very much a rollercoaster of a read with many twists and turns. My only criticism would the big twist in the tale was revealed in abit of a strange way that made me have to go back a few pages to see if I’d missed something however once I got my head around the twist in the tale I enjoyed the story and finished it in 2 sittings!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

You know the old saying...You can run but you can't hide?
That's exactly true for Lisa and her son Jack.
Lisa is running from Jack's father and the book switches from past to present which in some books can be very confusing but not the way Kate has written it.
A wonderfully written novel.

Wow just wow. Shows what a mother would do for her child but also how hard it is when you still love that person. I couldn't put this book down and read it in 2 days even staying up till 2am to finish it

I read and loved Kate’s previous book called ‘To Keep You Safe’. When I heard that she was due to release a new book, I knew that I had to read it as soon as I could. As soon as I was able, I grabbed a copy of the book, grabbed a cup of tea and settled down for what I hoped would be a fantastic read. Well ‘What I Did’ certainly fulfilled that criteria. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘What I Did’ but more about that in a bit.
It didn’t take me long at all to get into this book. In fact the synopsis alone was enough to grab my attention and draw me into the story. As soon as I started to read, I knew that I wasn’t going to find it easy to put the book down for any length of time. That was exactly what happened. I was intrigued by the story and I felt compelled (in the nicest possible way) to keep reading. The more of the book that I read, the more intrigued I became and the more I had to read. The pages turned increasingly quickly as I raced my way through the story. I found ‘What I Did’ to be a gripping read, which held my attention from start to finish and had me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘What I Did’ is extremely well written. I loved the way in which the author has created a tightly plotted story that has more twists and turns to it than you would find on a ‘snakes and ladders’ board and which is designed to keep the readers on their toes. I love the way in which Kate describes her characters- she makes them so realistic that they seem just as real as you and I. I felt as though I was part of the story, which is all thanks to Kate’s very vivid and realistic storytelling. I found ‘What I Did’ to be an emotive and a tense read,
In short I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘What I Did’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Kate’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I got whiplash from all the twists and turns in this books, amazing! This book had the kind of reveals that make you go back and re-read sections to see if you've understood correctly or to see how on earth you could have missed it.

A very addictive, fast paced mystery thriller about a family riddled with a history of secrets and violence. I was thoroughly gripped by this book. It does come with a few trigger warnings to be aware of, domestic abuse & drug abuse.

This book started off really well for me - I was invested in the story of Lisa, who had shunned her friends who had tried to support her to leave her abusive husband Nick when they saw evidence of physical abuse. Lisa’s response was to drop these friends and concentrate on looking after her son, who was her world. However, when I reached about 40% of the story, I initially became lost and could not work out who the characters were and how they were related. I stuck with it, and it did eventually explain the change of direction. It took me a while to get back in the flow and I have to admit I did nearly give up a couple of times.
I feel the story may have been better if the second part of the story had run parallel to the first, but that may be just me!
Not sure I would read another book in this same format, but overall it was a good story.
Thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant heart stoppingly scary book. This book was well writtem and genuine characters. Brilliant book x

This book really is quite clever. It takes everything you think you know and flips it. Not just once but several times. Prepare to be challenged and prepare to be surprised. Full of tension and suspense from the start, once it get its teeth into you, it won't want to let go.

This is the story of a family - Lisa, her husband Nick and their son Jack. Everything should be perfect - Lisa and Nick are completely in love and Jack completes their family unit. Only everything is not perfect - far from it. Their domestic life is falling apart, bit by bit, and when her friends start to notice the bruises that Lisa bears from her many little 'accidents' she knows that things really do need to change. Now things do come to a head in truly dramatic fashion and some readers will find what happens shocking and perhaps not want to read on, but I would urge that you do because whilst horrific, the scene acts as a catalyst for a significant shift in Lisa's life, the reason she ends up on the run and the reason why the story starts in such dramatic and tense fashion.

It really is hard to talk about what happens in the book without giving too much away, but I don't think it hurts the reading to say that this book is about domestic violence and what lengths people will go to in order to protect the people they love. There are a number of shocking scenes and revelations in the book that often left me reeling, but nothing is taken to a gratuitous level of played simply for shock factor. It all builds into the bigger picture, feeding. the narrative and increasing the tension page by page. The story does move between past and present and the more we learn about the past, the more urgent and heart thumping the scenes in the present become because as readers we understand the threat that is present all the more.

The author has done a really good job of creating the character of Lisa. She is nervous, a little aloof and quick to walk away from friendships, all signs that you would expect in someone who has such a difficult family life. I can't say that I always liked her, but something about the way in which the author has developed her character made me root for her, and not just because she was a victim. There is something more about her, something that belies the woman we see on the surface, downing painkillers just to cope and refusing to seek the real help that her family needs. You can't help but think that had different choices been made then things may have played out better, but then it retains the authenticity of the story as families do not always do the right thing if they believe they are protecting people they love.

The story does call upon some very topical themes, exploring the subject of domestic violence from a different angle. It is a tale of family, and of unconditional love. It makes you question just how far you would go to protect someone you love and what sacrifices you would make to ensure their safety. It is certainly a story that keeps you on your toes and makes you realise that you should never make assumptions as just when I thought I had the story cracked, something happened to completely overturn all I thought I knew. Shocking? Yes. Cleverly played? Undoubtedly.

A tension filled domestic thriller, packed with shocking revelations and some really emotional moments.

Not a bad read overall, found parts of it to be a bit long and drawn out and slightly confusing and I couldn't really decide whether I liked the characters or not.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This story centres around Lisa and her young son Jack. She has taken Jack and run away from his father. She buys a house that’s extremely remote in the hope of being unknown and untraceable. But does it stay that way?

This story was a real slow burn, and took a while for the pace to pick up. But when it did pick up I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed the remote setting to give the story a bit more of a fear factor, and I enjoyed the characters. It took a while for the story to click with me, but that just made the whole story much better.

Would recommend.

When I first started this book, I almost give in, it was a slow burn and in some places, confusing.
Then all of a sudden it clicked and I couldn’t put it down.
The pace picked up, the characters became ten times more interesting and the plot thickened with so many twists and turns that I honestly didn’t know what the truth was until the very end.
An emotional story, set in various places that suited the novel perfectly, especially in the more isolated place.
I will definitely give this Author another go.

What I Did isn’t what I was expecting when I read the synopsis.

Set in the before and now. The before is Lisa living with her husband and son and getting ready to leave for the abuse her husband puts them through. The now is Lisa is tied in the kitchen and she knows her sons father is in the house. Scary!
I raced through the first 30% of this book, it’s written in a confusing way but is fast paced. Overall good book.


Then there’s the twist at 39%....and that’s when I stopped reading. It didn’t fit the narrative and felt like the twist had been put in for shock value.

Not my cup of tea but thanks for the opportunity to read. Three stars for fairness since I didn’t finish.

An amazing domestic thriller focusing on a mother’s love and the lengths she would go to on her quest to protect her child. An excellent read!