Review: 'After Everything You Did' by Stephanie Sowden

Thrillers can be so much more than just scary. When they're excellent, they can investigate our deepest fears, our societal issues. They can offer us a chance to question ourselves, to figure out where we draw the line. I'm glad to say After Everything You Did delivers on the promise of a good thriller. Thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 4/7/2022
Publisher: Canelo

It ends with a car crash. Two women, both maimed, their long blonde hair matted with blood.

It begins with waking up, in an unfamiliar hospital bed. Bright lights, nurses – and handcuffs.

She is told her name is Reeta Doe, and that she’s been in an accident. That she’s in Florida. That the FBI have been following her since Mississippi. That she has brutally murdered two women. College girls, who look just like her. Two more are missing, and one survived.

Reeta recalls nothing. She cannot answer the questions; all the things they want her to explain are no more familiar to her than the prison she is taken to. Her only hope is a journalist named Carol, who can follow the trail of devastation Reeta left in her wake.

All the way back to Pine Ranch, and the only family she ever knew.

An astonishing debut crime novel, exploring identity and nature versus nurture, with an unforgettable character at its heart. Perfect for fans of Girl A and The Girls.

What happens when you wake up with no memories but everyone knows you've done something horrible. Can you just accept that about yourself? Can you admit to it if you can't remember it? These are just some of the questions After Everything You Did poses and I found myself thinking about them for a long time after the last page. This comes down to the question of evil, whether it is nature or nurture, whether it is something innate or something learned. It also comes down to the justice system. Right now, it is a life sentence, especially in America, as a prison sentence severely limits your chances in life, no matter your crime. While it is clear that violent acts deserve harsh justice, how do we deal with other kinds of crimes? And how do we deal with criminals forced by circumstances? After Everything You Did does not have all the answers, but it gets you thinking.

Reeta wakes up in the hospital, handcuffed to her bed. Even though she can't remember anything, everyone around her is convinced she is a killer, and a brutal one at that. As we get to know Reeta on her journey to know herself, we get flashbacks to their youth and to the killings, all of which comes together for a fascinating climax in which the truth finally comes out. Set in the '60s and '70s, After Everything You Did highlights the various social issues at the time, whether it is feminism, civil rights, Vietnam, or religion. Sowden sketches a vivid portrait of these decades, full of sharp edges but also full of the potential for kindness and family. I quickly found myself fascinated by Reeta, intrigued by her potential history, but this quickly turned into a more genuine interest for what Sowden was doing with her through this story.  I'm going to get into mildly spoilery territory now, so skip to the next paragraph or keep going at your own risk. After Everything You Did engages with a topic I've been reading a lot about recently, which is cults. The podcast Trust Me has done an excellent job to contextualise how people are sucked into it, kept in it, and prevented from making independent choices. So how does this relate to crimes committed in the name of cults? How responsible can you be when it is how you've been conditioned? And who are you, after experiencing life that way? These are fascinating questions and I was very intrigued by the way Sowden handled it.

Stephanie Sowden's After Everything You Did is stunning and it is one of those debut novels that is both inspirational and intimidating to those who also want to write. Nothing is out of place in After Everything You Did, every flashback, every callback, it is all thought-out carefully. Sowden approaches her characters with a lot of understanding, which allows readers to really see them for who they are, at their core. This is also a daring plot to take on for a debut, to ask a reader to trust you in getting to know a killer. That Sowden can make us care for Reeta is the real genius of After Everything You Did. Despite all the things we find out(, or perhaps even because of them?), Reeta is the beating heart of this novel. While Sowden has a good twist coming at the end of the novel, it is not the one you begin to expect in the last 15% of the book, and this kind of elevated the novel for me. She didn't take an easy or "scandalous" way out with Reeta's story, which I think is what makes the novel as riveting. I can't wait to read more by Stephanie Sowden in the future.

I give this novel...

4 Universes!

After Everything You Did is a fascinating novel that is a perfect example of all the good things thrillers can be! Would highly recommend to anyone looking for something fresh and intriguing!