What We Did by Christobel Kent

Kindle Edition, 400 pages
Published May 17th 2018 by Sphere
☆☆1/2
About the Book:
He stole her childhood. She'll take his future. What would you do if you accidentally encountered the man who once abused you? And how would you get away with it? Bridget's life is small and safe: she loves her husband, her son and works hard to keep her own business afloat. Then one day her world is changed forever. The music teacher who abused her walks into a shop with the teenager he's clearly grooming. Bridget is sent spiralling back into her past. Anthony begins to stalk Bridget, trying to ensure her silence - until suddenly, she snaps. And now Bridget must find away to deal with the aftermath of her actions.

It wasn’t about sex, after all. It was about hurting someone. It was about power.
This is another of those psychological thrillers that isn't about who did it or what is the twisty ending. This is a very slow burner of a story and that isn't always a good thing. It is a very character driven novel and I liked that about it, I also loved the writing itself. I know this is a cliché but Christobel Kent writes with such beautiful prose, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in a psychological thriller.

The character of Bridget thought herself as weak, but knowing what she had been through she came off as a very strong woman, to me. This story clearly shows the after effects of sexual trauma on young girl. How, even as a grown woman, she suffers from mental illness, anorexia and PTSD. With the #metoo movement and what recently happened the Ariana Grande this is a really timely read.

I was drawn into the story at the start. I knew that something bad had happened to Bridget in the past but I wasn't exactly sure what the extent of it was and I was anxious to see this story unfold. How does anyone cope with being sexually abused as a child? We don't know what goes on behind closed doors or in someone else's mind, and this was a description of what it may be like. I felt so bad for Bridget and all she had gone through as a child, even though she was the one who did the unthinkable, I understood her reasons and hoped she could put things behind her. Anthony was a vile, loathsome man and he deserved everything he got.

This could have been a great novel about abuse and the lengths one woman goes to, to rid her life of her abuser; but the book kinda lagged for me and I found it hard to focus. The chapter would abruptly jump from one character, and their story, to the next and durning some parts of the book I was actually bored. I think two and a half stars is more than fair.