See What I Have Done

'Eerie and compelling, Sarah Schmidt breathes such life into the terrible, twisted tale of Lizzie Borden and her family, she makes it impossible to look away.' Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

He was still bleeding. I yelled, 'Someone's killed Father.' I breathed in kerosene air, licked the thickness from my teeth. The clock on the mantel ticked ticked. I looked at Father, the way hands clutched to thighs, the way the little gold ring on his pinky finger sat like a sun. I gave him that ring for his birthday when I no longer wanted it. 'Daddy,' I had said. 'I'm giving this to you because I love you.' He had smiled and kissed my forehead.

Lizzie Borden took an axe. Or did she? On 4 August 1892 Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. During the inquest into the deaths, Lizzie Borden was arrested and charged with the murder of her father and her stepmother.

Through the eyes of Lizzie's sister Emma, the housemaid Bridget, the enigmatic stranger Benjamin and the beguiling Lizzie herself, we return to what happened that day in Fall River.

'Haunting, evocative and psychologically taut, See What I Have Done breathes fresh life into the infamous 19th-century murder case surrounding Lizzie Borden. This is a powerful, beautifully researched debut novel that brings us into contact with the recurring American dramas of violence and retribution while summoning the beguiling voices of the past.' Dominic Smith, author of the New York Times bestseller The Last Painting of Sara de Vos

'Deserves to be considered a Gothic classic.' The Saturday Paper

'Schmidt writes thrillingly well.' The Australian

'A grand gothic novel.' Books+Publishing

'Believe the hype.' Marie Claire

'There are books about murder and there are books about imploding families; this is the rare novel that seamlessly weaves the two together, asking as many questions as it answers.' Kirkus Reviews

'[An] unforgettable debut ... Equally compelling as a whodunit, "whydunit," and historical novel.' Publishers Weekly

'Heralds the arrival of a major new talent ...