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

What Have You Done? (2024) by Shari Lapena is a psychological thriller novel with supernatural elements that explores the death of a 17-year-old girl, Diana, in a small Vermont town. Lapena uses a shifting, limited third-person perspective to examine the lives of those affected by Diana’s death—her friends, family, teachers, townspeople, and several suspects. Through it all, Diana watches, struggling to remember what happened to her and needing revenge for her murder. The suspense and supernatural element work together to explore themes of The Consequences of Secrets and Deception, The Complexities of Sexual Assault Allegations, and The Impact of Tragedy on Communities.

Shari Lapena is a best-selling Canadian author. Known best for her work in the thriller genre, Lapena has published ten novels, including Things Go Flying (2008), which was shortlisted for the Sunburst Award, and Happiness Economics (2012), which was a Stephen Leacock Award finalist. As a former teacher, Lapena often looks at art and writing in her work, as depicted in What Have You Done? through Evan and his desire to explore the events of Diana’s death through writing. She also frequently examines trauma and the past and the psychological impact that personal history—and secrets—have on people’s lives.

This guide uses the first hardcover edition of the novel published by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking in 2024.

Content Warning: The source text discusses murder, sexual harassment, sexual assault, child abuse, and trauma.

Seventeen-year-old Diana Brewster is found dead on Roy Ressler’s farm in the small town of Fairhill, Vermont. Her death impacts several members of the town who struggle with their grief, suspicions, and their hidden secrets.

Paula Acosta is a high school English teacher who had Diana as a student. She struggles to connect with her daughter, Taylor, who adjusts to being in high school and deals with bullying, finding friends, and growing up with the effects of technology on teenagers. She is also close with the principal, Graham Kelly, who withholds accusations that Diana made against her gym teacher from the school and the police.

Diana made a complaint to Principal Kelly about Brad Turner, who made her feel uncomfortable by touching her and staring at her. Initially, Kelly was convinced that Diana was lying, especially since she did not want the complaint to go any further than Kelly. As a result, he withholds the complaint from the police until Paula convinces him not to, and then he only reports it as a minor issue that was handled and dismissed.

As the media gets hold of the new information about Diana’s complaint, Brad struggles with his relationship with his fiancée, Ellen, as well as his lack of an alibi the night of Diana’s death. As another student comes forward with a similar complaint to Diana’s, Brad fears for his career and the other survivors that he knows are out there, as well as Ellen’s distrust.

The only lead the police have in Diana’s death is a complaint about Joe Prior, a man who regularly came into Home Depot and attempted to flirt with her. However, Joe has an alibi for the night of Diana’s death, and although he regularly stalks young girls who live hours from his home, he is adamant that he did nothing to Diana other than try to talk to her.

The only other suspect is Diana’s boyfriend, Cameron, who went out with Diana the night she died. Initially, he tells the police that he dropped her off early and nothing happened. However, when a neighbor reports seeing his truck late at night, he admits he and Diana argued, he dropped her off, then went back to try to talk with her. He is insistent that she never came out to his truck, and he was unable to get into her home. As more and more of his lies are revealed, his parents struggle with whether they believe their son could have killed Diana and also how to protect him. Ultimately, they encourage him to tell the truth but are willing to destroy evidence or lie to protect him.

Diana’s two best friends, Riley and Evan, struggle with their grief over Diana’s death. Feeling helpless, they follow Joe Prior and report to the police that he went to Canada. They also help Diana’s mother as she grieves her daughter’s death and attempts to return to normal life.

Through it all, Diana watches the events unfold in death. She struggles to remember what happened to her, but as she watches the police interviews, as Brad’s victims come forward, and as her mother and friends deal with their grief, the events slowly begin to return to her.

On the day of Diana’s funeral, the townspeople and Diana herself slowly uncover the events of her death. The detectives discover that Joe lied about his alibi and, when a body is found in upstate New York, connect Joe to that young girl’s death; however, they realize that it is unlikely he killed Diana and allow the New York State Police to arrest him for the other girl’s death. Meanwhile, Paula discovers that her daughter is a survivor of Brad’s inappropriate behavior and convinces Principal Kelly to go to the police with the full story about Brad. Kelly finally admits that there is more to Diana’s complaint: Brad walked in on her in the locker room shower, then, the night before Diana’s death, went to Diana’s home and forced her to undress as he watched. Convinced that no one would believe her, Diana told Principal Kelly but insisted the information stay between them, telling Brad she would go to the police if he ever went near her again. With this new information, the police arrest Brad.

After Diana’s funeral and Brad’s arrest, Riley and Evan feel as though they can finally begin handling their grief and moving forward. But, when Riley goes to Evan’s house, she discovers Diana’s missing phone under his bed. As he threatens her, she can call the police and alert them.

As Diana watches from above, her memories finally come back. The night she died, Evan came over to get a book from her, and when she told him that she broke up with Cameron, he confessed his love for her. However, when Diana laughed in disbelief in response, Evan took out his rage on her, strangling her in her home.

Although Brad is released from jail with Evan’s arrest, Ellen still struggles with the complaints against him from the high school girls. She chooses to believe them, breaking off her engagement with Brad and deciding to move away from Fairhill.

After Evan is arrested, he sits in the interview room and thinks back to the events of Diana’s death. He realized that there was rage within him, but he had always done his best to keep it at bay. Now, he thinks about jail and how much time it will give him to work on becoming a writer and explore his mind.