'What I Would Do To You' is a standout Aussie debut with a clever and thought-provoking concept that will get under your skin. Going in, I had certain expectations of how the story was going to play out based on the blurb, but it was not at all what I anticipated - and I mean this in a good way. 

The story revolves around the family of Lucy, a 10-year-old girl who was brutally murdered. Her family is now faced with the burden of carrying out the death sentence of the perpetrator. The novel raises questions about the morality of capital punishment and how it affects the people who are responsible for carrying out the sentence. 

What stood out for me was the absence of the murderer's point of view. The novel does not give him a voice or any kind of glorification, which makes the story all the more impactful. The details of what he did to Lucy are only revealed through the reading of the sentencing remarks, and they are so confronting and jarring that I had to close the book and breathe