The Worst Thing You Ever Did

by Karen Perry

Michael and Faye loved each other once. When the Icelandic volcano erupted, they were together, unexpectedly stranded in Spain for a few fateful extra nights. That was when it happened. When it all went wrong.

There's only one thing they knew for certain: they can never tell anyone.

Ten years later, Faye has put her life back together. She's changed her name - Fiona. She's got married. She's built a successful career. She's never looked back.

There's only one thing that "Fiona" has to fear. And then it happens.

Michael is back. He wants to talk. And he won't take no for an answer...

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

384 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2023

About the author

Karen Perry is the pen name of Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece.

Paul Perry is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books. A winner of The Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year Award, he is a writer and course director in poetry at the Faber Academy in Dublin.

Karen Gillece is the author of four critically acclaimed novels. In 2009 she won the European Union Prize for Literature (Ireland).

There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name

Reviews

[Karen Chong · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 / 5

Yeah, I get the low ratings on this book. Felt incomplete, the character development of everyone in this book was missing for everyone minus the main one Faye. It’s a very predictable book, a plot I expected but didn’t think it would go that extreme. Honestly, I’m glad I’ve finished this book and have it done. It’s not a great book unfortunately- it’s a mess of a book, things are not clear and there is a lot of unanswered questions - my biggest question what the hell happened to Faye’s mum? She was in it for the first half, had a drunk boozy night and left never to be heard again? This book felt repetitive at points as well - like the same thing being mentioned again and again.

It’s a poor book basically we meet Faye who’s just moved back to Ireland with her husband Ed all his well until her ex comes back in the picture Micheal. Things happened in their get away abroad in university after the Iceland volcanic storm which left them making a pact that they will never speak of the events again. However Faye starts to receive anonymous laters hinting at the events from the past that starts to effect her life. And then it starts to take a dramatic turn. Honestly it’s not a great book definitely avoid this one!

[Patricia Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to really enjoy books by this author but they have gone off the boil a bit.

This book was extremely slow and the first 200 pages dragged by. The dual timeline was interesting but nothing seemed to hold my attention. The last 100 or so pages were read in one sitting and the pace picked up a bit.

By the time all was revealed about what had happened back in 2010 during the ash cloud, I had kind of lost interest. All neatly wrapped up at the end with one final twist that was blatantly obvious.

A pleasant read but nothing to lift it above 3 stars and that is being generous.

[Kristie101 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[Gillian Halton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thriller ! Ex boyfriend back on the scene

[Cathy McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fairly formulaic - writer has a secret which is teased throughout the book until a reveal near the end. I found the big confession a bit underwhelming, I had imagined things far worse. I also found that the part where her ex-partner becomes a violent kidnapping lunatic was too far-fetched and hence irritating. I did like how the prologue totally mislead me though, referring to an event nearer the end rather than the secret that's waiting to emerge. . I did stay up late to finish it off, though more so I could get on to another book than this one being particularly gripping.

[Aimee Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark

[Caroline Hopgood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed reviews read on this one but I loved it! Read it quite quickly & enjoyed the story !

[Daniel Cook · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worse thing you ever did

This wasn’t an easy decision but personally the book is a DNF. It is slow, Very slow. I usually try and stick a book out but this one was becoming more of a choir to read. I reached page 167 and nothing had happened still apart from one event relating to her Husbands friend which was very predictable. After doing a bit of research it sound like the plot was a bit of a cliché. Up to where I read the characters didn’t really have much development to them. I have heard on reviews the pace gets better in the last 100 pages of the book but in all honesty I’ve lost the world to read on.

[Amber Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I normally read Fantasy/Sci Fi books and when I got this from my bf I was uneasy about it.
It took me a bit to get into to(plus I had other series that I would have rather read) but I finally finished it. When I told my bf the plot of the book he told me that he was sorry that he got it for me.


Click below for the plot
So Faye and Michael dated in college, he was super taken by her, would do anything for her. They ended up on trip together in Spain during the volcano cloud eruption so their flight home got delayed. She finds out that she was pregnant and at first wasn't going to tell him about it. They end up staying at a cabin with a couple of other people. One of which has a baby. Faye is trying to study while almost everyone is out at a lake and the mom of the baby is neglectful and sleeps in the bed with it while it's crying. Faye takes the baby and calms it down but then falls asleep and ends up suffocating the baby while she's asleep. Michael comes back early from the lake and Faye says she needs his help. She tells him that she'll stay with him forever if he does this and the thing she asks him to do is put the dead baby back with the mom. He does, people come back and find the baby dead, they are told to leave, the mom was told before to not sleep with the baby so no suspicion on them at all. Faye breaks up with him when they get home. He spirals goes to jail and released on condition that he have mandatory therapy meetings and only tells a mutual friend about what happened in Spain. This whole time Faye is living fine, has a husband, pregnant, good job. Someone is sending Faye letters about what happened in Spain(it's the mutual friend) but she thinks its Michael, she confronts Michael about it and it sends him spiraling. He ends up stalking her, faking being her husbands friend(and she knows it's actually Michael but doesn't tell her husband the truth) and eventually ends up kidnapping her right when she's about to give birth along with his old family nurse. They end up escaping, he steals the baby, Faye confronts him by the water. Faye gets the baby back, Michael asks her for help but she PUSHES him in the water and tells everyone he jumped after giving her the baby. He ofc drowns and she ends up moving away from the area like everything is okay and then she is told by the mutual friend that they started sending the letters which started this whole thing.

[Meljennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept reading this book because I wanted to know what the big secret was during the ash cloud they were in Spain they stayed in a slum house and when the others went on a hike she fell asleep on a baby killing it . The secret was quite unimaginative and reminded me too much of the scene in The Girl on the Train which was far more evocative .
I didn't feel that much was offered by the split timelines apart from dragging out the secret reveal.
There wasn't much tension as I did not like any of the characters and didn't find them particularly fleshed out or rounded in any way.
The final section when her ex holds her hostage and she has to give birth in the house was ridiculous and I almost just put it down there but wanted to finish it.
It was quite a quick read but I could not recommend it, even for that type of book.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

📖The worst thing you ever did - Karen Perry 📖

“Michael and Faye loved each other once. When the Icelandic volcano erupted, they were together, unexpectedly stranded in Spain for a few fateful extra nights. That was when it happened. When it all went wrong. There's only one thing they knew for certain: they can never tell anyone. Ten years later, Faye has put her life back together. She's changed her name - Fiona. She's got married. She's built a successful career. She's never looked back. There's only one thing that she has to fear. And then it happens. Michael is back. He wants to talk. And he won't take no for an answer…”
📚

Well, I was not expecting this book at all!!! It was wild. Just a sucker-punch of a read. It was going on nicely, the plot thickening at a very nice and steady pace, and then it just took a wild turn that I don’t think anyone could see coming. It was just so weird and wild. It made sense who the person was who started sending the accusatory letters and messages to Faye. The slander was just so interesting. The shared history between Michael and Faye was just an absolute wrecking ball disaster waiting to happen. It's interesting how the same situation can impact two people so differently.

📚
It did feel a bit unresolved in a way at the end for me. This was down to not hearing that much from Ed. He was a very influential character throughout the book. Coming to the end, he got one paragraph, and then that was it for the rest of the book. Like he also suffered too, and to I would have appreciated a bit more of a back and forth between himself and Faye before the final scene(s) took place. But overall, a great read. It’s 4 stars from me, folks.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely well-written thriller, which explores themes of parental love and responsibilities, mental health, guilt and loss.
It is mostly set in Dublin and the surrounding area.
Ed and Faye seem settled in their relationship but all is not as it seems. The past has been suppressed but rears its ugly head after a series of unusual events.
The book has a dual time-frame, moving back and forwards from the present day to 2010 and Spain during the volcanic ash cloud.
There are chapters devoted to the main characters, who tell their side of the story.
The clever way in which it has been constructed is the main strength of the book, in my opinion. Layers of the plot are gradually revealed throughout the novel and this adds to the suspense. It is very unputdownable from about halfway through.
It is not until the very end that we really know the full extent of the 'worst thing' of the title.
I have read all the books by this author and I would say that this one is the best.

[Wendy Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve realised that I get frustrated with books where the main characters don’t talk to each other, lie, or keep a secrets, causing tensions which could be somewhat resolved by honesty and trust. There were numerous opportunities for Faye to tell Ed her story or at least parts of it early on (eg the letters, Michael’s existence and reappearance if not the big thing) and I don’t think her reasoning was sound, especially when it affected her marriage and performance at work. The book was a little slow paced and felt a little long to me, it was also a little predictable, but I kept reading to see how it all turned out. Probably not one I’ll recommend.

[Linh · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

The first third was very slow and the last third vomited out conclusions with little in the way of development. I felt most sorry for Michael - talked by Faye (who lied by the way) into covering up her mistakes, being dumped anyway, becoming deeply unwell in great part because of the guilt of an action SHE talked him into, and then pushed into the sea because of her? And Faye just doesn't seem to give a shit about any of it? That poor boy never had a chance. And now that he's dead, no one in her life will ever know or be able to bring her to heel for it.

[Fleury]

Very very sorry that I endured this disappointing book.
I should have DFN'd it but that's always worse than making myself finish a book, no matter how much I'm disliking it.
This book flippin dragged and dragged and dragged.
I had to use my Kindle dictionary waaaaaay too much for ridiculously weird words like "semaphoring" "erudition" "ursine" "paucity" "cacophony" "vertiginous" "sycophancy" "disavow" "agapanthus"
Got really fed up with enduring that boring book.
Zero stars.
Don't think I'll bother reading anything else by Karen Perry.
Way more enough already

[Elaine Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't have great expectations for this one. The online reviews were hit and miss but I decided to give it a go anyway. So glad I did! I devoured it over a rainy weekend, absolutely brilliant. Great storyline which was teased out through the book and I enjoyed the way you got a couple of points of view, some from the past, others from the present. A very enjoyable and easy read.

[Mrs T J Giles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worst thing you ever did by Karen Perry, Michael and Faye loved each other but stranded in Spain following the Icelandic eruption flights were grounded. Life is about to change fast. 10 years on Faye and Ed lives are on track. Until Michael comes back. Tense and full of suspense. Page turner. Great mix of characters. Gripping. 4* Paperback.

[Az · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Was quite a disappointing read. The sorry didn’t grip me till the last 100 pages. I feel like the characters didn’t really get developed apart from Faye. Did take me a while to get through it but I did enjoy the ending!

[Robyn Milburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow burn for me but got into it about halfway through. Didn't like the flit between timelines could have done with a page break or some sort of indication for the parts not labelled but that might just be a me problem.. I like it to be obvious lol

[Fiona Farquhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from start to finish. The characters came to life and as the story unfolds it is not until the last few chapters you can begin to see how the story will end. Throughout the book it captures love, loss and mental health all written extremely well with a sense of true honesty

[Melissa Littlechild · Rating 4 out of 5]

About an ex who comes back around (Micheal) years after something terrible happened in Barcelona between the couple.

[Sarah Gillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book certainly had me gripped from the start. Great reading (read in 2 days). First time I’ve read a book by this author and will be looking out for more of her books

[Sunita Suri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The speed a book is read can sometimes indicate the quality of the book. This book was gripping and a page turner. It also tied up most of the loose ends so in that way it was good.

[Chloe Cheyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping, exciting twists. Really enjoyed it although did take a while to get into it

[Lizzie Lanyon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took a lot to finish. I didn't much like it and the only reason it got 2 stars was due to the pace at the end.

[Kharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read within a couple of evenings - i was gripped from the start. The characters were not that likeable at all but somehow it kept me reading. A good thriller.

[Flyss Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off intriguing enough but the pacing kind of let down in the second half.

[Roisin Rowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t very impressed to start with but the the book got better the further on I read.
3.5/5