I Did Something Bad

The charm of Notting Hill butts up against the suspense of J.D. Robb in War’s uneven debut. Khin Haymar, a freelance journalist in Yangon, Myanmar, is in a bad place after a messy divorce. She gets a chance to turn her life around when the editor-in-chief of Vogue Singapore offers her a job on staff if she can suss out secretive Hollywood heartthrob Tyler Tun’s next move for a cover story. Media-trained Tyler is obviously hiding something, but before Khin can find out what, a drunk Australian stranger stumbles onto the set after their first meeting and assaults Khin—and Khin and Tyler accidentally kill him in self-defense. Tyler wants to go to the police, but Khin convinces him not to, arguing that their lives and careers will be ruined. But with the police continually showing up on set, and Khin’s editor breathing down her neck, keeping any secret—let alone one this high stakes—grows steadily harder. The will-they-won’t-they between the leads is gripping, but the story really shines in the ride-or-die friendships between Khin and her two best friends, Nay and Thidar, and between Tyler and his costar, May. Unfortunately, the otherwise lighthearted celebrity romance never quite gels with the murder plotline, creating a sense of tonal whiplash. This is a bumpy ride. (Oct.)