What Have You Done by Matthew Farrell

November 7, 2019

What Have You Done by Matthew Farrell

Liam Dwyer goes out for an evening of drinking with his brother, has a blackout and can’t remember what he did, how he got home or why he was in the bathtub.  Or where his clothes are.  The morning after Liam’s binge, his ex-lover Kerri is found murdered in a seedy hotel room, and his blood and his fingerprints are all over the room.  As a forensic detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, Liam is called to the scene to collect evidence.  Liam’s brother Sean Dwyer is a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department.  He and his partner are on another case, pursuing a local black gangster named Cutter Washington, who they believe is responsible for the beating death of a local store owner.

Since both Liam and Sean knew the murdered girl, Sean convinces Liam that they shouldn't say they knew her right away, otherwise the detectives assigned to the case would zero in on them and not look for the real killer.  Liam agrees since he can't remember where he was the night before.  Sean and Liam decide to conduct their own investigation, trying to beat the clock before anyone finds out about their connection to the victim.  Liam claims nobody else knows about his connection to Kerri, but is that really true?

This was an entertaining mystery.  While it doesn't have an unreliable narrator since it's written in the third person and from several points of view, almost all of the characters are lying.  I had a good idea who murdered Kerri about 1/3 of the way through the book, but I kept reading to find out how it was done.  There are some flaws but mystery readers will enjoy it.  The cops don't come off very well, since most of them are doing some pretty shady things.