Sian Gilbert’s sophomore effort, I Did Warn Her, proves that the author’s debut success with She Started It was no fluke. This cunning locked-room mystery aboard the luxurious superyacht Ophelia delivers a potent cocktail of claustrophobic tension, unreliable characters, and enough red herrings to stock a fishing boat. While Gilbert demonstrates her growing mastery of the thriller genre, the novel occasionally struggles under the weight of its own ambitious plotting.
A Cast of Beautiful Suspects
The story centers on Sasha, a last-minute hire as a stewardess aboard the billionaire-owned Ophelia. She joins four other stewardesses—Jade, Imogen, Euphemia (Effie), and Lola—all blonde, model-gorgeous, and unnervingly identical in appearance. This deliberate choice by Gilbert to make the women virtually indistinguishable becomes a crucial plot device that pays off brilliantly in the book’s shocking climax.
Gilbert’s character development shines brightest with protagonist Sasha, whose dark past as a nurse involved in a patient’s death adds psychological depth to what could have been a standard mystery heroine. The author skillfully reveals Sasha’s backstory through flashbacks, showing how her affair with Dr. Martin and subsequent cover-up of his drinking problem led to Janet Lesley’s death. This guilt-ridden foundation makes Sasha’s determination to uncover the truth about Lola’s murder both compelling and cathartic.
The supporting cast provides a rich tapestry of motives and secrets. Chief stewardess Jade’s iron-fisted control and desperate need for professional perfection creates natural tension, while Imogen’s working-class background hidden beneath her polished exterior adds class commentary that feels authentic rather than heavy-handed. Effie’s mysterious modeling past and Lola’s pretense of wealth demonstrate Gilbert’s understanding that everyone aboard the Ophelia is performing a role.
The Ophelia: A Character in Its Own Right
Gilbert excels at creating atmosphere through her depiction of the yacht itself. The Ophelia becomes a character—simultaneously luxurious and threatening, with its gleaming surfaces hiding dark secrets. The author’s attention to detail in describing the yacht’s layout pays dividends during the mystery’s climactic moments, where knowledge of starboard decks and crew quarters becomes crucial to understanding the murders.
The confined setting works perfectly for this type of mystery, echoing the best traditions of Agatha Christie while updating them for contemporary audiences. Gilbert uses the yacht’s isolation effectively, creating genuine tension about who can be trusted when there’s literally nowhere to run.
Pacing and Plot Structure
Where I Did Warn Her occasionally falters is in its pacing. The first third of the novel takes time to establish the complex web of relationships and motivations, which is necessary but sometimes feels sluggish compared to the breakneck speed of the final act. Gilbert introduces multiple suspicious incidents—missing champagne, stolen jewelry, sabotaged equipment—that create an atmosphere of mounting paranoia but can overwhelm readers trying to track the numerous plot threads.
However, once the first murder occurs, Gilbert demonstrates her skill at maintaining tension while steadily eliminating suspects and revealing secrets. The revelation that Runa and Lola were involved in jewelry theft provides a satisfying red herring, while the discovery of Lola’s diary adds authentic investigative elements to the amateur sleuthing.
The Shocking Truth
The novel’s greatest strength lies in its devastating final revelations. Gilbert’s decision to make Chief Officer Melinda Fall the primary killer is genuinely surprising without feeling like a cheat. The author plants subtle clues throughout—Melinda’s frustration at being passed over for captain, her convenient absences during crucial moments, her technical expertise with the yacht’s systems—that make the reveal feel earned rather than manipulative.
The revelation that Lola’s murder was a case of mistaken identity, with Melinda believing she was killing Effie, adds a tragic irony that elevates the book above standard whodunit fare. The fact that all the stewardesses’ identical appearances—initially seeming like a superficial plot device—becomes the key to understanding the murders shows Gilbert’s sophisticated plotting.
Most shocking is the insurance fraud subplot involving Digby Johnson’s plan to sink the yacht, with Melinda using this scheme to cover her own murderous ambitions. The intersection of corporate greed and personal ambition creates a web of corruption that feels both contemporary and timeless.
Character Relationships and Dynamics
Gilbert excels at depicting the toxic dynamics among the yacht’s crew and guests. The casual cruelty of wealthy passengers toward service staff feels grimly authentic, while the competitiveness and backstabbing among the stewardesses creates a powder keg atmosphere. The author particularly succeeds with the relationship between Sasha and Jasmine (revealed to be Tessa, seeking answers about her friend Hallie’s mysterious death the previous year), which provides emotional grounding amid the mounting chaos.
The romantic subplot between Sasha and Drew, while not central to the mystery, adds humanizing moments and gives Sasha someone to trust in an environment where paranoia reigns. Gilbert wisely doesn’t overplay this element, keeping the focus on the mystery while providing character development.
Technical Elements and Writing Style
Gilbert’s prose style has evolved since her debut, showing greater confidence in handling multiple viewpoints and complex timelines. Her dialogue feels natural and distinct for each character, particularly effective in differentiating between the various crew members’ backgrounds and motivations. The author demonstrates particular skill in writing tension-filled scenes, creating genuine unease through atmosphere and character interaction rather than relying solely on violence or shock.
The novel’s structure, alternating between different characters’ perspectives, allows Gilbert to reveal information strategically while maintaining suspense. Some readers may find the multiple viewpoints occasionally confusing, particularly when distinguishing between the similar stewardesses, but this appears to be an intentional choice that serves the story’s themes about identity and appearances.
Themes and Social Commentary
Beneath its thriller surface, I Did Warn Her offers sharp commentary on class, wealth inequality, and the exploitation of service workers. Gilbert doesn’t lecture but allows these themes to emerge naturally through character interactions and plot developments. The casual way wealthy passengers treat crew members as interchangeable objects reflects real-world dynamics while serving the mystery’s needs.
The book also explores themes of identity and authenticity, with nearly every character hiding their true selves behind carefully constructed facades. From Sasha’s guilt over her past to Lola’s pretense of wealth to Jasmine’s false identity, Gilbert suggests that everyone is performing a role—some more dangerous than others.
Minor Criticisms
While largely successful, the novel has some weaknesses. The sheer number of suspicious incidents and red herrings occasionally threatens to overwhelm the central mystery, and some plot threads—particularly involving the jewelry theft—feel underdeveloped in the resolution. Additionally, the revelation about Benjamin Edmondson’s predatory behavior toward female crew members, while adding context to previous events, feels somewhat disconnected from the main plot.
Some readers may find the coincidence of both an insurance fraud scheme and multiple murders occurring simultaneously a bit much, though Gilbert handles the intersection of these plots skillfully enough to maintain credibility within the story’s heightened reality.
Comparison to Contemporary Thrillers
I Did Warn Her stands favorably alongside other recent closed-circle mysteries like Ruth Ware’s yacht-based thriller The Turn Of The Key and Catherine Steadman’s The Disappearing Act. Gilbert’s work particularly shines in its character development and social awareness, offering more substance than many contemporary thrillers while maintaining page-turning suspense.
The book shares DNA with classic mysteries while feeling thoroughly modern in its concerns and sensibilities. Gilbert understands that the best mysteries use their puzzles to explore deeper truths about human nature and society.
Books Similar to I Did Warn Her
For readers who enjoyed this yacht-based thriller, several similar titles offer comparable pleasures:
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley – Multiple perspectives and class tensions at an exclusive gathering
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman – Mystery with ensemble cast and red herrings
- What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley – Classic-style mystery with contemporary sensibilities
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – Unreliable narrators and marriage secrets
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides – Psychological thriller with shocking reveals
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – Multiple female perspectives and hidden truths
Final Verdict
I Did Warn Her succeeds as both an entertaining mystery and a thoughtful exploration of contemporary social issues. While not perfect—the pacing occasionally flags and some plot elements feel overstuffed—Gilbert has created a genuinely engaging thriller that respects its readers’ intelligence while delivering the twists and surprises the genre demands.
The novel’s greatest achievement is its ability to surprise without cheating, building to revelations that feel both shocking and inevitable. Gilbert’s skill at misdirection, combined with her growing confidence as a prose stylist, marks her as a thriller writer worth watching.
For readers of the first book in what appears to be an informal series about toxic group dynamics in luxurious settings, I Did Warn Her delivers on the promise of its predecessor while charting new territory. The yacht setting provides fresh opportunities for the claustrophobic tension Gilbert handles so well, while the expanded cast allows for more complex plotting and character development.
I Did Warn Her is a worthy follow-up to She Started It that should satisfy existing fans while attracting new readers to Gilbert’s particular brand of socially conscious suspense. The book confirms that Gilbert’s debut success was no accident and suggests even stronger work to come as she continues developing her distinctive voice in the crowded thriller marketplace.
This high-seas mystery proves that sometimes the most dangerous waters are the ones closest to shore, and the most treacherous currents flow between people who seem to know each other well. Gilbert has crafted a thriller that will keep readers guessing until the final shocking revelation, making I Did Warn Her a standout entry in the yacht mystery subgenre.
