I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the new novel by Nikki Smith on my blog today, Look What You Made Me Do. With thanks to Alex Layt from Orion Books for inviting me to take part.
BLURB
Two people can keep a secret . . . if one of them is dead.
Sisters Jo and Caroline are used to hiding things from each other. They’ve never been close – taking it in turns to feel on the outside of their family unit, playing an endless game of favourites.
Jo envies Caroline’s life – things have always come so easy to her. Then a family inheritance falls entirely to Jo, and suddenly now Caroline wants what Jo has. Needs it, even.
But just how far will she go to get it?
MY THOUGHTS
I was a huge fan of Nikki Smith’s debut novel, All In Her Head, and I couldn’t wait to see what she came up with next. Look What You Made Me Do is a gripping, character-driven psychological thriller. Nikki Smith explores the simmering tensions within a family through the eyes of sisters Jo and Caroline. This is as they come to terms with the loss of their dad. Tensions especially heighten when it is revealed that their dad has left his business entirely to Jo.
Nikki Smith expertly peeled back the layers of each family member, and I thought they were all very well developed. I thought both Jo and Caroline were really intriguing characters. I liked how Nikki explored the dynamics of their relationship, especially the sibling rivalry. It made me wonder just how far they were prepared to go to achieve what they wanted. I really didn’t like their mother, who seemed to prefer one of her daughters over the other. I really couldn’t understand how she could openly show this in front of them.
Nikki Smith builds on the tension as the story progresses, and I was surprised with the direction in which she took the story, especially with the more domestic issues she explored. I wanted to know just how things were going to pan out for the family as they begin to understand what has happened and what this will mean for them when it is revealed that Jo and Caroline’s dad has left everything to Jo. There is a growing sense of dislike and mistrust building between them, and there are some shocking revelations as they come head to head with each other.
There were plenty of characters who I really didn’t like in this book. I really didn’t like Caroline’s husband, Rob. There were some scenes at the beginning in which he and Caroline were together, which made me feel very uncomfortable. He came across as very controlling, and it made me fear for Caroline as I was reading these early scenes. He was a really nasty character.
I thought Nikki Smith’s writing was very immersive, and I was pulled into the story. I did not want to put this book down. Nikki Smith delivers a very powerful twist that I did not see coming. Look What You Made Me Do felt like a very fresh psychological thriller, and I really enjoyed it. If you haven’t yet discovered Nikki Smith’s books, then you really need to read them.
Publisher: Orion
Publication date: 1st April 2021
Print length: 336 pages
Look What You Made Me Do is available to buy:
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