What You Did

Product Information

The party should have been perfect: six couples from the same baby group, six newborns, a luxurious house. But not everything has gone to plan, and while some are here to celebrate, others have sorrows to drown. When someone falls from the balcony of the house, the secrets and conflicts within the group begin to spill out … Her unease only deepens after renovations begin, when the builders find sinister dolls hidden in the walls. As Helen digs into the house’s past, she discovers that the previous owner was not only rumoured to be a witch; she was also imprisoned for a brutal triple murder thirty years earlier. The author then proceeds to lead her readers on a rather clever, merry dance into the past as we see how the relationships between these 6 ‘friends’ actually started and evolved into what exists today. Between groups of people, especially when men and women are involved, the balance is never equal. There’s always someone who’s weaker and someone else who holds the power – who these people are might differ over time as circumstances change, but it all boils down to who needs something from the others. It’s intriguing to delve into this tangled web and discover where the power lies.

When old college friends get together for a night of dinner and reminiscing, it was supposed to be a reunion, to catch up and relive old memories. The Dead Ground is the second installment in the Paula McGuire book series. It begins from where, The Lost, the first installment had left off from. The protagonist, Paula McGuire is still a forensic psychologist who resides in the small town of Ballyterrin, North Ireland. Paula lives with her father, who is a former policeman, while at the same time she is still chasing the ghost of her mother that has constantly been haunting her. With that said, Paula is an exceedingly likable character, who made lots of mistakes, with Aiden O’Hara, the newspaper owner, and DI-Guy, her boss. However, despite the number of mistakes that Paula has done, she still has work to do, considering the fact that a baby has been snatched from the hospital and everyone is racing against time to locate the missing baby. Apart from having the theme of pregnancy, this book also has the theme of missing babies, which proved to be both compelling and disturbing at the same time.The reason that this book did not get a five star from me was because I felt that the story line and pacing was a bit too slow. At times it was repetitive and could have been cut down some. This took me much longer to read than a normal thriller would.

and future forensic psychologist Paula Maguire is still in school, being taunted by bullies. In particular one girl, whose family has paramilitary links, is calling her a rat. Even though Paula might not know why her mother went missing five years before, she's sure she's no traitor's daughter. The plot is very cleverly constructed, revealing its full potential only slowly. What makes it especially delicate is the fact that it plays on those core emotions in life: trust and believe in the people who are closest to you. It hurts a lot more to feel betrayed by the ones you love than coping with just with stressful situations. Additionally, I found it quite clever to put Ali in the position where she is presented as an advocate for women who have been assaulted and speak out against their perpetrators and then finding her in the position where she is inclined to take the other side and rather believe her husband than the woman – and friend! – who without any doubt is a victim. When the six ex Oxford University friends had a reunion years after their graduation none of them had any idea that things would go so tragically wrong. The way each of them handled it revealed how their friendship wasn’t as strong or genuine as they thought. Ali and Mike host a disastrous 25th reunion (from the day they started) for their university friends. Karen is first to arrive as Ali gets a frantic call from the "feminist" group (charity) that she chairs. She leaves for just a while. As Ali arrives home, Jodi (8 months pregnant) and her husband, Callum. pull up. Bill arrives later on his motorcycle. Rounding out the group are Jake (17), Karen's son - and Ali and Mike's two children: Cassie and Benji. It’s the 25th anniversary reunion for the group of 6 that created a bond while in university, a bond that is still strong today. But is it?

I'm not sure where to start with this one. I feel like I should get a few start for being able to finish it. The protagonist is one of the most unlikable characters I've ever read about in a book. That in and of itself is not the problem - the problem is that I don't think it was the author's intent. As her family and best friend go through the unthinkable, she worries about her beautiful home and her beautiful things, and that's just a start. Most of it is modern day and concerns Ali, wife of the charged man and ‘best friend’ of the victim. She was a character who baffled and annoyed me the more I read. Her obsession with image, her snobbery and especially her noticing that her daughter Cassie had chipped nail varnish on her toes when she had a lot more to think about.

With one person fighting for their life, one in prison, one confronting a past that has been buried for far too long, and another so scared they can’t sleep at night... you won’t soon forget the outcome of this story! Ali and her husband Mike are having an anniversary party with their old university friends. They are celebrating knowing them for 25 years, staying up late drinking and reminiscing about the past. They are awoken by Karen who is Ali’s best friend crying that she was raped by Mike. Oh, what a night! Boozy and late! And a touch of weed. At 3:30 AM, Ali, asleep, is woken by screams. She goes downstairs to find (a sober) Jodi. In bursts Karen; bloodied, frenzied and disheveled. She says "He raped me". Well, the only one still outside with her was Mike. Did someone come in to the yard and choke/rape Karen? The police arrive and Karen is brought to the hospital as Mike is arrested.The setting is a familiar one, where old friends gather after some times apart, secrets are revealed, repressed anger or passions come alive once again and trouble is brewing on the horizon. DS Alison Hegarty, herself struggling with infertility, is called in to investigate. She’s convinced the fall was not an accident, and finds the new parents have a lot to hide. Wealthy Ed and Monica show off their newborn while their teenage daughter is kept under virtual house arrest. Hazel and Cathy conceived their longed-for baby via an anonymous sperm donor―or so Hazel thinks. But the exciting and anticipated reunion would not end well as one guest in a drunken stupor, bloody and hysterical, runs in with a claim of rape. By Ali’s husband. But that can’t be. It couldn’t possibly be true. But who is lying? Her husband or her best friend? This is the sort of book you wont want to put down even to write a few words for a review. I found most of the characters unreliable, couldnt warm to any of them and even felt annoyed by one or two. Far from putting me off it just seemed to add to my enjoyment. I guess there isn’t any rule to say we HAVE to live the characters and I suspected this might have been a deliberate act by the writer. Also at times I could feel the emotional undercurrents between them. It also made me think how tragedy can draw people closer or fracture their relationships forever.

Ali is pulled in both directions, wanting to believe both her husband and her best friend. She is at crossroads with herself especially when she is the one dealing with such cases daily at her workplace.

As the group re-connects and the alcohol starts flowing, old pictures come out, and the discussion turns to a young female classmate, Martha, who died in the university garden all those years ago. While the men revel in their youthful memories and ply themselves with alcohol late into the evening, Jodi & Ali head for bed. The novel is not about sexual assault, per se, and he said/she said, though the trigger for rape and sexual violence is prevalent; it's about who we are when someone we love is faced with such a horrible accusation. I am familiar with Claire McGowan’s books having read a few from her Paula Maguire series. This is a stand-alone novel and she has proved that she can do both perfectly well. Amidst all the partying and drinking, Ali's best friend Karen stumbles inside from the garden accusing Mike of sexually assaulting her. Mike denies the accusation but Karen does not relent. Ali does not know who to believe – Is her husband capable of committing such a heinous crime? Is her best friend capable of telling such an improbable lie?