What Have You Done (Adler and Dwyer, #0.5)

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses murder, sexual harassment, sexual assault, child abuse, and trauma.

As the events surrounding Diana’s death are slowly revealed, it becomes clear that several characters in the novel are hiding information from the police, their friends, and their families. As these secrets come to light, the consequences of their decision to deceive impact those around them in different ways.

Shari Lapena builds suspense in the novel surrounding three suspects in Diana’s murder: Joe, Cameron, and Brad, each of whom hides secrets, but none of whom is guilty. Joe asks Roddy to lie to give him an alibi, then reveals in his point-of-view sections that he has been stalking several young girls, sometimes hundreds of miles away. Although he is not guilty of harming Diana, his past eventually catches up with him, as what he describes as “sheer shitty luck” links him to Diana and uncovers a murder that he did commit elsewhere (275). For Joe, the consequences of his lies are his return to New York and his arrest for murder.

Unlike Joe, Cameron is entirely innocent in Diana’s death. However, out of fear of being incriminated, he lies to the police several times. His lies then lead to further investigation into him, which in turn leads to increased suspicion.