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What She Did
What would you do to protect the ones you love?
Single-mother Emma is at her limit, with two children to look after, a demanding job and an ex-husband who doesn't pull his weight.
Mostly she manages, but when her teenage son, Jack, calls her in the middle of the night saying that he needs help, her life is thrown into chaos. She finds him in a state of panic. His ex-girlfriend, Zoe, is lying on the floor, dead. They'd been at a party, drinking too much and taking drugs, and Jack has no memory of how they got there.
Emma's instinct is to protect her son at all costs, so she helps him hide Zoe's body. But can she handle keeping their secret, or will it break her?
******************************
What readers are saying about Karen Cole
'Absolutely amazing!' 5* Reader Review
'Great storyline and suspense' 5* Reader Review
'One of my go to authors' 5* Reader Review
'I am a huge fan' 5* Reader Review
'Gripping. Can't wait to read another' 5* Reader Review
Single-mother Emma is at her limit, with two children to look after, a demanding job and an ex-husband who doesn't pull his weight.
Mostly she manages, but when her teenage son, Jack, calls her in the middle of the night saying that he needs help, her life is thrown into chaos. She finds him in a state of panic. His ex-girlfriend, Zoe, is lying on the floor, dead. They'd been at a party, drinking too much and taking drugs, and Jack has no memory of how they got there.
Emma's instinct is to protect her son at all costs, so she helps him hide Zoe's body. But can she handle keeping their secret, or will it break her?
******************************
What readers are saying about Karen Cole
'Absolutely amazing!' 5* Reader Review
'Great storyline and suspense' 5* Reader Review
'One of my go to authors' 5* Reader Review
'I am a huge fan' 5* Reader Review
'Gripping. Can't wait to read another' 5* Reader Review
381 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 18, 2024
6 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Karen Cole
18 books89 followersKaren Cole grew up in the Cotswolds and got a degree in psychology at Newcastle University. She spent several years teaching English around the world before settling in Cyprus with her husband and two sons, where she works at a British army base as a primary school teacher. She recently completed the Curtis Brown writing course where she found her love of writing psychological thrillers.
Deliver Me is her debut novel.
~ from Quercus
Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Deliver Me is her debut novel.
~ from Quercus
Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 24, 2024
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for providing this ARC for an honest review.
Emma is a divorced teacher, single mother of 2 teenagers, and having an affair with a married fellow teacher. When her son calls her in the middle of the night telling her that he needs help because he has woken up from being black out drunk and his friend Zoe is dead, and he isn't sure if he killed her, Emma immediately goes to help. They move the body to where no one will find it, but that is just the start of the trouble for Emma. Now she has to act like she has no idea what could have happened to the missing girl, and she wants to figure out who really killed her so that she can exonerate her son if he becomes a suspect.
3.5 stars.
I like this author and I love that this book was set in Cyprus, which sounds like such an interesting place. I really didn't like Emma, as she was going on in her inner monologues about how she was a good person while she was actively sleeping with a married man and withholding from him what actually happened to his daughter. I thought it was a little slow as well. There were chunks of the book where I felt nothing new was being turned up, but around 65% I started getting more interested in what had really happened and when I found out, it was definitely unexpected but I don't know if it was a super satisfying ending. Not a bad read, but not this author's best.
Emma is a divorced teacher, single mother of 2 teenagers, and having an affair with a married fellow teacher. When her son calls her in the middle of the night telling her that he needs help because he has woken up from being black out drunk and his friend Zoe is dead, and he isn't sure if he killed her, Emma immediately goes to help. They move the body to where no one will find it, but that is just the start of the trouble for Emma. Now she has to act like she has no idea what could have happened to the missing girl, and she wants to figure out who really killed her so that she can exonerate her son if he becomes a suspect.
3.5 stars.
I like this author and I love that this book was set in Cyprus, which sounds like such an interesting place. I really didn't like Emma, as she was going on in her inner monologues about how she was a good person while she was actively sleeping with a married man and withholding from him what actually happened to his daughter. I thought it was a little slow as well. There were chunks of the book where I felt nothing new was being turned up, but around 65% I started getting more interested in what had really happened and when I found out, it was definitely unexpected but I don't know if it was a super satisfying ending. Not a bad read, but not this author's best.
January 11, 2025
Felt like it was trying to be a Jodi Picoult book but with none of the skill. The main character is one of the dumbest criminals I've ever read. They get a phone call from a withheld number and immediately confess, then it's just another 200 pages of poor decisions. The overall idea and storyline is very good, it just needs better execution.
July 17, 2024
3.5 stars rounded down for reasons I will explain later.
We start with single mum Emma who receives a call in the wee hours from her son Jack begging for help. She rushes to him and finds him in a derelict building standing over the body of his ex-girlfriend Zoe. Jack says he woke up to find her dead, and with the drink and drugs he took at the party they were both at, has no recollection of what happened... Emma's maternal instincts kick in and she helps Jack put the body in the car, drives to a remote place, and waits while he hides it where, hopefully, no one will find it...
Emma tries to return to her teaching life the next day but as word spreads about Zoe's disappearance, especially as she is the daughter of the man she is having an affair with, it all starts to get a bit tricky for her and her work starts to suffer. And then she gets a message from someone who saw what she did...
And then it all degenerates into a bit of a bonkers mess which gets more and more incredible as it goes on. I say incredible, it's also predictable and I did guess what happened quite early on. That said, the author did rather shock me with how she brought the story to its conclusion and I have to admit to being impressed with that!
Another thing that excited me initially was the inclusion of one of my favourite animals which you don't hear about that often, if ever, the Mouflon (which you can see a pretty impressive herd of at the New Forest Wildlife Park), although my excitement swiftly turned sour when I read them described as a goat and native only to Cyprus - they are actually a species of sheep and only one subspecies of them is only found there. I know, I know, no one else cares and it's a small thing, but it's important to me!
All in all, an OK read that did keep me occupied and sort of entertained. But given my previous healthy track record with this author will not, in itself, put me off her. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
We start with single mum Emma who receives a call in the wee hours from her son Jack begging for help. She rushes to him and finds him in a derelict building standing over the body of his ex-girlfriend Zoe. Jack says he woke up to find her dead, and with the drink and drugs he took at the party they were both at, has no recollection of what happened... Emma's maternal instincts kick in and she helps Jack put the body in the car, drives to a remote place, and waits while he hides it where, hopefully, no one will find it...
Emma tries to return to her teaching life the next day but as word spreads about Zoe's disappearance, especially as she is the daughter of the man she is having an affair with, it all starts to get a bit tricky for her and her work starts to suffer. And then she gets a message from someone who saw what she did...
And then it all degenerates into a bit of a bonkers mess which gets more and more incredible as it goes on. I say incredible, it's also predictable and I did guess what happened quite early on. That said, the author did rather shock me with how she brought the story to its conclusion and I have to admit to being impressed with that!
Another thing that excited me initially was the inclusion of one of my favourite animals which you don't hear about that often, if ever, the Mouflon (which you can see a pretty impressive herd of at the New Forest Wildlife Park), although my excitement swiftly turned sour when I read them described as a goat and native only to Cyprus - they are actually a species of sheep and only one subspecies of them is only found there. I know, I know, no one else cares and it's a small thing, but it's important to me!
All in all, an OK read that did keep me occupied and sort of entertained. But given my previous healthy track record with this author will not, in itself, put me off her. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
July 5, 2024
Single mother Emma is at her limit, with two children to look after, a demanding job, and an ex-husband who doesn't pull his weight. Mostly she manages, but when her teenage don, Jack, calls her in the middle of the night saying that he needs help, her life is thrown into chaos. She finds him in a state of panic. His ex-girlfriend, Zoe, is lying on the floor dead. They'd been at a party drinking too much and taking drugs, and Jack has no memory of how they got there. Emma's instinct is to protect her son at all costs, so she helps him hide Emma's body. But can she handle keeping their secret, or will it break her?
Set in Cyprus. Emma is divorced from her Cypriot husband. She's an English teacher at her children's secondary school. While sleeping one night, her phone wakes her, it's her son, Jack, telling her he needs her help. He's just woken up in a derelict house, his ex-girlfriend is dead. Emma tries to find out what happened the night Zoe died. The pace is steady. This book shows how far a mother would go to protect her own. The last thirty per cent was the best part of the book. If it had been like that all the way through, it would have been a five-star rating.
Published 18th July 2024
I would like to thank #NetGalley #QuercusBooks and the author #KarenCole for my ARC of #WhatSheDid in exchange for an honest review.
Set in Cyprus. Emma is divorced from her Cypriot husband. She's an English teacher at her children's secondary school. While sleeping one night, her phone wakes her, it's her son, Jack, telling her he needs her help. He's just woken up in a derelict house, his ex-girlfriend is dead. Emma tries to find out what happened the night Zoe died. The pace is steady. This book shows how far a mother would go to protect her own. The last thirty per cent was the best part of the book. If it had been like that all the way through, it would have been a five-star rating.
Published 18th July 2024
I would like to thank #NetGalley #QuercusBooks and the author #KarenCole for my ARC of #WhatSheDid in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2025
REVIEW: WHAT SHE DID BY KAREN COLE
RATING: **
WHAT SHE DID BY KAREN COLE IS A FAST-PACED PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER THAT GRIPS READERS FROM THE FIRSY PAGE. THE STORY JUMPS STRAIGHT IN TO OUR LEAD CHARACTER GETTING A CALL FROM HER SON ASKING FOR HELP, STATING HE'S WOKE UP NEXT TO HIS GIRLFRIEND'S DEAD BODY BUT IS ADAMANT HE DID NOT KILL HER. THE SUSPENSE JUST BUILDS FROM THERE.
THE PLOT IS FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS, MAKING IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN. THE PACING IS EXTREMELY EASY TO READ WITH SHORT, PUNCHY CHAPTERS THAT KEEP THE SUSPENSE HIGH THROUGHOUT.
COLE CREATES AN AUTHENTIC LEAD CHARACTER WHO WOULD DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT HER FAMILY, MAKING QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS IN THE LONG RUN THAT SHOW JUST HOW MUCH PRESSURE SHE IS FACING. AS AN AVID THRILLER READER, THIS ACTUALLY WAS AN ENDING THAT I HADN'T CONSIDERED AND REALLY TOOK ME BY SURPRISE - HALF WAY THROUGH THE BOOK YOU WILL THINK YOU KNOW THE ENDING BUT DON'T BE FOOLED!
THIS IS AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT READ. IF YOU'RE A FAN OF SUSPENSEFUL PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS, THIS BOOK WILL KEEP YOU HOOKED UNTIL THE VERY END. I WILL DEFINITELY BE READING SOME MORE OF COLE'S WORK BASED OFF THIS BOOK ALONE
RATING: **
WHAT SHE DID BY KAREN COLE IS A FAST-PACED PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER THAT GRIPS READERS FROM THE FIRSY PAGE. THE STORY JUMPS STRAIGHT IN TO OUR LEAD CHARACTER GETTING A CALL FROM HER SON ASKING FOR HELP, STATING HE'S WOKE UP NEXT TO HIS GIRLFRIEND'S DEAD BODY BUT IS ADAMANT HE DID NOT KILL HER. THE SUSPENSE JUST BUILDS FROM THERE.
THE PLOT IS FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS, MAKING IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN. THE PACING IS EXTREMELY EASY TO READ WITH SHORT, PUNCHY CHAPTERS THAT KEEP THE SUSPENSE HIGH THROUGHOUT.
COLE CREATES AN AUTHENTIC LEAD CHARACTER WHO WOULD DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT HER FAMILY, MAKING QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS IN THE LONG RUN THAT SHOW JUST HOW MUCH PRESSURE SHE IS FACING. AS AN AVID THRILLER READER, THIS ACTUALLY WAS AN ENDING THAT I HADN'T CONSIDERED AND REALLY TOOK ME BY SURPRISE - HALF WAY THROUGH THE BOOK YOU WILL THINK YOU KNOW THE ENDING BUT DON'T BE FOOLED!
THIS IS AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT READ. IF YOU'RE A FAN OF SUSPENSEFUL PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS, THIS BOOK WILL KEEP YOU HOOKED UNTIL THE VERY END. I WILL DEFINITELY BE READING SOME MORE OF COLE'S WORK BASED OFF THIS BOOK ALONE
June 8, 2024
Psychological thrillers in sunnier climes are amongst my favourite things - this novel ticked those boxes and many more besides. I defy anyone to predict THAT ending...!
Set in beautiful Cyprus, Emma is an English woman, who, having married a Cypriot (now divorced), has 2 children nearing the end of their secondary education. Emma is an English teacher in her children's secondary school. Sleeping soundly in her bed one night, Emma is woken to the sound of her phone - on answering she is delivered the news from her son that he has awoken in a derelict house, lying next to him is the corpse of his brutally murdered ex-girlfriend! Believing him to have been set up for the murder they quickly hide the body and clean the crime scene. What follows is a wonderful tale in amateur sleuthing as Emma seeks to find the identity of the murderer. The reveal is spectacular! This is an utter treat, gripping to the end - a novel I would 100% recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this novel in exchange for an advance copy.
Set in beautiful Cyprus, Emma is an English woman, who, having married a Cypriot (now divorced), has 2 children nearing the end of their secondary education. Emma is an English teacher in her children's secondary school. Sleeping soundly in her bed one night, Emma is woken to the sound of her phone - on answering she is delivered the news from her son that he has awoken in a derelict house, lying next to him is the corpse of his brutally murdered ex-girlfriend! Believing him to have been set up for the murder they quickly hide the body and clean the crime scene. What follows is a wonderful tale in amateur sleuthing as Emma seeks to find the identity of the murderer. The reveal is spectacular! This is an utter treat, gripping to the end - a novel I would 100% recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this novel in exchange for an advance copy.
June 3, 2024
Emma is a single mother living in Cyprus with her two kids, one being her teenage son who's been acting out a lot since her husband left her for another woman.
Things get even more complicated when the daughter of the man she has been having an affair with starts dating the aforementioned son, before breaking his heart.
But it gets a lot worse when her son Jack calls her late at night, after he was meant to be at a party, to say that he's in a deserted old house, the girl is dead, and he cannot remember what actually happened in the lead up to her death. Emma has a terrible choice to make...
An entertaining read exploring the limits of a mother's love - or the absence of those limits. It gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Things get even more complicated when the daughter of the man she has been having an affair with starts dating the aforementioned son, before breaking his heart.
But it gets a lot worse when her son Jack calls her late at night, after he was meant to be at a party, to say that he's in a deserted old house, the girl is dead, and he cannot remember what actually happened in the lead up to her death. Emma has a terrible choice to make...
An entertaining read exploring the limits of a mother's love - or the absence of those limits. It gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
July 18, 2024
Emma is woken in the night by a call from her son Jack, he has woke in an abandoned house next to the dead body of his ex girlfriend Zoe. Hasty decisions follow that lead Emma to become an accomplice after the fact, but with the belief her son is innocent as he has zero memory of the previous nights events. Emma starts a one woman amateur sleuth campaign as she tries to piece together what happened to Zoe, who is to blame and why Jack was implicated. As a teacher at the school she has access to most of the children and is keeping her ear to the ground.
Destination, murder mystery thriller, a whodunnit that I raced through. This is the perfect summer read, set in sunny Cyprus, divorced Emma is mum to two teenagers Jack and Molly and determined to find out the truth of Zoe’s murder, no matter what gets in her way. Craving the reveal of the murderer had me flying through the book and the ending was superb. Every so often a hidden gem of a book like this crosses my path , special thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for my advanced copy, I will be sure to be reading more of Karen Cole’s work
Destination, murder mystery thriller, a whodunnit that I raced through. This is the perfect summer read, set in sunny Cyprus, divorced Emma is mum to two teenagers Jack and Molly and determined to find out the truth of Zoe’s murder, no matter what gets in her way. Craving the reveal of the murderer had me flying through the book and the ending was superb. Every so often a hidden gem of a book like this crosses my path , special thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for my advanced copy, I will be sure to be reading more of Karen Cole’s work
May 19, 2024
What She Did by K. Cole, published by Quercus Books is a full length, stand alone, thrilling read.
Emma is a single mom with two kids, a demanding job, a needy ex-husband, She has her hands full. When her teenage son calls her in the deep of night needing her help, she can't fathom what happened. Driven by wanting to protect her pup and finding the truth at the same time, she's torn. And soon she's in danger too.
It took me a minute to get into the story, but ptettty soon I was hooked. A great read, 4,5 stars.
Emma is a single mom with two kids, a demanding job, a needy ex-husband, She has her hands full. When her teenage son calls her in the deep of night needing her help, she can't fathom what happened. Driven by wanting to protect her pup and finding the truth at the same time, she's torn. And soon she's in danger too.
It took me a minute to get into the story, but ptettty soon I was hooked. A great read, 4,5 stars.
May 30, 2024
Thanks Netgalley for my copy.
This was okay but just far too slow. And then the ending annoyed me. I saw some of it coming, that wasn't this issue. My main issue is the main character's reaction to what they found out. It just made them seem even more pathetic than she did before and she was already a bit of a loser already. Not impressed.
This was okay but just far too slow. And then the ending annoyed me. I saw some of it coming, that wasn't this issue. My main issue is the main character's reaction to what they found out. It just made them seem even more pathetic than she did before and she was already a bit of a loser already. Not impressed.
July 28, 2024
When an after show party goes wrong !!
Jack rings his mom at 2 in the morning, asking for her help? Why?? They had been drinking in an abandoned house, but nothing could prepare his mom for what she saw??? What happened? Has Jack done something?
Only Jack can't remember .......
This is a great read that had me gripped. How far would a parent go for their child?? Great physcological thriller.
Jack rings his mom at 2 in the morning, asking for her help? Why?? They had been drinking in an abandoned house, but nothing could prepare his mom for what she saw??? What happened? Has Jack done something?
Only Jack can't remember .......
This is a great read that had me gripped. How far would a parent go for their child?? Great physcological thriller.
August 20, 2024
The book had a promising beginning, but the middle section became rather slow-paced and somewhat tedious. However, the ending redeemed the overall experience with a satisfying twist.
April 29, 2025
wow...I did not see those twists at the end.
bloody amazing book!!!
bloody amazing book!!!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews