What They Did: A Novel

A dark, deadly secret between two friends tears them apart, only to reunite them decades later as they are forced to confront what happened that night . . . or lose all they hold dear. She keeps me safe. She keeps me wild. Carly Rivers and Dana Lee were best friends when they were younger. Like fire and water, they always balanced each other out: Dana kept them wild. Carly kept them safe. But then, a split-second decision resulted in an irreversible tragedy. To this day, neither has spoken of what happened; they share a terrible secret that sent them on separate paths, each hoping to leave the darkness behind them. Carly becomes a police officer in Florida with a beautiful house and a beautiful husband and son. For Dana, things go the other way. After a string of failed relationships and broken hearts, she finds herself in Black Ash, Michigan, working for the notorious meth dealer Warner Prince. When Carly’s husband, also a cop, is killed in the line of duty, her son, Anthony, spins out of control. In search of his own fresh start, Anthony heads to Toledo, a stone’s throw from Dana’s home in Black Ash. As Anthony’s friendship with Dana puts him in the crosshairs of some sinister people, Dana’s and Carly’s lives come together again. Twenty-four years have passed, but the secret between them hasn’t died, and the friends soon find themselves in a situation where history is doomed to repeat itself. Brimming with action and suspense, and tempered with a strong emotional core, Rio Youers’s gripping new novel is an intense, edge-of-your-seat story about fierce friendship, the bonds of family, and the extremes we’ll go to, to keep our loved ones safe.

© 2026 William Morrow (Audiobook): 9780063311879

Release date

Audiobook: 18 August 2026