Rating: 8/10
It has been great to get ahold of a thriller after being in a YA kind of zone. Arcade CrimeWise sent me this advance reader copy of They Did Bad Things By: Lauren A. Forry, and I had to get into it now (even though it doesn't release until June). I feel like I did really enjoy it, despite my personal problems with the ending. This is the fist whodunnit-style thriller that I've read in awhile and it really hit the spot. Forry's writing style is very accessible, but also complex enough to really allow the reader to immerse themselves in the story.
The story is told from multiple perspectives in a past/present kind of exposition. In modern day, the five people who used to live in 215 Caldwell Street have all inexplicably found each other at a manor in the middle of nowhere. Each arrived at Wolfheather House for different reasons, and they were unaware that they would be seeing each other there. What they soon realize, is that they have been set up; someone brought them all together for a reason. Though they won't admit it out loud, they know why they were brought together. They are being required to pay for their past mistakes. Someone wants retribution for the murder of their sixth housemate, who was killed in 1995. The police never investigated the case as a murder because the residents of 215 Caldwell Street covered it up. None wanted to acknowledge that their housemate had been murdered by one of them to protect themselves. The benefactor that brought them together wants revenge, they want the killer to be uncovered, and they want them all to pay for their part in the crime. They must admit to their crimes, or die.
This is a classic whodunnit situation, chock full of unreliable narration and suspense. Forry skips back and forth in time with the narration, while also switching perspective. The past narration isn't the result of memories of the characters; rather, the narration of the past is in the format of one singular person telling all of their stories in a sort of exposé. So, you really don't know exactly how much of it you can trust. That being said, you can't really trust the firsthand experiences of the modern-time characters either. They are lying about things, and the narrator doesn't know what. If you look closely, there are breadcrumbs hidden throughout that do allude to the identity of the person who has set up this whole thing. But also some of it was funky in that there is no way it could be guessed (well, not until you're like 2/3 through the book at least, which felt a little cheap to me).
What I will give the author, is that she did a great job at setting the scenes. It seems like the constant POV switches and the time-jumps would be hard to keep up with, but they actually flow really well. It helps that the story from 1994-1995 is in a different font, which is definitely a good touch to help people keep up. She also did a great job at building suspense in the scenes. I read the last 100 pages in one go because it had picked up so much, that I just couldn't put it down. It was just a very immersive read. The characters were all wonderfully flawed as well. Sometimes, perfect characters just get annoying, like we get it. The ex-housemates all had their flaws. Some were physical, some mental, but they were by no means perfect and I thought it to be very fitting of the story. Their individual personalities were so well-described that you felt as though you could really see them. Their personalities weren't established very quickly in tropes either. The view between the past and present, coupled with the POV switches really allowed their true characters to develop and unfurl as the story progressed. Callum though, man. He was the most sympathetic character. I just felt so bad for him, what a good person. I get why someone would want revenge for his death.
On to what I did not like. Honestly, most of my qualms are with the ending. I felt as though there was not much woven in the first half of the story that really gives any clue to who the person is that wants revenge. Like you really have no chance of guessing it, unless you went off-the-wall. Don't get me wrong, it really sucks when the villain is obvious. You don't want to immediately know who it is. However, it also sucks when the villain is just totally out of nowhere. There's a sweet-spot in thrillers, and I felt like this one was a bit off. The villain's motivations made sense, I just felt a little cheated at the end. I can't say much without spoiling it. The reason the villain was unknown made sense and all, but It just didn't feel as though it had to be so convoluted. Convoluted is really the best way to describe the ending. Also, Maeve was just super annoying. I can't really fault that because it's her personality. I just wanted that statement to be out there. If those are the worst things about it though, then I think that's pretty good.
The book really had a way of connecting you to the characters and the events that happened within the story. I was just so connected to the characters. I genuinely felt bad for some of the characters at times (especially Callum). Just that feeling of wanting to take something back, so the character doesn't have to experience it. Or the feeling of wanting a character to keep going, even though they're dead. That's kind of the purpose of the story though. These people made mistakes in their youth, and it finally catching up to them. They would love the opportunity to go back and change things, to have the future work out more favorably. But they can't. No matter what they do, they can't take back the past. They flipped a switch that can never be unflipped. You feel that dread too. It just resonates throughout, particularly in the parts written about the past. This is very obviously because the "villain" is writing with a biased tone, but also because it's hard not to feel responsible for Callum's death as well. This book comes out on June 2, 2020, if you can get your hands on it when it comes out, or even pre-order it, you should. I really enjoyed it and I think any fan of a whodunnit will also really enjoy getting in on this one. Seriously, probably my favorite thriller of 2020 so far.