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ashleysilver7's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a psychological thriller, and trauma/OCD plays a big part in this book. Annie (Anh Le) is a successful artist and the daughter of a Vietnam War refugee. Her childhood was tumultuous, and unfortunately the death of her mother has triggered her into a mental breakdown. Her world literally starts to crash down on her, and she doesn't trust all of her memories....if you are struggling with your mental health, especially OCD, this book may be triggering to you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Racism
bitesizedbeet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcohol and War
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Blood, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
zenzi2read's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Child death
danaburrreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
camilleisreading24's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, and War
readbyregan's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A unique and memorable story, @ktnguyen_author ‘s debut YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID delivered depth and thought-provoking discussion. This story was difficult at times as you are successfully placed in the mindset of Annie and the decisions she makes. After dealing with the death of her mother, a Vietnam War refugee, Annie’s contamination OCD resurfaces and you follow along her spiral as her mental and physical state deteriorates. She then finds herself in the middle of a police investigation that has readers questioning her reliability.
This was a slow burn thriller and the pace picks up about halfway through the book and has plenty of characters to suspect at one point or another, including Annie herself. What I most appreciated about this novel is how Nguyen weaved Annie’s childhood throughout, clearly showing us the effects of generational trauma. Though not to this extreme, this part of the story is what really hit close to home for me. Annie’s journey wrestles for self-control and the power to make choices that break the cycle of emotional trauma. I love a story that explores the complications of a mother and daughter relationship and this one certainly delivers! 4/5
This was a slow burn thriller and the pace picks up about halfway through the book and has plenty of characters to suspect at one point or another, including Annie herself. What I most appreciated about this novel is how Nguyen weaved Annie’s childhood throughout, clearly showing us the effects of generational trauma. Though not to this extreme, this part of the story is what really hit close to home for me. Annie’s journey wrestles for self-control and the power to make choices that break the cycle of emotional trauma. I love a story that explores the complications of a mother and daughter relationship and this one certainly delivers! 4/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Mental illness
reading_under_covers's review
4.0
Annie Shaw has turned her life around after growing up in a poor household with a toxic relationship with her mother. However, when her mother suddenly passes, Annie’s OCD (previously thought to be reined in) comes roaring back in full force, and her illusions start blending with reality. She soon finds herself in the middle of several police investigations and no longer knows what to believe.
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID by K. T. Nguyen was such a unique book!
This is the first thriller/horror I’ve read that utilizes (contamination) OCD to drive home the body horror and lend itself to an unreliable narrator, and I thought it was really well done!
Nguyen builds on this uneasiness and untrustworthiness to deliver a great twist at the end as well.
There were some moments that I wish were fleshed out a bit more, but overall a really great debut!
Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Publication Date: April 16
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Death of parent
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
kelsbookzone1's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley for an early release of this one
A novel that captures the complications of the mother-daughter relationship. Annie’s own mother has just passed away, the intro setting up a link between the two for a secret her mother concealed for her daughter. And even though that seems like a complicated relationship, the one between Annie and her own daughter is apparent to mirror the same. So do we ultimately just become our mother? What a scary thought
A novel that captures the complications of the mother-daughter relationship. Annie’s own mother has just passed away, the intro setting up a link between the two for a secret her mother concealed for her daughter. And even though that seems like a complicated relationship, the one between Annie and her own daughter is apparent to mirror the same. So do we ultimately just become our mother? What a scary thought
A twisty thriller that kept me intrigued the whole time. The author has in depth details and descriptions, leaving the reader guessing what is real or not. The first half of the book felt more literary, exploring generational trauma and mental health. This thriller part doesn’t really pick up till the back half. But that’s part of the reason I enjoyed it. I hope they add trigger warnings on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
rachelcoconut's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail