"Ludlow never forgot its own"

Greer Dunning is back in her home town of Ludlow after a decade. Greer's sister, Eliza, was murdered along with her boyfriend several years before. The man responsible, Roy Mathews, received the death penalty.

Now, there has been a copycat murder - an eighteen year old couple have been found dead, and Greer is back in town to do some digging. She always suspected that there was more to her sister's murder than just Roy Mathews - but nobody listened to her back then. Will anyone listen now?

I really loved "The Roanoke Girls" by this author, which is why I was really excited to see this one on Netgalley. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much. There's nothing wrong with the writing - it's fast-paced, engaging, and kept me reading to the end - but the plot fell apart a little bit for me. One of the main characters seemed to have a personality transplant about 75% of the way through, and the whole lot seemed to unravel. The first half was gripping, and I really wish the rest of the book had been the same. The atmosphere was fantastic, and I was equally suspicious of all side characters - I loved the whole small-town feel of it.

Still, it's a quick read, one I'm sure many will enjoy - it just wasn't for me. I'll still read whatever Amy Engel writes next, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to read this one.

An exciting and tense read. the characters are believable and interesting. After 12 years a woman returns to her home town to look further into her sister Eliza and her boyfriend's murder that happened 14 years previously. The murderer was caught and sentenced but now another couple have been murdered.
The book is full of twists, a little predictable but a great read

This book is so good! I love Amy Engel's writing - the way she elevates a crime/mystery novel so being so much about the characters and how they are and why they do the things they do. There is a dream-like quality to the way she writes and I adore it. This novel follows Greer as she returns home after many years - she left after her sister was murdered and now she's back because there seems to be a copycat killer in her hometown. She is then having to confront her feelings about home, her family and her old friends but is also investigating the latest murders and trying to figure out how they might connect back to her sister's murder. The novel really explores how murder affects the people left behind - the family of the victim but also the family of the convicted killer. This book is so good - it's a page turner but it's also incredibly moving and one that really stays with you. It's one of my favourite reads of the year so I highly recommend it!

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to read and review this book for publication day but I will get to read it asap and share my review to all relevant book sites and my social media sites

Amy Engel has released a real gem with this one. Greer returns home for the first time in 12 years. Straight away we get the gossipy village atmosphere and the word spreads that she’s back instantly.

Greer returns as a copycat killer of her sister’s murder is around. Only she’s not convinced that this doesn’t go deeper.

Engel has gripped me with this one. Although it starts slower than I usually like. I’ve really felt a sense of atmosphere in this one.

This is character driven and really allows us to consider the impact of murder on family members and community.

This is well paced and contains the right amount of suspense and tension. There are twists that I didn’t see coming.

I’ve found this a really enjoyable read from beginning to end. I have no hesitation in recommending this one.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This isn’t my favourite of this authors books but I do think that it is actually written quite beautifully and her style has developed really well since her first book. The plot was a little bit too thin to carry this one I thought and the characters that usually keep the reader engaged throughout weren’t as interesting or relatable as in previous books. So not really for me but it’s not a bad book book!

I liked the premise of this book, with Greet Dunning returning to her how town, 14 years after another young couple were murdered in a similar way to her sister Eliza and her boyfriend. It’s a well written book, set in small town America, where everyone knows each other. It’s told from various points of view, including the victims but I didn’t take to most of the characters. Greer was determined to find out what really happened, regardless of how she did it or who she hurt in the process. The only one I felt for was Dean, brother of the teenager who was convicted of the first murders. He and his grandmother were targeted for being related to Roy, and blamed for ‘letting’ Roy do what he did. I felt the story was slightly too drawn out and the ending a bit weak. However, I would urge readers to try it, it just wasn’t a book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was a decent read but I wasn't drawn to the characters at all. There was plenty of interest in the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was not a book for me, I found it too slow so gave up without finishing it. Sorry.

I am a huge fan of Amy Engel, having loved The Roanoke Girls and the Ozarks-set thriller, The Familiar Dark. I Did It For You is Engel's newest twisty thriller, and I pretty much finished it in one sitting.

Greer Dunning fled her hometown of Ludlow, Kansas when she was in her late teens, after the murder of her sister. Eliza and her boyfriend were shot to death while parked up in a popular Ludlow 'make-out spot'. Another of the town's teens, Roy Mathews, is charged with the crime and, years later, is executed by the state.

In the present day, fourteen years after the original crime, another young couple are murdered in Ludlow, and the circumstances are similar to Eliza's death. Greer decides to return home to Kansas to find out more about the presumed copycat murders, determined to convince the local police chief that her sister's case needs to be reopened.

Engel does a lot of things really well:

Her characters are brilliantly brought to life, engaging our sympathy and drawing us into the story. This isn't just another twisty thriller - it's also a moving account of a woman's grief and processing of her sister's death.

Engel is also really skilled at evoking the insular, claustrophobic nature of small-town America, where everyone knows everyone else's business.

And she writes entertaining thrillers that have a riveting plot and are well paced, despite being character driven.

I will say I enjoyed The Roanoke Girls and The Familiar Dark a little more than this novel. They had a darker element to them that I loved, but I Did It For You was engrossing and enjoyable, and I loved the use of the 'going home again' and small-town tropes. Recommended!

I listened to the audio version of I Did It For You and thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrators were excellent and very clear. My only problem being Welsh and listening to an American accent was that I kept hearing Freshman Year as fresh manure! I don't really understand why they had male narrators for Travis' and Roy's chapters and in fact, I'm not even totally sure why those chapters were even included as they added little to the story, certainly Travis' anyway. The story was gripping and the ending unexpected and rather sad.
EDIT I have now read this book on my Kindle and if anything I enjoyed it even more, great characters, a great plot and an insight into life in a small American town.
My thanks to Netgalley for both my copies.

A twisty thriller in which a woman returns to the town where her sister was murdered and finds a presumed copycat on the loose

Greer Dunning is back in Ludlow after a gap of 12 years and the news spreads like wildfire through this small town, but it’s as if they have all been waiting for her all this time. It’s 14 years since the murders of her sister Eliza and her boyfriend Travis. Now it seems there is a copycat killer years after the execution of Eliza’s killer, Roy Matthews. Greer is convinced there is more to the story than a copycat. She’s never been satisfied with the original investigation. Equally, she recognises returning to Ludlow is a potentially incendiary situation and to her surprise she has an unexpected partner to help her to get to the truth. Greer narrates the story, somewhat unemotionally, maybe detached but with good reason. You do bear witness to her determination to not let the questions and reservations she has about Eliza’s murder go, this time for the latest victims, Addy and Dylan.

I enjoy much of this character driven psychological thriller which is extremely good on the impact of murder on family members and on an area. The characterisation is very good and there’s a good range of those to like and to dislike. The setting is excellent too, the small town located on the Kansas Prairie is very well described and has quite a history too, as it’s located near the site of the murders of the Bloody Benders. This adds an extra dimension to the storytelling. There are some good reveals, there is tension and suspense, but because its character driven the pace does drop off from time to time.

The perpetrator does not come as a huge surprise as there are clues to pick up along the way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ General Fiction for and advance copy in return for a fair and honest review

This is the most compelling murder mystery I have read for a long, long time. All the characters are incredibly well written and I could not put it down, reading long into the night. Greer was such a determined investigator and I am looking forward to more novels written around this complex person.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this for an honest review.

This is a psychological thriller set in small town America. Greer Dunning’s sister and her boyfriend were murdered and her family never recovered. Their killer was executed but Greer has never felt that the whole story came out at the time. 14 years later another couple meet the same fate and Greer returns home to find out what really happened. She links in with the brother of her sister’s murderer to investigate the events of 14 years ago and whether there are any connections with the current copy cat murders.

The story is told by Greer and we become aware that she hiding some secrets of her own from that summer.

The book is slow to start with but as her investigation picks up so does the pace to its dark ending which I had not anticipated.

This is a gripping murder mystery which kept me guessing right to the end. Full of suspense as Greer seems to be the only person in the town who thinks that to current murders are linked to her sister's murder 14 years earlier.

This book is well written. It has interesting characters and storyline. It is a real page turner. Overall a very enjoyable read.

I loved this book. It is very well written and as a character I loved greer and it was easy to empathise with her, after her younger sister and her boyfriend, we’re murdered and the killer was executed.

I found this book hard to put down

Greer Dunning was trying to find out who murdered her sister 14yrs ago. She had moved from the area where she lived to go to Chicago, to get away from it all. However, she had to go back to her home town and find out about the murder. Greer had her own experience but didn't share that with anyone until the end. I didn't expect that. Good story. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

I loved this book. Greer is very well written as a character and it was easy to empathise with her. Lots of clever writing made this a book I struggled to put down.

I really like Amy Engel's writing and remember enjoying 'The Roanoke Girls'. I found 'I Did It For You' to be a compelling read, although I found the plot a little disappointing. I'm in two minds about it because on the one hand, I thought it was a little far-fetched. On the other hand, I liked what it says about the pointlessness and mundane nature of murder. Overall, it held my attention throughout and I would recommend it.