"What You Made Me Do"

Barbara Gayle Austin writes crime fiction. She grew up in Houston, Texas, but has spent most of her adult life in the Netherlands and the UK. She now lives in Amsterdam with her two children and her dog.

What You Made Me Do is Austin’s debut novel, a thriller set in Amsterdam and a Dutch island in the Wadden Sea. The novel was longlisted for the esteemed Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger award (under the title Lowlands). Her short stories have been longlisted in the Margery Allingham short mystery competition and in the Aestas 2022 competition.

Austin applied the Page 69 Test to What You Made Me Do and reported the following:

Page 69 comes at the start of Chapter 13, which makes it shorter than average because of the heading.

From page 69:

Chapter 13

Louisa

Louisa lounged on the bed, with a blanket covering her bare feet, and the hotel phone pressed to her ear. She gazed out the window at yet another bleak day in Den Bosch. A thick fog that shifted like smoke obscured the view, but she could faintly discern a pigeon perched on the gutter across the street. The only month more depressing than November was December, when the hours of daylight shrank even more.

“I miss you too, Hendrik,” Louisa purred into the phone while she fingered the necklace around her neck, a present from her lover—a gold chain with a pendant in the shape of a piano. It was a decent piece of jewelry, but not expensive enough to raise Hendrik’s suspicion should he someday notice it.

“I ate my breakfast on the terrace,” she said. “Can you believe it? Sunshine! I saw a patch of turquoise on the horizon. The nurse said it was the Ionian Sea. Why don’t you come for the weekend? Take a break from dreary old Holland?”

She was counting on him to decline. If he said yes, she would be obliged to change his mind because she wasn’t in Italy. She was nowhere near the Ionian Sea. The hotel where she was hiding was only fifty miles from Amsterdam.

“Sorry, Louisa, but it’s a long drive to stay for a weekend.”

He was afraid of flying. She smiled, her spirits lifting at the game she played with Hendrik.

“In that case, come for a week or two, and bring the boys.” She knew she was pushing her luck, but she couldn’t seem to let well enough alone. Boredom was the worst part of this elaborate charade.

“I can’t take them out of school,” he said. “I have an idea. Send Katja to Amsterdam to look after Willem and Jurriaan. I could come for a long stay.”

Amazingly, the Page 69 Test works well for my novel.

Page 69 doesn’t reveal much about the plot, but it reflects the tone of the novel and raises compelling questions. Why is Louisa lying to her husband, Hendrik? Why is she hiding out in Den Bosch? What is the elaborate charade she refers to?

Though Louisa Veldkamp isn’t the protagonist, she’s an ominous presence throughout the novel and plays a crucial role in the plot. Page 69 is an example of her manipulative character and the cruel games she plays.

What You Made Me Do follows the Veldkamp family and their inner circle. The protagonist is Anneliese Bakker who becomes engaged to Louisa’s oldest son and moves into the family mansion. She believes she’s finally found the place where she belongs. But instead of being welcomed with open arms, she meets with cold hostility. As she digs into the family’s past, she finds herself in mortal danger.

The story shifts between various timelines and is told from multiple perspectives. The reader knows more than any of the characters, which heightens the tension and builds suspense. The novel is part dark psychological thriller, part mystery, and part family drama.

Interweaving plot lines revolve around dark family secrets. Each character is hiding something. In the short-term, secrets may help, but long-term they can be devastating. Especially in this novel!

Visit Barbara Gayle Austin's website.

--Marshal Zeringue