I picked this up because it is the Literally Dead Book Club pick for June.
"You Know What You Did" follows a woman named Annie Shaw. Despite humble and often challenging beginnings, Annie seems to have the perfect life now with her wealthy husband and sassy teenage daughter. Somewhat unexpectantly, Annie's mother, a Vietnam War refugee, passes away, and Annie's life seems to be coming apart at the seams. People around Annie seem to be disappearing or turning up dead, and she cannot believe she is the catalyst for all of this, but she also does not know if she can trust her own mind.
This was a highly enjoyable mystery. Annie's story felt very relatable, but unique at the same time. All of the relationships in her life seem to be complicated and rife with turbulence. For example, despite loving her mother dearly, and appreciating the sacrifices she made for Annie, Annie and her mother had a complex relationship that became very difficult at the end. Annie knows what her mother would want, and she still hears her mother's voice criticizing her every day. This is really compounded by her increasingly difficult relationship with her own daughter.
I really enjoyed the idea that Annie was an unreliable narrator. Annie really struggles with some mental health issues, and throughout the book, Annie herself does not trust her own mind. I really enjoy this trope because it really forces the reader to trust their gut and analyze every angle of every situation.
The ultimate twist and resolution of this story was fine, but I was kind of disappointed. The person responsible for what was going on felt very cliche to me, and easy to predict. I was also left feeling lackluster about where Annie ultimately ended up. It was poetic in a way, but it almost did not feel authentic to her character.
Overall, I had a fine time with this debut, and I will be curious to keep K.T. Nguyen on my radar in the future. 

And was a well developed character. The pros were descriptive and often did a good job conveying the feeling of being trapped by OCD. The pacing was off. The story features flashbacks that flush out the characters. When in the presents, the fire dynamic is so unpleasant And has been always feels like a villain. It’s difficult to tell if this is intentional or not the plot to figure out and the mistakes felt low. I never felt like and was in physical or mental care. Book was just overly long. 

Good for fans of:
Jennifer Hillier
Lisa Jewell
Gillian Flynn

This is excellent, especially for a debut. This book follows Annie, whose OCD re-emerges after the sudden death of her mother, a Vietnam War refugee with whom she had a tortured relationship. There were multiple threads in this story: in the present, we see how Annie’s delusions and rituals take over her life and make her doubt her reality; through flashbacks, we see Annie’s difficult and abusive childhood, as well as her mother’s heartbreaking experiences fleeing Vietnam; and then there is the mysterious hotel where Annie wakes up next to a body. 

In the hands of less skilled writer, this story would quickly get unwieldy and too difficult to follow. But Nguyen deftly weaves a tapestry from all of these threads and the result is a thriller that pulls you in and doesn’t let go until the final page. While reading, I felt Annie’s stress and discomfort viscerally. To me, that’s a hallmark of a great writer. I also enjoyed reading a story set in the northern Virginia suburbs of DC. That added a fun extra layer to my reading experience. 

There is dark subject matter here and I recommend looking up content warnings - especially if child death and/or animal death are your triggers.

 disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I enjoy an unreliable narrator (like, as in we have no idea if we should be trusting her or not for the majority of the book, because she barely trusts herself!)

Though this wasn't my favorite (I had issues with the pacing especially, because I did have to will myself to pick this back up sometimes), I would try out another psychological thriller from the author in the future. I appreciated the OCD representation without wholly villainizing the person with OCD, and spotlighting mental disability as "evil" as it typically is in this genre especially.

Check trigger warnings below and take care while reading 

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the Digital ARC of You Know What You Did. 

I love a thriller. I especially love a thriller that’s dealing with larger issues beyond the crime(s) themselves. The way Nguyen writes about the immigrant experience, PTSD, mental illness, mother/daughter relationships, and generational trauma is important and timely. At times, the messaging can be heavy handed if the reader considers themselves slightly versed in the topic(s) above, but overall the writing was a welcome addition to the thriller as a whole. 

Where the novel lost me was in the pacing and time jumps. A lot of the chapters in the middle section of the book generally ended on the same note or even the same sentence. Some chapters felt like lateral moves as opposed to steps in the plot. It was also difficult to keep track of where in the overall story a certain chapter was taking place. Both of these aspects messed with the pacing and took me out of the story. 

Overall, I would generally recommend this book to someone who enjoys thrillers and family dramas, but I would warn them of the pacing issues in advance.