She Made Me Do It (Detective Dan Riley #9) by Anna-Lou Weatherley
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 9th January 2026
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
I trusted her. I shouldn’t have…
Samantha Valentine didn’t drift into my life, she collided with it. Soon it was like we had been friends forever. She told me everything about her perfect life, but I always felt there was something she was leaving out.
Then one night, I get a frantic call from Samantha, hysterical and begging me to protect her from her boyfriend. Rushing to her house, instinct takes over and soon my heart is hammering out of my chest as I stand over the body of a man I had never met before this evening.
But by the time the police arrive, Samantha has vanished. The officers tell me that there is no record of her anywhere. The woman I thought was my friend has tricked me into killing a perfect stranger.
As the police slip the handcuffs on my wrists, I know I’ve made a terrible mistake. By protecting a woman I never really knew, I’ve destroyed my life. Who is Samantha really, and why did she make me do this? She’s taken everything from me, but she has no idea how far I will go to get the truth…
A gripping and page-turning psychological thriller absolutely packed with twists. Perfect for fans of T.M. Logan, Frieda McFadden and Daniel Hurst.
MY THOUGHTS:
Another crazy wild ride by Anna-Lou Weatherly in this ninth outing with DCI Dan Riley. And what a ride it is! I do love this author; her style is addictive and engaging with likable main characters, even the questionable ones.
We meet Erin seven years prior having just fatally stabbed Ari Hussein whilst protecting her best friend from his abuse. But what if it was all smoke and mirrors? Soon Erin, who happily told the police everything thinking it would help her case, had sealed her own fate and found herself locked up for manslaughter. And her bestie? Nowhere to be found.
Fast forward to present day London and Tilly Ward has just been found at a similar scene. She has just fatally stabbed Milo Harrison whilst protecting her best friend from his subsequent abuse. The same best friend Erin had protected seven years ago. Samantha Valentine. Coincidence?
DCI Dan Riley surveys the scene and nothing escapes his notice. Not the body on the floor, the knife by his side, the shoes behind the door or the shaking diminutive woman in the next room who had inflicted the fatal wound. Dan is drawn to her story from the start. It's far too complex to be fabricated, surely.
And then the Erin Santos file falls across his desk. And he begins an investigation down the proverbial rabbit hole, unable to let that nagging feeling at the back of his mind go. Something about this whole scenario just doesn't add up. And it's up to Dan Riley and his team to find out what.
As per usual, we are delved straight into the madness and mayhem from the very first page and throughout the entire tale, the reader is pondering what is real and what isn't. It's the kind of tale that messes with your head but Riley and the team were not to be thwarted like the Yorkshire police who dropped the ball far too early in Erin's case, dismissing her as delusional. The question is, is she really delusional? And even if she is, the police had a duty of care to investigate her claims fully instead of dismissing her as a nutjob. And yet, we are left wondering were they right all along? Or did they drop the ball?
Another cracking read by Anna-Lou that had me race through it in under 24 hours (two sittings), despite my somewhat dry spell with reading just now. I thoroughly enjoyed this twisted tale. And can't wait for Dan Riley's next outing.
I would like to thank #AnnaLouWeatherley, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #SheMadeMeDoIt in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Anna-Lou Weatherly is well known for her engaging and compelling mystery suspense novels. Instantly grabbing the attention of the reader, she delivers her stories in a straightforward style that really works for her material. Often writing about darker subject matter, too, she doesn’t hold back when it comes to more serious topics, really delivering gripping narratives. Her work is set in a league of its own when it comes to rich and immersive thrillers that allow the reader to escape into them.
Constantly keeping her audience guessing throughout, she’s a writer gifted in the art of compelling narratives with plenty of twists and turns. Pushing the boundaries of what the romance genre can really do, she allows her stories to speak for themselves essentially when it comes to telling them. Her books come alive off of the page, enveloping the reader and holding them there for the complete duration of the novel. Establishing her own style and tone, too, each book of hers is unmistakeably hers, as she really does have her own voice and approach.
When it comes to characters, she really embeds herself in their mindset, providing readers with a clear view of their perspective. This style gives her readers a front-row seat when it comes to the action, really making it engaging on all levels. Winning awards for her work, too, she’s written for many outlets, from Smash Hits to the NME, to Marie Claire, making her one of the most prolific writers within her area. There are plenty more titles planned for the future, too, as her writing career continues building from strength to strength.
Born in Southampton in England, Anna-Lou was raised in London with a passion for reading and writing. Nurturing this interest of her over time, she would hone and refine her skills as an author, discovering her own unique voice in the process. Studying further, she would continue to apply herself to her craft, building a profile for herself within the literary world.
Going on to work as the editor for several different publications, she would get to sharpen her writing skills for a mass audience. Drawing in inspiration from her surrounds, she would proceed to put much of it back into her writing and work. Currently still living in London to this very day, she continues to write regularly, with lots more set for release on the horizon.
Prior to writing fiction full-time, Anna-Lou Weatherly worked as an editor for prestigious publications such as Smash and J-17. Creating a big name for herself as a novelist, she would slowly come to find her own voice before writing her first complete novel. This would be titled ‘Ibiza Summer’ back in 2006, and it would give her an insight into her many writing processes and what she had to offer.
Before long, she would begin writing suspense novels and mystery thrillers, establishing a profile as a writer known for tension. Beginning her ‘Detective Dan Riley’ series with the novel ‘Black Heart’ in 2018, she would soon be on her way to being a hugely successful author. Winning awards for her work, she’s been in the industry for over ten years and counting as her career grows upwards and onwards.
When she's not writing, which isn't often, she likes to hang upside down on a pole - she's a qualified pole fitness instructor, and drink fancy wine (though not necessarily at the same time, that would be dangerous). She adores creating exciting, three dimensional, glamorous and flawed characters against a backdrop of exotic locations. Revenge, sex, sin, glamour, excess, crime and intrigue is her speciality. Her next novel, title to come, promises all the above and more!
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