.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the setting, a billionaires yacht with a cast of characters each with their own secrets to hide. Crew members start to be murdered one by one and it becomes apparent that there is a murderer on board.

Loved the full cast narration as it really helped distinguish the characters and when the story was being told through their point of view.

The pacing of the story made it a fast listen as I was constantly interested in what was going to happen next.

I felt a little disappointed at some of the reveals and what the motivation for the murders ended up being. But it was overall an entertaining, fun, fast thriller read and I would recommend it.

I DID WARN HER by Sian Gilbert has a juicy premise and a dream team of narrators, including the ever-excellent Imogen Church, but ultimately didn’t quite land for me. While the audio production is top-notch, the plot felt overcrowded, with too many twists, red herrings, and moving parts to fully connect. That said, if you love high-drama thrillers and are obsessed with Below Deck-style settings, this one might be right up your alley. Not for me, but I can see the appeal for the right listener.

This was a DNR for me but I'll provide a summary and reason why i didn't finish.

Ophelia is your typical billionaire yacht: ridiculously luxurious, owned by a ruthless money man, and staffed by a crew whose only job is to indulge the guests’ every wish.

Model-gorgeous Sasha is a last-minute hire for a weeklong Atlantic crossing. She joins fellow stewardesses Jade, Imogen, Euphemia, and Lola. The Ophelia’s stewardesses are almost identical—blonde and model-gorgeous—and all were lured to the Ophelia by high wages and a chance to leave their problems behind when they set sail. But despite its sleek opulence, the Ophelia isn’t as heavenly as it seems. A stewardess on the previous charter died under mysterious circumstances, the guests’ expensive jewelry keeps disappearing, and the crew grows steadily more and more suspicious of one another.

Then the yacht’s owner brings aboard his best friend and two more women, also beautiful. Also hiding something.

When a crew member turns up dead after a night of partying, everyone on the yacht is a suspect. Who is the jewel thief? Who is the murderer? What will happen when the lights go out, and the crew and the guests are finally on equal footing?

I did my best to stick with this book because I absolutely LOVED She Started It....like really loved that book. Unfortunately this read like a catty mean girls new adult book and I couldn't stand t9 stick with it. This was a DNF for me.

Huge thanks to William Morrow, HarperAudio Adult, and NetGalley for the ARC and early listen

3.5⭐️
“Below Deck” with a murder? Sign me up haha Although I didn’t love this book as much as the author’s previous book, I found this unique and entertaining. Each crew member had secrets and a hidden agenda, causing so much drama. The pacing of the plot was a little slower than I would’ve liked for a thriller, and although there were many twists, I wouldn’t say any of them were very shocking. The plot kind of unfolded in a way that made perfect sense? I liked how it ultimately wrapped up.

I was excited to see there is a full cast of narrators for the audiobook, but each of their voices sounded so similar it didn’t really help distinguishing the characters.

This audiobook was a ride! Twisty, dark, and full of unreliable narration — exactly the kind of thriller I love sinking into. Sian Gilbert creates this eerie tension that just builds and builds, and the narrator (who was fantastic, by the way) really sells the atmosphere. There’s this creeping sense of dread throughout, and every time I thought I had figured it out… I hadn’t. 😅



The plot explores ambition, obsession, and revenge with some serious bite. The pacing was sharp, and it kept me hooked from the first chapter to the shocking finale. I especially appreciated how complex and layered the female characters were — flawed, fierce, and often unpredictable.



If you enjoy psychological thrillers where no one is quite who they seem, definitely give this one a listen.



Perfect for fans of: Behind Her Eyes, The Last Mrs. Parrish, A Flicker in the Dark



📌 Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advance listening copy!

The luxurious trip of a lifetime! See the world and get paid for it by being a stewardess on a superyacht catering to the ultrawealthy. Unless when you get hired and see that all the stewardesses look identical (thin, blond and model worthy), each with secrets of their own and a penchant for sniping at each other just for the fun of it and then put them in the middle of the Atlantic where no help can be sent for and then bodies start showing up and you have a thrilling story that I enjoyed listening to! I myself would not ever want to go on a yacht, especially on one with jewelry and other objects going missing and especially not when people go missing or found dead! You get the views of the various stewardesses in this mystery to find out who and why before the next person ends up dead. Nicely twisty, especially when secrets are revealed and more than one person has skin in the end game and will do anything to keep others from reporting the crimes. Sure makes for a memorable trip though!

The narrators did a great job in bringing the characters to life and giving them humanity even when they are cutting each other down or snooping around so it does feel sad when they may or may not end up dead. And good message that even the ultrawealthy can pay for their crimes, even in the middle of the ocean!

I personally did not enjoy this book. It felt like it was inspired by Below Deck, but not actually yachting. It felt too similar to me and I was bored by the plot.,

Just watch Below Deck.
I enjoy an unlikable cast of characters some times, this was not one of those times
I was bored and annoyed

A locked room thriller with an ensemble cast of characters each having juicy secrets of their own set on a superyacht with rich people behaving badly? I binged it. Twisty and dynamic until the very end. The narrators were fantastic, really helping differentiate the tone and accent of the characters.

This atmospheric thriller takes readers aboard a luxury yacht where the crew’s polished perfection hides dark secrets. The most compelling aspect is the unsettling uniformity of the stewardesses—identical in appearance from their hairstyles to their body types—serving wealthy clients of questionable morals. Gilbert effectively creates a claustrophobic, voyeuristic glimpse into this exclusive world, satisfying curiosity about life at sea while layering on creeping dread.

As stewardesses begin disappearing, the remaining crew’s panic builds, though the mystery’s execution doesn’t always match its promising setup. While the setting is immersive (the crew quarters and hierarchy fascinate), the prose occasionally falters, leaning toward simplistic phrasing that undercuts tension. The multi-narrator audiobook performance elevates the experience, with standout voicing differentiating the large cast.

Though the plot follows familiar thriller beats, the unique milieu and eerie premise make it worthwhile for fans of isolated-setting suspense. 3.5/5 stars—a flawed but engaging escape into sun-drenched darkness.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ALC. Ideal for readers who enjoyed *The Woman in Cabin 10* or *The Guest List*.

Sian Gilbert’s I Did Warn Her delivers a gripping and intricately layered mystery that will satisfy fans of classic whodunits while offering a distinctly modern edge. Drawing subtle inspiration from Agatha Christie’s style, the novel builds its suspense with precision—though Gilbert elevates the genre with sharper dialogue, darker undercurrents, and a uniquely structured narrative.

The story unfolds with mounting tension, as each chapter adds a new layer of intrigue, compelling the reader to question everyone’s motives. Gilbert masterfully balances atmosphere and pacing, pulling readers deep into the psychological games at play. The twists arrive steadily, each one more chilling than the last, culminating in an ending that is not only satisfying but strikingly original.

A standout in contemporary suspense, I Did Warn Her is a taut, well-executed thriller that proves Gilbert is a formidable voice in modern mystery fiction.

After listening to Sian’s debut novel, I was hoping this would be better than the first and it definitely was! I received the audiobook as an advanced listener copy and finished it in about a day, so it definitely held my attention.

As a fan of Below Deck, a suspense book with that premise sounded right up my alley! Overall the storyline was intriguing, with a few twists here or there that kept me entertained. My only reason for knocking off any stars is based on the amount of characters and backstories, it was really difficult to keep everyone straight while listening. Perhaps reading versus listening would make that easier.

Overall a easy summer read!

Thank you to Sian Gilbert, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. On Sale June 17th, 2025.

https://fable.co/review/9b85a2ef-2811-412f-bb92-ff67d7b592cf/share

This was definitely a fun and drama filled read. It was highly entertaining but just missing a little something for me. There were definitely some flaws in this one especially in the ending when there were so many twists one after the other that it just became highly unbelievable and made it just too much.

Below Deck meets mystery! Twisty, tense, and deliciously dark, I Did Warn Her is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you second-guessing until the final page. With razor-sharp prose and chilling revelations, Gilbert crafts a tale of secrets, betrayal, and revenge that's impossible to put down. Sasha, Jade, Imogen. Euphemia and Lola

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this digital audio e-arc.*

3.5 stars. I loved She Started It, so I was excited to read another thriller from Sian Gilbert. Just like with She Started It, I Did Warn Her was addictive to read, with secrets intricately layered on top of each other. I'm a huge fan of the way the author slowly cranks up tension from the start by teasing the secrets the characters are keeping from the reader, until the first dead body appears and the pacing is nearly non-stop from there. The audio performance from the ensemble cast was phenomenal, too.

Sasha and Jasmine were both compelling leads who were easy to root for as they each tried to investigate the secrets and murder aboard the Ophelia. The other stewardesses called to mind the catty, unlikable women from the author's debut, but unlike in that book, I never quite found myself enjoying their characters (in fact, I was actively rooting for them to become murder victims because of how horribly they treated Sasha, which I doubt was intentional from the author).

I had a fun time with this thriller, and I can't wait to see what's next from Sian Gilbert!

After not being impressed with the author’s debut novel, I decided to give another chance with this latest release, and I’m really glad I did! The fast paced, twisty story definitely worked for me this time around. The only real trouble I had with this one was the amount of characters, which was hard to keep up with.
I listened to the audio, and it was really well done.
I am looking forward to more from this author in the future!

Thank you to Harper Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

While some of the characters stayed interchangeable in my mind throughout the whole book, this was a delightful audiobook for a long drive.
Sasha gets her dream job on a yacht, attempting to escape her past and earn some money but things seem off from the get go. The crew is all eerily similar looking and have a collective boatton of secrets. Soon people start missing and dying and all of a sudden, you're second guessing every character throughout.
There was a ton of character development and quirks, lots to listen to and try to read into and a good story to tell. Admittedly, I figured out the end about sixty percent through but still wanted to stick around and confirm that I was right.
Thanks to netgalley for the audioarc, I'll definitely look into Gilberts other novels.

Thoughts:
After reading the gifted ARC, I knew I had to listen to the audiobook too—especially with Imogen Church and Karen Cass involved! Their narration, along with the other talented voice actresses, amped up the tension and unease in this chilling five-star thriller.

Summary:
A hired yacht crew sets sail across the Atlantic to New York—but this luxury voyage quickly turns into something far more sinister.

Sasha, a former nurse trying to escape her past, immediately senses something’s off. The other stewardesses? Practically clones—blonde, blue-eyed, and eerily identical. And as the newest crew member, Sasha becomes the scapegoat for everything.

Meanwhile, Jasmine and Eva, “companions” of a wealthy guest, have their own motives—though Jasmine’s endgame isn’t just money.

Then one of the stewardesses turns up dead. With no escape and danger circling, it becomes clear: someone on board is a killer. But who—and who’s next?

Thank you NetGalley, Sian Gilbert, William Morrow, and HarperAudio for the opportunity to read and listen to this incredible five-star story!

Look for this to release June 17, 2025!

I Did Warn Her by Sian Gilbert was an engaging and highly entertaining read. While it can be challenging to connect with a story featuring a cast of universally unlikable characters, it worked remarkably well in this case. The tension, plotting, and intricate schemes kept me hooked, and I eagerly anticipated the inevitable unravelling of the chaos—watching characters receive their comeuppance was oddly satisfying.

The luxury yacht setting lends itself well to the locked-room thriller trope. Though this setup can sometimes feel overused, it was effectively executed here, adding a strong sense of atmosphere and claustrophobia.

I listened to the audiobook and found the narration compelling. The use of distinct accents made it easy to differentiate between characters. However, a few of the male voices felt a bit exaggerated. Still, it was a solid performance overall and added to the immersive experience.

Thank you to Sian Gilbert, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. On Sale June 17th, 2025