It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh review

About The Book

Book: It’s Not What You Think
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Standalone or Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date (UK): 26th March 2026

My Review

Okay, this is one I wanted to read before the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival next month, as I think it’s going to be a hot topic of discussion. In fact during the last book blogger meet I attended, people were covertly trying to chat about it so I quickly ran off to another area of the bookshop to avoid any spoilers!

And now I have read it, you will need to grab me in person, or email me, to chat about this as it’s such a hard one to review without spoilers!

So what can I say? The title and blurb hints things won’t be as straight forward as we expect. Nadeeka is convinced her partner is having an affair, she feels cruelly qualified in these things and the ins-and-outs of all the tell-tale signs since her ex-husband cheated on her. She is so sure in fact, that she’s determined to catch her partner in the act. Only when she gets home, Jaime simply can’t explain himself. He’s dead. And it’s not what you think…

The book switches between narrators, allowing us to see the story unfold from different perspectives. While there are plenty of twists and the subject matter is grim, the revelations don’t feel overly shocking because we’re carefully guided through each one as the plot progresses.

It’s pacy and well crafted meaning I sped through this one in just a couple of sittings! It also includes a moment that made me smile as it was the subject of a hilarious video Mackintosh posted a couple of years ago during book research, which turned out to be a plot point here!