No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done is pure Sophie Hannah: twisty, clever, and quietly unsettling in the most addictive way. From the title alone, I was intrigued—and once I started reading, I was completely hooked. This book unfolds like a puzzle box, and just when you think you’ve figured out how it all fits together, she shifts the frame entirely.

The Lamberts are a masterclass in controlled chaos—ordinary on the surface, but every interaction buzzes with tension. The deeper the narrator digs into their strange behavior, the more claustrophobic and unhinged everything starts to feel. I kept asking myself: What did the Lamberts do? And why can’t I look away?

Hannah has a gift for capturing the way obsession takes hold—the way a seemingly small mystery can spiral into something all-consuming. The suspense builds slowly, deliberately, and the payoff is as satisfying as it is disturbing. She doesn’t rely on jump scares or dramatic twists—this is psychological suspense at its most refined.

If you love domestic thrillers with razor-sharp narration, deeply unreliable characters, and a plot that messes with your head in the best way, No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done is one you won’t want to miss. I devoured it—and then immediately wanted to read it again to catch what I missed the first time.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was a crazy murder mystery and I couldn’t stop reading! It’s a mix of feuding neighbors and families with the terror of accusations being made. The character development in this book was so well done and the emotions of fear were oozing from the pages. We always hear about the possibility that a person may have to do things they would never expect to do in order to protect themselves in their family but this book actually lets it all play out for us to see. At times I was terrified and other times I was angry. I could not stop reading until I could figure out what really happened and how everything would be resolved.

Sophie Hannah’s No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done is a delight—a metafictional mystery wrapped in social satire, swaddled in domestic dysfunction, and tied together with a dog leash. The Lamberts aren’t just fighting to clear their name—they’re waging a public relations war against cancel culture.

The plot begins innocently enough: a family dog, Champ, is accused of biting a neighbor. But instead of quietly resolving the matter, Sally Lambert launches a full-blown media campaign to vindicate her beloved pet. From there, things spiral into a dizzying tale of performative innocence, conspiracy theories, found manuscripts, and maybe murders. At its heart, the novel is about obsession—how far one family will go to control the narrative, even as reality slips through their fingers.

Hannah leans into the absurd with confidence. Her satire of internet outrage and public perception hits uncomfortably close to home, especially as the Lamberts’ increasingly erratic choices are fueled less by facts and more by optics. Sally is a character you’ll simultaneously root for and want to shake; she’s loyal to a fault, gloriously delusional, and strangely persuasive.

There’s also a layered, twisty element to the structure—stories within stories, a manuscript with a mystery of its own, and an ending that dares you to question what was real in the first place. It’s not just unreliable narration—it’s intentionally destabilizing, like staring at a funhouse mirror and slowly realizing you’re part of the reflection.

Brilliantly weird, unsettlingly timely, and endlessly clever. Sophie Hannah has written a story that both mocks and mourns our need to be seen, to be right, and to be absolved in the court of public opinion. This isn’t just a murder mystery—it’s a meta-commentary on the way we process guilt, grief, and gossip in the digital age.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOK LANDMARK for the eARC.
What a great read this is. I'm a dog lover who considers my dogs my furry children and talks and sings to.them. And the day song and night song Sally sings to her beloved dog Champ made me laugh so hard, I loved it!
This book is so unique, with a great sense of humor and a twisty tale and a breathtaking ending. Some reviewers found it strange, but I for one enjoyed the heck.out of it. It's a breath of fresh air and highly recommended!

As a dog & cat mom, I certainly can relate to Sally in the story.
How far would she go to protect her dog Champ, who was accused of biting a neighbor.
The revenge is insane and there were times I just had to stop reading and wonder what I would do in this situation.
The author has created a fantastic story that makes you question everything that was written.
Fantastic story!

As a fur mom, I definitely related to, and applauded Sally for her efforts with Champ. It is an absolutely fantastic story written in Sophie Hannah's unique voice that I have adored since the first book I read by her years ago.