Book Review: What Have You Done

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE | Matthew Farrell
10.01.2018 | Thomas & Mercer
Rating: 4/5 stars

Liam Dwyer is a forensics specialist working for the Philadelphia Police Department. His day starts off with him waking in a bathtub filled with water, completely unable to remember how he got there. His wife tells him that when she woke in the middle of the night she found him sleeping on the couch and he assumes that his memory loss is just the result of his night out with his brother. Liam has been called to the crime scene of the homicide department’s latest case where he finds a mutilated body hanging in a hotel room. Things take a turn when Liam realizes that he knows the victim. Her name is Kerri and she’s the woman Liam has been having an affair with for over a year until recently when she broke up with him and encouraged Liam to make amends with his wife.

Where were you last night? Why can’t you remember?

In a state of panic, Liam immediately calls his brother Sean, who just happens to be a detective at the same police department. Sean believes his brother is innocent, but the evidence is stacking up. There are fingerprints and DNA linking Liam, but he swears that he could never do such a thing to Kerri. Someone has to be framing him. Can Sean and Liam working together to prove his innocence or will the world come crashing down around him?

Those flowers scare me. Somebody knows something.

The Dwyer brothers have been through traumatic events before, but proving Liam’s innocence might be the biggest hurdle they have ever faced. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE explores the ins and outs of Liam’s situation in a style that feels like the reader is watching a television show. Farrell has an eloquent writing style that he utilizes to methodically plot out a story that has many more layers than it initially appears to contain. When I was first starting out with this book I felt as though I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters, but as I kept reading I realized that feeling wasn’t stemming from a lack in the story, but from the fact that each character in this book comes off as though they have something to hide. Liam may appear to be the person with the biggest secrets, but you quickly come to realize that not everyone is who they seem at face value. I read a ton of mystery/thriller/crime fiction titles, so I was able to guess parts of this story that maybe wouldn’t be as obvious to others, but in the end this didn’t detract from my enjoyment. I absolutely devoured this book! Farrell’s WHAT HAVE YOU DONE is a cinematically devious story that will have will have you distrusting everyone.

A special shout out to Amazon Publishing for sending me a free copy of this book!