What They Did
A Novel
Will be published approx. on 24. September 2026
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-0-06-331185-5 (ISBN)
Description
A dark, deadly secret between two friends tears them apart, only to reunite them decades later as they are forced to confront what happened that night . . . or lose all they hold dear.
She keeps me safe. She keeps me wild.
Carly Rivers and Dana Lee were best friends when they were younger. Like fire and water, they always balanced each other out: Dana kept them wild. Carly kept them safe.
But then, a split-second decision resulted in an irreversible tragedy. To this day, neither has spoken of what happened; they share a terrible secret that sent them on separate paths, each hoping to leave the darkness behind them. Carly becomes a police officer in Florida with a beautiful house and a beautiful husband and son. For Dana, things go the other way. After a string of failed relationships and broken hearts, she finds herself in Black Ash, Michigan, working for the notorious meth dealer Warner Prince.
When Carly's husband, also a cop, is killed in the line of duty, her son, Anthony, spins out of control. In search of his own fresh start, Anthony heads to Toledo, a stone's throw from Dana's home in Black Ash. As Anthony's friendship with Dana puts him in the crosshairs of some sinister people, Dana's and Carly's lives come together again. Twenty-four years have passed, but the secret between them hasn't died, and the friends soon find themselves in a situation where history is doomed to repeat itself.
Brimming with action and suspense, and tempered with a strong emotional core, Rio Youers's gripping new novel is an intense, edge-of-your-seat story about fierce friendship, the bonds of family, and the extremes we'll go to, to keep our loved ones safe.
She keeps me safe. She keeps me wild.
Carly Rivers and Dana Lee were best friends when they were younger. Like fire and water, they always balanced each other out: Dana kept them wild. Carly kept them safe.
But then, a split-second decision resulted in an irreversible tragedy. To this day, neither has spoken of what happened; they share a terrible secret that sent them on separate paths, each hoping to leave the darkness behind them. Carly becomes a police officer in Florida with a beautiful house and a beautiful husband and son. For Dana, things go the other way. After a string of failed relationships and broken hearts, she finds herself in Black Ash, Michigan, working for the notorious meth dealer Warner Prince.
When Carly's husband, also a cop, is killed in the line of duty, her son, Anthony, spins out of control. In search of his own fresh start, Anthony heads to Toledo, a stone's throw from Dana's home in Black Ash. As Anthony's friendship with Dana puts him in the crosshairs of some sinister people, Dana's and Carly's lives come together again. Twenty-four years have passed, but the secret between them hasn't died, and the friends soon find themselves in a situation where history is doomed to repeat itself.
Brimming with action and suspense, and tempered with a strong emotional core, Rio Youers's gripping new novel is an intense, edge-of-your-seat story about fierce friendship, the bonds of family, and the extremes we'll go to, to keep our loved ones safe.
Reviews / Votes
"Clear your calendar for What They Did. This is a from-the-first-page feat in the art of immersion. Is this how people who get lost in video games feel? I imagine so because I lived in this novel and I liked it in there." - Caroline Kepnes"Dripping with tension, What They Did is an unflinching, emotionally charged thriller about friendship, family, and secrets that should have stayed buried. I couldn't put it down." - Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes
"Two women must come to terms with their dark past when they try to save one woman's son from a psychopathic child TV star-turned-drug-kingpin. If gritty, relentless crime fiction is your jam, then this latest novel from Rio Youers is a must-read." - Alma Katsu, author of Fiend on What They Did
"Darkly simmering and deeply emotional, What They Did is a total-immersion page-turner of a story. When a deadly secret from the past comes calling, two once-dear friends must team up to protect themselves and those they love-what will they decide when so much is at stake, and when the duality of the world is relentless and unforgiving? Beautifully written and fiercely suspenseful, this intense thriller will keep you guessing-and break your heart." - Hank Phillippi Ryan
"If you're looking for a fun, thrilling read, look no further. The Bang-Bang Sisters is a rip-roaring delight of a novel - pulpy, fast-paced, and absolutely unputdownable." - Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author
"Buckle up for The Bang-Bang Sisters. The story rocks, the characters pop, the writing sizzles. You won't forget Brea, Jessie, and Flo. This rock-band vigilante novel turns it up to eleven. Strap in and hold on." - Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"A high-octane good time. Readers seeking fast action and strong female characters should check it out." - Publishers Weekly on The Bang-Bang Sisters
"[A] dizzyingly plotted thriller . . . the novel motors on at blinding speed, incorporating broken families, bottomless desire for revenge, and a denouement that makes the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre seems like mere trifle. What sticks with me, though, are the quiet moments, where the wounds of long-ago personal sacrifices have room to heal." - New York Times Book Review on Lola on Fire
"Lola on Fire sizzles and scorches like fresh steak slapped on a red-hot grill. And while you might know Lola's cousins-that girl with the dragon tattoo, the twin nemeses of Killing Eve, master assassin John Wick, even Kill Bill's Beatrix Kiddo-none of them can rival her bruised soul and bulletproof heart. How often does a ferocious action thriller gather your emotions in a net and haul them to the surface writhing and shiny? What was the last novel to kick-start your brain and your pulse at the same time? Cross Elmore Leonard with Lisa Gardner and you get Rio Youers. More Lola, please, aflame or otherwise." - A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
"Lola on Fire serves up all the gonzo action, quotable lines, and unforgettable characters a reader could want, in a novel that rivals Killing Eve in intensity and atmosphere." - #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill
"A rip-roaring Hollywood noir that smashes the pedal to the metal and keeps it there. The best villain since Ian Fleming's James Bond novels . . . This one is hot." - Stephen King on No Second Chances
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-331185-5 (9780063311855)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Rio Youers is the British Fantasy and Sunburst Award-nominated author of The Bang-Bang Sisters, Lola on Fire, and No Second Chances. His 2017 thriller, The Forgotten Girl, was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. He is the writer of Sleeping Beauties, a comic book series based on the bestselling novel by Stephen King and Owen King. Rio lives in Ontario, Canada, with his wife and their two children.