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It’s Not What You Think
Clare Mackintosh
Publication Date: March 26th, 2026
HarperCollins Canada | HarperCollins
416 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers | Women’s Fiction
I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. The story is about Nadeeka, a divorced mom of two who is in a relationship with a man named Jamie. Nadeeka’s ex-husband cheated on her, and she sees the same warning signs with Jamie; she thinks he’s cheating as well when he says he has to stay late at work, and she wants to catch him. When she returns home, it’s a crime scene and Jamie has been murdered. As Nadeeka digs into Jamie’s life, she finds that she knew very little about him.
I liked how the book was formatted into different perspectives. Not only do we have Jamie and Nadeeka’s points of view, but also DCI Lauren Caldwell’s. The timeline style is also my favourite: non-linear, slowly revealing the different layers of this mystery in the best way possible. Just when you think you’ve figured out a character’s motive, the point of view shifts and there is a completely different angle. The author is a master at flipping the script on the usual thriller tropes. She knows what readers are looking for in a thriller and uses those as red herrings to lead you astray. I like how the author delves into the darker side of human nature and shows how perception can make us trust or distrust someone without knowing all the facts. Can we really know those we love?
While the middle of the book sometimes slows down because the police procedural sections take over, the last third of the book “goes for broke.” It’s dark, witty, and unsettling. The book makes us take a look at the difference between what we see and what’s really there. It’s what I call a “butt-in-chair” read that leaves you wondering how well you know those you love.
I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge that I really appreciated the cultural representation of the protagonist. Nadeeka is Sri Lankan and British, and I think it is the first time I have read a book with a Sri Lankan character in it. It’s not just thrown in there, either; it affects her dealings with the police and the community, which adds a little something extra to the plot.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
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