It Should Have Been You: A Novel
A gripping new thriller from Andrea Mara, the #1 international bestselling author of ALL HER FAULT, now streaming on Peacock
Your neighbors have secrets. How far would they go to keep them?
“A simple, ordinary mistake explodes into a suburban nightmare in this hugely compelling, one-sitting read packed full of thrilling moments and genuinely surprising twists. Andrea Mara is at the very top of her game.” —Catherine Ryan Howard
You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbors, it’s meant for your sister. But it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead.
As rumor spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighborhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat.
The next day, a woman has been murdered. And what’s even more chilling is that she had the same address as you – 26 Oakpark – but in a different part of town. Did the killer get the wrong house? It won’t be long before you find out…
Your neighbors have secrets. How far would they go to keep them?
“A simple, ordinary mistake explodes into a suburban nightmare in this hugely compelling, one-sitting read packed full of thrilling moments and genuinely surprising twists. Andrea Mara is at the very top of her game.” —Catherine Ryan Howard
You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbors, it’s meant for your sister. But it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead.
As rumor spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighborhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat.
The next day, a woman has been murdered. And what’s even more chilling is that she had the same address as you – 26 Oakpark – but in a different part of town. Did the killer get the wrong house? It won’t be long before you find out…
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Community Reviews
*3.75 / 5 Stars*
This novel delivers a fantastic, high-stakes premise that hooks you from the start. The core storyline is brilliant—it’s a clever, unsettling "what would you do?" scenario that keeps the tension high and the pages turning.
However, the execution is weighed down by an overcrowded cast of characters. Keeping track of everyone is a genuine challenge; the sheer volume of names and connections makes the plot unnecessarily hard to follow. While the mystery itself is compelling, I spent too much time trying to remember who was who, which pulled me out of the story.
Great concept, but a bit too chaotic. It’s a solid thriller if you don’t mind a complex web of people, but it would have been much stronger with a tighter, more focused group of characters.
This novel delivers a fantastic, high-stakes premise that hooks you from the start. The core storyline is brilliant—it’s a clever, unsettling "what would you do?" scenario that keeps the tension high and the pages turning.
However, the execution is weighed down by an overcrowded cast of characters. Keeping track of everyone is a genuine challenge; the sheer volume of names and connections makes the plot unnecessarily hard to follow. While the mystery itself is compelling, I spent too much time trying to remember who was who, which pulled me out of the story.
Great concept, but a bit too chaotic. It’s a solid thriller if you don’t mind a complex web of people, but it would have been much stronger with a tighter, more focused group of characters.
Synopsis:
Susan sees a snarky message on her neighborhood WhatsApp group and decides to screenshot it and send a group message to her sisters about that person... except she posts it back on the neighborhood group.
Opps! I mean, we've all been there, right? The only difference is, Susan blasted some damaging gossip, then later received a death threat, and then there's a murder at the home on another side of town of a woman living at her address, but on a different side of town!
Like, what? Was the murderer at the wrong house?
I received acess to read this through NetGalley - so thankful!
So... This was a very twisty book. I swear, I made a map in my notebook to connect all of the characters and notes about them like I normally do, but this was insane. Around 3/4 of the way in, it got even more insane. There was a LOT of things that were very conveniently laid out in the story that made it less than believable, but still enjoyable. I really appreciated that one piece was left open-ended and everyone can come up with their own theory. Not every story has to have everything tied into a pretty bow at the end!
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