If You Didn’t Kill Her

by Annie Taylor

Brought to you by Penguin.

Fifteen years ago, Chelsea was convicted for the murder of her university roommate, Isabella.

Now, she’s being released early, and she just has one thing on her mind – clearing her name.

Chelsea has always maintained that she was wrongfully accused. Now’s her chance to prove her innocence, once and for all.

But as Chelsea starts digging into the past, new details – and suspects – start coming to light. And the closer Chelsea gets to the truth, the more dangerous things become.

She’s waited years to uncover the truth. But will the real murderer find her first - and silence her forever?

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction

Audible Audio

Published October 24, 2024

Reviews

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced twisty thriller, told through dual timeline, and from multiple perspectives.

Fifteen years ago, Chelsea was convicted for the murder of Isabella, her university roommate. Chelsea has always maintained she was wrongfully accused. Now she is being released early and her only priority is to prove her innocence.

Once Chelsea starts digging into the past, new details and suspects come to light. The closer Chelsea gets to the truth, the more dangerous things become…

This was a thrilling tale of redemption, justice, and the uncovering of secrets from the past. I enjoyed the tense atmosphere, and Chelsea’s journey of self-discovery.

The audiobook was narrated by Rebecca Lee who represented the story and characters well.

3.5 stars

[Jennifer (Jaye) · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Justice*

**3.5 Stars**

This book was full of tension, but some of it was frustrating.

We meet Chelsea, who was sentenced to 15 years for the murder of her university roommate, Isabella, aka Izzy.

Chelsea kept her head down in prison and was released early due to good behaviour. Now out and missing her mother, who she was very close to, and remembering how her mother strongly believed in her innocence, they continued to appeal until sadly, while in prison, her mother passed away.

Chelsea has to stay with her aunt in Scotland and comply with the terms of her early release. This is where the problem lies for me. I understand that Chelsea wants to clear her name, but she was convicted on what seems like the flimsiest evidence. Later in the book, we find out why. Chelsea gets permission to go to London, but she virtually becomes a liability as she misses the train back home to Scotland and has to stay another night. This could easily have meant a black mark against her and a stint back inside.

The story flips backwards and forwards leading up to the night of the murder. As clues are revealed, Chelsea chooses to confront those people. We also see a strange setup with Chelsea, Izzy’s mother, and the DC that was part of the interviewing team that led to her conviction. She is no longer in the police and now does investigations for true crime podcasts and hosts some of them.

A vital piece of evidence resurfaces, and I found myself shouting as Chelsea and Izzy’s mother kept handling it with no regard for their fingerprints.

There is a final, almost dangerous confrontation, and then an arrest is made. We get bits of information about the suspects, but I would have loved to have seen some real remorse and others dragged in for their part in the whole sorry debacle. Chelsea lost nearly 15 years of her life that she cannot get back, and I felt we should have had more from the ending.

[Hanna El Shorbagy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ i thought this was very good! a slow burn whodunnit and a journey towards justice. the past/present time jumping was done well.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to this on our Canada road trip.
slow burn with a rushed ending.

[Emma Semple · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was never much of a reader until I was recommend this book and I thought why not?
This book was a solid 9/10 there was multiple plot twists from small ones to massive ones that keep you wanting to read.
The only reason why I didn’t rate it a 10/10 was because I thought there would have been more bout Charlie being put in jail or given a punishment and how the public reacted to Chelsea being innocent but it ended quite suddenly
This book has a very good amount of detail which I liked it didn’t just tell you Chelsea and Izzy were ‘close friends’ it told u how hey met and became friends, all there fall outs, their dramas etc
I thought there should been more about Hannah and why she never spoke up about the truth and what her and Charlies relationship was like.
I loved the fact it switched from present day to the past i felt like that was a very good idea.
I also thought that Camille character made the story more interesting as it was a betrayal between a son and stepmother and she made he secret come out.

[Millie Colton · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the first page I was hooked, I enjoyed the writing style,the timeline, it had great pacing and had a really good concept. What really let this book down was the clear lack of planning or research, for example both Charlie and Chelsea would have been ruled unfit to be a witness because they were intoxicated. There are a lot if plot holes that were swept away by Charlie bribing someone which is very unoriginal and isn't cohesive with the realistic story. Another problem with this book is the lack of people, it revolves around the same few people so when we first saw Charlie and Hannah it was obvious that they were entirely responsible. It was a fun read but not one that I would recommend to others.

[Brittany S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Completed 9/23/25 | 3.25 stars | Book #151 of 2025

This was just okay. It was an easy enough read but a little bit too much of a slow burn for my tastes. I'm happy with slow burns but I'm not usually thrilled with suspense/thrillers that take forever to get into the story. The first 35% was pretty much an intro, even heading back into POVs from the past. The characters don't really start looking into the murder until then and there just wasn't really enough intrigue for me. I found the characters to be a little bit inconsistent, mostly the main character who did a couple things that didn't seem quite right with her personality.

A fine book, but nothing I'll go out of my way to recommend. This was pretty much in line with many other thrillers that I've read.

[Jue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in a dual time line-2006&2022, if you didn't kill her goes between chelsea's time at Birmingham University and when she is freed from prison.

Arriving at Birmingham University, Chelsea befriends one of her old school friends, isabella (izzy) dunwoody.
Izzy is everything chelsea isn't- popular, confident and wealthy. Despite their differences they soon become inseparable doing everything together.
That is until izzy was murdered and chelsea was convicted of the crime!
After 14 years inside,chelsea just has one thing on her mind to catch the real killer.

[Charl Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has been one of the only books I have read I almost put down without finishing. I struggled from the beginning with it being written in 3rd person, I feel like so much of the characters feelings and thoughts have been lost with this.

I just feel so much more could have been done with this story and I was disappointed for it to have ended with Izzy’s death being a mistake? I really wouldn’t recommend this😕.

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't say it was a "breathtakingly tense emotional thriller" for me. This book was just, okay. I felt like right when I read about Hannah being in the car the ending immediately had to do with her which made the ending fall flat for me. Also, I can't imagine someone being that shitty of a friend for a guy she had a little crush on but who didn't really care to give her the time of day at the time. Idk, just not for me, I guess. Too unbelievable imo and I like fantasy novels.

[lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was soooooooooooooooooooo long and I had on 1.5 speed which I normally hate doing but god did it drag. The ending was good but I don’t think it was worth 11 hours of my time to make it to the end. There wasn’t really a crazy twist it’s basically what you figure out as you go. Not awful but not one I’d recommend

[Veronica Mack · Rating 2 out of 5]

A definite blahhhh.... The first third was all intro and irrelevant minutiae and I was wondering when we were going to get to the murder... There's a red herring, but figuring out who did it was easy. But the big reveal was ridiculous - and the frame-up and police corruption are handled in about 8 sentences.
I should have thrown this into the dnf pile.

[breck's books · Rating 3 out of 5]

i just feel like this book dragggged. there was so much unnecessary dialogue and the flashbacks took up half the book but they had no meat in them at all. this book would've been good if it was half as long and didn't have as much pointless fluff!

[Alexandra Dakessian · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)

Annie Taylor does a good job weaving between two timelines, past and present, creating a clear, layered narrative. The story starts off slow, but it picks up momentum and delivers a strong finish. That said, the ending wasn’t particularly shocking but was still good!

[aymcb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is interesting and the narrative made it good, keeping me engaged throughout. However, the intent behind what happened felt weak, making the overall impact underwhelming —just an okay read for me.

[Camille Valvasroi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book on a whim this year, and decided to pick it up at the begging of September. This book took me almost 3 weeks to finish. I had my guess on the killer, but I was wrong. I am just gonna leave it like that. If You Didn't Kill Her was a 4.5 stars for me

[Abbie Mowbray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the quick pace of the chapters in alternating times. Didn’t expect the ending, will Definitely be reading more of this authors books.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent listen but predictable.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrilling

[Cyndi Mitas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really slow moving story. Like driving through the next state to arrive a few blocks from home.

[Bianca Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

brilliant! Abitttttt predictable ill be honest but the writing from past to present felt very real. I love a who done it murder mystery especially when you can connect with the main character.

[Rhiannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, a great page turner and given I'm a Uni of Birmingham alum this had a lot of nostalgia for me to live through!

[Meredith Waggoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

why did it feel like she barely cared about having been in prison for 15 years

[Samantha]

3.5 ⭐️

[Amy Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good thriller. Lots of potential suspects and twists.

[Vicky Fikner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book lots of twists and turns

[Anita Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One has to really concentrate on all the characters, the time jumps past/now. Many persons to consider who was the killer, so a must read to the end, it’s good, a bit drawn out in places

[Konfetka · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I think the jumping back to the past every other chapter is a lazy trope, and it prevented me from getting fully absorbed into the narrative.

[Calo123 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast listen; twisty