This book has freaked the hell out of me! How from an innocent mistake (sending a text message to the wrong person) things can go seriously wrong in a succession of events that are really gripping and will keep you awake at night! Brilliant!!!

It Should Have Been You is a gripping thriller that turns an everyday mistake into a full-blown disaster when Susan, an exhausted new mother accidentally sends a “harshly critical” message to her neighborhood group instead of her sisters.
The story’s premise is highly relatable—most of us have sent a message to the wrong person. As such, the characters feel real, and their reactions to the chaos is believable. The book is full of surprises, with each chapter leaving you desperate to find out what happens next.
Another great book from one of my favourite authors! Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!!

A Cataclysmic Mistake..
One small mistake produces cataclysmic results in this tension fuelled novel of suspense. When worn out new mother Susan sends an unpleasant, pointed and accusatory message to her sister, she accidentally sends it to the whole of the community WhatsApp group - a message that is soon to become the catalyst for a bizarre and catastrophic and even fatal series of events. With a cast of well drawn and credible characters populating a pacy plot with twists and turns aplenty and a lively narrative, this a quick and satisfying read.

I've lost count of how many times, I've said "OMG" while reading "It Should Have Been You". This book is proof of just why, Andrea Mara is called the "Queen of the Twist & Hook".
With the prevalence of social media and technology in our lives, many people will have a "Opps" moment and realise that they have sent a message to the wrong person, and then frantically tries to delete the message before anyone notices. And this is exactly what happens to Susan in "It Should Have Been You". However, as the error eventually results in four deaths, an arrest, completely changing the lives of the characters.
A truly masterfully written storyline, moving at a swift pace, that is guaranteed to grab your attention from the opening paragraph.

Its one of those nightmare situations that you hope will never happen, accidentally posting a dashed off message to the wrong group's WhatsApp, rather than keeping your thoughts within a much more select group.

In 'It Should Have Been You', local teacher Susan comments on her neighbourhood WhatsApp group with a few home truths about a particular member rather than sounding off to her two sisters. Her message quickly unleashes a wave of uncontainable retaliation across the entire neighbourhood and beyond which affects several innocent residents and ultimately ends up in death and murder. There's local gossip a plenty, and Queen Bees who previously felt they were untouchable are quickly brought down to earth.

Andrea Mara's latest domestic thriller is another triumph that drills down into your worst nightmares and then goes further and further, until everything is unravelled and there's no going back. Its fast paced and addictive; from the opening pages, I was hooked, desperate to find out how Susan could ever come back from this nightmare predicament.

“𝑶𝒎𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏. 𝑰’𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝑹 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒓 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓.”

When Susan accidentally sends a barbed text full of her neighbour’s secrets directly to the entire neighbourhood, instead of to her two sisters, it sparks a chain of terrifying events that relentlessly spiral and rock Susan’s world.

Andrea’s done it again. A gripping and masterfully-woven plot that had me staying up too late to finish it and interrupting my husband’s telly watching with my audible gasps and expletives 😂.

There is a cast of characters, each one very authentic and distinctive, though always with that underlying familiar sense these could be your own neighbours. There are lots of tricky themes running through out, handled with aplomb as always.

I have no doubt this will be another bestseller for Mara and rightly so - she’s at the top of her game.

It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara.

When I saw this on NetGalley I knew I had to request it. I love everything Andrea writes, she never disappoints and she certainly didn’t this time.

Susan a secondary teacher who is on maternity leave has just sent a nasty text meant for her two sisters to the wrong WhatsApp app group. She is exhausted from getting up with the baby several times every night and makes a mistake.

However, this mistake has disastrous consequences for so many families but the most devastating is the death of four people.

Holy Moly this is one fast-paced, engaging thriller that keeps you guessing from beginning to end. The narrative structure, which alternates between different points of view, adds a layer of complexity and intrigue that hooks you so early on. Mara’s writing is sharp, with a strong sense of suspense and an atmosphere of tension that intensifies throughout the book.

I could not put this book out of my hands for five minutes. The characters were so captivating that I was not sure whether I loved them or hated them, I trusted no one and was always on edge waiting for the next twist to come along and knock me off my feet.

Mara again has produced another fantastic, thought-provoking thriller that will be talked about for a long time especially since this is a mistake that could easily be made by any one of us.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

With many thanks to Transworld Books and Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily

An absolute go to author for me and once again Andrea Mara delivers a cracking five star read. Perfectly plotted as one message sent by mistake snowballs into a myriad of events. Told mainly from the POV of Susan but it’s the POV’s from the other characters that gives this story real depth. Suspense, intrigue and tension by the bucket load keep you totally hooked. Not a chapter or word is wasted and every little detail is paramount to the story. Exceptional

The book was a perfect blend of mystery and suspense... You won't be able to put this down until you've finished! It really gets you to think before you send a message and consequences which prove fatal or does it?!

It was so gripping I read this in one
sitting! The tension was palpable and grows with every page. I had to keep remembering to breathe as the many twists and turns kept coming along as I eagerly turned the pages! One twist in particular really stood out for me!

I adore Andrea Mara’s books no matter where I am in my shelf, she always gets bumped to the top! Hurry with the next one! I’d highly recommend this book!


🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!

Simply spectacular. I really enjoyed this novel situated in a small community in Dublin. Susan is a secondary school math teacher accidentally sends a bitchy message through WhatsApp to members of a group. The message originally intended for her sisters Greta and Leesa is immediately read. This in itself made me laugh out loud as I too experienced a similar mishap.

The message is quickly read and shared before she can recall it and the result has dire consequences. It has exposed her inner most thoughts on certain members of the community including the rather stuck-up Celeste and her family as well as an affair she claims to have witnessed.

As the effects of her deed ripple throughout the group, she is caught up in mysterious murders that coincidently happened after the messages were sent. Do they have any connection to her and if so, is her life in danger.

I really liked the various voices of the characters and Mara did an excellent job in developing each one. This is a high-octane book which explores relationships, secrets and teenage angst wrapped up with lots of suspense and tension to keep you guessing all the way. I highly recommend this and predict it will be a best seller at its release.

May I thank NetGalley, Andrea Mara and Transworld for an ARC for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

I'm not entirely sure I'd describe this book as a thriller, more domestic suspense. However, great book. Hated some the characters in the way (I hope) you're supposed to 😂 had to keep reading to find out what happened.

Another brilliant opening from this author that had me hooked from the start.

Andrea Mara takes the most ordinary scenarios, stirs the pot and all hell breaks loose. A sleep deprived new mother sending a gossipy WhatsApp text to the wrong group chat and murderous chaos ensues!

I really loved the huge, life-changing - life-ending! - ripple effect from something so seemingly tiny; that innocuous flap of a butterfly’s wing.

The characters are a vibrant mix of likeable, witty, detestable and cunning! Several POVs but I found them easily distinguishable.

I would love to see this adapted for tv. I think it would make a great series.

I was thrilled to receive an early ARC of this book; many thanks to Andrea, Penguin Randomhouse UK and NetGalley.

This is .my first five star read of 2025. This author is an auto buy for me as she delivers every time and is the queen of thrillers! I loved the short chapters and character development. This book starts strong and will grip you from the start. I was so excited to get approved this arc and read it in two nights! I would say this will be a big hit this summer!! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

Wow (again!), I finished this book last night and can't stop thinking about it. What a clever plot that made for an unputdownable read. As always with Andrea Mara's books, all the characters were so relatable and even though there were many characters and points of view, each one was very distinct so it didn't get confusing.

The story took so many twists and turns that whenever I thought that I had it figured out, I absolutely hadn't. The conclusion at the end and the message it conveyed made me really emotional which was a first for a book in this genre. As always the author wraps up everything perfectly and ties up any loose ends, which satisfies the reader.

I can't recommend It Should Have Been You highly enough. This might be Andrea's best book (although, I say this after every one of her books).

Tension personified, just had to keep reading as the plot unfolds through out the book. Excellent gripping reading.

Social media is it good or bad for children and adults alkie, especially if the one person texting has had a drink or two. The consequences can be enormous. Are people who they say they are, your mind might be in doubt after reading this book.

Thank you for letting me read this excellent book.

OMG, what a ride. Another fantastic thriller.
It all starts with a text. And sure we all love a bit of local gossip & drama right?!


I loved how the chapters are broken up into different voices so you can slowly see the plot & it's characters intertwining & how it all pulls itself together like a curtain that were all twitching.....

I love the way that Andrea Mara can take a normal situation that could happen to anyone and turn it into a gripping thriller. 'It Should Have Been You' begins when Susan mistakenly sends a message to the local WhatsApp group instead of her sisters. This is the catalyst for a string of consequences including murder. There's a whole cast of believable characters in a small Dublin community. A pacy plot with the tension ramping up as secrets and lies are revealed. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley, Andrea Mara and Transworld for an arc in return for an honest review.

Wow! What a brilliant, brilliant plot! So many twists, I was dizzy! The prologue, for starters, had me floored and that was it, I was hooked!

Susan, a married teacher with a young baby, accidentally sends a screenshot, moaning about one of her neighbours, to the neighbourhood WhatsApp group, instead of the one with her sisters, Greta and Leesa! Many of us have done it, and know that sick feeling when you realise what you've done and try to dig yourself out of the metaphorical hole you've fallen into! That night, a brick is thrown through Susan's window and by morning, three people are dead! WHAT THE...?

I'm staying well away from spoiler territory, but I can tell you that the action doesn't let up. Every detail in the book is crucial to the multi-faceted plot, the character development is spot on and you just won't want to stop reading! Loved it!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Andrea Mara and Transworld for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Loved this, great writing and believable characters.
The storyline showed just how far gossip can escalate.
Wonderful author, wonderful book which i read far to quickly.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Another unputdownable page turner from Andrea Mara, what a read! It’s a while since I read a book, quite literally, in one sitting. It Should Have Been You plunges the author straight into this story, I was hooked from the first chapter.

On a normal summer day a woman screenshots a message that irks her in a local community WhatsApp group, she sends the screenshot with accompanying details on the woman’s family to her sisters. Except she doesn’t send the message to her sisters, she sends it back into the local group. And so a small south Dublin community implodes ….
The message is shared over and over again, then comes a death threat and the next day a woman is found murdered.

Andrea Mara writes crime fiction that falls on the side of absolutely could happen, takes an ordinary setting and set of circumstance and shows; in gripping detail, how life can very easily go very wrong, very quickly. This , for me, is so much more frightening than reading a thriller set in exceptional circumstances .

This book skips along at a lightening pace, tightly plotted, realistic characters with tension that builds and builds and builds. I knew once I got about 30% through I had to read it in full then and there.

Kept me guessing, kept me entertained and has ensured my screen shooting behaviour will be curbed.

A cracking read. Bravo..