After All I've Done

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mina Hardy
Thriller | Psychological Suspense
265 Pages
Published November 10, 2020 by Crooked Lane Books

We have a triple-crown winner today – all three of our lovely, bookish bloggers loved Mina Hardy’s After All I’ve Done – five stars all the way around (wow!).   Let’s tune in to see what Desiree, Patricia (Grantsbrarian), and Stephanie have to say!

 

With a Book in Our Hand: What is After All I’ve Done about?

Desiree: Diana is fresh out of the hospital after both a devastating car crash and an appendectomy.  Due to side effects from the surgery, she has a big gaping hole of several months in her memory, which she finds severely disorienting and more than a little disturbing.  She often seems to “get things wrong” and even her close friends and family patronize her with little comments such as, “Oh, Diana, you just forgot”.  But Diana is certain that’s not the case.  She finds little things that just don’t feel quite right – like the “to do” list in her nightstand drawer that she can’t remember writing.  What do these things mean?  What else has she forgotten and is not remembering?  One thing that she IS sure of is that her husband is sleeping with her best friend.

With a Book in Our Hand: What did you each like about the book?

Grantsbrarian: Full disclosure: I love books about amnesia after a traumatic event.  I love how the characters struggle to figure out what happened to them before their amnesia, who the people in their current reality are, and who they can trust.  So, After All I've Done was right up my alley! 

Mina Hardy has created a cast of characters whom you both dislike yet pity, as their stories play off one another.  No one is who they appear to be – you're never sure from one chapter to the next who is guilty of disloyalty, who is using another person, and who is being gaslighted.  You will definitely guess some of the twists and turns, but you won't see others coming, and there are quite a few!

Desiree: Oh my gosh, Patricia – yes, gaslighting!  That is the word that kept replaying over and over in my head as I was reading After All I’ve Done.  I literally kept (fun-lovingly) “shouting” at my Kindle as I tore from one page to the next in this novel (my husband guffawing at my antics from his easy chair all the while).  “This lady’s totally being gaslighted!  But I don’t know who’s doing it – is it her mother-in-law?  Her husband?  Her best friend?  Her cute flirt-partner Cole?  Or is it ALL of them?  I just don’t know!”  (Side note: If you haven’t seen the 1994 film “Gaslight”, with Ingrid Bergman, go queue it up for your next movie night right now!)

Stephanie:  I can’t believe this is Mina Hardy’s first novel in this genre!

Grantsbrarian: I know that this author writes under a pseudonym – Megan Hart writing as Mina Hardy – and I can't wait to read another one of Ms. Hart’s books!

Stephanie: I’m absolutely breathless after reading After All I’ve Done.  It ticked every single box for me: Had me gripped from the first page.  Kept my attention throughout.  Relatable characters.  Every storyline explored and resolved.  Twisty.  Shocking.  Appalling.  Shocking ending.

And, I didn’t expect to love the characters the way that I did.  I thought I had it all figured out and then WHAM!!! - she hit me over the head with that ending.  I’m still sitting here just thinking about it.  And now I wish I could get amnesia and read it all over again for the first time!  I’ll be putting this on my permanent list of standalone books to recommend, right up there with The Wife Between Us, Take it Back, and The Wife Stalker.

Desiree: I’m so with you on that, Stephanie.  I – LOVED – THIS – STORY!  I was on the edge of my seat.  Biting my nails.  Couldn’t put it down.  On pins and needles waiting to see what happened next.  I finished this one in just two evenings after work!  Thrills, and chills, and whatever else ends in “ills” including a main character suffering from anesthesia-induced amnesia (that’s a kind of “ill”, right? Ha ha).
A truly great read and quite a page turner.  If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers, in the style of Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca, or Jo Furniss’s The Last to Know, then this one’s for you!  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

With a Book in Our Hands: We hear that each of you recommend this as a five-star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ must-read?

Grantsbrarian: Yes, definitely!

Stephanie: I wish I could give it more than five stars!

Desiree: Five stars, hands down – one of the best novels I’ve read all year!

 

With a Book in Our Hands:  Awesome!  We love a good thriller and we’ll definitely put this on our TBR list of reads not to be missed!  So, what else do we need to know?

 

Grantsbrarian: A huge thank you to #MinaHardy, #CrookedLaneBooks, and #NetGalley for allowing us the incredible privilege of reading this book in advance in exchange for our honest reviews.

Desiree: After All I’ve Done goes on sale tomorrow, November 10, 2010 and is available in hardcover, audio CD, and MP3 CD.  Please consider buying from bookshop.org, the online book store that gives back 75% of each book’s profit margin directly to indie book sellers.  (Please note that while I do earn a small commission should you buy via this link, I share this out of my enduring love for indie, corner bookshops everywhere.)

Stephanie: Drop us a comment below and let us know what you think of our review, and of After All I’ve Done – we’d love to hear from you!