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Look What You Did
Not yet published
Expected 15 Sep 26A page-turning debut thriller for fans of Kathleen Glasgow and Megan Lally about a teen who must confront her own buried trauma to clear her friend's name of murder and expose the dark secrets of her small town.
"I know what Will did that night. He deserved what happened to him."
After the tragic death of Cold Creek's golden boy, Will Ashford, the entire town is in mourning. That is…almost everyone. When seventeen-year-old Mackenzie gets the news, she couldn't be more relieved. Because she knows Will's veneer of perfection hid something dark and dangerous. A truth she learned one night at the Ashford house that she swore never to tell.
But her plan is threatened when she starts receiving texts from an unknown number. Someone knows the secret Mackenzie has tried so hard to hide and is determined to reveal it.
When her former best friend is found dead, Mackenzie is convinced that her anonymous texter is behind the murder and will stop at nothing to find them. But doing so will mean confronting the trauma she's fought to suppress and exposing dark secrets her seemingly perfect suburban town will do anything to keep buried…
"I know what Will did that night. He deserved what happened to him."
After the tragic death of Cold Creek's golden boy, Will Ashford, the entire town is in mourning. That is…almost everyone. When seventeen-year-old Mackenzie gets the news, she couldn't be more relieved. Because she knows Will's veneer of perfection hid something dark and dangerous. A truth she learned one night at the Ashford house that she swore never to tell.
But her plan is threatened when she starts receiving texts from an unknown number. Someone knows the secret Mackenzie has tried so hard to hide and is determined to reveal it.
When her former best friend is found dead, Mackenzie is convinced that her anonymous texter is behind the murder and will stop at nothing to find them. But doing so will mean confronting the trauma she's fought to suppress and exposing dark secrets her seemingly perfect suburban town will do anything to keep buried…
320 pages, Paperback
Expected publication September 15, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 31, 2026
3.5 rounded up for Goodreads and Netgalley.
A very solid and thought-provoking debut novel. It had a more serious tone than what I was anticipating and I did like that a lot, but because the topics discussed can be triggering I would advise to check the content warnings before reading it. The mystery plot was gripping, full of twists and reveals. Mackenzie, the main character, was strong and determined. She wanted to know the truth, no matter what. A little danger did not make her back down. The other characters were well-developed and so were their relationships. Emaline was another complex girl. Her relationship with Mackenzie was probably the most interesting to read about. The plot also pointed out the male privilege and its consequences on women and girls, and it was extremely frustrating to read (but absolutely necessary in a story like this one). The author’s approach to this was delicate yet forceful and angry. Delicate towards the girls, and rightfully forceful and angry at the males. The ones taking everything for granted. I definitely recommend this novel, but as I said earlier if you can be triggered by some serious and traumatic topics please check the content warnings.
Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.
A very solid and thought-provoking debut novel. It had a more serious tone than what I was anticipating and I did like that a lot, but because the topics discussed can be triggering I would advise to check the content warnings before reading it. The mystery plot was gripping, full of twists and reveals. Mackenzie, the main character, was strong and determined. She wanted to know the truth, no matter what. A little danger did not make her back down. The other characters were well-developed and so were their relationships. Emaline was another complex girl. Her relationship with Mackenzie was probably the most interesting to read about. The plot also pointed out the male privilege and its consequences on women and girls, and it was extremely frustrating to read (but absolutely necessary in a story like this one). The author’s approach to this was delicate yet forceful and angry. Delicate towards the girls, and rightfully forceful and angry at the males. The ones taking everything for granted. I definitely recommend this novel, but as I said earlier if you can be triggered by some serious and traumatic topics please check the content warnings.
Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.
June 28, 2026
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I NEED SOMEONE TO READ THIS IMMEDIATELY SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT!!!
‼️The publication date is September 15, 2026‼️
This is a spectacular debut novel!! From the very first page, urgent questions kept me hooked. I was up passed midnight binging and it wasn’t until my tablet died that I could go to sleep. At the start I couldn’t stop thinking about who Mackenzie’s stalker was. And after I found out, my question was: what really happened with Will? Then I wondered, what happened with Nora?
AND OMG I figured out who the murder was at almost 75% but even though I was pretty sure, I doubted my theory once or twice before the reveal.
I will note that there are mentions of and brief recollections of SA and rape in this novel. It is mostly discussed, and the brief recollections aren’t detailed at all; there is nothing graphic. The underlying message is about how we need to support woman who come forward, not silence them. My one complaint is that it felt at times like every. single. character in the town was either guilty of or a victim of some kind of sexual exploitation which felt like too much, but maybe that’s just me. Definitely check the other TW before reading because the main character struggles with self harm and there are some other heavy topics as well. There is also underage drinking and partying so I’d say this book is for people 15-16+ depending on what you can handle.
🚨WAIT I ALMOST FORGOT!
“Emaline was thrilled when I told her I'd quit.
Cross-country was time consuming but despite her grumbling ("It's so boring, Mac."), she never missed a meet. She always cheered the loudest for me in the bleachers,”
My best friend runs high school cross-country and I can tell you I have NEVER watched one of her meets from the bleachers. Why? Cross-country races are ran on courses through grass and woods (each race is 3.1 miles or a 5K). You can watch TRACK races on the bleachers because they are on the track, not cross-country races.
**Spoilers below**
.
.
.
.
**Do not continue unless you want to be spoiled**
.
.
.
.
** Last chance to turn around…**
.
.
.
.
**I tried to warn you**
.
.
.
.
What the actual heck. I was on Mackenzie’s side until she stripped Tim and took pictures of him exposed. WHAT. THE. HECK. Just cause he did it to Xavier doesn’t mean it’s ok to do it back. UUUUGGHHH I guess she does apologize and they work through it, but still 😒
Also, the way she tricks Emaline into confessing is pretty bad*ss 👏 for a second I worried she wasn’t going to expose her and end their friendship, but nah
I NEED SOMEONE TO READ THIS IMMEDIATELY SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT!!!
‼️The publication date is September 15, 2026‼️
This is a spectacular debut novel!! From the very first page, urgent questions kept me hooked. I was up passed midnight binging and it wasn’t until my tablet died that I could go to sleep. At the start I couldn’t stop thinking about who Mackenzie’s stalker was. And after I found out, my question was: what really happened with Will? Then I wondered, what happened with Nora?
AND OMG I figured out who the murder was at almost 75% but even though I was pretty sure, I doubted my theory once or twice before the reveal.
I will note that there are mentions of and brief recollections of SA and rape in this novel. It is mostly discussed, and the brief recollections aren’t detailed at all; there is nothing graphic. The underlying message is about how we need to support woman who come forward, not silence them. My one complaint is that it felt at times like every. single. character in the town was either guilty of or a victim of some kind of sexual exploitation which felt like too much, but maybe that’s just me. Definitely check the other TW before reading because the main character struggles with self harm and there are some other heavy topics as well. There is also underage drinking and partying so I’d say this book is for people 15-16+ depending on what you can handle.
🚨WAIT I ALMOST FORGOT!
“Emaline was thrilled when I told her I'd quit.
Cross-country was time consuming but despite her grumbling ("It's so boring, Mac."), she never missed a meet. She always cheered the loudest for me in the bleachers,”
My best friend runs high school cross-country and I can tell you I have NEVER watched one of her meets from the bleachers. Why? Cross-country races are ran on courses through grass and woods (each race is 3.1 miles or a 5K). You can watch TRACK races on the bleachers because they are on the track, not cross-country races.
**Spoilers below**
.
.
.
.
**Do not continue unless you want to be spoiled**
.
.
.
.
** Last chance to turn around…**
.
.
.
.
**I tried to warn you**
.
.
.
.
What the actual heck. I was on Mackenzie’s side until she stripped Tim and took pictures of him exposed. WHAT. THE. HECK. Just cause he did it to Xavier doesn’t mean it’s ok to do it back. UUUUGGHHH I guess she does apologize and they work through it, but still 😒
Also, the way she tricks Emaline into confessing is pretty bad*ss 👏 for a second I worried she wasn’t going to expose her and end their friendship, but nah
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“Look What You Did” by Kaitlin Reilly is one of those YA thrillers that immediately throws you into a messy web of secrets, trauma, toxic friendships, revenge, and anonymous texts, and honestly? I flew through it. This book has such a tense “everyone in this town is hiding something” atmosphere that made it ridiculously easy to keep turning pages.
But before anything else: definitely read the content warnings. This book deals heavily with sexual assault, self-harm, suicide, anxiety, and trauma, and it does not shy away from the emotional fallout of those experiences. This is firmly older YA territory.
The story follows Mackenzie, whose small town is still mourning the death of its beloved golden boy, Will Ashford. The problem is that Mackenzie knows Will wasn’t the perfect guy everyone thinks he was. Behind closed doors, he assaulted her, and she’s been forced to quietly carry that trauma while everyone around her continues worshipping his memory. Even worse, her best friend Emaline happens to be Will’s twin sister, and Mackenzie has spent years staying silent because exposing the truth would completely destroy her entire social world.
And honestly, Mackenzie’s relationships throughout this book are a mess in the most compelling way possible.
Her friendship with Emaline is incredibly toxic, manipulative, and controlling. Emaline constantly walks all over Mackenzie, yet Mackenzie clings to the friendship because it gives her a sense of belonging and stability. It felt painfully realistic watching Mackenzie excuse behavior she knows is unhealthy because she’s terrified of losing the people around her. The book does a really good job showing how trauma can trap people in relationships that actively hurt them.
Things spiral quickly once Mackenzie starts receiving anonymous texts from someone who clearly knows what happened between her and Will. At the same time, Mackenzie starts to recognize some strange “coincidences” happening around town where popular boys at their school are being targeted, like a star athlete gets mugged and kicked off the team, an academically gifted student is framed for cheating, reputations start collapsing left and right, and it slowly becomes obvious that someone is intentionally going after boys connected to assault allegations and hidden abuse.
Then a murder happens.
From there, the book becomes a pretty fast-paced mystery with Mackenzie trying to figure out who’s targeting these boys, who killed her former best friend, and whether all these seemingly separate events are actually connected. I really liked how many plot threads were constantly moving at once because it created this chaotic feeling where the town itself started unraveling piece by piece.
The atmosphere was honestly one of my favorite parts. Cold Creek has this polished “perfect suburban utopia” reputation, but underneath that image is a ridiculous amount of violence, secrecy, and cruelty. The contrast between the town’s clean appearance and the ugliness underneath worked really well for the story.
I also appreciated how realistically the book portrayed anxiety and trauma. Mackenzie’s thoughts often feel overwhelming and painfully loud, especially as she’s forced to confront things she’s spent years trying to bury. There’s a lot of emotional weight here beyond just the mystery itself. The story really focuses on the consequences of silence, denial, revenge, and the damage people cause when they protect abusers for the sake of appearances.
Now admittedly, some of the twists were pretty easy to predict. Seasoned thriller readers will probably connect certain dots before Mackenzie does, and there were definitely moments where I wanted to yell at her because the answers felt obvious. Still, even when I guessed certain reveals, I stayed invested because the emotional tension remained strong throughout. There’s also one final twist near the end that genuinely caught me off guard and recontextualized a lot of the story in a really satisfying way.
Mackenzie herself might be a difficult protagonist for some readers because she’s not always particularly likable. She can be cruel, selfish, and frustrating at times, especially in how she treats some of her friends. But honestly, I thought that worked for the story. She feels like a teenager who has been emotionally drowning for years and has no idea how to properly process her trauma or stand up for herself. Watching her slowly stop avoiding the truth and finally confront the people around her was one of the strongest parts of the book for me.
The pacing occasionally slows down because of high school drama subplots that don’t always feel essential to the central mystery, but overall I found this incredibly bingeable. Kaitlin Reilly does a really solid job balancing the thriller elements with heavier discussions about assault, victimhood, revenge, and accountability.
Overall, “Look What You Did” is a dark, emotional YA thriller packed with secrets, toxic friendships, revenge plots, anonymous threats, and small-town rot hiding beneath a perfect surface. Some twists are predictable, but the fast pacing, tense atmosphere, and emotional stakes kept me hooked the entire time. It’s messy, dramatic, uncomfortable at times, and exactly the kind of thriller that’s very hard to put down once everything starts spiraling.
“Look What You Did” by Kaitlin Reilly is one of those YA thrillers that immediately throws you into a messy web of secrets, trauma, toxic friendships, revenge, and anonymous texts, and honestly? I flew through it. This book has such a tense “everyone in this town is hiding something” atmosphere that made it ridiculously easy to keep turning pages.
But before anything else: definitely read the content warnings. This book deals heavily with sexual assault, self-harm, suicide, anxiety, and trauma, and it does not shy away from the emotional fallout of those experiences. This is firmly older YA territory.
The story follows Mackenzie, whose small town is still mourning the death of its beloved golden boy, Will Ashford. The problem is that Mackenzie knows Will wasn’t the perfect guy everyone thinks he was. Behind closed doors, he assaulted her, and she’s been forced to quietly carry that trauma while everyone around her continues worshipping his memory. Even worse, her best friend Emaline happens to be Will’s twin sister, and Mackenzie has spent years staying silent because exposing the truth would completely destroy her entire social world.
And honestly, Mackenzie’s relationships throughout this book are a mess in the most compelling way possible.
Her friendship with Emaline is incredibly toxic, manipulative, and controlling. Emaline constantly walks all over Mackenzie, yet Mackenzie clings to the friendship because it gives her a sense of belonging and stability. It felt painfully realistic watching Mackenzie excuse behavior she knows is unhealthy because she’s terrified of losing the people around her. The book does a really good job showing how trauma can trap people in relationships that actively hurt them.
Things spiral quickly once Mackenzie starts receiving anonymous texts from someone who clearly knows what happened between her and Will. At the same time, Mackenzie starts to recognize some strange “coincidences” happening around town where popular boys at their school are being targeted, like a star athlete gets mugged and kicked off the team, an academically gifted student is framed for cheating, reputations start collapsing left and right, and it slowly becomes obvious that someone is intentionally going after boys connected to assault allegations and hidden abuse.
Then a murder happens.
From there, the book becomes a pretty fast-paced mystery with Mackenzie trying to figure out who’s targeting these boys, who killed her former best friend, and whether all these seemingly separate events are actually connected. I really liked how many plot threads were constantly moving at once because it created this chaotic feeling where the town itself started unraveling piece by piece.
The atmosphere was honestly one of my favorite parts. Cold Creek has this polished “perfect suburban utopia” reputation, but underneath that image is a ridiculous amount of violence, secrecy, and cruelty. The contrast between the town’s clean appearance and the ugliness underneath worked really well for the story.
I also appreciated how realistically the book portrayed anxiety and trauma. Mackenzie’s thoughts often feel overwhelming and painfully loud, especially as she’s forced to confront things she’s spent years trying to bury. There’s a lot of emotional weight here beyond just the mystery itself. The story really focuses on the consequences of silence, denial, revenge, and the damage people cause when they protect abusers for the sake of appearances.
Now admittedly, some of the twists were pretty easy to predict. Seasoned thriller readers will probably connect certain dots before Mackenzie does, and there were definitely moments where I wanted to yell at her because the answers felt obvious. Still, even when I guessed certain reveals, I stayed invested because the emotional tension remained strong throughout. There’s also one final twist near the end that genuinely caught me off guard and recontextualized a lot of the story in a really satisfying way.
Mackenzie herself might be a difficult protagonist for some readers because she’s not always particularly likable. She can be cruel, selfish, and frustrating at times, especially in how she treats some of her friends. But honestly, I thought that worked for the story. She feels like a teenager who has been emotionally drowning for years and has no idea how to properly process her trauma or stand up for herself. Watching her slowly stop avoiding the truth and finally confront the people around her was one of the strongest parts of the book for me.
The pacing occasionally slows down because of high school drama subplots that don’t always feel essential to the central mystery, but overall I found this incredibly bingeable. Kaitlin Reilly does a really solid job balancing the thriller elements with heavier discussions about assault, victimhood, revenge, and accountability.
Overall, “Look What You Did” is a dark, emotional YA thriller packed with secrets, toxic friendships, revenge plots, anonymous threats, and small-town rot hiding beneath a perfect surface. Some twists are predictable, but the fast pacing, tense atmosphere, and emotional stakes kept me hooked the entire time. It’s messy, dramatic, uncomfortable at times, and exactly the kind of thriller that’s very hard to put down once everything starts spiraling.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you as always to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC! All opinions are my own.
A tragedy has befallen the town of Cold Creek; Will Ashford, resident golden boy and ancestor of the town’s founder, died in a sudden accident. The town is mourning, or at least, they act like they are.
Mackenzie is one of them, putting on a sad face and pretending to mourn her best friend’s twin brother. But truth is, she’s relieved. Beneath Will’s charming exterior lurked something dark and rather dangerous, and Mac can feel relief knowing that her secret will stay buried with him.
Until an anonymous texter reveals that they know what happened, and they want Mac to open up about her secret, or they just might do it for her.
When another death suddenly rocks the town, this victim being Mac’s childhood best friend, she is convinced the anonymous texter is to blame. But the police think they have the culprit—Mac’s next door neighbor, who she knows has to be innocent.
But in order to prove it, Mac has to confront the thing she’s tried so hard to forget, and expose the secrets of their small town to put the real killer behind bars and get justice; not just for herself, but for the others that she discovers have also tried to bury their trauma.
This book has a very prominent page for trigger warnings, which I always appreciate! So be aware there is mention of self harm, and past SA is featured as a very big part of the narrative in the book. But like I said, the book does well to make a clear warning page, and that is great.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot! For a first book, I think Reilly did a really nice job! Her characters felt distinct enough from one another that they didn’t feel like they blended together to a point where they weren’t discernible.
With the triggering topics, she handled them well, which I think can be challenging for authors. I thought that the way she portrayed that everyone has a different story of their own, and it’s not as cut and dry as some may think. She also is clear to say that while men are often the primary aggressors, women can be as well, and the same with victims. Men can be victims too.
In terms of the mystery and the reveal, it was both surprising but could be obvious if you connected the dots yourself. But the ending was enjoyable nonetheless! I’m interested to see what Reilly writes next and in the future, and I definitely will keep an eye out for whatever it is she does.
A tragedy has befallen the town of Cold Creek; Will Ashford, resident golden boy and ancestor of the town’s founder, died in a sudden accident. The town is mourning, or at least, they act like they are.
Mackenzie is one of them, putting on a sad face and pretending to mourn her best friend’s twin brother. But truth is, she’s relieved. Beneath Will’s charming exterior lurked something dark and rather dangerous, and Mac can feel relief knowing that her secret will stay buried with him.
Until an anonymous texter reveals that they know what happened, and they want Mac to open up about her secret, or they just might do it for her.
When another death suddenly rocks the town, this victim being Mac’s childhood best friend, she is convinced the anonymous texter is to blame. But the police think they have the culprit—Mac’s next door neighbor, who she knows has to be innocent.
But in order to prove it, Mac has to confront the thing she’s tried so hard to forget, and expose the secrets of their small town to put the real killer behind bars and get justice; not just for herself, but for the others that she discovers have also tried to bury their trauma.
This book has a very prominent page for trigger warnings, which I always appreciate! So be aware there is mention of self harm, and past SA is featured as a very big part of the narrative in the book. But like I said, the book does well to make a clear warning page, and that is great.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot! For a first book, I think Reilly did a really nice job! Her characters felt distinct enough from one another that they didn’t feel like they blended together to a point where they weren’t discernible.
With the triggering topics, she handled them well, which I think can be challenging for authors. I thought that the way she portrayed that everyone has a different story of their own, and it’s not as cut and dry as some may think. She also is clear to say that while men are often the primary aggressors, women can be as well, and the same with victims. Men can be victims too.
In terms of the mystery and the reveal, it was both surprising but could be obvious if you connected the dots yourself. But the ending was enjoyable nonetheless! I’m interested to see what Reilly writes next and in the future, and I definitely will keep an eye out for whatever it is she does.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Look What You Did • Kaitlin Reilly
One phrase: golden boy dead, secrets everywhere 📱🔪
“I know what Will did that night. He deserved what happened to him.”
Immediately hooked.
Look What You Did follows Mackenzie, a seventeen year old girl living in a town that is mourning the death of Cold Creek’s golden boy, Will Ashford.
Almost everyone is grieving.
Mackenzie is relieved.
Because she knows Will was not the perfect boy everyone believed him to be. She knows there was something darker under that polished surface, something that happened one night at the Ashford house, something she swore she would never tell.
Then the texts start.
Someone knows Mackenzie’s secret, and they are determined to drag it into the light.
When her former best friend is found dead, Mackenzie becomes convinced the anonymous texter is behind the murder. But proving it means going back into the memories she has tried so hard to bury and exposing the kind of small town secrets people will do anything to keep hidden.
This sounds like such a tense YA thriller. I love stories where the “perfect” town is rotten underneath, where the golden boy was not actually golden, and where the main character has to decide if surviving the truth means finally speaking it out loud.
The setup has everything I want in a dark YA mystery: anonymous threats, buried trauma, murder, secrets, a town protecting its own image, and a girl who knows more than anyone realizes.
✨ Tropes and vibes:
📱 anonymous texts
🔪 YA thriller
🏡 small town secrets
👑 dead golden boy
💔 buried trauma
🕯 former best friend
👀 everyone is hiding something
🧩 murder mystery
⚠️ suspicious perfect family
🖤 dark suburban secrets
🔍 clearing a friend’s name
😱 truth finally coming out
📚 Read this if you like:
Kathleen Glasgow, Megan Lally, YA thrillers, small towns with dark secrets, anonymous messages, complicated grief, buried trauma, murder investigations, and stories where the person everyone loved may have been the most dangerous one.
This sounds tense, emotional, twisty, and full of the kind of secrets that refuse to stay buried.
#LookWhatYouDid #KaitlinReilly #YAThriller #MysteryThriller #BookReview @sourcebooksfire
One phrase: golden boy dead, secrets everywhere 📱🔪
“I know what Will did that night. He deserved what happened to him.”
Immediately hooked.
Look What You Did follows Mackenzie, a seventeen year old girl living in a town that is mourning the death of Cold Creek’s golden boy, Will Ashford.
Almost everyone is grieving.
Mackenzie is relieved.
Because she knows Will was not the perfect boy everyone believed him to be. She knows there was something darker under that polished surface, something that happened one night at the Ashford house, something she swore she would never tell.
Then the texts start.
Someone knows Mackenzie’s secret, and they are determined to drag it into the light.
When her former best friend is found dead, Mackenzie becomes convinced the anonymous texter is behind the murder. But proving it means going back into the memories she has tried so hard to bury and exposing the kind of small town secrets people will do anything to keep hidden.
This sounds like such a tense YA thriller. I love stories where the “perfect” town is rotten underneath, where the golden boy was not actually golden, and where the main character has to decide if surviving the truth means finally speaking it out loud.
The setup has everything I want in a dark YA mystery: anonymous threats, buried trauma, murder, secrets, a town protecting its own image, and a girl who knows more than anyone realizes.
✨ Tropes and vibes:
📱 anonymous texts
🔪 YA thriller
🏡 small town secrets
👑 dead golden boy
💔 buried trauma
🕯 former best friend
👀 everyone is hiding something
🧩 murder mystery
⚠️ suspicious perfect family
🖤 dark suburban secrets
🔍 clearing a friend’s name
😱 truth finally coming out
📚 Read this if you like:
Kathleen Glasgow, Megan Lally, YA thrillers, small towns with dark secrets, anonymous messages, complicated grief, buried trauma, murder investigations, and stories where the person everyone loved may have been the most dangerous one.
This sounds tense, emotional, twisty, and full of the kind of secrets that refuse to stay buried.
#LookWhatYouDid #KaitlinReilly #YAThriller #MysteryThriller #BookReview @sourcebooksfire
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC of Look what you did.
I request you all to please read this book. There was not a part in this book that I would've seen coming. It was amazing, heartbreaking and breathtaking with how the topic was handled in this.
It starts with Will Ashford's unfortunate accident that leaves everyone shook up. The handsome, perfect Will who could've done nothing wrong- gone. And everyone is shaken up except for Mackenzie, Will's sister's best friend. Because she is harboring a secret that could ruin Will's reputation. The fact that Will was not who he pretended to be. She is careful to keep it to herself until one day, she receives a text from an unknown number, saying that they know about what Mac is hiding. And that shakes her up.
"So it is a story about Mac finding who this unknown number is, right?" Nope. That is the start of it. She figures that out within first 20%-ish of the book. But it is what happens after that.
This book was literally a rollercoaster. Just when you think you have something figured out, a new mystery pops up. It is not just Mac trying to solve the mystery, but the reader too is by her side, not ahead, not behind.
I request you all to please read this book. There was not a part in this book that I would've seen coming. It was amazing, heartbreaking and breathtaking with how the topic was handled in this.
It starts with Will Ashford's unfortunate accident that leaves everyone shook up. The handsome, perfect Will who could've done nothing wrong- gone. And everyone is shaken up except for Mackenzie, Will's sister's best friend. Because she is harboring a secret that could ruin Will's reputation. The fact that Will was not who he pretended to be. She is careful to keep it to herself until one day, she receives a text from an unknown number, saying that they know about what Mac is hiding. And that shakes her up.
"So it is a story about Mac finding who this unknown number is, right?" Nope. That is the start of it. She figures that out within first 20%-ish of the book. But it is what happens after that.
This book was literally a rollercoaster. Just when you think you have something figured out, a new mystery pops up. It is not just Mac trying to solve the mystery, but the reader too is by her side, not ahead, not behind.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
***Review is of a print advanced reader copy (ARC) provided by Sourcebooks Fire and changes may be made in final copy.***
Cold Creek is a near perfect town created by the Ashford family to demonstrate what a small, rural community can be-walkable, stellar academic performance in schools with high numbers of graduates attending Ivy League and various other prestigious colleges, self-sufficient, and, of course, low crime. But junior Mackenzie/Mac knows differently and will soon find out how deep the level of dark is among all the perfect people.
Kaitlin Reilly’s debut book will keep readers turning pages in order to see who will next be revealed as a rapist, drug or alcohol abuser and/or seller of both, or a part of the cover up that is now not so covered up. The guilt, shame and desire to keep the assault secret felt by those experiencing sexual assault is hard to read but feels authentic and will hopefully lead victims to seek out someone to listen and to help but not in the violent way attempted by some portrayed in “Look What You Did.” Reilly keeps the intrigue going with one person arrested, two people dead and one of those is definitely murder, alibis being disproven and new suspects turning up regularly. Readers may figure out bits and pieces of all the wrong-doing happening in the so-called perfect place to live, but doubtful they’ll get everything right.
Personal note: I did find the level of sexual assault, underage drinking, drug abuse to be so high that I wonder how realistic that is. Furthermore, it seemed to be quite easy for teens as young as 14 to acquire drugs, alcohol and all manner of smoking materials. I hope this is not the reality experienced by today’s young people.
Libraries looking for thrillers that are not overly bloody nor filled with explicit sex may want to consider this one but the ARC was filled with excessive profanity, most of it completely unnecessary to conveying the anger and high emotions of the characters.
*Profanity: f-bombs-5, ass/asshole-4, shit/bullshit-11, hell-4, Gd-2, bitch-4
*Triggers: Sexual violence, self-harm, suicide are key aspects in the book with more subtle body image issues also present.
*Sexual Content: frequent references to consensual sex among Mac’s classmates as well as girls being pressured to participate or raped but no details.; Mac’s rape is briefly described but is more about the violation than the sex act.
*Representation: Nora’s family is Jewish & that rep is reflected in the shiva held in her memory
*LBGTQ+: Xavier got involved w/a guy online & nude photos were exchanged but it turned out to be a predator; brief comment about a student in a Facebook orchestra group picture having a boyfriend at Columbia; As everyone’s secrets begin to come out at the end, one character is revealed to be bisexual.
Misc. notes:
-MCs are high school juniors
-frequent parties that include underage beer/liquor/cigarettes/vaping, marijuana, pills and/or plenty of “hooking up” at various levels of intensity with Mac noting at least one kegger when she and Emaline were 14; casual view of all the drinking and smoking and easy access to all
-Mac’s mom died of cancer 3 yrs ago and dad works away from home often; Emaline’s parents’ preference for Will is obvious; Xavier’s mother is all types of abusive and neglectful.
-Xavier attempted suicide with the online sexual predators being the final straw; Nora got him to a victims of sexual assault support group.
-Counselors and counseling is portrayed in both negative and positive ways but many of those seeking help who fail in their first attempts, keep trying until they find something/someone who believes and does help.
Cold Creek is a near perfect town created by the Ashford family to demonstrate what a small, rural community can be-walkable, stellar academic performance in schools with high numbers of graduates attending Ivy League and various other prestigious colleges, self-sufficient, and, of course, low crime. But junior Mackenzie/Mac knows differently and will soon find out how deep the level of dark is among all the perfect people.
Kaitlin Reilly’s debut book will keep readers turning pages in order to see who will next be revealed as a rapist, drug or alcohol abuser and/or seller of both, or a part of the cover up that is now not so covered up. The guilt, shame and desire to keep the assault secret felt by those experiencing sexual assault is hard to read but feels authentic and will hopefully lead victims to seek out someone to listen and to help but not in the violent way attempted by some portrayed in “Look What You Did.” Reilly keeps the intrigue going with one person arrested, two people dead and one of those is definitely murder, alibis being disproven and new suspects turning up regularly. Readers may figure out bits and pieces of all the wrong-doing happening in the so-called perfect place to live, but doubtful they’ll get everything right.
Personal note: I did find the level of sexual assault, underage drinking, drug abuse to be so high that I wonder how realistic that is. Furthermore, it seemed to be quite easy for teens as young as 14 to acquire drugs, alcohol and all manner of smoking materials. I hope this is not the reality experienced by today’s young people.
Libraries looking for thrillers that are not overly bloody nor filled with explicit sex may want to consider this one but the ARC was filled with excessive profanity, most of it completely unnecessary to conveying the anger and high emotions of the characters.
*Profanity: f-bombs-5, ass/asshole-4, shit/bullshit-11, hell-4, Gd-2, bitch-4
*Triggers: Sexual violence, self-harm, suicide are key aspects in the book with more subtle body image issues also present.
*Sexual Content: frequent references to consensual sex among Mac’s classmates as well as girls being pressured to participate or raped but no details.; Mac’s rape is briefly described but is more about the violation than the sex act.
*Representation: Nora’s family is Jewish & that rep is reflected in the shiva held in her memory
*LBGTQ+: Xavier got involved w/a guy online & nude photos were exchanged but it turned out to be a predator; brief comment about a student in a Facebook orchestra group picture having a boyfriend at Columbia; As everyone’s secrets begin to come out at the end, one character is revealed to be bisexual.
Misc. notes:
-MCs are high school juniors
-frequent parties that include underage beer/liquor/cigarettes/vaping, marijuana, pills and/or plenty of “hooking up” at various levels of intensity with Mac noting at least one kegger when she and Emaline were 14; casual view of all the drinking and smoking and easy access to all
-Mac’s mom died of cancer 3 yrs ago and dad works away from home often; Emaline’s parents’ preference for Will is obvious; Xavier’s mother is all types of abusive and neglectful.
-Xavier attempted suicide with the online sexual predators being the final straw; Nora got him to a victims of sexual assault support group.
-Counselors and counseling is portrayed in both negative and positive ways but many of those seeking help who fail in their first attempts, keep trying until they find something/someone who believes and does help.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Look What You Did pulled me in from the very first chapter with its ominous atmosphere, anonymous texts, and the promise that everyone in this small town was hiding something. It had all the ingredients of a compelling YA mystery, and for the most part, it absolutely delivered.
One of my favourite aspects was how many potential suspects there were. Every new revelation made me second-guess my theories, and I genuinely enjoyed trying to piece the mystery together alongside Mac. That said, because there were so many interconnected characters, I occasionally found it difficult to distinguish between some of the suspects and keep track of what made each one significant.
What truly elevates this novel beyond being just another mystery is its emotional core. Mac's journey of confronting her own buried trauma felt authentic and thoughtfully written. The ending, in particular, left a lasting impression.
The novel also tackles several heavy topics, including sexual assault, consent, self-harm, substance abuse, grief, and suicide attempts. I appreciated that the author explored different forms of assault and highlighted experiences that victims themselves may struggle to identify or process. While I did feel that the number of traumatic incidents packed into one story became slightly overwhelming at times, they were handled with sensitivity and purpose rather than shock value.
Overall, this is a gripping upper-YA thriller that blends mystery with meaningful conversations about trauma, consent, and recovery. If you enjoy fast-paced mysteries filled with secrets, unreliable perceptions, multiple suspects, and twists that keep you questioning everyone, this one is definitely worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for providing me with an advance copy.
One of my favourite aspects was how many potential suspects there were. Every new revelation made me second-guess my theories, and I genuinely enjoyed trying to piece the mystery together alongside Mac. That said, because there were so many interconnected characters, I occasionally found it difficult to distinguish between some of the suspects and keep track of what made each one significant.
What truly elevates this novel beyond being just another mystery is its emotional core. Mac's journey of confronting her own buried trauma felt authentic and thoughtfully written. The ending, in particular, left a lasting impression.
The novel also tackles several heavy topics, including sexual assault, consent, self-harm, substance abuse, grief, and suicide attempts. I appreciated that the author explored different forms of assault and highlighted experiences that victims themselves may struggle to identify or process. While I did feel that the number of traumatic incidents packed into one story became slightly overwhelming at times, they were handled with sensitivity and purpose rather than shock value.
Overall, this is a gripping upper-YA thriller that blends mystery with meaningful conversations about trauma, consent, and recovery. If you enjoy fast-paced mysteries filled with secrets, unreliable perceptions, multiple suspects, and twists that keep you questioning everyone, this one is definitely worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for providing me with an advance copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 ⭐️
Plot
After the death of Cold Creek’s beloved golden boy, Will Ashford, seventeen-year-old Mackenzie feels relief instead of grief because she knows the dark truth hidden behind his perfect image. When anonymous texts threaten to expose a secret tied to one terrifying night at the Ashford house, Mackenzie becomes convinced someone is targeting her. As another death shakes the town, she must uncover who is behind the messages while confronting buried trauma and the dangerous secrets her suburban community is desperate to protect.
Thoughts
Before you start reading this book, please note that it contains themes of sexual violence, self-harm, body image issues, and suicide.
This thriller hooked me pretty quickly because we jump right into the mystery within the first few chapters. I loved how tense and unsettling the atmosphere felt from the start and the anonymous texts added an extra layer of suspense that kept me wanting to know the truth behind Will’s death and the secrets hidden in Cold Creek.
Mackenzie was an interesting main character, especially as she struggled with confronting her trauma while trying to uncover what was really happening around her. The story handled heavy topics throughout the book and they definitely added emotional depth to the mystery.
That being said, there were parts where the pacing slowed down for me and I found certain twists a little predictable.
Overall, this was a solid debut YA thriller with a dark small-town atmosphere, emotional stakes and enough twists to keep me invested until the end.
Plot
After the death of Cold Creek’s beloved golden boy, Will Ashford, seventeen-year-old Mackenzie feels relief instead of grief because she knows the dark truth hidden behind his perfect image. When anonymous texts threaten to expose a secret tied to one terrifying night at the Ashford house, Mackenzie becomes convinced someone is targeting her. As another death shakes the town, she must uncover who is behind the messages while confronting buried trauma and the dangerous secrets her suburban community is desperate to protect.
Thoughts
Before you start reading this book, please note that it contains themes of sexual violence, self-harm, body image issues, and suicide.
This thriller hooked me pretty quickly because we jump right into the mystery within the first few chapters. I loved how tense and unsettling the atmosphere felt from the start and the anonymous texts added an extra layer of suspense that kept me wanting to know the truth behind Will’s death and the secrets hidden in Cold Creek.
Mackenzie was an interesting main character, especially as she struggled with confronting her trauma while trying to uncover what was really happening around her. The story handled heavy topics throughout the book and they definitely added emotional depth to the mystery.
That being said, there were parts where the pacing slowed down for me and I found certain twists a little predictable.
Overall, this was a solid debut YA thriller with a dark small-town atmosphere, emotional stakes and enough twists to keep me invested until the end.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Look What You Did by Kaitlin Reilly is a gripping, propulsive YA thriller that grabs you from the very first page and simply refuses to let go.
Set inside the walls of Cold Creek Academy, Reilly has crafted a world that feels both glamorous and deeply unsettling. The students here party hard, live largely unsupervised, and carry secrets that run disturbingly deep. It is a rich, atmospheric setting that perfectly fuels the mystery at the heart of the story. At the center of it all is Mackenzie is on a mission to uncover the truth behind the murder of one of her former best friends. Her journey keeps readers on the edge of their seats, with suspense building steadily and the list of possible suspects keeping you guessing at every turn. The story does an exceptional job of planting just enough doubt and intrigue to make every revelation feel both surprising and satisfying.
The characters throughout are layered and believable, each carrying their own baggage and motivations that make the mystery feel genuinely unpredictable. This is the kind of book where you will find yourself mentally pointing fingers at nearly everyone before the truth finally comes to light.
One note for readers and parents: while this is marketed as a YA novel, the story does not shy away from dark and self-destructive behaviors among its teenage characters. It is worth keeping in mind when considering the book for younger readers.
This book was truly hard to put down. I hope there is a movie in the future!
Set inside the walls of Cold Creek Academy, Reilly has crafted a world that feels both glamorous and deeply unsettling. The students here party hard, live largely unsupervised, and carry secrets that run disturbingly deep. It is a rich, atmospheric setting that perfectly fuels the mystery at the heart of the story. At the center of it all is Mackenzie is on a mission to uncover the truth behind the murder of one of her former best friends. Her journey keeps readers on the edge of their seats, with suspense building steadily and the list of possible suspects keeping you guessing at every turn. The story does an exceptional job of planting just enough doubt and intrigue to make every revelation feel both surprising and satisfying.
The characters throughout are layered and believable, each carrying their own baggage and motivations that make the mystery feel genuinely unpredictable. This is the kind of book where you will find yourself mentally pointing fingers at nearly everyone before the truth finally comes to light.
One note for readers and parents: while this is marketed as a YA novel, the story does not shy away from dark and self-destructive behaviors among its teenage characters. It is worth keeping in mind when considering the book for younger readers.
This book was truly hard to put down. I hope there is a movie in the future!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC of Look What You Did by Kaitlin Reilly in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 🤓
Before I get into the review I want to note that there are a couple of triggers that are mentioned in this book:
⚠️ Mentions of sexual assaults of minors, self harm depicted on page, mention of auto accident resulting in the death of a minor, brief mentions of parental death, unaliving peers, underage drinking and drug abuse.
It seems as though I am in the minority of those giving this book a 5 star rating. I rate based on vibes and how the book makes me feel. Just putting that out there!
I am impressed with the writing of this debut author. The thoughts and feelings that are captured in the writing is emotionally captivating and I felt so many things reading this book. Not all will understand why I, as a reader, felt so strongly towards the characters and their stories in this novel and to you who do not "get it" be grateful. I wish I didn't understand and feel their pain on a soul touching level.
About 3/4 of the way through the book I pinned the "who" and the "why" but boy oh boy, I did not see some of the twists leading up to it.
👏🏻 Amazing job to the author for making me feel all this while reading a YA mystery/thriller.
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Before I get into the review I want to note that there are a couple of triggers that are mentioned in this book:
⚠️ Mentions of sexual assaults of minors, self harm depicted on page, mention of auto accident resulting in the death of a minor, brief mentions of parental death, unaliving peers, underage drinking and drug abuse.
It seems as though I am in the minority of those giving this book a 5 star rating. I rate based on vibes and how the book makes me feel. Just putting that out there!
I am impressed with the writing of this debut author. The thoughts and feelings that are captured in the writing is emotionally captivating and I felt so many things reading this book. Not all will understand why I, as a reader, felt so strongly towards the characters and their stories in this novel and to you who do not "get it" be grateful. I wish I didn't understand and feel their pain on a soul touching level.
About 3/4 of the way through the book I pinned the "who" and the "why" but boy oh boy, I did not see some of the twists leading up to it.
👏🏻 Amazing job to the author for making me feel all this while reading a YA mystery/thriller.
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 rounded down.
Please make sure you look up the trigger warnings before you pick this one up. This murder mystery centers around sexual assault, as well as mentions of attempted suicide and other dark topics.
Look What You Did is an excellent debut and handles its sensitive subject matter well. Mackenzie is a compelling main character that acts very much like a seventeen-year-old girl, which can be difficult to capture for adult authors. I do think the story leaned a little too heavily into the assault of it all sometimes - by no means am I disputing that that many predators can be in one town, but it seemed a bit extreme that so many isolated incidences occurred in such a small radius. I did appreciate the different examples it provided, though; if a young girl reads this, it may help her identify what counts as assault.
While I did guess the killer almost immediately, I think my favorite clue was the Halloween party. The costume was what solidified my suspicion. Absolutely genius little detail.
Even if this book isn’t on my list of favorite mysteries, I still think Reilly holds promise as a YA mystery writer, and I look forward to seeing what she’ll tackle next!
3.5 rounded down.
Please make sure you look up the trigger warnings before you pick this one up. This murder mystery centers around sexual assault, as well as mentions of attempted suicide and other dark topics.
Look What You Did is an excellent debut and handles its sensitive subject matter well. Mackenzie is a compelling main character that acts very much like a seventeen-year-old girl, which can be difficult to capture for adult authors. I do think the story leaned a little too heavily into the assault of it all sometimes - by no means am I disputing that that many predators can be in one town, but it seemed a bit extreme that so many isolated incidences occurred in such a small radius. I did appreciate the different examples it provided, though; if a young girl reads this, it may help her identify what counts as assault.
While I did guess the killer almost immediately, I think my favorite clue was the Halloween party. The costume was what solidified my suspicion. Absolutely genius little detail.
Even if this book isn’t on my list of favorite mysteries, I still think Reilly holds promise as a YA mystery writer, and I look forward to seeing what she’ll tackle next!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A quick read that had me hooked! Mac is trying to be there for her best friend, after her twin brother died, but Mac knows he’s not the golden boy that ever one believes him to be. Not after what he did to her. But he’s gone and maybe now things will be easier. Only she’s starts receiving texts, someone knows what Will did to her. But how? And what do they want? Then her former best friend is murdered. And when it’s believed that another old friend did it, Mac can’t believe that’s true. She’ll have to search for clues to figure out who killed her friend and who’s framing the other friend. All while trying to figure out who knows her secret and what they want. Are they the same person? The more she digs the more she discovers that her small town holds plenty of secrets and they may just bring her to danger as well. This one was intense and I highly recommend reading the content warnings first! It’s a page turner and I couldn’t put it down! Full of twists and turns, revenge, and it kept me guessing! Highly recommend Kaitlin Reilly’s debut if you enjoy a good mystery!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
LOOK WHAT YOU DID by Kaitlin Reilly (September 15, 2026)
Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eArc
After the d*ath of "golden boy" Will Ashford, Mackenzie is relieved. He was was dangerous, but she would never tell. An anonymous message, and the d*ath of an old friend later, Mac is determined to figure out who k*lled her friend despite the dark secrets she's hidden and the ones she's unburied.
LOOK WHAT YOU DID is a YA thriller. I flew through this one. The chapters were short, which made it all the more devourable. This is a heavy book; it is emotional and empowering, but could also be triggering for some (make sure you check the trigger warnings).
Mackenzie was all over the place with her investigation. Honestly, I was too. There were so many shady people; the suspect pool was endless. Throughout its entirety, there was a twist I was hoping to see involving the whodunnit (I thought for sure the author was leading up to that). I was wrong, but the twist Reilly delivered was better than I could have imagined. Plus the final twist...talk about a shocking revelation. Can't say I blame [Redacted] for that one.
I can't wait to read more.
LOOK WHAT YOU DID by Kaitlin Reilly (September 15, 2026)
Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eArc
After the d*ath of "golden boy" Will Ashford, Mackenzie is relieved. He was was dangerous, but she would never tell. An anonymous message, and the d*ath of an old friend later, Mac is determined to figure out who k*lled her friend despite the dark secrets she's hidden and the ones she's unburied.
LOOK WHAT YOU DID is a YA thriller. I flew through this one. The chapters were short, which made it all the more devourable. This is a heavy book; it is emotional and empowering, but could also be triggering for some (make sure you check the trigger warnings).
Mackenzie was all over the place with her investigation. Honestly, I was too. There were so many shady people; the suspect pool was endless. Throughout its entirety, there was a twist I was hoping to see involving the whodunnit (I thought for sure the author was leading up to that). I was wrong, but the twist Reilly delivered was better than I could have imagined. Plus the final twist...talk about a shocking revelation. Can't say I blame [Redacted] for that one.
I can't wait to read more.
June 18, 2026
The is a fast paced thriller that has toxic friendships, secrets, trauma, revenge, and mysterious texts. I could not put this down and read it all in one sitting.
The story follows Makenzie who lives in a small town that is mourning the loss of the towns golden boy, Will. However Makenzie knows that Will is not a great guy because is sexually assaulted her. What’s worse is that her best friend Emaline is Will’s twin sister.
Makenzie begins receiving some anonymous texts claiming they know what happened to her.
Soon another death rocks this small town, the victim being Makenzie’s childhood best friend. The police say that her friend and neighbor Xavier killed her but Makenzie knows he is innocent.
Makenzie vows to find Nora’s true killer and free Xavier. But in order to prove his innocence Makenzie has to confront the past she has tried to forget and expose the secrets of this small town.
Definitely check the trigger warnings and this book deals heavily with sexual assault and self harm.
Such a bingeable thriller and I loved every minute of it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC.
The story follows Makenzie who lives in a small town that is mourning the loss of the towns golden boy, Will. However Makenzie knows that Will is not a great guy because is sexually assaulted her. What’s worse is that her best friend Emaline is Will’s twin sister.
Makenzie begins receiving some anonymous texts claiming they know what happened to her.
Soon another death rocks this small town, the victim being Makenzie’s childhood best friend. The police say that her friend and neighbor Xavier killed her but Makenzie knows he is innocent.
Makenzie vows to find Nora’s true killer and free Xavier. But in order to prove his innocence Makenzie has to confront the past she has tried to forget and expose the secrets of this small town.
Definitely check the trigger warnings and this book deals heavily with sexual assault and self harm.
Such a bingeable thriller and I loved every minute of it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an early E arc of this book from netgalley and sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review. This is my own honest opinions and thoughts on this book.
This YA mystery thriller had a really strong and ominous beginning that immediately pulled me in. I also enjoyed the secretive atmosphere, and for the most part the story moved at a fairly fast pace.
One thing that i liked was that there were multiple suspects for the crime. I always enjoy mysteries where the main character has several people to investigate, and this book definitely delivered on that. However, many of the suspects felt too similar to one another which made it difficult to keep track of who was who and what exactly made each person suspicious.
The book also includes a lot of instances of sexual assault. I appreciated that the author explored different types of situations and highlighted experiences that can be confusing for a victim and might even pose questions or not be immediately recognized as assault. That said there were so many SAs packed into such a small area that it did feel a little excessive at times. It also added to my confusion about the large cast of characters, but I do understand why the author chose to include so many.
Another aspect I appreciated was the FMCs personal journey. Seeing her come to terms with her own trauma and fully recognizing what had happened to her felt realistic and well done. And I also really loved how it ended with a great amount of closure and especially closure on how the book began. It was a very strong emotional ending that gave me goosebumps and tugged at my heart.
I do think that this falls more into the upper YA category due to its content. Besides there being SA and talk of SA, there is also drug use, the selling of drugs, explicit language, suicide attempts, and self-harm. There are no overly graphic assault scenes, although there is one scene where the FMC recounts what happened to her. The author did a great job including issues that many teens may face, and I feel she handled all the topics thoughtfully and realistically. I think if you really liked thirteen reasons why you would enjoy this one as well. In my opinion it has similar vibes.
This YA mystery thriller had a really strong and ominous beginning that immediately pulled me in. I also enjoyed the secretive atmosphere, and for the most part the story moved at a fairly fast pace.
One thing that i liked was that there were multiple suspects for the crime. I always enjoy mysteries where the main character has several people to investigate, and this book definitely delivered on that. However, many of the suspects felt too similar to one another which made it difficult to keep track of who was who and what exactly made each person suspicious.
The book also includes a lot of instances of sexual assault. I appreciated that the author explored different types of situations and highlighted experiences that can be confusing for a victim and might even pose questions or not be immediately recognized as assault. That said there were so many SAs packed into such a small area that it did feel a little excessive at times. It also added to my confusion about the large cast of characters, but I do understand why the author chose to include so many.
Another aspect I appreciated was the FMCs personal journey. Seeing her come to terms with her own trauma and fully recognizing what had happened to her felt realistic and well done. And I also really loved how it ended with a great amount of closure and especially closure on how the book began. It was a very strong emotional ending that gave me goosebumps and tugged at my heart.
I do think that this falls more into the upper YA category due to its content. Besides there being SA and talk of SA, there is also drug use, the selling of drugs, explicit language, suicide attempts, and self-harm. There are no overly graphic assault scenes, although there is one scene where the FMC recounts what happened to her. The author did a great job including issues that many teens may face, and I feel she handled all the topics thoughtfully and realistically. I think if you really liked thirteen reasons why you would enjoy this one as well. In my opinion it has similar vibes.
June 11, 2026
Look What You Did is set in an elite town filled with filthy-rich families and the entitled teenagers who attend its prestigious private school. On the surface, everything appears perfect, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that everyone is harbouring secrets.
The tension ramps up when not one, but two students die in close succession, setting off a chain of events that causes the carefully crafted façade of the town to begin cracking. The more I read, the more I realized that things were definitely not as rosy as they seemed, and that money can buy a lot of things—but happiness isn’t one of them.
This YA mystery was fast-paced and easy to read, making it the perfect book to pick up when you’re looking for something engaging without being overly heavy. The mystery kept me interested, and the short chapters made it easy to fly through.
Overall, an enjoyable and entertaining read. If you’re in a reading slump and looking for a quick, twisty mystery, this one is worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to preread and review this book.
The tension ramps up when not one, but two students die in close succession, setting off a chain of events that causes the carefully crafted façade of the town to begin cracking. The more I read, the more I realized that things were definitely not as rosy as they seemed, and that money can buy a lot of things—but happiness isn’t one of them.
This YA mystery was fast-paced and easy to read, making it the perfect book to pick up when you’re looking for something engaging without being overly heavy. The mystery kept me interested, and the short chapters made it easy to fly through.
Overall, an enjoyable and entertaining read. If you’re in a reading slump and looking for a quick, twisty mystery, this one is worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to preread and review this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I just finished an early copy of Look What You Did by Kaitlin Reilly, and it was a good 4-star mystery. The story starts after the death of the town's popular golden boy. While everyone else is mourning, Mackenzie is actually relieved because she knows a dark secret about what he was really like. But then she starts getting anonymous texts threatening to expose her, and things get worse when her former best friend turns up dead.
I found the plot to be engaging and liked the short chapters. I liked the small-town setting and how messy the secrets got as Mackenzie tried to figure out who was texting her. The suspect pool kept me guessing. It does handle some heavy themes and trauma, but the author wrote it well. The pacing slowed down just a little bit in the middle, but the twists at the end were completely unexpected. If you like quick, twisty thrillers with a lot of secrets, keep an eye out for this one.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I found the plot to be engaging and liked the short chapters. I liked the small-town setting and how messy the secrets got as Mackenzie tried to figure out who was texting her. The suspect pool kept me guessing. It does handle some heavy themes and trauma, but the author wrote it well. The pacing slowed down just a little bit in the middle, but the twists at the end were completely unexpected. If you like quick, twisty thrillers with a lot of secrets, keep an eye out for this one.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
July 27, 2026
This is a very good debut, even if it is definitely a heavier read. The book happens around sexual assault, though the mentions of it are non-graphic, which I appreciated. I would say that, beyond the suspense, the main theme throughout the story is believing and supporting survivors rather than dismissing or silencing them, which I appreciated.
Talking about the suspense, every time I thought I knew what was going on, another piece of the puzzle made me change my mind. That made me read this very fast. There are so many layers to the mystery, and they all come together in a really satisfying way.
The main character was unlikeable at points, but in a way that makes sense for her age. I also liked the secondary characters. Even though there were many (and I'll admit sometimes I got a bit lost with so many characters), they felt fleshed out, and they all had motivations of their own.
Overall, it's an addictive and emotionally intense thriller with very deep themes and complex characters.
Talking about the suspense, every time I thought I knew what was going on, another piece of the puzzle made me change my mind. That made me read this very fast. There are so many layers to the mystery, and they all come together in a really satisfying way.
The main character was unlikeable at points, but in a way that makes sense for her age. I also liked the secondary characters. Even though there were many (and I'll admit sometimes I got a bit lost with so many characters), they felt fleshed out, and they all had motivations of their own.
Overall, it's an addictive and emotionally intense thriller with very deep themes and complex characters.
July 17, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of “Look What You Did”. This is my honest and completely voluntary review.
“Look What You Did” is a well-paced YA thriller following a group of high school students and the different situations that they find themselves in. There are some heavy topics sprinkled throughout so, I would definitely suggest checking out the trigger warnings for this book.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book. It was definitely a fun little thriller. It kept me engaged throughout the story, however, there isn’t anything mold breaking or completely revolutionary with this story. I enjoyed the writing and I’ll definitely check out more from Kaitlin Reilly in the future as this was her debut. If you enjoy thrillers this is definitely one to check out. I went in blindly like I tend to do with thrillers and it was a good choice and I’m sure that it enhanced my experience.
3.75 🌟 (Rounded up for Goodreads)
“Look What You Did” is a well-paced YA thriller following a group of high school students and the different situations that they find themselves in. There are some heavy topics sprinkled throughout so, I would definitely suggest checking out the trigger warnings for this book.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book. It was definitely a fun little thriller. It kept me engaged throughout the story, however, there isn’t anything mold breaking or completely revolutionary with this story. I enjoyed the writing and I’ll definitely check out more from Kaitlin Reilly in the future as this was her debut. If you enjoy thrillers this is definitely one to check out. I went in blindly like I tend to do with thrillers and it was a good choice and I’m sure that it enhanced my experience.
3.75 🌟 (Rounded up for Goodreads)
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
4.5 rounded down
I really enjoyed this book! It was an intriguing mystery with a satisfying conclusion. A real page-turner. The writing style was easy and enjoyable to read without feeling overly simple. I found the main character to be complex and well-developed and the side characters all interesting in their own ways. The social commentary was powerful and felt very applicable to real-life and modern-day society. There are heavy topics, but I felt like they were handled well, without too much explicit detail, and approached with more telling instead of showing which I think worked in this novel's favor.
My only nitpick: SPOILERS
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Out of all the men in this novel, there is basically only one that is not like a really bad dude. I know there's plenty of bad men in this world but it did feel a BIT exaggerated in that way. However, I appreciated that most of the women were portrayed as flawed as well-- even the main character--though not to such a degree as the men.
I really enjoyed this book! It was an intriguing mystery with a satisfying conclusion. A real page-turner. The writing style was easy and enjoyable to read without feeling overly simple. I found the main character to be complex and well-developed and the side characters all interesting in their own ways. The social commentary was powerful and felt very applicable to real-life and modern-day society. There are heavy topics, but I felt like they were handled well, without too much explicit detail, and approached with more telling instead of showing which I think worked in this novel's favor.
My only nitpick: SPOILERS
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Out of all the men in this novel, there is basically only one that is not like a really bad dude. I know there's plenty of bad men in this world but it did feel a BIT exaggerated in that way. However, I appreciated that most of the women were portrayed as flawed as well-- even the main character--though not to such a degree as the men.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC. The description of the book had me immediately requesting it. I really enjoyed Look What You Did! Fast-paced YA mystery that kept me hooked from the very beginning. The story has that everyone seems to be hiding something vibe, and the mystery surrounding the town's "golden boy "Will, whose perfect image slowly starts to unravel. Mackenzie (Mack) was real and her inner monologue was very relatable.
The anonymous texts, the twists, the multiple sketchy characters had me always eager to find out what secret would come to light next.
There are some trigger warnings, but overall it was not graphic but could be a sensitive subject for some. If you enjoy YA thrillers filled with buried secrets, murder, and dark small-town vibes, this one is definitely worth picking up.
The anonymous texts, the twists, the multiple sketchy characters had me always eager to find out what secret would come to light next.
There are some trigger warnings, but overall it was not graphic but could be a sensitive subject for some. If you enjoy YA thrillers filled with buried secrets, murder, and dark small-town vibes, this one is definitely worth picking up.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Please, please, please read about the trigger warnings associated with this book. It delves into some very heavy and traumatic topics. Normally I try to avoid books with this kind of topic, but I was eager to read based on the premise. As a survivor it didn't feel overly graphic, or as if it was just being used to over sensationalize for entertainment purposes. It was done well and had purpose and healing and helped with the mindset of trauma and walking around carrying that burden.
This was such a good read. It was well paced and I loved the FMC. There was mystery and angst, questioning the relationships surrounding our characters and what you're willing to sacrifice for friendship. It was tense and had me pulled in from the very beginning.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was such a good read. It was well paced and I loved the FMC. There was mystery and angst, questioning the relationships surrounding our characters and what you're willing to sacrifice for friendship. It was tense and had me pulled in from the very beginning.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I used to be an avid YA reader and now as I reach middle age, I still really see their value, but they can be harder to relate to. However, I loved Mackenzie's character and her development. I have noticed a lot more YA and middle grade books having darker storylines, but this is really reminiscent for me of the books I read in my youth by Christopher Pike. I read this in a sitting because I can't not know what is going on and that says a lot about the book. I'm excited for my daughter to be a little older to read this one. This will be the perfect Fall book to gear up for Spooky Season!
Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Not understanding the lower rating as this book is fantastic.
Fantastic debut book! I’ve read many YA mystery thrillers like this and this one is written extremely well. The storyline is well paced. The characters are interesting and the main character Mac is extremely likeable..
The mystery itself begins with the tragic death of the golden boy Will Ashford, high school royalty, brother to Emeline and part of the most influential family in Cold Creek. But every family has secrets and even after death, the golden boy has some of the biggest secrets of all….
A novel of twists and turns, this is more than just a whodunnit, this is a book that looks at the pressures of high school life, fitting in and making it through to the other side of SA.
Highly recommend this book.
Fantastic debut book! I’ve read many YA mystery thrillers like this and this one is written extremely well. The storyline is well paced. The characters are interesting and the main character Mac is extremely likeable..
The mystery itself begins with the tragic death of the golden boy Will Ashford, high school royalty, brother to Emeline and part of the most influential family in Cold Creek. But every family has secrets and even after death, the golden boy has some of the biggest secrets of all….
A novel of twists and turns, this is more than just a whodunnit, this is a book that looks at the pressures of high school life, fitting in and making it through to the other side of SA.
Highly recommend this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Look What You Did, kicks off with a tragic car accident that takes the life of Will Ashford, a boy with a dark and secretive past. For the protagonist, Mackenzie, this event triggers a cascade of secrets, forcing her to confront her own buried trauma, all while also trying to solve the murder of her former best friend. To make matters worse, an anonymous texter begins blackmailing her at every turn.
Because the story deals with heavy theme, including self-harm, sexual assault, and drug use it is best suited for a more mature young adult audience.
While it may lack the intricate depth that seasoned thriller readers like me crave, its fast-paced suspense makes it an engaging, accessible choice for newer readers just starting out in the YA mystery genre.
Because the story deals with heavy theme, including self-harm, sexual assault, and drug use it is best suited for a more mature young adult audience.
While it may lack the intricate depth that seasoned thriller readers like me crave, its fast-paced suspense makes it an engaging, accessible choice for newer readers just starting out in the YA mystery genre.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*NetGalley review*
Small town, high schoolers, off the rails!
I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought. Thriller, crime, mystery, has that ONE rich family, secrets, & a tangled web. Mackenzie is the main character, she had her two close friends that she grew apart from Xavier & Nora, & became friends with rich girl Emaline Ashford. In the book Mackenzie has a secret that no one knows, except for someone who has been texting her. When one of her friends is killed Mac goes on a quest & will stop at nothing until the murderer is found. Will she walk away the hero or end up like her friend.
Small town, high schoolers, off the rails!
I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought. Thriller, crime, mystery, has that ONE rich family, secrets, & a tangled web. Mackenzie is the main character, she had her two close friends that she grew apart from Xavier & Nora, & became friends with rich girl Emaline Ashford. In the book Mackenzie has a secret that no one knows, except for someone who has been texting her. When one of her friends is killed Mac goes on a quest & will stop at nothing until the murderer is found. Will she walk away the hero or end up like her friend.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I figured out a a few of the plot twists (including the main one) before they happened, so the realization Mac would feel never really hit for me. I was really hoping that the major plot twist wouldn't be what I thought it was, so I was a little bummed when I found out it was true.
I never got attached to Mac as a person either, though I did definitely feel for her, so it led to me not caring as much. I'd say my favorite character was Nora. The rest of the characters didn't seem to be very defined; I don't know if it was just me, but I kept mixing up (or forgetting entirely and then getting confused when they were mentioned) the minor characters' names.
I never got attached to Mac as a person either, though I did definitely feel for her, so it led to me not caring as much. I'd say my favorite character was Nora. The rest of the characters didn't seem to be very defined; I don't know if it was just me, but I kept mixing up (or forgetting entirely and then getting confused when they were mentioned) the minor characters' names.
August 5, 2026
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Wow this book caught me by surprise! Way better than I expected! This book was very fast paced and the chapters were short, making the book easier to binge. The characters were messy and the whole town overall was problematic, which made the plot more interesting. I genuinely couldn’t figure out who the killer was and kept going back and forth on theories! This was giving messy friend drama with murder mystery. Just make sure to check trigger warnings!!!
Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks fire for the opportunity to read this arc!
Wow this book caught me by surprise! Way better than I expected! This book was very fast paced and the chapters were short, making the book easier to binge. The characters were messy and the whole town overall was problematic, which made the plot more interesting. I genuinely couldn’t figure out who the killer was and kept going back and forth on theories! This was giving messy friend drama with murder mystery. Just make sure to check trigger warnings!!!
Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks fire for the opportunity to read this arc!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was enjoyable but unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I liked the premise, and I am always a fan of some amateur sleuthing, but the repetitive nature of the story made it drag a bit. It felt like the majority of the book was MAC being sure someone was the killer only to be proven wrong and then rinse and repeat. The male characters also didn’t feel particularly distinct and ran together a bit which made reading it a bit confusing at times. Still an interesting story but not one I’m keen to revisit.
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