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One morning in 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden are found brutally murdered. Andrew Borden’s daughter, Lizzie, emerges as the prime suspect. But what really happened on the morning of August 4?

See What I Have Done is a meditation on the murders Lizzie Borden was famously accused of, seen through the eyes of four characters: Lizzie herself, her sister Emma, their maid, Bridget and a mysterious man, Benjamin. Sarah Schmidt does a terrific job in giving these characters a distinct voice, and by making them both sympathetic and repulsive.

The writing flows easy and I found it easy to devour, reading it in the span of two train trips. As See What I Have Done obsesses over the question of what happened to the Bordens, there is a central mystery providing much of the momentum and focus of the book. But this is by no means a mystery novel. Anyone who reads this expecting answers and resolutions will be disappointed. Schmidt implies, but never states exactly what happened and most characters emerge as suspects at some point.

There were a few minor flaws. As I said, there is no real resolution to that central mystery. This didn’t bother me, as it reflects the history (the murders remain unsolved), and it feels like it would almost cheapen the book to give a straightforward answer.

The book does not unfold chronologically (for example, we begin on the day of the murders, then move back to the day before) and that can be frustrating, because you feel like you’re on the verge of a revelation before you’re shunted back in time.

The way Schmidt approached Bridget’s dialogue was painful, in my opinion. Colloquial and written to indicate Bridget’s Irish accent, it felt fake and jarring, and utterly at odds with the poetic approach Schmidt took to Bridget’s point-of-view.

These were not major flaws, though. See What I Have Done really was a fantastic read.