Look What You Made Me Do

by John Lanchester

The new novel from the bestselling author of Capital

What if the year's most talked about TV show was all about your marriage?

Kate, thirty years into her marriage, has a seemingly idyllic metropolitan, North London life.
Phoebe, a young screenwriter, is the creator of the year's hit TV show, Cheating.

When Kate's world takes a darker turn, she thinks she sees details and intimacies in the show that only she and her husband Jack could possibly have known. But who has betrayed who? Who gets to tell whose story?

A black comedy of resentment and entitlement, Look What You Made Me Do is the story of two very different women from two very different generations, heading toward a battle only one of them can win.

Genres: Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 10, 2026

About the author

John Lanchester is the author of four novels and three books of non-fiction. He was born in Germany and moved to Hong Kong. He studied in UK. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and was awarded the 2008 E.M. Forster Award. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revenge is a dish best served cold....

John Lanchester has written some of the most fascinating novels over the last two decades; Look What You Made Me Do adds to this list of stories that intrigue and explore the human condition in various circumstances.

This new novel begins with a dinner party- very middle class London couples playing one-upmanship with their attitudes towards contemporary life and put-downs. Our lead protagonsists being Kate and Jack. This feels like the territory of Jonathan Coe. But then the story takes a sharp one eighty and what could have been a wry observational novel about 'elite ' lifestyles in London takes on a darker humoured path.

Kate discovers that the 'everyday 'dialogues and personal events of her life with her husband have formed the basis of a new and popular TV show- how can this be ? Is this the ultimate betrayal from her husband of several decades? So how should retribution be delivered to those concerned?

What follows is a deliciously twisted and certainly surprising story. The characters do seem like caricatures in some sense ( the world of media and publishing, book groups, restaurant dining are beautifully lampooned) but it is the ever growing wickedness in the plot that makes this an unforgettable tale.

John Lanchester has written another winner . Cleverly and tautly plotted and an outcome that you will want to talk about. The screen adaptation will have to be developed (like his novel Capital) A top read of 2026!

[em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever and funny, this was a great story. Once it got going, I found myself unable to put it down. Phoebe and Kate’s characters were both deeply flawed and unlikeable, but in a way that kept me reading. I thought Jack’s death was the main plot point, but really it was just the tip of the iceberg!

I did predict one of the twists, but the rest towards the last half of the book took me by surprise. I really enjoyed reading about these two sophisticated and narcissistic women, it’s not often anti protagonist are written well, especially women written by men. The lack of accountability and empathy really compelled me, what an interesting set of characters!! I do wish we had more around certain supporting characters, such as Sarah and Tristan, but still a fantastic read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #LookWhatYouMadeMeDo #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know the phenomenon of contemporary culture whereby there’s one particular book, one movie, one TV show that everyone’s consuming at the same time. It becomes the only thing people want to talk about …… What do you make of the actor who plays the husband? What do you make of the girlfriend? Is she supposed to be as horrible as she seems? Do you think you’re supposed to hate the wife or is that just my bad character? Do you think you’re supposed to like the husband, because I can’t stand him? Is there a single person in it you don’t hate or is that part of the point? Are the boomers worse than the millennials or is it the other way round? Who’s more oblivious and spoilt? What’s she going to do when she finds out? She won’t find out, will she–there’s got to be a season two?

King Lear meets Taylor Swift in an engrossing North London literary drama.

Anger is more fun than grief. And revenge is better still.

The author and LRB contributor’s sixth novel – all of which I have read – following on from: his 1996 Whitbread (Costa) First Novel and 1997 Hawthornden Prize winning debut “My Debt to Pleasure” “Mr Philipps”, 2002 James Tait Black Memorial Prize shortlisted “Fragrant Harbour”, his Dickensian tale of a South London street around the 2008 Financial Crisis “Capital” and then his allegorical and increasingly prescient 2019 Booker longlisted “The Wall”.
 
And I have to say that this is my favourite of his novels – at times exquisitely observed on the nuances and complexities (and it has to be said more judgmental/bitchy/side) of North London, middle-class life, of generational clashes (particularly Boomer-Millennial divides), of relationships (marriages, couples  and mother-daughter) and infused with a strong understanding of viral-TV, cryptocurrency and the justice system all deployed delicately to flavour the narrative; all of which makes for an entertaining literary novel.
 
The set up is relatively simple – if unusual.  Kate – who spends most of her time on charitable work particularly prison-visiting – is married to an architect Jack, rather overbearing in manner and mannerisms/opinions but things she has long accepted in what is a stable and she believes happy 30-year marriage bought crashing down at the end of the first chapter by Jack’s sudden death.
 
Phoebe meanwhile is a scriptwriter, some decades younger, who has had a sudden rise to success with the authorship of the year’s virally successful TV-show; Cheating, a frank, sexy and provocative show in which a thirty-ish woman  has an affair with a married man some 20 years older.

Phoebe is the author of this summer’s most talked-about TV, a steamy, sexy, bitter, nasty, devastating piece full of self-confessedly autobiographical detail. And that is part of the reason I’m scared. She really doesn’t give a monkey’s what anyone thinks of her. Phoebe sees through people, spares no feelings, takes no prisoners. She’s so sharp she could cut herself. Except, on the evidence of the programme, she’s much more likely to cut you. Especially if you’re a boomer. Cheatingis very strong on the mutual loathing of millennials and boomers.

 
When the grieving Kate (the novel plays repeatedly on Lear’s “Never, never, never, never, never” line) overhears others discussing Cheating and then sits down to watch it – she realises to her horror that it uses phrases, marital language, private incidents and even sexual proclivities from her own marriage and realises to her horror that the only explanation can be that Phoebe (who talks about some autobiographical inspiration for her show) must have had an affair with Jack.
 
Phoebe meanwhile has to deal with her demanding and domineering mother – still it seems bitter about past betrayals.
 
To say more would spoil a twisty plot of cold-blooded revenge which is best experienced in a short number of sittings in my view.
 
Recommended.

My thanks to Faber for a paper proof an NetGalley ARC.

Alternative review - a character analysis from Taylor Swift

I don't like your little games
Don't like your tilted stage
The role you made me play of the fool
I don't like your perfect crime
How you laugh when you lie
But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time

The world moves on, another day another drama, drama
But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma
And then the world moves on, but one thing's for sure
Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours

[Claire Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of John’s books that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. The premise sounded great when I first heard about it, but then I was lucky enough to be sent a copy by Faber & Faber. I could not put it down!

What if the year's most talked about TV show was all about your marriage?

This darkly humorous story stems from the marriage between Kate and Jack, a middle class couple going about their lives with friends, dinner parties and inside jokes. Aside from being a bit full of themselves, there isn’t really anything remarkable about the two of them, so you end up thinking why on earth would anyone write a TV show about them?

“Every marriage has its own language” is so true for our two lovebirds. Their speech is full of comments, phrases and jokes that only they know the true meanings behind and I loved this about them.

But when Jack dies suddenly, Kate struggles to come to terms with it and upon returning to her group of friends after months of grief she begins to unravel a side to Jack she didn’t know. *Or so she thinks.*

This is where Phoebe comes into the story. A writer who has just created the next big thing. A TV show called ‘Cheaters’, based entirely on Kate and Jack.

Kate and Phoebe are the two women who drive this story forward. They both know the feeling of having things taken away from them and they both, in their own ways, want revenge. But we’re not talking about school playground revenge here.

In this very clever, dark story, John explores the themes of relationships, revenge and responsibilities, and how some people are happy to point the blame at anyone else instead of taken account for their own actions.

You’ll be amused, shocked, confused and impressed with this one!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Lanchester’s latest novel focuses on revenge. ‘Look What You Made Me Do’, as the title suggests, also explores how we tend to blame our own poor decisions on others. First and foremost, whilst this description sounds as if it’s going to be looking at terrible behaviour – and it does, the writing is also very funny and will appeal particularly to those who like their humour caustic.

Married to Jack, Kate leads a comfortable metropolitan life. The pair have been together since their Oxford student days, have chosen not to have children and are very happy. Unbeknown to Kate, Phoebe, younger by two decades, has been taking a good deal of interest in the older woman’s uneventful life. Why has it inspired Phoebe to write a hit TV show?

It’s not too difficult to work out the answer to that question, once we meet a few more characters. However, whilst the plot certainly beguiles the reader, it’s the characters who are particularly well-developed, both psychologically and emotionally, alongside a very clear picture of their domestic lives.

The BBC televised Lanchester’s ’Capital’ very successfully. This novel would lend itself equally well to the screen – there are cliffhangers and plot twists in abundance. All that said, it’s not quite a 5* read for me because I can’t quite reconcile Kate’s final unscrupulous decision with whom she seemed to be. Maybe Lanchester is implying that revenge damages all those involved.

My thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

[KathVBtn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting something quite lighthearted and comedic, but what I found was something much more insightful and emotionally nuanced. This story begins with a smug married middle-age middle class couple, Kate and Jack. They have a happy marriage, with plenty of in-jokes and unspoken words.

When Jack unexpectedly and suddenly dies, Kate naturally goes to pieces. When she starts watching the latest TV hit ‘Cheaters’ Kate is devastated and bewildered to hear their personal love language broadcast across the nation.

Meanwhile, Phoebe, the writer of the series, is dealing with her own issues, including a narcissistic mother, an unavailable twin and a career that has spiralled out of recognition. The two women’s lives come crashing together in a great unraveling.

The characters are so well developed and intricately known - I wasn’t expecting the level of insight and knowledge. The female protagonists are expertly drawn and brought to life.

I can certainly see this being made into a tv drama and it would work brilliantly.

[Mergulum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read most of Mr Lanchester’s novels and what has struck me in the past is how different they are. At first look this book appears to abandon that diversity as it is London set as was “Capital”. But “Capital”was a look at the state of the nation so the character list was diverse whereas “Look what you made me do” covers a rather narrower cast which includes an architect, screenwriter, actor. Even an ex-con is a multi millionaire. And the story is that of revenge and revengers so we are indeed on a different path from the preceding novels. In fact we have a tale that is by turns laugh out loud funny, saddening and cruel. I particularly enjoyed the plot twists where an apparently inconsequential event later transpires to hold great significance. The final point to note is that this was one of those rare books where I paced my reading because I didn’t want to finish it too quickly. Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for this review copy.

[Pgchuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is told from the perspectives of Kate (in her 50s, suddenly widowed) and Phoebe (in her 20s, the writer of a hit Netflix show called 'Cheating'). Kate, emerging from the worst of her grieving, becomes aware that the characters in Phoebe's show seem to be based on her and her husband. I thought this was great, and it held my attention throughout. I particularly enjoyed Phoebe's voice as she describes her relationship with her narcissistic mother, and the sections set at university in Kate's earlier life brought back memories for me.

I do think though that the blurb gives far too much away about the plot (and is also a little misleading - is this really about who gets to tell your story?). I had largely forgotten the blurb when I read it, so things unfolded for me as the author no doubt intended. I can't give it 5 stars because the ending made me too sad.

[Greville Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a real page turner given the quality and cleverness of. the plot and how it draws you in. The two key characters Kate and Phoebe are both monsters in their own right driven as they are by a lethal combination of rage and revenge. They are both beautifully drawn and depicted as we get deep inside their heads and learn what drives them both on.

Other characters become collateral damage, caught as they become entwined in the struggle between the two main protagonists.

The writing is tense yet suffused with comedy and laughter as well as brilliant characterisation.

A sure fire best seller

[Craig Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revenge is a dish best served cold.
And in John Lanchester’s darkly comedic novel there are two juicy main courses plus a tasty little palate cleanser, to savour.
Kate is a fifty-something widow, struggling to cope with life, consumed by grief triggered by the untimely death of her husband, Jack. But that struggle takes on a bewildering new dimension when she hears snatches of dialogue on a hot, new, trending TV show, Cheating, between a man and his much younger mistress that uses precisely the private marital language that only Kate and Jack would recognise. So was Jack not the loyal, doting husband that Kate believed she knew and loved, after all?
Millennial Phoebe is the creator of Cheating, just catching the wave of her first big success. Enjoying the fruits of which, however, is being hampered by being left to tend to the increasingly erratic needs of her irascible and contrary mother, with little or no support from her gay twin brother who has emigrated to Australia or her somewhat feckless, aspiring-musician partner.
Cheating is the catalyst that propels Kate’s and Phoebe’s worlds into a head-on collision. The narrative twists and turns around the how, why and when of their connected lives, through a mix of the present day and revisiting Kate’s student days at Oxford when she first encountered Jack.
Lanchester adroitly deals with themes of loss, betrayal, entitlement and bitterness woven through the very modern perils of identity theft, social engineering and the power of social media. He explores how far boundaries can be pushed, whether the ends ever justify the means, and the collateral damage that can ensue.
Look What You Made Me Do is a propulsive, acerbic, Machiavellian story of our times. A huge thank you to Faber Books for giving me an early opportunity to read this deliciously piquant cautionary tale which will be published on 12 March 2026. I recommend you put the date in your diary.