Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of What They Did in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: August 18, 2026
Summary:
A dark, deadly secret between two friends tears them apart, only to reunite them decades later as they are forced to confront what happened that night . . . or lose all they hold dear.
She keeps me safe. She keeps me wild. Carly Rivers and Dana Lee were best friends when they were younger. Like fire and water, they always balanced each other Dana kept them wild. Carly kept them safe.
But then, a split-second decision resulted in an irreversible tragedy. To this day, neither has spoken of what happened; they share a terrible secret that sent them on separate paths, each hoping to leave the darkness behind them. Carly becomes a police officer in Florida with a beautiful house and a beautiful husband and son. For Dana, things go the other way. After a string of failed relationships and broken hearts, she finds herself in Black Ash, Michigan, working for the notorious meth dealer Warner Prince. When Carly’s husband, also a cop, is killed in the line of duty, her son, Anthony, spins out of control. In search of his own fresh start, Anthony heads to Toledo, a stone’s throw from Dana’s home in Black Ash. As Anthony’s friendship with Dana puts him in the crosshairs of some sinister people, Dana’s and Carly’s lives come together again. Twenty-four years have passed, but the secret between them hasn’t died, and the friends soon find themselves in a situation where history is doomed to repeat itself.
Brimming with action and suspense, and tempered with a strong emotional core, Rio Youers’s gripping new novel is an intense, edge-of-your-seat story about fierce friendship, the bonds of family, and the extremes we’ll go to, to keep our loved ones safe.
My thoughts:
This is a story I haven’t stopped thinking about since I finished reading it…and I cannot recommend it enough! It’s a slow-burn character-driven crime thriller that eventually picks up and takes off…and once it does, you aren’t going to want to put the book down…trust me!
This story is as much about friendship, grief, and secrets as it is an emotional journey for the two main characters. One of the strengths of this book is the character development. I loved how as much as we are in the present and getting to know the characters, we also get their backstories. The flashbacks really add to the richness of the overall story, making what is happening in the present feel that much more intense.
While the book does start off slow, the pay-off is so worth it. All the pieces need to be put in place so that the connections can be made later on. I became so invested in this one, feeling such an emotional attachment to these characters that I don’t often feel in crime thrillers. The twists hit just right and kept me guessing all the way through. Loved it and highly recommend!
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