✦ BLURB ✦
Look what you started.You press send. Your message is full of secrets about your neighbours. It’s meant for your sister, but it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead.
Now everyone knows what you did.
As rumour spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighbourhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat.
And someone wants you dead.
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…
✶ PRE-READING ✶
Thrillers set in small neighbourhoods are often fascinating! The most exciting thing that happens around here is kids putting their basketball hoops in the wrong place, so it's always interesting to see what happens in fictional neighbourhoods. I haven't read Andrea Mara before but I know she's highly regarded as a thriller writer.
✶ POST-READING ✶
As I thought... The book delivered on the tension, with the social media mistake snowballing into something far darker than anyone anticipated. The pacing was quick and engaging, keeping me on edge as the situation escalated.
It surprised me by...The depth of the psychological tension really took me by surprise! What started as a simple “oops” moment morphed into a terrifying spiral. The whole "wrong house" angle was especially unsettling and kept me guessing. I didn’t expect the murder to hit so close to home in more ways than one, and that final reveal was chilling in a way I didn’t anticipate.
I was also a little surprised at how many connections there were among this small group of people! It really seemed surprising to me, but maybe I'm just an old Hermit.
✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦
Book Recommendation:
If you enjoyed the suspense and social media-driven drama in It Should Have Been You, I’d recommend The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. It’s a similarly tense story where the characters' secrets—and their seemingly perfect lives—take dark turns.
TV or Movie Recommendation:
The TV series The Sinner would resonate with fans of this book. It’s full of psychological twists and the kind of slow burn tension where you’re never quite sure who to trust or what’s going to happen next.
✧ VIBE CHECK ✧
A colour palette:
Muted greys and dark navy, with flashes of blood-red and electric blue—echoing the creeping tension and sudden shocks.
A soundtrack:
A haunting mix of eerie, minimalist piano and a slow-building electronic beat, like something from The Handmaid's Tale.
A season:
Late autumn, when the days are short, the wind feels colder, and everything is starting to settle into a crisp quiet… before the storm.
A mood:
Creeping paranoia, unsettling dread, quietly frantic.
A scent:
Smoky wood and damp earth with a faint trace of burning paper—signifying something about to go horribly wrong.
★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★
The Tower (Cosy Witch Tarot). This card fits the book perfectly. The character’s seemingly stable life is shattered in an instant by the fallout from her simple mistake, leading to a devastating revelation and irreversible change.
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